There’s a Mad Max-themed event in the Mojave Desert called Wasteland Weekend. The people behind Wasteland Weekend decided to make another event, but this time cyberpunk-themed, called Neotropolis.
All I know about Neotropolis is what I see on the website so I’m curious if any of you have actually been there.
That looks cool AF
No, but this looks super cool.
I have been to every Neotropolis festival. What do you want to know?
Just in general, how is it? What do you do with yourself during the day? Do you have to stay in costume at all times or is there like a “staging area” to get ready?
In general, it’s a relatively small and tight-knit community that comes together to create an impressive fictional cyberpunk offworld outpost. The festival is expected to gradually grow in the future, but that will depend on attendance. This year, we had about 1,500 attendees.
Overall, it’s like one big immersive, role playing event. There’s plenty of official event-run and unofficial faction/camp entertainment, games, and activities day and night, but the majority of things (or at least, the best things) tend to be scheduled at night. If you’re bold enough to crawl out from whatever shade/shelter/RV you have and venture into the main area for an adventure while the sun is blazing, that’s your prerogative. However, most people just stay at their camps and try to beat the heat during the day. I’ve been to this location over a dozen times for Wasteland Weekend / Neotropolis, and sometimes, it’s not too hot during the day, but other times, well… yeah. It’s gets hot. 😅 Not unlike Burning Man, though.
It’s a lot of fun and if you do a little socializing, you can have real blast. There’s also free booze like EVERYWHERE. You will not want for alcohol. Donations are encouraged, though. 🍻 I usually pick up a handle of some variety of Kirkland liqueur to donate the first day of the event. You can also leverage your donations to get into exclusive parts of the festival. You just need to know where and with whom to give your donation. It’s part of the immersion. Otherwise, there’s a main booth that’s easy to find.
Costumes in the main area are officially “required”, but I’d say it’s more of a strong recommendation. Nobody is going to enforce it and send you back to your camp, especially during the daytime. You just might feel out-of-place without a costume.
If you’re still interested, check out their website. I’ll provide some links below to anything pertinent to what we discuss here. There are also a Facebook group with tons of additional information, so I advise you to check that out as well. Let me know if you have any more questions!
Website Homepage: https://www.neotropolis.com
About: https://www.neotropolis.com/about
General Info: https://www.neotropolis.com/general-info
Event Entertainment: https://www.neotropolis.com/entertainment
Faction/Camp Entertainment: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1J9DwI5FnjXB_MiX6sVf74cMZcYwahXJARB-GNeb_8SI/edit?fbclid=IwAR0_H8qeSItbBPNE6LS5qhSR5RNl-3xQqrUpUJY8pYThtldxRHGLaUROWSI#gid=463537770
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/neotropoliscentral/
Awesome, thanks for the info! I hope to go at some point but it’s more of a “bucket list” dream than an actual plan to go in the near future. I do have a friend that goes to Burning Man every year though, so at least this is within the realm of possibility. I really hope you guys can keep it going and that it continues to grow!
Heard of it. Haven’t made it to either of them.
