Neon Carnival Party Coming to Arizona (Exclusive)

Different desert, same fun.

Neon Carnival, the exclusive annual late-night outdoor dance party with amusement park rides and games, made famous for its popularity amongst young Hollywood who flock to a private airport near Indio that is close to a major music festival each April, is coming to Phoenix on the same weekend as the Super Bowl, TheWrap’s Party Report has learned.

Also read: Neon Carnival: The Inside Story Behind Hollywood’s Biggest Party

Don Julio Tequila and nightclub brand 1 OAK are joining Bolthouse to throw the first traveling version of the euphoric after party at Castles-N-Coasters, an existing amusement park in Phoenix. Invitations for 1,500 to 2000 guests will start going out this weekend.

NYLON And Olay Fresh Effects Present Neon Carnival With GUESS

Jesse Metcalfe, Ashley Madekwe, Iddo Goldberg, and Cara Santana at the Neon Carnival in April 2014. (Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images)

At the most recent edition in April 2014, the newly Oscar’ed Jared Leto, Steven Tyler, Carmen Electra, Diddy and the Hilton sisters were among the revelers. Usher has pulled up in a tour bus in parties past.

“Super models were very excited that this is coming to Arizona,” Neon Carnival owner, ringmaster and producer Brent Bolthouse told TheWrap in an exclusive interivew.

“Longtime homies” of the Carnival DJ Ruckus and Politik will spin, holding true to the event’s format, which eschews live music in favor of big club DJs.

Brent Bolthouse on stage at his own event.

Brent Bolthouse snapping photos from the stage at his own event.

“We’ve been trying for years (to bring the party to other cities), producer and Neon Carnival owner Bolthouse said. “By some miracle it all came together.”

The Phoenix city council just issued final approval of the permits this week.

Although last-minute in pulling it off, Bolthouse’s production partner Jeffrey Best (who is simultaneously busy producing The Village at the Lift for Sundance this weekend) actually has a structural advantage in Arizona.

“It is an amusement park. It’s something that already existed,” Bolthouse said. By contrast, “an army of guys” living in trailers sets about building on the tarmac at a private airport in Thermal for three days to pull off the annual spring event.

Miles Teller enjoying the carnival. (Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Neon Carnival))

Don Julio has been a significant player on the social scene surrounding the Super Bowl for the past several years. In New Orleans, Erin Andrews and Michael Strahan hosted the Casa de Don Julio, an elite tasting dinner with seats filled by high-profile guests including Bill Simmons. Later, Diplo DJ’d with Lil Jon late into the night in the most exclusive event on Super Bowl eve.

The year before, in Indianapolis, they threw a very late party in a space reminiscent of a “Hoosiers”-era gym that was still packed at the time this party columnist had to leave for an early morning flight.

“This year we wanted to innovate and do something completely unique and unexpected, which makes the collaboration with Neon Carnival so exciting,” a rep for Don Julio tells TheWrap. “We are looking forward to celebrating together in Phoenix and we encourage all attendees and Big Game weekend visitors at large to always drink responsibly and designate a driver.”

Also Read: Victoria’s Secret Models Gear Up for the Super Bowl in Online Ad (Video)

1 OAK will help to organize tables and seating, though few attendees ever sit down at this party.

“You can hit the dance floor with your favorite DJ and then go ride the a carnival ride,” Bolthouse said. “It brings out this really fun thing in people that you don’t normally get at other parties that night.”

The other parties that night that will now be looking over their shoulders, including ESPN’s monstrous 2,500-person party at Westworld northeast of Scottsdale and Playboy’s party at the W hotel.

As for the future, the Neon Carnival could still turn up at other entertainment hubs throughout the year. The team is going to scout Austin right after the Super Bowl as a potential site to run during the same time as SXSW or the Austin City Limits festival in the fall.

Sundance Party Report in Pictures: Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, Kellan Lutz, Jason Segel (Updating Photos)

