This year, XXlerator Carnaval took place on Saturday, 25th February in the Evenementenhal in Venray.
As its name suggests, this insane 9 hour indoor event is part of the many parties organised specially to celebrate carnival. DJs, artists & people dressed like characters we all know? Crazy carnival music and on top many great carnival edits of well know tracks? Sounds like fun? Let’s find out!
Upon entering the place it’s impossible to ignore the mad carnival atmosphere. Indeed, the two areas were well decorated for the occasion: hundreds of balloons and a multitude of colours. The funniest thing was to that everyone had played the game and dressed up for the event. Indeed, everyone was matching with the theme as there were a lot of beautiful or offbeat costumes like men disguised in women, monks, bananas and many others.
In addition to the various costumes there were also dancers, who were often present to make the show on both scenes, wearing magnificent colourful and original outfits. The true spirit of carnival was overwhelming and it was a delight to see that after all these centuries, Hardstyle was matching perfectly with the craziness described in the history books.
It was also the case of the djs who were all dressed up in different costumes while they were playing. First, we attended to the sets of Dr Phunk, Der Rudi by Dr Rude, Mark With A K and the first part of Da Tweekaz on the Freestyle by Lunatixx . The stage was hosted by MC Da Syndrome. What amazed us during this event was that most of the freestyle sets were adapted to this carnival ambiance where the djs were mixing traditional tunes with famous Hardstyle tracks, pitching up the tempo and driving people absolutely crazy.
After this unusual festive atmosphere reminding us a little bit about Defqon.1, we went to the Raw Stage hosted by MC Nolz to see if the Rawstyle was following that crazy vibe too. B-Front was the first set we attended and as soon as we arrived an insane music driven by a hectic and heavy raw tempo kicked us right in the jaw! Same went for the sets of Requiem, Sub Zero Project, Radical Redemption and Sub Sonik who kept pushing up the pace, draining their dark energy from the huge amount of adrenaline arising from the crowd. 
Considering the quality of the line-up we had to make a choice between Mark With A K and Frequencerz who were mixing at the same time but in two different areas. in mind to see them on another occasion in the near future. In each area, there was a really good ambiance and a lot of energy. It happened several times to stand all by the waist to go from left to right, which created a pleasant crowd movement.
We should have brought an umbrella due to the tons of confetti between each set, which remind us once again the atmosphere of the carnival. The sets were different and somehow outstanding. The atmosphere great and the party mood just crazy. Visiting a hardstyle event during carnival is definitely one thing to do next year!
Therefore, XXlerator Carnaval is perfect for Freestyle and Rawstyle fans who wish to spend an epic evening on the occasion of the carnival.