13 Funky Glow Party Ideas

Looking for fun and funky glow party ideas? If you’re like us at Peerspace, we all craving some good, clean fun right about now! No matter how old you are, what the occasion for celebration is, or where you live, the perfect solution to your festivity challenge is to throw a glow party. Now you just need some ideas for where to throw it.

What’s a glow party?

Glow parties are pretty self-explanatory – they’re shindigs where everything (and we mean everything!) glows in the dark! Glow parties are absolutely appropriate for mixed-age groups: kiddos, teens, and even elderly folks who want to get down, but maybe not as hard as they once did.

What do you need to throw a glow party?

The number-one thing you’ll need to source is a black light. These are relatively harmless types of UV lights that are readily available for sale at party supply stores. Really, anything that is neon in color will glow under a black light.

Do you remember those glow stick bracelets, necklaces, and even hula hoops? They’re just the beginning of the endless list of cool stuff that can enhance a glow party. There’s glow-in-the-dark face paint, temporary neon hair dye, neon nail polish, glowing cotton candy, neon ice cubes, plates, and neon construction paper.

Ask guests to wear white or bright neon colors for the best effect. If you must be inside, it’s ideal if your location has low light levels and even blackout curtains, because everything glows best in the darkest dark. If you can figure out a legal way to temporarily paint the walls black, that would be amazing, but it’s definitely not necessary. Instead, you can tape black construction paper on the walls. You just need a venue that is amenable to temporary modifications. 

Pro tip: experts in the field of luminescence agree that hot pink has the best glow properties. Do what you will with that.

Where can you host a glow party?

Perhaps most importantly in your glow party ingredient list is the location to host it. Nighttime is the right time to hold your soiree, but you can certainly hold the party inside with some easy tweaks.

Peerspace is the world’s largest peer-to-peer website with listings of venues that you can rent by the hour. There are thousands of Peerspaces in hundreds of cities, ranging from theaters to rooftop gardens to mansions to pop-up restaurants. Surely one of these options will suit your glow party dreams.

Remember, anything that your Peerspace venue doesn’t offer is likely to be available through the Peerspace Concierge service. This service delivers whatever your heart desires from trusted local vendors straight to your booking. They can bring catered food, furniture, audiovisual gear – maybe even a black light if you find you need another one.

The following 13 Peerspaces are excellent locations for hosting your glow party:

1. Capacious London music studio

With multiple rooms to explore and acoustically treated walls, this party spot in London would be ideal for a glow party. The walls are already pretty dark in color, perfect for you to decorate with brights. For hygienic safety, this venue is not allowing renters to bring in their own lighting, but you could ask the host if they have a solution for your black light needs.

2. Austin event space with a stage

A city that’s no stranger to parties of all kinds, Austin would be an excellent place to host your family-friendly glow party – or one for adults only, for that matter. Check out this funky downtown space with a stage. There are 850 square feet of indoor useable space, perfect for a full-fledged glow party experience.

3. Vegas photo studio

This glow party location has a lot going for it, and the ability to block out all that sunlight is near the top of the list. The venue offers tons of amenities that you could creatively incorporate into the neon theme, like a green screen which would allow for infinite Instagrammable backgrounds.

4. Blank canvas in Brooklyn

Mostly used for photoshoots, this huge loft studio warehouse allows guests the space to dance their glowing hearts out. It features exposed brick, wood floors, and a party vibe. As an added bonus, the rental comes equipped with blackout curtains to enhance your glow.

5. Almost designed with glow parties in mind

This Queens photo studio is a perfect idea for where to host your glow party. It’s not a huge space, but it can accommodate 10 very enthusiastic guests ready to make full use of the black walls, ceiling, and floors. Consider borrowing a strobe head from the host and get ready to rave.

6. Laser tag glow party

Another Peerspace in Las Vegas would make maybe the ultimate glow party location idea. This is a 10,000-square-foot arcade and laser tag arena that already features a black light for your convenience. All ages are allowed to enjoy the space, and smoke machines are permitted. (Is there a way to make neon smoke? Probably!)

7. Seattle bowling studio

With a bit of creativity, you could host a killer bowl-and-glow party in this private Seattle alley. The bowling alley is situated in a family home, it’s wheelchair accessible and close to public transportation. Communicate with the hosts and see if you can make your glow party dreams come true.

8. DTLA studio

This Downtown Los Angeles studio features just the right vibe for your cozy glow party. It features black concrete walls and LED light walls begging to be neon-ified and photographed. The ceiling is also matte black. The whole setup is black light-ready.

9. Pearland pro studio

Pearland is located near Houston, and this professional film and photo studio is a fantastic idea for a glow party experience. Half of the space is all white; the other half is all black. The venue includes the use of any-color RGB lighting and no doubt a black light can be arranged. There’s also a hair and makeup area where your guests can don their neon situation before dancing the night away. Certain props can also be added – just arrange the details with the host.

10. Detroit industrial warehouse

Are you imagining hosting a glow party for 150 but you have no idea where to throw it? This industrial warehouse space in Motown features an open floor plan with sectioned-off areas for thematic gathering. There’s a banquet hall area, a screening room, and even an arts brick bar. Any or all of those areas would make a killer glow party space.

11. SLC mixed-use space

This large Salt Lake City mixed-use space near downtown has hosted everything from workshops to festivals to performances, so why not a glow party? Many of the fixtures are already black, so here’s an idea – consider sourcing some neon pink linens to handcraft glowing backgrounds.

12. Glowing in the ‘Q

One of the best things about a glow party is that you can host them just about anywhere that gets dark enough – indoors or outdoors. Temporarily retrofit this Albuquerque warehouse into your glowing partyscape to host about 45 bright guests.

13. Ready in Reno

This industrial events space near the university is just begging to host your glow party. The beauty of this space is how basic it is – it’s totally versatile and includes lighting and sound. Bring a black light and accessories, and use this blank slate venue as your artistic glow party pallet. 

Check out more of our glow-in-the-dark party ideas here!

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