“Keep Portland weird,” they say. Look no further than Portland’s Hopscotch immersive art experience for the weirdest attractions imaginable. The entire experience is built around getting you the best photos for your next Instagram post, making it the perfect Friday night out for influencers or everyday people hoping to spice up their lives. Hopscotch features a total of 14 attractions all of which are interactive.
There is a dining area right as you walk into the building where guests are offered drinks and snacks. Their current menu consists of foods like waffles, mac and cheese, and various popcorn flavors. The drink menu includes lemonade, sparkling water, Coca-Cola, and more.
Each section is created by different artists from Portland such as Seth Nehil and Todd Moyer.
The first exhibit consisted of a bouncy house waterbed hybrid. The walls created projections of people’s movements and lit up the room with colorful designs.
The most whimsical attraction created by Seth Nehil is entitled “Unknown Atmospheres.” There is nothing more fun than prancing around a room full of sparkly lights.
An important part of art is honesty. Hopscotch takes this aspect to another level with their secret revealing experience entitled “Secret Garden.” The room consists of umbrellas for guests to stand under and hear secrets of people who have visited in the past. It provides a closer look into the people in our community and a reminder that everyone has struggles in their lives and it’s important to give grace.
The interactive experience truly came to life with the digital spray paint exhibit called “Lazer Graffiti.” The bright colors make guests feel they’re in a galaxy.
Hopscotch’s most popular room is their “Diodic Daydream” ball pit. Videos of their ball pit bring in millions of views every time it’s posted on TikTok, and understandably so. The ball pit is deep enough to get lost in, creating a childish and joyful experience.
The oddest room in Hopscotch was definitely “Chromothesia.” It consisted of three separate rooms, each one a different color and sound-scaping experience. Seth Nehil the artist of the room describes the piece on his website by saying “As listeners open and close doors, moving through the spaces, different elements of the layered composition are revealed.
The room entitled “JV Yourself” was one of the most memorable. It projects images of you onto a screen in multiple frames so when you move around it looks like a whimsical projection of what it must truly be like to live in the matrix.
Part of the interactive experience is walking from one room to another. The rainbow cave is like a lion’s den made up of multiple plastic bags to cover the walls and encapsulate the guests.
The last room is a confusing maze full of mirrors which makes it hard to tell which direction you should walk in. This room is called “Gaze” and is a good ending to the visual experience. It brings you back to reality as you peer into mirrors reflecting your true self and the higher more vibrant version of what could one day be your aura.
Hopscotch was an experience for the books, and every Portlander should visit at least once. Go get some whimsy in your life folks, you won’t regret it.
