Two rumors, “there’s nothing for teens to do in Amarillo” and “all raves are only for druggies and wreckless partiers” are totally wrong.  If you’re sitting at home with your friends asking the question that epitomizes boredom, “I know don’t know, what do you want to do?” I have an answer for you.  Teen raves like the one that will be at the NAT Ballroom on sixth street Sept. 17 are a great way for teenagers to blow off some steam.

When entering into a teen rave, one might expect to see flashing strobe lights, boldly colored luminescent glow sticks and rave gloves, which are gloves with led light sewn inside. They might also see people in costumes according to the theme. For an example, at the Sept. 3 teen rave at the NAT, people dressed as characters pertaining to Alice and Wonderland such as Alice, Mad Hatter, Chesire Cat and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.  Another obvious asset is the music.  The DJ’s of Amarillo like DJ Alphaa and DJ Dimps “kept the heart beat of the ballroom at the NAT pumping,” one Facebooker posted.  Genres like Electro, Dubstep, Drums and Bass (all variations of techno), and Spit Poetry (acapella rap, usually about political issues) are usually emitting from the speakers at a rave like this.

Before attending a rave, students should be aware there is a difference between a “teen rave” and a traditional rave.  The difference between a teen rave and a traditional rave is teen raves are planned intentionally for the safety and enjoyment of teenagers with a decent security guard to guest ratio.  Teen raves are also publicly advertised openly inviting those who exhibit the concept of P.L.U.R. (peace, love, unity, and respect) originated by a DJ in New York. As opposed to teen raves, traditional raves are advertised underground or by word alone, not wanting authorities to hear about it for the risk of being searched and seized for drugs and alcohol. 

The NAT is located at 604 S Georgia St. For more information about future teen raves, you can contact them at (806) 236-6482.