At the Neon Carnival Saturday night, people came to play.

Less than 10 miles from the iconic Coachella ferris wheel, a second ferris wheel lit up an invite-only after party in its third year.

Gerard Butler, Emma Roberts and Whitney Port were among celebs who hit the Armani Exchange and T-Mobile Neon Carnival Saturday night. The ferris wheel, along with a tilt-a-whirl ride, giant slide and bumper-car game, went up on the grounds of the Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport in Thermal.

Into the morning hours, guests played carnival games for stuffed animals, rode rides and danced.

And thank goodness for the dancing! The event, along with every aspect of my first Coachella, was cooler than usual and 75 heaters dotted the premises. The real hot spot was in the middle of the dance floor, though, where guests danced to Google Play Magnified artists and DJs.

The carnival celebrated the launch of the new Armani Exchange Color Pop collection of brightly colored watches that will retail for $100. Nina Dobrev (“Vampire Diaries”) pushed the collection with this photo tweet, asking followers to help her choose which she’d wear out.

It showcased the T-Mobile’s new smartphone HTC One S as well.
Other famous guests included New England Patriot Bret Lockett, Chord Overstreet and Harry Shum, Jr. of “Glee,” Jamie Chung of “Real World San Diego” fame, Ian Somerhalder (“Vampire Diaries”) and Kellan Lutz (“Twilight”). Armani Exchange tweeted an Usher arrival.

Brent Bolthouse, the event’s producer (you might have caught his “Hills” cameos as Heidi’s boss), tweeted that it was the best party he’s ever done.