How to Host a Rave

Pay special attention to the guest list.

A rave is an all-night dance party at which electronic, jungle, trance, and house music is played. Unauthorized raves are typically held in the woods or in abandoned warehouses, while legal raves are often at nightclubs or in people's homes. Over the years, recreational drug use has become a large part of rave culture, but that doesn't mean all rave parties promote or even tolerate drug use. You can easily host your own fun, legal rave and dance the night away with all your friends.

Things You'll Need

• Refreshments
• Snacks
• Music equipment
• Glow sticks

Instructions

1. Find a place to host the rave. Ask event managers at local nightclubs what they would charge to have a rave on their premises, otherwise you can have the rave at your house or a friend's house.

2. Invite your friends and trusted acquaintances. Let the rowdy people stay at home.

3. Notify the neighbors. If you are having the rave at a private home, it is very important that to notify the neighbors in advance, or the neighbors might have the police break up your party.

4. Buy refreshments. With lots of high-energy dancing, your guests are going to need lots of liquid refreshment. Buy bottles of water, juices, soft drinks, and flavored teas. If you can buy them at a wholesale store or super-saver club, so much the better. You can also get snacks such as chips, candy, and cut-up fruit.

5. Clear the dance floor. If you can, move couches and other furniture into one room with all of the decorative breakables. Lock that room or mark it off-limits during the party.

6. Set up the music equipment. At the very least, you should have a set of speakers and a stereo system. If you can, ask a friend with turntables and DJ equipment to play music for the party. Set up a barrier between the DJ equipment and the party space so that overzealous dancers do not accidentally damage the equipment. You could reposition some of your furniture pieces to create the barrier.

7. Create a music playlist. You or your DJ friend should put together a playlist with 12 hours of music.

8. Decorate the space. Raves take place with the lights off, so buy some glow sticks in bulk to mark different spaces. For extra ambiance, rent a fog machine or strobe lights from a local party store.

Tips & Warnings

• Let the rave be all about the music and the dancing; don't allow drugs to ruin your rave.

References

• Ravers: What Is a Rave?
• Trip Project Toronto Canada: Preparing to Party