The immersive experience destination west of the Strip is a menagerie of artwork and installations, performance spaces, dance floors, food and beverage options and assorted uplifting indoor and outdoor attractions. It’s a wonderland author Lewis Carroll could appreciate, and would surely understand, if his fictional White Rabbit did not want to be late for massive events such as We’re All Mad Here.
Massive, that is, in both scope and classification. The April 6 event resembles a rave but is next-level in planning, execution and atmosphere. The use of “massive” as a term for a dance music event comes from dancehall reggae culture, where competing sound systems and promoters battled it out with outdoor parties.
Raves added concepts and themes inspired by children’s classics such as The Wizard of Oz, The Cat in the Hat and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Cosplay became integral as raves gave way to the EDM era. Now We’re All Mad Here has the benefit of taking adventurers down a rabbit hole into an indoor-outdoor wonderland where it’s always teatime for mad hatters.
Belgian techno DJ and producer Charlotte de Witte tops a bill of talent scheduled to play the outdoor A-lot that includes Tiga, Danny Daze, Hiroko Yamamura and Lizzie Aguirre. Justin Jay and The Disco Divers will take over The Portal, while Bodies and Beats will dive into their set inside The Wall.
Costumes and three-dimensional scenic design blur the lines between fantasy and reality, with playing-card guards and hookah-smoking caterpillars adding to the ambience. Are they hired actors and models or attendees wise to the ways of cosplay? There is no pressure to come in full tea party regalia, but for those who feel out of place without appropriate festive accoutrements, AREA15 has a boutique for that. Wild Muse has a selection of celebratory apparel, art and accessories that range from iconic to eccentric.
Massives continue throughout the year at AREA15 with Secret Garden on May 4, a summertime Galactic Zoo, and Halloween-themed ScAREA15. Any visit to one of the large-scale festivals can be complemented with excursions to AREA15 offerings such as sky-touching aerial ride Liftoff, supermarket fantasy world Omega Mart and pinball and games hall Asylum Bar + Arcade.
Art installations can be found any time of day but can take on a special glow after imbibing a Drink Me option at We’re All Mad Here. Outdoor gallery Art Island features Ivan McLean’s fire-breathing metal dragon El Scorcho and Henry Chang’s stainless steel art car Valyrian Steel.
There is also a 12-foot-tall skull, Shogyo Mujo by Bart Kresa and Joshua Harker, at the entrance of the main building that is layered with projection mapping synchronized to music. Every angle provides a different sightline and a different experience, which makes the three-dimensional collaboration a suitable metaphor for AREA15 itself.
Every visit leads to an adventure unlike any undertaken before. And now AREA15 offers Experience Passes, with four different access levels, Level 4 being a three-day pass that gets you into everything at AREA15.
3215 S. Rancho Drive. area15.com
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