Awesome People We Met at EDC Las Vegas 2018 Day 2

Sometimes, the energy during the second day of any festival tends to slump. The people on the dancefloor are tired and don’t feel like going crazy with their costumes. Understandable. But this was certainly not the case at this year’s EDC Las Vegas. There were loads of eye-catching outfits and fully decked-out Headliners tucked in every crevice of the Speedway. These are but a few of the ones we ran into while roaming the grounds on day two. You should give them the time of day, because they truly deserve it.

Name: Lora , Ashton
Age: 28 (Lora); 29 (Ashton)
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV (Both)
Occupation: Dancer, stilt walker, and circus performer (Lora); dancer (Ashton)
Number of EDCs: First one in 2007 but hasn’t been to every one (Lora); 6 (Ashton)

Tell us your highlight from the first day of EDC.
Lora: Excision—I listen to his music the most. Last year, his set was really disappointing, because the music kept cutting out and it totally killed the vibe. This year was my first full Excision set, and it was just perfect.

Ashton: Flux Pavilion and Doctor P went really hard. Classic.

Do you have any pro tips on how to make it through a three-day festival?
Both: We got all the pro tips!

Lora: I’m all about thinking ahead. I start green juicing at least two weeks before. You up your vitamin C. You do a liver detox. We bring electrolyte packs and protein powder, amino acids. We’re both vegan, so it’s easier to keep up your protein that way. We take EDC very seriously, and we do it right.

Ashton: We put our feet in Epsom salt bath when we wake up in the morning. The older you get, the more care you need. We’re going to keep going all the way through.

Lora: We’re not 21 anymore. We can’t just eat french fries and dance all night. My body hurts. Especially as dancers, our feet are all messed up.

What’s the nicest thing a stranger has done for you at a party?
Lora: Last year, I got this cuff bracelet. This guy, we started talking, and he said every year this piece is passed along. You have to give it to a stranger, and it must be the most special person you’ve met over the weekend—you’ll just know once you meet them. But you have to pay it forward every year. I thought it was so dope. I haven’t given it away yet, but I think tonight’s the night.

Ashton: My first year, I wore these big foam wings. We were watching Bassnectar way down front, and we were like shoulder-to-shoulder. And this big dude, with this scary-looking face, he was so cool about it. He was like, “I love your wings; don’t worry about me. Keep going—you’re fine!” And then we raged together. No other place in the world can you do that.

Name: Wes
Age: 27
Hometown: Hawaii
Occupation: Actor and acrobatic coach
Number of EDCs: 4

Tell us your highlight from the first day of EDC.
The highlight of day one was getting to see all of my friends that I hadn’t seen in a long time, and just getting to come back into this alternate world. I love being in this world with all of these beautiful characters and performers and music.

Do you have any pro tips on how to make it through a three-day festival?
Pace yourself. You’re coming to Vegas, there are all of these pool parties happening and things going on, but if you want to come to EDC for all three days, then you’re going to need to take it easy and drink a lot of water before and during the event.

What’s the nicest thing a stranger has done for you at a party?
Day three of my first EDC, I couldn’t find one of my best friends, and I started panicking. Someone came up to me, gave me a huge hug, and said, “Calm down. Your friend is fine; you’re going to be fine. Breathe, relax. We got this.” And they invited me to come with them to the shuttle area and really comforted me when I was feeling pretty lost.

Name: Tony
Age: 61
Hometown: New Mexico
Occupation: Retired veteran
Number of EDCs: First one

Tell us your highlight from the first day of EDC.
Chilling in neonGARDEN. I dig those vibes. I got in the mix, and it was beautiful, moving around through the crowd with people like this—I love the shit out of it.

Do you have any pro tips on how to make it through a three-day festival?
Eat lightly, and have healthy foods. I eat apples and bananas and health bars. Don’t eat anything heavy. Cat naps during the day, too. I’m camping here, so try to sleep a little bit, but I don’t overdo it.

What’s the nicest thing a stranger has done for you at a party?
One time at Dreamstate, somebody walked up to me and told me I was their spirit animal. I didn’t understand it at that time, but I get it now, and it really created a moment for me when I realized what that was. I have had a lot of respect from these people and in this scene, and it means a lot to me.

