{"id":2035806,"date":"2025-09-20T00:07:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T00:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2035806"},"modified":"2025-09-20T00:07:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T00:07:13","slug":"immersive-pop-up-at-velaslavasay-panorama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/immersive-pop-up-at-velaslavasay-panorama\/","title":{"rendered":"Immersive Pop-Up at Velaslavasay Panorama"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This weekend only, meet \u201cThe Man in the Tuskhut\u201d at one of L.A.\u2019s most unusual venues<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Credit: Photo by Chris Nichols<\/span><\/figure>\n

Nearly 24 hours after my encounter with \u201cThe Man in the Tuskhut<\/a>\u201d I am still shook. The one-of-a-kind interactive show, running this weekend only, is at the heart of Frontier Saloon<\/em>, an immersive experience at the Velaslavasay Panorama<\/a><\/p>\n

The West Adams-area art institution is celebrating its 25th anniversary with this fundraiser <\/a>to help their mission of bringing pre-cinematic entertainment back to Los Angeles. The namesake panorama is a massive 360-degree painting of Shenyang, a northeastern Chinese city in the early 20th century. Beyond that is the ancient 1910 Nickelodeon-era Union theater where seances, gas-fired magic lantern shows and a live performance of the glass armonica<\/a> have taken place. <\/p>\n

\"VelaslavasayCredit: Photo by Chris Nichols<\/span><\/figure>\n

The line between reality and imagination is often crossed at the venue. \u201cIt\u2019s intentionally ambiguous,\u201d says Kent Bulza, a friend of the Panorama involved in Frontier Saloon<\/em>. \u201cSometimes it\u2019s factual but still unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Photo by Chris Nichols<\/span><\/figure>\n

Visitors to the Frontier are first instructed to watch a short educational film about an old timey explorer-turned blind hermit locked up in a snowbound cabin, then enter an outdoor gathering \u2018round the campfire with beans and weenies, cowboy vittles and roving characters. There\u2019s a saloon with swinging doors and you might encounter a German magician or a troubadour strumming a banjo in the garden. A man in a top hat is showing magic lantern slides. Was that a Catholic friar hitting the slot machine? Who are these people? Are they real? Are we in Westworld<\/em>? \u201cI think that you\u2019re supposed to be a little bit disturbed from the beginning,\u201d Bulza says.<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Photo by Chris Nichols<\/span><\/figure>\n

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A stone-faced guide escorts you to the Nova Tuskhut, the home of the old hermit, where you have your \u201cintimate theatrical experience\u201d created by the Velaslavasay Panorama<\/a>, IRMA360 (Sara Velas\/Ruby Carlson)\u00a0and Incident, a secretive new experiential entertainment company from Jason Woliner (Paul T. Goldman<\/a><\/em>) and Eric Notarnicola (The Rehearsal<\/a><\/em>)<\/p>\n

Bulza compares the event to Victorian-era phantasmagoria spook shows. \u201cThey were leveraging technology. Projectors were new technology that people didn\u2019t understand. That\u2019s why they thought the ghosts were real.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Photo by Chris Nichols<\/span><\/figure>\n

The Man in the Tuskhut <\/em>experience tickets<\/a>
Velaslavasay Panorama
1122 W 24th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90007
panoramaonview.org<\/a><\/p>\n