This week marks the opening of Illuminarium at The Distillery District, a brand new permanent immersive entertainment venue located at 28 Distillery Lane. Two artistic experiences will be on offer; WAKING WONDERLAND and SPACE: A Journey to the Moon and Beyond.
Illuminarium, a global experiential company offering breakthrough immersive 360-degree cinematic entertainment in expansive, projected spaces, partnered with Toronto-based Secret Location, known for its Emmy® award-winning interactive VR and AR experiences, to combine cutting-edge technology with immersive storytelling to create incredibly digital projection mapped experiences. Illuminarium in The Distillery District joins Atlanta and Las Vegas as the third Illuminarium location in North America.
The two experiences are very different but equally intriguing and intricate. Waking Wonderland was inspired by Lewis Caroll’s fantasy novel, “Through the Looking Glass, and created and developed by Secret Location. The experience unfolds across multiple projection-mapped environments, each incorporating a range of physical props, live characters and interactive technologies. The story picks up three generations after the original Alice and Wonderland has been dormant. The main character is Anna, Alice’s granddaughter, and guests discover she is on a quest to awaken a slumbering world and bring back the magic to Wonderland told to her through stories from her treasured grandmother.
With SPACE: A Journey to the Moon and Beyond, visitors will be taken on an out-of-this-world immersive experience in an extraordinary journey across the galaxy, and experience what it’s like to walk on the surface of the Moon. The exhibition will include interactive and visually-stunning imagery from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the largest and most groundbreaking telescope ever built, through the lens of Illuminarium’s high-tech animation systems and 360-degree fully immersive screens.
I had the pleasure of attending the opening night event for Illuminarium and I was blown away by the level of immersion achieved with these powerful images and videos. We were treated to both experiences as well as other beautiful immersive backgrounds as we explored, ate, drank and danced. Music was provided by DJ Baby Q with a live performance by RALPH Toronto’s pop powerhouse performer, and a closing DJ set by 4KORNERS . It was a beautiful night full of art, sound and wonderful people.
For more information and to sign up for the online ticket waitlist, guests may visit www.illuminarium.com/toronto
Where: Illuminarium at The Distillery District, 28 Distillery Lane
Price: $35 for adults, $30 for kids
Hours: 11am – 11pm
Tuesday to Sunday (closed Monday)
Aug 25 – Nov 16
Visitors may join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram and Tik
*Photos by Kenneth Pollard
Nadia Elkharadly
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