Drima, an immersive event company, will conduct the Stranger Blooms, a pop-up escape room experience, June 3-5.
The Stranger Things themed escape room, Escape the Upside Down, will be held in the Graduate in 45 minute slots from 4-9:45 p.m. Tickets for the escape room are currently sold out.
Drima is an immersive event company creating custom story-based events. An immersive event is any activity or experience that places the audience directly in the action and allows them to interact with their environment, such as virtual reality and immersive theater, according to the Drima website.
Drima was founded by three sisters, Kate, Holland and Kenzie Colvin. Kate had been doing custom immersive events for friends and family for about a decade. After Kate and Kenzie worked together to create a murder mystery for Summerhouse Property Management’s leasing communities, they decided to give their own company a try.
“We all have really different skill sets,” Kenzie said. “So that's just where it started. We were just doing it separately for other reasons and then just decided that we could really make something great out of a sister business.”
In the company, Kate serves as the creative and head writer, Holland is the artistic director and lead graphic designer and Kenzie is the communications director, according to the Drima website.
Stranger Blooms is Drima’s second event. Their first event, the Moonshine Affair, was held at the Orbit Room on March 26, 2022. It was a speakeasy themed party with a story about time and space travel.
“People were saying that they loved playing dress up as an adult,” Kenzie said. “ We received great feedback and were very excited coming off of that, which led into Stranger Blooms.”
Drima was inspired by the Graduate’s infamous Stranger Things room when creating Stranger Blooms, Holland said.
“Kate asked, ‘Are there things that you can do in the room, like interactive things or is it just decor?’” Holland said. “Which is very much a Kate question. She's always wanting to figure out ways for people to be immersed in whatever it is that they're doing.”
Kate came up with most of the components of the escape room, Kenzie said. She took her knowledge of the show, brainstormed ideas with her sisters and created a custom story for the attendees.
“Her mind is just insane to us,” Kenzie said. “Because she'll tell us some of the puzzles that she came up with and we’re like ‘How did you even come up with that?’”
The timing for the event was perfect, Holland said. Since Stranger Things just released new episodes for the first time since 2019, they scheduled the event to be between the release of season 4.
Along with the escape room, Drima partnered with several local businesses for additional Stranger Bloom activities around Bloomington. “Escape the Upside” participants can head over to the Wonderlab for a discounted $11 admission June 3-5. Participants can also play unlimited games at the Cade June 3-4. Proof of purchase of the Escape the Upside escape room is required for both deals.
On June 3, Root Cellar will conduct an 80s themed dance party. Individuals must be 21+ to attend and admission is free. The DJ starts playing at 9 p.m.
On June 5, there will be a secret menu item available at Bedräk Cade on South Walnut Street. Ask your server for “Hopper’s Waffle Extravaganza” to participate.
