Imagine visiting a magical land where you can gaze at a replica of Van Gogh’s Starry Night created entirely out of sugary sweets, jump into a gigantic ball pit filled with fluffy marshmallows, and experience colorful, larger-than-life candy displays perfect for Instagram photo ops. Sounds too good to be true? Think again! At Candytopia, an interactive, candy-themed pop-up, dreamed up by Jackie Sorkin (CEO of The Hollywood Candy Girls Inc., esteemed candy stylist to celebrities like Kim Kardashian West and Oprah Winfrey, and star of the hit TLC TV show Candy Queen), you can traverse through more than a dozen immersive art installations and exhibits that were created using thousands of different pieces of candy.
Since Candytopia’s grand opening in LA on December 15, the pop-up has drawn in candy fans from across the globe, and on August 15, Candytopia is relocating from Santa Monica, CA, to Midtown Manhattan in New York City’s Penn Plaza so that those on the East Coast can experience the charm and wonder of this “sprawling sanctuary of confectionary bliss” for themselves.
Read on for a rundown of everything you need to know about Candytopia, from the best exhibit spots for like-worthy Instagram photos to what you can expect to see, smell, taste, and touch in this whimsically sweet art installation.
A Feast for the Eyes
Upon entering the Candytopia lobby, guests are greeted by expert tour guides and entertainers who are as friendly and fantastical as the colorful characters from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Photo by Mathew Tucciarone, courtesy of Candytopia
On social media, Candytopia has been deemed an Instagram-lover’s paradise, and with good reason—some of the highlights of this immersive, candy-coated experience include a room filled with sugary recreations of some of the world’s most popular art pieces and landmarks, like the Great Sphinx of Giza and The Mona Lisa, a beach-themed room where visitors can strike a pose on a surfboard placed next to a giant candy shark, and a Victorian steampunk parlor where you can find a life-sized suit of armor made entirely out of candy!
Make sure to get a whiff of each piece of artwork as you view it—since all the installations in Candytopia are made of real candy, they’ll smell just as good as they look!
Don’t worry about running out of time to take the perfect photo while visiting Candytopia; one of the biggest perks of this interactive candy installation is that each guest is granted a full 15 minutes to spend in Candytopia’s most popular attraction area, the marshmallow pit, and in the rest of the exhibit rooms, visitors are free to roam as they please for as long as they’d like. Let the photoshoots begin!
Sweet Treats Galore
As you make your way through each of Candytopia’s one-of-a-kind interactive rooms, prepare for your sweet tooth to be satisfied like never before! An assortment of gummies, hard candies, chocolates, and other sugary confections will be generously distributed to visitors throughout the course of the Candytopia experience.
After exiting the installation, keep the sweet streak going by stopping by Candytopia’s colorful gift shop, where guests can find rare, imported candies and chocolates, authentic Candytopia merch, and even a pick-and-choose candy wall so you can grab a bag of all your favorite sweet treats from Candytopia to-go!
Whether you’d like to include a visit to Candytopia on the itinerary for your next incentive trip, or you’re hoping to host a private corporate event in this rainbow, candy-themed wonderland, contact GMS today for a personal proposal to make your next special event in NYC very sweet!