This past weekend, September 4-6, Nocturnal Wonderland returned to the outskirts of Los Angeles, where Insomniac's kandi-clad army, the last bastion of rave in America, took to the dancefloor for the festival's biggest edition to date.Of the 85,000 in attendance, we nestled in deep amidst party kids of every ilk to find the raviest raver of all and ask them the question: "What does it mean to you to be a raver?"
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"The culture, you know. Like just everyone being together, just vibing together."
"I try to apply PLUR to real life, like when I go out I try to do a random act of kindness every day. If someone asks me for a cigarette, I'll give them two. Even being here today, I see people here for different reasons, like not so much for the music, but for the drugs and for the girls."The interview was cut short as some friends ran up and tackled him to the ground…lovingly, we assume.
"Being a raver means being a part of something bigger, something universal. Something unites us, the music unites us. Look at us here, we're all different races, different religions, we're all out here getting along, there's no animosity, and there's nothing but good vibes. That's what I love about raving."
"Being a raver means being part of a bigger community. It's all about the music, about being with each other. It's all about fuckin' loving each other and having a good time with each other, and I love that."
"Being a raver is all about peace, love, happiness, and enjoying your surroundings…togetherness, and being a part of something."
"For me, it started off being for the love of music, but now that I've been raving, it's all about the relationships and connections that you make with people from all over the world."
"Being a raver means being free, being the person you wanna be, you're you, you don't have to hide who you are, you get accepted by everyone. It's the one place on earth where you can dress however you want, you can be yourself and you're not gonna get judged for that."
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"I truly think that if people brought what they were in the rave scene, it would really help outside of here because most people don't bring PLUR to the normal world."
"Being a raver means being connected to people all over the world that don't know each other, but are coming together for the same reason, to enjoy life, to enjoy the experience with each other.""It doesn't matter where you come from, when you step through those gates you're completely where you need to be at that moment. Life is on pause, you step away from everything that matters and you come into your own world. And you get to be who you want, you get to embrace being a kid again. You get to embrace dressing up, and just looking how you want and being yourself fully in a community that accepts you in a world that does not necessarily do that."All photos by Jennica Abrams.