Name: Nora
Age: 26
Hometown: Bay Area, CA
Occupation: Cosmetics
Number of EDCs: 2

Tell us your highlight from the first day of EDC.
Mike WILL Made-It at cosmicMEADOW—he was killing it! Oh, and all the rides. We shut down the splash ride because we were too heavy. I swear. (laughs)

Do you have any pro tips on how to make it through a three-day festival?
You have to have a hydropack, 100 percent. And eat before you get here, so you can eat and let it chill before you start drinking. When it’s hot, you should wear fewer clothes.

What’s the nicest thing a stranger has done for you at a party?
One time I was almost passed out from the heat, and they gave me water and helped me find my friends. It was cool.

Name: Josh
Age: Ha! No comment.
Hometown: Long Beach, CA
Occupation: Dance teacher
Number of EDCs: 3—I’m in it to win it now!

Tell us your highlight from the first day of EDC.
I just loved being here, meeting new people, trading kandi, and taking in the full community experience.

Do you have any pro tips on how to make it through a three-day festival?
Drink a lot of water, and be kind to people.

What’s the nicest thing a stranger has done for you at a party?
I’ve been lucky to have people come through for me when I need water or food or support. This is a beautiful community, and I’m proud to be part of it.

Name: Gab
Age: 29
Hometown: Vancouver, Canada
Occupation: Designer and animator at Titmouse Studios
Number of EDCs: 3

Tell us your highlight from the first day of EDC.
Walking around behind the stereoBLOOM stage, because the animation I worked on for Rick & Morty was looping over there. We were laughing about that.

Do you have any pro tips on how to make it through a three-day festival?
Wear your comfortable shoes. Make sure you’re always with a good friend and someone to watch over you at all times.

What’s the nicest thing a stranger has done for you at a party?
The other day at Virtual Self, there was a girl who was completely done up and had a bunch of kandi that she made specifically for his set. She was going around, and she gave me this little thing; she only had a few that she was giving to certain people.

Name: Jared
Age: 28
Hometown: Houston, TX
Occupation: Chemical surveyor
Number of EDCs: First one

Tell us your highlight from the first day of EDC.
Virtual Self, seeing Porter Robinson do what he loves and transition into a new genre. It was sick.

Do you have any pro tips on how to make it through a three-day festival?
Stay hydrated, and take breaks from dancing.

What’s the nicest thing a stranger has done for you at a party?
They gave me this perler. They gave me one of the best kandi pieces I’ve ever had, this year at this EDC. I was at Excision last night, and this woman saw the outfit I’m in currently, and she said, “You need this perler, because it perfectly matches everything you have.” She just gave it to me. I’m from the South, and we don’t really play with kandi that much, so it was really interesting to see this art.

Name: Hawra
Age: 21
Hometown: Kuwait
Occupation: Student
Number of EDCs: First time!

Tell us your highlight from the first day of EDC.
I met this girl Kelsea! She’s amazing, and we spent the night hanging out and wandering around together. I had a really nice time.

Do you have any pro tips on how to make it through a three-day festival?
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Come in with a full stomach, treat your body with respect, and don’t get into trouble!

What’s the nicest thing a stranger has done for you at a party?
Kelsea took care of me, even though they didn’t really know me. They gave me water, kept me company, and made sure I was having a great time.

Name: Parks
Age: 30
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Occupation: Manager at an engineering company
Number of EDCs: 6

Tell us your highlight from the first day of EDC.
Seeing Alan Walker close out kineticFIELD with the sun coming up. Amazing!

Do you have any pro tips on how to make it through a three-day festival?
Drink lots of water. Pace yourself.

What’s the nicest thing a stranger has done for you at a party?
Someone gave me a really awesome pair of defraction goggles one year.

Name: David
Age: 44
Hometown: Orange County, CA
Occupation: Restaurant server
Number of EDCs: 10

Tell us your highlight from the first day of EDC.
I want to give props to Astrix, but the night belongs to Dash Berlin—as funny as it sounds, because my friends know I really don’t like him. But he was amazing last night, and the classic set was off the hook.

Do you have any pro tips on how to make it through a three-day festival?
You need to definitely hydrate, but the whole preparation comes before the festival. You have to eat well, load up on carbs, and always have a protein shake in your car.

What’s the nicest thing a stranger has done for you at a party?
My phone died during EDC 2011, and somebody lent me his battery charger. This was before there were charging stations, so it was very nice of him.

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