http://www.chron.com/life/article/Get-a-peek-at-Day-For-Night-s-VIP-experience-12427527.php
Get a peek at Day For Night's VIP experience
Updated 6:21 pm, Wednesday, December 13, 2017
HEADLINERS: Day for Night music festival 2017 lineup
Singer Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails performs onstage during FYF Fest on July 23, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. The legendary industrial act is the one of the main headliners for this year's edition of the Day for Night music and visual arts festival located near downtown Houston, set for Dec. 16 and Dec. 17, 2017.
lessHEADLINERS: Day for Night music festival 2017 lineup
Singer Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails performs onstage during FYF Fest on July 23, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. The legendary industrial act is the one
... moreIt may still be in its infancy, but Houston-born-and-raised art and music festival Day For Night has ambitious plans for its VIP area. That includes making it a visually stunning shelter from bustling crowds and long lines.
This year's VIP footprint will be divided among three spaces: two closed-off areas at the Green and Reds stages, for those who want to enjoy a better vantage point of their favorite acts, and a centrally located lounge-like hub of free food and drinks.
The centerpiece VIP area will be a two-story space where the select set of concertgoers can enjoy unlimited drinks, bites from local restaurants — including Fabian's Latin Cuisine and Ramen Tatsu-Ya — and a relaxed respite from the rest of the high-energy festival, which is in its third year.
VIPs will also have access to a special light installation, designed in part by architecture firm Gensler visionary Jeannie Wu, who this year is working alongside creative director Kiffer Keegan, with New York-based design agency Work Order, which is a co-founder of the festival.
PLAN AHEAD: Day for Night releases set times, will keep the party going until 2 a.m.
"It just makes sense that we're all working together," Keegan said. "We can connect a lot of those dots that weren't connected before. So now we have this power of not only interior design and art and creative direction working together, like an architect and an interior designer would."
Another New York-based creative team, Various Projects, will also be handling the VIP experience this time around.
Keegan said they're collectively ensuring there's "an idea behind it, not just, 'Hey here's a bar, here's some tables and chairs.' You should fee like you're in the culmination of a curated experience."
The theme behind this year's exclusive spaces is "Sky and Cloud," an homage to Day For Night name.
"One of the reasons we named it Day For Night is there's a lot of transition between night and day, and nothing explains that better than having a sunset time-lapse," he explained.
The light installations that attract art lovers to the fest will feature prominently in the VIP section, with the space glowing from a light-covered wall.
"This should look like a jewel wrapped in glass. It should be a soothing, calming, cool, hip, diamond-like allure. It's what you're going to want to be in. You'll be able to see it from afar and say, 'What is that? I want to be in there.'"
The creative teams thinks they've been able to fine-tune and tweak this year's VIP package, compared to previous festival weekends. They've smoothed out kinks on goody bags and have implemented a team to ensure guests who've paid for upgraded tickets will have an experience that stands out from the general viewing areas.
"The VIP experience has been elevated tremendously. We brought in a lot more resources. We know where in previous years we weren't as strong, and we've corrected these mistakes," Keegan explained.
The team is eager to see this year's fest turn out better than before, DFN director of communications Dutch Small said. Small has helped coordinate communication among the creative teams and the local media market, in addition to broadcasting the Houston-born festival to international outlets.
"Day For Night is like planning a wedding," Keegan explained. "You plan it for a year and then we have one chance to execute it. And we're not as conceited to think that we don't have all this figured out. We're learning everyday and trying to make this the best possible thing it can be."
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