Photo: Zocha Group – Dance in the Desert at the Neon Carnival 2026

Over the years, the annual Neon Carnival has blossomed into becoming one of Coachella’s most highly-coveted party wristbands. The A-list guest list limited to celebrities, influencers, and industry insiders creates an incredible night as guests indulge in carnival games, rides, and unforgettable live performances in the middle of the desert. This highly sought-after invite grants you exclusive access to experience the social event of the year at Neon Carnival 2026.

Please Note: Access to the event is at the discretion of the organizer and submitting a request does not guarantee access. Zocha Group will review your request and contact you with more information if we are able to accommodate.

To be considered for access, please only send one request inquiry per person, noting the events you are interested in attending. Please do not use the “auto-fill” feature and ensure you have entered the name of the event or your request will be invalid. Event invitations are not for sale. Only events with dates listed have been confirmed for 2026. To be further considered for access, please follow @zochagroup on Instagram and TikTok.

The carnival is produced by Jeffrey Best and Best Events with nightlife impresario Brent Bolthouse—the creative behind Bungalow Hospitality Group’s well-admired Bungalow bars in Santa Monica and Huntington Beach. The group has more recently opened dining venues The Bungalow Long Beach and The Bungalow Kitchen by Michael Mina Tiburon. His impact in the industry spans decades, leading his event company Bolthouse Productions to continuously impress with their creativity, detail, and knack for orchestrating a good time.

Neon Carnival 2026 marks 15 years of partying hard in the desert, and the festivities show no signs of slowing down. On Saturday, April 12th, the immense Desert International Horse Park will be transformed into an enormous fun fair spanning the length of three football fields, complete with games, music, food and drinks, and the iconic Levis Ferris wheel. The scope and spectacle grow every year, solidly cementing Neon Carnival as one of Coachella’s Hottest Parties.

Neon Carnival 2026 will bring back familiar favorites alongside new sights and sounds. Previous year’s Neon Carnival featured an electrifying lineup with Charly Jordan, Chase B, viral TikTok sensation DJ Hunny Bee, Vanderpump Rules star DJ James Kennedy, and the legendary Anderson .Paak, who took the stage as his alter ego, DJ DJ Pee Wee—spinning vinyl and delivering a high-energy set with a live horn player and drum kit. Their unforgettable performances set the bar high. With a lineup this stacked, Neon Carnival 2026 is shaping up to be one for the history books.

Last year, Levi’s returned as a sponsor, bringing back their iconic branded Ferris Wheel, while Patrón El Alto made waves by not only serving up custom cocktails at the bars but also introducing VIP table service—a first for Neon Carnival. Liquid I.V. brought the fun with their signature bumper car installation, doubling as an interactive photo op. Other standout sponsors included Ghost Energy, Nütrl Vodka Seltzers, Heineken, La Croix, Coca-Cola, French Bee Airlines, Tangle Teezer, and Path Water, marking their third consecutive year. Each brand brought their A-game, making for an unforgettable experience.

Please Note: Access to the event is at the discretion of the organizer and submitting a request does not guarantee access. Zocha Group will review your request and contact you with more information if we are able to accommodate.

To be considered for access, please only send one request inquiry per person, noting the events you are interested in attending. Please do not use the “auto-fill” feature and ensure you have entered the name of the event or your request will be invalid. Event invitations are not for sale. To be further considered for access, please follow @zochagroup on Instagram.

Photo: Neon Carnival

In the early Neon Carnival days, the party was an even more exclusive indoor event at the Barker Hangar in Thermal, CA. It was a party fully-stocked with Hollywood elites as a private place to escape to after the festival with only a few-hundred guests on the invite list. The outdoor carnival aspect didn’t come into play until 2010, inspired by another of Bolthouse’s famous private parties held at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Each year the Neon Carnival has grown, with the event switching locations in 2018 to HITS Desert Horse Park, a larger space for an increased guest list of 8,000 attendees. The new guest list has expanded even further to include 10,000 attendees.

Photo: Zocha Group – Neon Carnival

Past Neon Carnival events are well-known for drawing in a kaleidoscope of A-listers. It may be no surprise that attendees have included regular clubgoers like Drake, Justin Bieber, Rihanna and Paris Hilton, but when Hollywood royalty like Leonardo Dicaprio and Clint Eastwood also show up for the festivities, the carnival’s status is cemented as being the best of the best. Last year’s party brought Camila Cabello, Metro Boomin, and Lil Nas X, but if there’s one thing we know about Neon Carnival, the guests get more glamorous every year.

Photo: Zocha Group – Dance in the Desert at the Neon Carnival 2026

The big question hopeful attendees have each year is, “How do you get a wristband?” Bolthouse cites close-knit industry relationships as being the number one source for the guest list. Invites go out to talent agencies, record labels, and the numerous nightlife connections Bolthouse has developed over the years. 

The curated selection of invitees are given a time and place for advanced check-in where they pick up their wristbands in Los Angeles within the weeks prior to the event. The 2019 event marked the first year the check-in location was made to feel like a party itself, with a red carpet, photo station, complimentary beverages and a lounge space for guests waiting in line for their wristbands. The sale of knock-offs online are a given for an event of this prominence, but Bolthouse ensures that the official wristbands can’t be removed for resale. Entry for the priceless event can’t be purchased, where even the extremely limited number of bottle service tables are quickly bought up by invited VIPs. 

Invite requests are at the discretion of Bolthouse Productions and Best Events, with influencers and highly-followed Instagram accounts likely to receive priority. According to Bolthouse himself, anyone with a dream of waltzing into the event is best off getting to know him personally through one of his many bar and nightlife ventures.

You won’t miss out on any Coachella acts as the Carnival is always held after the closing artist has ended. Neon Carnival has never been directly affiliated with the festival and has always been an event for post-Coachella, which has helped cultivate a friendship rather than competition between the two events.

Whether you’re one of the lucky invited guests, or a spectator hoping to make it to the list one day, excitement continues to mount as all eyes will be on the Neon Carnival this Coachella season. Its 11th installment will be sure to bring new surprises as guests party until the sun comes up at one of the hottest social events of the year.