2012-06-08

 The name Electric Daisy Carnival has a benign ring to it, like a cross between a geeky tech convention as well as a flower show. But the three-night music-dance festival that will reverberate this weekend at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway is one of the biggest DJ-driven music events of its kind in North America as well as it could beget upward of $136 million for the Clark County economy.

This years EDC is expected to attract 115,000 partying souls each night about 345,000 in total, which is roughly equal to the population of St. Louis, Mo.The EDCs producer, Insomiac Events, has set up seven production stages at the speedway for performances by about 100 DJs as well as about 500 theatrical acts.

The A-list of DJs includes David Guetta, Tisto, Moby as well as Kaskade, top European names like Armin van Buuren as well as Avicii, as well as Las Vegas regulars such as Calvin Harris as well as Erick Morillo.

The Blue Man Group is one of the more well-known production acts.Festival hours will run from 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., when the speedway will be filled with throbbing beats of electronica, state-of-the-art lighting as well as large-scale art installations. Carnival rides will be set up on the 1,000-acre complex, as well as circus performers, such as fire twirlers, jugglers as well as stilt walkers, will roam the grounds.The 16-year-old EDC, based in Los Angeles, is being held for the second time in Las Vegas after drawing a little 200,000 revelers a year ago.On Thursday, Erika Raney, director of communications for Insomniac Events, gave a tour to media at the speedway, which she called "a small city." And she's not far off.

To prepare for the more than 100,000 revelers each day, the organizers transformed the speedway grounds into a self-sufficient venue with resources that include an on-site hospital as well as cooling lounges.Four indoor, air-conditioned cooling zones will provide a respite from the heat. But with dehydration as well as other ailments as well as injuries inevitable, about 20 ! nurses a s well as doctors as well as 64 EMTs will be on-site to provide medical attention free of charge, Raney said.Such medical as well as safety precautions are of particular importance to organizers considering the festivals troubled past. Last years Electric Daisy Carnival was moved to Las Vegas from Dallas following the death of an underage fan as well as the hospitalization of at least two dozen others. Nearly identical circumstances befell the 2010 festival in Los Angeles, prompting its move to Dallas.The festival is sold out, but if youve got money to burn, there are still spots available in the main stage VIP area on Friday as well as Sunday for a cool $3,000 per table.

The plush velvet dcor of the VIP section, curated by the Cosmopolitans Marquee nightclub, will be complemented by a garden as well as koi ponds. Sam Morris A sculpture waits to be placed at the Electric Daisy Carnival Thursday, Jun 7, 2012, at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The main stage continues to hold the title of the largest temporary stage in North America, as well as organizers are expanding the fan area this year by 30 percent to accommodate up to 55,000 people. The main stage will also feature enhanced light displays synced to the music. Changes this year include the addition of a seventh Q-dance stage, as well as organizers drew on fan feedback for other adjustments: The modest Discovery stage has been transformed from a casual lounge to a stage booked with emerging talent selected by fans via social media campaigns.Much of the dirt as well as gravel under the festival's carnival rides as well as interactive art installations has been paved over to minimize dust. Water stations have been repositioned to minimize crowding as attendees navigate between stations. Our focus was on how to make the fan experience better, safer as well as more accommodating, Raney said. We want to give back to this community as much as they put in. The return t! o the co mmunity is more than just the enjoyment as well as experience of the performances.An economic impact study done for Insomniac by Beacon Economics estimated last years EDC pumped more that $136 million into the Clark County economy.Beacon said local attendees were responsible for about $5 million of the economic impact, with nonlocals bringing in $109 million as well as Insomniac about $23 million.Beacon estimated last years attendees spent about $19.5 million for hotel rooms, $16.8 million for food, $10.5 million for transportation, $9.3 million for entertainment, $7.8 million for gaming as well as $7.2 million on retail purchases.

The study also found last years festival generated about $8.9 million in tax revenue. Sam Morris "Serpent Mother," a sculpture by Bay Area art collective Flaming Lotus Girls, gets assembled for the Electric Daisy Carnival Thursday, Jun 7, 2012 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. But when you get that many people together, there are safety concerns.Metro Police, which made about 61 arrests at last years event, plans to have about 500 officers at the festival over the weekend, mostly to deal with crowd control, traffic as well as any illicit drug use."Were just basically there to keep the peace, Marcus Martin, a Metro public information officer, said Thursday. When you move that many people in as well as out, its like at the races or any other large event, traffic control is essential.Police said they would take a zero-tolerance stance toward illegal drug use. Last year, police arrested 26 people on drug-related charges.In terms of the weather, festivalgoers will see clear skies but will find a little warm temperatures as well as gusty winds Friday as well as Saturday nights.For Friday, the National Weather Service is predicting an afternoon high at the speedway of about 100 degrees, with the temperature dropping to about 76 overnight. The winds will be from the southeast at about 20 mph as we! ll as gu sting as high as 32 mph, forecasters said.Saturday's high will reach about 97 degrees, but temperatures will drop off overnight to a low of about 71 dgreees, with winds gusting close to 30 mph. Sunday's high will reach 92 degrees, with temperatures cooling to a low of about 69 degrees by early Monday morning. Powered By iWebRSS.co.cc

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