DJs, Dancers, and Ravers Took Over the North Strip for EDC Las Vegas’s World Party Parade

^{Imagine not knowing EDC is happening and suddenly hearing a giant techno rave on the Strip. DJ Domina was behind the decks for this float as the World Party Parade rolled through the street Thursday night. (Photo: Vanessa Alves-Johnson / Casinos.com)}

LAS VEGAS — ‘Twas the night before the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, and the party on the north end of the Strip was impossible to miss. Ravers dressed in platform boots, pashminas, and fishnets took over Las Vegas Boulevard as the booming bass and techno beats led the World Party Parade down the Strip. Police helicopters circled overhead, and large crowds assembled in the open street shut down just for the special event. 

To kick off EDC’s 30th anniversary celebration, Insomniac launched this massive parade during EDC Week to bring the fun down to the Strip for the first time. The free event welcomed everyone who wanted to enjoy the music and culture, whether they were EDC attendees, festival alumni, or just curious visitors. 

Setting it up on the north end of the Strip was a smart call, considering that the clubs at Fontainebleau and Resorts World host some of Vegas’s biggest trending DJs like John Summit, Ray Volpe, and Dom Dolla.

I attended the World Party Parade for its debut to get a firsthand look at how it went down before the festival commands the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for a weekend.

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A Monster Crowd of Ravers Descends on the North Strip

I planned my parade mission carefully, making the right call to Uber to the Sahara near 6 p.m. to avoid the stress of parking nearby. Fontainebleau, which normally offers free parking for locals, was charging $60 for event parking. Circus Circus also restricted its free parking to guests with room keys or reservations. Uber or taking the Las Vegas Monorail from another property was easily the better option, cutting costs substantially compared to paying for nearby parking.

The parade started off at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds before heading south down Las Vegas Boulevard, looping past Resorts World and Circus Circus before circling back and passing Fontainebleau and Sahara. Walking over made it pretty obvious who was heading to the parade. The elaborate outfits, giant rave fans at hand, or the endless kandi bracelets on their arms were dead giveaways for where people were headed.

Unlike EDC itself, the event was completely free and open to the public regardless of age. As a local who grew up in Vegas, I would have loved to have something like this years ago when I was simply too young to attend the festival. People showed up dressed in a variety of ways, from attendees test-driving their festival best for this weekend to others (like me) keeping it casual for the rigors of walking on a sunny evening in Vegas.

The parade featured a mix of art cars and themed floats, with live DJs spinning house, dubstep, and even hardstyle techno, a more underground genre that doesn’t always make it onto the main stages. The crowds grew larger and larger as it moved down the Strip, making it hard to be a bystander watching all those having fun.

 As I hoped, the music was so good that I had to jump in and start dancing with my partner. There were people doing the same at every point along the route, from inside the parade itself to the sidewalks lining the boulevard.

“There was really something for everyone,” attendee Darlene Aguirre said. “Even if you weren't familiar with EDM, you could still find a sound or atmosphere along the parade route that pulled you in.”

It wasn't just the attendees who were pulled in. Groups formed dance circles in the street, and even security guards danced along while still keeping an eye on the festival. Even Insomniac’s Ground Control members (responsible for festival safety and wellness) joined in the celebration, dancing decked out in their favorite festival accessories. 

Despite the size of the crowd, the event also had high security. Las Vegas Metro Police maintained a heavy presence throughout the evening, as evidenced by helicopters circling overhead before the parade. Nearby casino properties like Sahara and Fontainebleau also had security posted up at the doors facing Las Vegas Boulevard. Given the scale of the event and the area, it felt very secure and well-controlled.

Surprise DJ Performances Made for a Full EDC Pre-Party 

The fun of the parade alone was enough to make it a great event, but for those deeply into the music culture, the DJ sets brought festival-level hype. Insomniac did not share in advance which artists would actually appear on the floats in the parade, which made my shock even greater as I recognized faces on the cars.

UK DJ James Hype must have seen my shocked face, which was the same as his here, when I realized he was the DJ playing the great music on this art car.

The crowd was all over James Hype and Meduza’s B2B (back-to-back) set. Their art car gained a huge following throughout the parade. Their appearance in Vegas made sense since both of them were set to take the stage at Zouk Nightclub later that night, just a short walk away from the parade route. 

DJ royalty Kaskade also appeared during the parade, which was absolutely the highlight of the night. His collaboration with Deadmau5, “I Remember,” has appeared in my Spotify Wrapped every year for the last six years (thanks to my sister, who has attended many EDCs of her own). 

He performed popular tracks during the parade alongside DJ Layton Giordani, including “Meet Again,” this year's official festival anthem. He'll headline EDC’s Kinetic Field on Saturday night and play at XS Nightclub on Monday, May 18, as part of his residency at Wynn Las Vegas.

I had high hopes that bass house DJ Knock2 would make an appearance, but he was busy headlining at Fontainebleau’s LIV Beach for those getting their EDC weekend started early. 

But one of the few DJs who actually did double up that day was Eli Brown. He performed earlier in the day at the freshly renovated Marquee Dayclub at The Cosmopolitan and re-emerged on the Strip as part of the parade. I'll take whatever these DJs are having to get them through the day like that! 

Angelica G, an attendee visiting from California, told me it made her more interested in attending larger festivals in the future.

 “I think making it free and open to everyone was a really smart idea,” she said. “It gives people who wouldn't normally go to EDC a chance to get a feel for the culture first.”

Seeing such big-name DJs in Las Vegas nightlife, appearing right on the Strip for a free event, was surreal. It made for a wonderful start to even more excitement to come at the festival. I can only hope the World Party Parade that shut down the Strip was someone’s first rave. If the event continues past just the 30th anniversary celebration, it could be one of the better things EDC Week has going for it beyond the Speedway itself.

Stay tuned for more festival coverage of Electric Daisy Carnival from Casinos.com.

All photos taken by Vanessa Alves-Johnson