Wonderland

Immersive Event Design | Portland, OR, 2019

An experimental house party featuring eight unique spaces exploring themes of escape, identity and curiosity.

Reflections on Wonderland:

Experience Description: 
Participants followed the white rabbit through the mushroom garden and into the Room of Doors to choose their start. They might create a key to unlock their wildest dreams, engage in a surprise musical performance in the Queen of Heart's Castle, escape into Cheshire Cat's Chasm for a custom meditation experience or head out to the Hatter's tea party to get mad with strangers.  > Read more on Medium.

Services Provided:
Creative direction, research, graphic design, experience design, installation, artist coordination, materials sourcing, content creation, production

Little white rabbits like this one served as playful signage, leading guests down The Rabbit Hole, into the house and signaled spaces to explore within.

Giant handmade felt mushrooms were planted along the garden guiding guests into Wonderland.

The entrance way between the Queen of Hearts' Castle and the Keyhole room.

The entrance to the Keyhole room from the Room of Doors.

The white rabbit caught snacking in the Room of Doors. 

The carefully curated 7+ hour event playlist. [Tasting notes: surreal, ethereal, trap, dreamy, grungy, inspired.]

Alice's Pool of Tears becomes a Pool of Beers (and sparkling water) in this downstairs bathroom.

An intentionally offsetting, surrealist Alice and Wonderland film montage playing on loop in Absolem's Lounge. 

Instructions for Absolem's Lounge were taken over by a guest artist who wrote an Absolem-inspired poem for the event.

On the way out, guests were encouraged to reach into a small velvet bag and grab one of these little white rabbits as a token with which to remember their time in Wonderland.

Absolem blowing bubbles in Looking Glass Hall.

In the middle of the party and without introduction, a musician sets up a sign that says "draw what you hear". Sticky notes and sharpies and tossed toward the audience before the musician sits down to play.

Soon, their keyboard and the entire room starting to fill with doodles inspired by their music. A few guests even came up to sing along!

Instructions for each interactive space at the party, revealing what the space was and how to best experience it. 

The Queen of Hearts defends her castle in a royal duel against Deadpool. [Note the card details on the sliding french doors.]

A table at the center of The Keyhole displayed an assortment of keys, tags, twine, sharpies and instructions inviting guests to create a key for something they want to unlock.

Guests were encouraged to carry or wear their key around Wonderland and use them to strike up inspired conversations with other guests.

Mad Hatter's Tea Party was held at a picnic table in the backyard and featured a collection of assorted teapots and cups with philosophical questions written on mini paper scrolls hidden inside.

Guests were encouraged to draw from a teapot and read the question aloud to the table to stimulate curious conversations with friends and strangers alike.

Looking Glass Hall was the perfect place for a little self-reflection (and a fun photo opp).

The walls of Looking Glass Hall were covered mirrors of various sizes which reflected the colored lights and spinning CDs that dangled from the ceiling, creating fun shapes and angles.

A curious digital invitation which accompanied a well-loved list of thoughtfully crafted FAQs on the event site. [See sample FAQ below]

A map of Wonderland greeted guests as they arrived, illustrating the eight curated spaces to explore and where to find them.

Cheshire Cat's Chasm was the only space designed to be experienced individually. Guests were asked to wait until the sign read "open" before stepping inside and zipping the tent up behind them.

Inside Cheshire Cat's Chasm guests were provided a set of noise-cancelling headphones and a laptop with an invitation to begin.

Once they hit play, guests were guided through a 3-minute custom Wonderland meditation and corresponding reflection activity which were written, performed and edited specifically for this event.

Colored transparent film and a neon sign hung behind a window to create just the right amount of light (and vibes).

Want to create an experience like this?

Curious, but have questions? The Playbook has answers.

Contact

Located in Portland, OR (USA)
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @altyellow.pdx

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delightfully unexpected.