Matinée Group provided Fireworks over Sin City

While Pride season began to wind down across our great nation and it seemed as if the party scene was ready to return to some semblance of normalcy, the fellas over at Matin�e Group had set in motion their unique brand of overindulgent circuit expertise and treated Sin City to the first Matin�e Las Vegas Festival. Vegas was invaded by 5 amazing parties over one incredible Fourth of July weekend. It's fortunate that the state of Nevada is still intact.

More than 6.000 revelers attended the first gay party festival of its kind to hit the Vegas strip. From landmark pool party events with celebrity DJs Eddie Elias headlining at the Mirage, to Hector Fonseca's tsunami assault on Rain Nightclub at The Palms. Top-notch talent also took the stage for the Saturday night main event at the Hard Rock with Erika Jayne leaving quite the pretty mess and the stars of Cirque du Soleil mesmerized with their aerial acrobatics.

Matinée Rocks the Strip

Jake Resnicow of Matin�e Group felt it was about time that Sin City enhance its profile on the gay circuit scene. "The goal is to bring the energy and vibe of Matin�e to the West Coast," he said, "particularly Vegas - which hasn't historically been known for its gay scene for the first time ever." From the unexpected raucous amount of attendees that came out for the Matin�e Group's event, Vegas may well prove the annual Independence Day Weekend destination, especially if Resnicow and company have anything to say about it. "That's what we're going for," he added.

Matin�e Group persists on demonstrating that it has a command on what the circuit scene is looking for even as the constantly shifting flow of relevancy over big room events is always being challenged. "Everyone loves to do what they do," Resnicow tells EDGE," and you see the passion in how they do it."

With more than fifty international DJs and performers showcased over the 5 party weekend, who could have imagined that there could be room for any surprises? But recording artist Natasha Bedingfield made a very special appearance alongside her friend Hector Fonseca during his gig at The Palms. The two had previously teamed up at the the annual AIDS fund-raising spectacular the Life Ball in Vienna.