Drive-Through Halloween Event Gives South Lime Avenue A Scare

SARASOTA, FL — The creative couple behind Enlightened Monkey Arts is embracing the Halloween spirit by organizing a drive-through event in their neighborhood on Saturday. Dave Gordon and Elln Hagney have transformed the cul-de-sac near their home at 133 South Lime Ave. with a series of spooky scenes featuring projection mapping, custom-created animatronics, kinetic sculptures, lighting, special effects, sound effects and more.

Families seeking a fun, but safe, experience during the COVID-19 pandemic are invited to drive through approximately 14 scenes set up along the cul-de-sac. There is no cost to attend and the first 1,000 attendees will receive treat bags with candy.

The couple initially met in Boston when Hagney worked as executive director of the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation. Interested in exploring the role “creativity plays in innovation,” she hired Gordon, a tech artist, as an artist-in-residence. They moved to Sarasota eight years ago once her daughter graduated from high school.

Ever since, they’ve been carving out space for themselves in the local arts scene. Though Hagney initially ran local Olympic events, the couple formed the tech art company Enlightened Monkey Arts two years ago. The goal was to work with tech artists and help them “make a living wage off what they’re doing,” she said.

They know the average person might not know much about tech art. Many artists and museums are often unaware, she she said. “A lot of places might know about projection mapping, but when you start talking tech art, they don’t get it. Tech art is art where technology is incorporated in a meaningful way. It’s not just I have a digital camera and I’m taking a picture.”

Earlier this year, they partnered with the Lighthouse Education Center to create “Moonlight Landscape in Four Senses” at the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art. The project brought a painting in the museum, “Moonlight Landscape” by Joseph Derby, to life for the visually impaired.

They created an immersive experience that appealed to several senses, not just sight. They set up a 3D foam reproduction of the painting in a black box. They also added movement to the interpretive reproduction.

“The moon reflected on the water, the water rippled, the trees moved,” Hagney said.

Those visiting the reproduction were able to reach out and touch elements of it. As they walked into the box, they pushed “vines” out of the way and walked into a field of real grass. They also incorporated sounds and smells from the painting’s setting, Derby, England, into the scene.

“When you walked in there, it smelled like you were entering the woods,” Gordon said.

The COVID-19 pandemic hit after this, though, and “everything kind of came to a halt,” Hagney said. As the months went by, they were eager to create and connect with the community.

When various fireworks displays and celebratory events were cancelled around the Fourth of July, they decided to create a patriotic display along the cul-de-sac near their home.

“We thought, let’s throw something up and make something happen,” she said.

They promoted it on Nextdoor and other online communities. About 70 cars and more than 300 attendees drove through on the holiday.

After that, they know they wanted to plan something even bigger for Halloween, especially as the pandemic continued to affect people, Gordon said. “People need some good news. They want to hear about something good, and people need something they can do with their families over Halloween where they can feel safe.”

The three-day drive-through event kicked off Thursday. It will also be accessible Saturday, Halloween night, from 7 to 10 p.m.

“The idea is to give people a safe alternative to trick-or-treating that’s going to be a little more than walking down a street or decorating your car,” Hagney said. “If you can’t go to a haunted house, we’re going to give you something similar, but safer.”

It’s family friendly, she added. “Not a lot of blood and gore. The worst is a group of rats having a party around a disembodied hand.”

There are various scenes set up around the cul-de-sac, including a Western cemetery, homages to Dia de Muertos, swamp monsters fighting flaming pumpkins, a steampunk canon operated by a skeleton, a hookah-smoking caterpillar and a ghoul’s garden

Everything was built by the couple using pieces from old holiday decorations, motors and other mechanical parts, dollar-store items, and art supplies.

“We found these yard-sale, vintage animatronic Christmas decorations that we've reused,” Gordon said. “They’re these little kids and they’re terrifying.”

There will be a lot going on, Hagney added. They encourage people to drive through several times if they need to.

“My inspiration is Dr. Seuss. I think of that page where it’s 'noise, noise, noise.' It’s the center page,” she said. “That’s always my inspiration. Oh my god what’s that and what’s that and what’s that. There’s tons for you to see and experience.”

Gordon said the scenes can be enjoyed at different levels, as well.

“Things should be broadly understandable, but if you spend more time with them, they should have depth,” he said.

At the heart of the experience is his specialty, projection mapping. He’ll project at least three major scenes throughout the cul-de-sac. This includes dancing sugar skulls on their garage door, a group of singing pumpkins and trees moving in the wind.

Learn more about Halloween on South Lime here.