Beyond Coachella: Inside the Neon Carnival

After spending a fun-filled day exploring the pool parties of Coachella, my friend Sara Libby and I prepared to take on one of the most famous parties in the desert. Our day started at the Lacoste L!ve Desert Pool Party and wrapped up at the RESQWATER house. Now it was time see what the nightlife had to offer!

One of Coachella’s biggest and most exclusive after-parties is the Neon Carnival. For many years, celebrities and “young Hollywood” scene-sters have come to tear up the tarmac at this legendary private airport turned adult-carnival. This year, the party was put on NYLON Magazine, Olay Fresh Effects and GUESS.

The lights of the rides flashed all around us. A ferris wheel. The zipper. Bumper cars. All of my favorites. Carnival games gave people the chance to win awesome GUESS products and, of course, the traditional cheesy stuffed animal.

Olay even had an actual salon setup inside where makeup artists and hair stylists glammed up female partygoers. The open bar and delicious food by STK and Fatburger were a nice touch too!

Random side-note: While volunteering for the Paralympic Games in London, I was able to visit the Mr. Brainwash London Exhibition. Thierry Guetta aka “Mr. Brainwash” was a French immigrant living in LA that became an overnight success through Banksy’s popular street art documentary, Exit Through the Giftshop.

Anyways, guess who I ran into?!

Yep! Mr. Brainwash! And we played carnival games together. I can’t make this up.

Back to the party: The main area of the carnival opened up to a massive DJ stage and dance floor where we laughed and danced all night until the party shut down around 4 am. It was the perfect end to our crazy day of Coachella parties!

Now that I’ve sampled the pool parties and private parties, I wonder how I missed out on them for the past three years. If you’re planning on attending Coachella next year, be sure to stalk down some RSVP lists for Coachella parties!