Keanu Reeves gets Seacrest'ed by Eli Roth as Lorenza Izzo and Collen Camp enjoy the breather while speaking with TheWrap's Jeff Sneider on Saturday.
Tiffany Rose/Getty Images for Chefdance
Pure as snow: Iggy Azalea performed at Billboard's Winter Fest on Saturday night.
Getty Images
Dianna Agron is in town for her drama "Zipper," with "Game of Thrones'" Lena Heady. On her first trip to Sundance, she hit Birchbox's pop-up shop to cut down on the delivery time of the subscription beauty/grooming company.
Tiffany Rose/Getty Images
Rashida Jones, who produced the amateur-to-professional porn documentary "Hot Girls Wanted" that debuted on Saturday afternoon at the Temple Theatre. She and the crew celebrated at the Merrell #Trailscape.
Miles Mortensen
A frequent site in Park City: cell phone charging stations. If half the money spent on parties went to solar energy research, this could be obsolete by next Sundance.
Mikey Glazer
Lori Singer and John Leguizamo celebrate the Stanley Milgram biopic "Experimenter" at the Grey Goose Blue Door on Sunday night. DJ Spider would close it down with a early 1990s hip hop dance party afterwards.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
"Flight of the Conchord's" Jemaine Clement and Sean Rad at the Tinder Arts & Cinema Centre's party for "Tig & People Places and Things" on Sunday night.
David Edwards/DailyCeleb
Catherine Durickas from The SpinOffs with Catdance host Nikki Reed. The heavily promoted "feline" film event remains a head scratcher.
Roxy Manning gets the scoop on "Animals" from Mark and Jay Duplass at the Kia Supper Suite by STK on Saturday night.
David Edwards/DailyCeleb
Robert Redford, Nick Nolte, and Nick Offerman form an impressive round table at the Acura studio on Saturday afternoon.
(Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Acura)
Sarah Silverman looks overwhelmed as she ducked in off Main Street to hit Kari Feinstein's Style Lounge, which has been giving full trips (including airfare) to Aruba.
After spending the day on the press circuit, Kid Cudi and director Josh Mond goofed off at a dinner celebrating their film "James White" hosted by Sabra Hummus at Ciseros.
Michael Bezjian
Star Trek co-stars Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto hit up the same Sabra Hummus House for a cross-film kick off party celebrating indy filmmakers.
Michael Bezjian
Director Ramin Bahrani and Michael Shannon strike a pose while celebrating "99 Homes" on the opening weekend.
Michael Bezjian
Toni Collette came through the busy space housing TheWrap's Interview Studio at the Indiegogo Lounge and picked up some fuel at the Tim Hortons Cafe and Bake Shop in the space that will house Iggy Azalea's concert on Saturday night.
Tiffany Rose/Getty Images for Chefdance
She also signed in to Rock & Reilly's, which has been an industry hangout all festival. Thursday night had the densest concentration of L.A. publicists and media in one room actually paying for their own drinks.
Donald Margulies, James Ponsoldt and Jason Segel had one of the hot parties on Friday for "The End of Tour". They broke in the Grey Goose Blue Door on its first night. (Michael Loccisano)
(Michael Loccisano)
Later in the night, Nicole Kidman would party there for "Strangerland".
(Michael Loccisano)
Cool photo opp at the TR Suites. Newly minted Golden Globe winner Gina Rodriguez and Henry Esteve stayed at ground level on the "Vuarnet Sunglasses Lift" supported by Otterbox.
(Alexandra Wyman/AP Invision)
Ryan Hawke and Ethan Hawke at the "Ten Thousand Saints" premiere on Friday night.
George Pimentel/Getty Image
Kiana Madani, Thomas Middleditch, Gary Cole, and Jay Duplass toast "The Bronze" at the Kia Supper Suite by STK.
David Edwards/Daily Celeb
Festival regular Andie McDowell arrives in one of the ubiquitous Kia Sorentos shuttling talent around town.
David Edwards/Daily Celeb
Former SAG president and screen legend Ed Asner is at Sundance on the weekend of the SAG awards. He found some rare personal space with Lois Rezler at the Kia Supper Suite.
David Edwards/Daily Celeb
Josh Hutcherson took a pause with Murilo Bueno at the Merrell Trailscape, where the crown jewel is the Oculus Rift.
Miles Mortensen
Ken Sunshine joined HFPA President Theo Kingma and Sunshine Sachs' Michael Samonte at the HFPA's first event at Sundance -- a party at the Sky Lodge with THR where DJ Jesse Marco got people dancing with "Remix to Ignition."
Al Powers/Powers Imagery
Festival regular Kellan Lutz hit Tao late on Friday, which has Elyx as its partner this year.
Scott Roth/AP Images
Ethan Hawke is amongst the first to tag the hood of an Acura TLX that will be auctioned off for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation after the festival.
California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom popped up on Heber at the Merrell Trailscape on Friday.
Miles Mortensen
Sean P. Means, John Cooper, Keri Putnam, and Sundance chief Robert Redford kicked off the festival at the annual Day One Press Conference on Thursday.
(Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Sundance)
Delta ran a festival shuttle in conjunction with UTA from LAX on Thursday, raffling off business class tickets to Shanghai, Paris, "anywhere in the 50 states," and "anywhere in Mexico" on board. People actually talked to their seat neighbors on the all-industry flight. The pilots hawked a script.
(Mikey Glazer)
UTA's Jeremy Barber with Delta's Ranjan Goswami, who closed down Lemonade in LAX for an industry pre-flight brunch. "Bad news, Jeremy Zimmer did not make the flight. Good news, we have his credit card and we will be buying drinks," Goswami said over the flight's P.A.
Post flight, official Sundance vehicles awaited faces like Adam Scott.
Gustavo Caballero/GC Images via Getty Images
Billboards and signage still taking shape.
(George Pimentel/Getty Images for Sundance)
Films looking for daylight get an early jump on poster space along Main Street.
(Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for Sundance)
Already full ... and it is not even dark on Thursday yet.
(George Pimentel/Getty Images for Sundance)
Meanwhile back in L.A., Francis Ford Coppola and former Academy President Sid Ganis presented Dagmar Dolby with a star on the walk of fame. Dagmar Dolby accepted for her late husband, Ray Dolby, whose name now emblazons the home of the Oscars.
(Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)