After watching the mysterious black warehouse known as Area15 rise from the desert, the wait to explore its interior, a veritable cave of wonders, is finally over. On September 17, the experiential playground opens its doors. Inside you’ll find a neon-black-lit paradise of art, food, drink and interactive opportunities.

It’s free to enter, but you’ll need to register at area15.com as a COVID-19 safety precaution. Here’s what to expect once you do …

Authentic experiences

Imagine if you could bottle up the feeling of Burning Man, Blue Man Group and a cyberpunk nightclub and set all that free inside an all-ages venue. That might begin to describe Area15.

Art Island is the first thing you’ll see upon arriving at Area15. Featuring a variety of large-scale sculptures, the outdoor courtyard could be a destination in and of itself. The pieces act as a palate cleanser from the ordinary world, inviting visitors to embrace a more colorful reality full of infinity mirrors, rainbow-winged owls, fire-breathing dragons and historic robots.

Expect those sculptures to be featured in a thousand selfies and social media posts. “Everything here is shareable, because it’s awesome, right? Like, it’s not staged,” says Winston Fisher, CEO of Area15. “Authenticity is a word that so many people use. We are psychotic about authenticity. It must be real. We’re storytelling. We have to be true to who we are.”

After entering the building through a giant, glowing-orange A, guests find themselves inside a tricked-out entryway that feels like a spaceship or time machine. Beyond that, a 12-foot-tall psychedelic human skull greets guests. It’s a 3D projection-mapped art piece with synchronous music called “Shogyo Mujo,” designed by Bart Kresa Studio and Joshua Harker.

Walking through the space, visitors will delight in the random caches of artistic inspiration, tucked into different areas of Area15. Fisher points to circular neon-colored designs on the wall that resemble futuristic mandalas. He explains that it’s part of an upcoming “augmented reality experience” called Particle Quest, for which guests don special masks, look at “trigger” points and discover the “secret story” of Area15. It’s slated to open in October. “We’re not a themed place,” Fisher says. “But if you search hard enough, you can find out the origins.”

In addition to an indoor electric zip line called Haley’s Comet, you’ll discover these experiences at Area15 …

Birdly, a virtual reality ride, in which you fly like a bird.

Wild Muse Boutique, a boutique selling souvenirs and Burning Man-style gear, located in a gorgeous metal bunker at the center of Area15.

Wink, Wink World: Portals to the Infinite, an artsy fun house created by Blue Man Group co-founder Chris Wink.

Gallerie 360 inside the Portal, a “360-degree projection mapped room” and event space, which feels somewhat like Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Holodeck.

Sanctuary, a restful, plant-filled gathering place under a bamboo and fabric dome.

Brainstorm, a colorful, interactive experience coming in October.

Valyrian Steel, a dazzling art car created by Henry Chang Design.

Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart, an immersive art experience, set to open early in 2021.

“There’s always something more to do here,” Fisher says.

That includes chowing down. While the Beast food hall, curated by Todd English, is still being developed, guests can enjoy the celebrity chef’s Beast Pop-up. The culinary program is “approachable yet elevated menu,” per a press statement, and will be served socially distanced in the outdoor event space and inside the Portal.

Peckish guests can also nosh on ice cream from Emack & Bolios and candy from Rocket Fizz. The candy store has yet to open, but its ever-moving neon-style sign is already drawing attention.

Another eye-catcher is Oddwood Bar, with its nearly 23-foot-tall Japanese maple tree created by Color + Light (formerly Symmetry Labs). Its leaves sparkle and change color.

Only in Las Vegas

The creativity and bombast of Area15 harkens back to Las Vegas’ early visionaries. “At the end of the day, it’s two little boys who just have big eyes and wonder that designed this place,” Fisher says of himself and co-creator Michael Beneville, Area15’s chief creative officer. “We’re just excitable kids. We’re not scared of creativity. We didn’t check with people about what’s cool. We just built something that we thought people would love, and it’s from who we are.”

Fisher seems equally comfortable embarking on monumental athletic expeditions—like running seven marathons in seven days on seven continents—and nerding out on Dungeons & Dragons (his character is an Elf warrior).

The developer, who bought the land in 2005, looks to none other than Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci for inspiration. “[Da Vinci] looked at the world differently and put stuff out there that was transformative and timeless at the same time. I love that, and so I put that right on there,” Fisher says, pointing to upper arm tattoos of da Vinci’s sketches, including a flying machine.

In a way, Fisher and Beneville have built their own flying machine in Area15, and we don’t mean the decommissioned airplane on display in the parking lot. Area15 is more of a vessel to a new way of thinking. “We saw that the world was changing,” Fisher says. “Malls were dying, but people [still] wanted to congregate together for really cool things.”

When Fisher originally acquired the land pre-Great Recession, he says he had visions of “building big,” And then, “the world blew up.” But the New Yorker, who spends half his time in Nevada, says, “We never gave up on Vegas. So he set out to build a “place that couldn’t exist anyplace else” and doesn’t try to compete with the Strip.

When the time came to reimagine the space, Fisher and his partner spent two and a half years “just dreaming.” Fisher says that these “best-in-class experiences have always been “sort of scattered … but if you put it all together, and then curate it with great art, cool food, great events, you’re creating a district. That’s what we’ve done.”

Area15 3215 S. Rancho Drive, 702-846-1900. Free admission, registration required at area15.com.