20 UCW NOVEMBER 19-25, 2014
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM
Manuel Gonzalez and his friends used to go to other cities and even
other states when they were looking to
party. Now, people from out of state ask
Gonzalez and his friends to come and host
events for them.
"We would go to these parties and have
a great time and come home wonder
-
ing why there wasn't anything like this
in Fayetteville," said Gonzalez. "So we
started throwing our own parties that
were just as fun and just as interesting
as the ones we had to drive far away to
get to. Now we get calls from businesses
in Charlotte, establishments in South
Carolina and we are even getting calls
from Atlanta and other places asking if
we can do a party for them."
Case in point, on Nov. 22, The Rock
Shop hosts Neon Riot — a night of paint
splashing, dancing music and more.
Gonzalez and his company provide
between six and eight DJs, performers, dancers and more than 50 gallons
of neon washable paint — all to show Fayetteville an amazing time. Neon
Riot parties take place every other month and each one is considerably
bigger than the last.
This is not your standard dance party. With more than 40 DJs in rota
-
tion and between six and eight DJs at each party, there is never a dull
moment. Painters roam the dance floor, generously applying glow in
the dark neon paint to guests. Partyers amp it up with glow-in-the-dark
accessories like bracelets and glow sticks. The fun rages on till about
11:30 p.m. when DJs take the stage and prep the crowd for the neon riot,
which takes place around midnight.
"We get up on stage and shoot about 50
to 75 gallons of glow in the dark neon paint
into the crowd," said Gonzalez. "It is really
cool to see and a great time for the crowd."
The group also partnered with a color
run that came through Fayetteville earlier
this year by hosting a colorful neon after-
party for the run.
Now that Gonzalez and his cohorts have
built a name for themselves as event orga
-
nizers they are looking to bring performers
and other artists on board to attend Neon
Riots and Bass Boom, another party event
that is popular for great music and danc
-
ing. "We didn't plan for it to grow this way
but it is an exciting new direction and it
makes sense for what we are doing to ad
this to our business model."
With so much success, Gonzalez is look
-
ing to share his good fortune with local
charities next year. "When we started this we were tired of going out of
state or out of town to go to parties," Gonzalez said. "Now we are throw-
ing parties like the kinds they have in major metropolitan areas and we
want to share our good fortune with some worthy causes and give back."
See what the fun is all about at https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=2k16qKL-KRM&noredirect=1
Find out more about
Neon Riot at https://
www.facebook.com/
CarolinaCommittee.
Neon Riot: Not Your Mama's Dance Party
BY STEPHANIE CRIDER
Neon Riot is not your standard dance party.
STEPHANIE CRIDER, Editor, COMMENTS?
Editor@upandcomingweekly.com.
910.484.6200.
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