“It’s wild and amazing,” she said. “It’s everything I expected and more.”

On Friday, DayGlow came to the Lansing Center, 333 E. Michigan Ave., in Lansing, to expose students and residents to a night of live performances, techno music and neon paint.

The line at Lansing Center’s entrance ran for some distance along Michigan Avenue, composed of hundreds of people wearing cut-up white T-shirts, tall neon socks, light-up shirts and paint suits.

Starting at 8 p.m., students filed into the building and surrounded the stage. After an introduction to disc jockeys David Solano and Dirty South, a timer displayed on a large screen on stage began counting down the minutes until paint would be incorporated into the party.

There were performances by a variety of artists, including go-go dancer Lauren Davis. The Central Michigan University student wore a jeweled turquoise costume, complete with a headpiece adorned with large feathers and sequins.

When Davis was asked to perform, she said it was an offer she couldn’t pass up.

“Right when I heard about (DayGlow), I was on top of it,” she said. “I think (this event) is reaching out to broadcast techno and connect it to the students to make it fun.”

Davis danced on stage to electronic beats while the disc jockeys performed.
Premedical freshman Jeff Territo was excited by the quality of music playing all throughout the night.

“On a car (stereo) system, the bass would sound weak, but here the speakers are so big, it’s amazing,” he said. “You can feel the beat in your chest.”

Davis’ act was followed by costumed stilt performers in bird masks spraying into the audience confetti and CO2, or compressed air with a fog-like appearance. Two acrobats performed on long, navy blue fabric hanging from the ceiling, holding themselves in the air by balancing and twisting in the ropes in a variety of poses.

Then, the countdown ran out. At 10:36 p.m., the paint began to fly.

DayGlow performers and crowd volunteers stood in front of the barricades facing the jumping audience, blasting blue, green and pink paint from self-pumped paint guns into the mass of excited students roaring with approval.

Covered in paint, Borkowski said she had never been to an event comparable to DayGlow.

“It’s sticky, gooey and a great experience,” she said.

Dancing toward the back of the crowd were MSU alumni Lauren Shannon, Jen Henry and Lauren Stafford, three friends dressed in costumes created especially for the paint party.

“After hearing about the event from some friends, we made (tutus) specifically for DayGlow,” Stafford said. “We used fabric, string and elastic, then shoved glowsticks through (the elastic waistband of) the skirts.”

The tutus were made of tulle in an array of neon colors, including shades of pink, orange and green.

Individual bottles of neon paint also were sold in the rear of the auditorium for $5 each for attendees’ use.

Her first day as an officer for Moore’s Security Services Inc., Lansing resident Joy Watson was on duty for the DayGlow East Lansing event and was shocked by the paint party and disappointed she only could watch.

“It’s different and exciting,” she said. “I wish I could be out (on the dance floor), having a blast and wearing all the neon colors.”