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Promotion Announcement

Hailey Buck has been promoted from Production Coordinator to Production Manager. Hailey started her time at Utopia working on SeaWorld’s Howl’O’Scream and Christmas Celebration. Since then she has headed the Beverly Hills Projections on City Hall, worked on the Southern California Association of Government’s Regional Conference, and collaborated on various other projects, like Unwrap the Magic and Glowing Gardens. She also works in the office to secure new projects, and market the company online (Like this post – HI!). Hailey has loved working for this company and is very excited for the projects we are working on now!

Unwrap the Magic

Happy Holidays! Utopia Worldwide has teamed with Beverly Hills and New Media to bring a fantastic new holiday show to light.

An international team was created to turn City Hall into a magical gift for the city. A 3D projection mapping show displays the spectacle of the holidays and Beverly Hills itself. It features Beverly Hills iconography combined with holiday scenes that will put you in the mood to celebrate.

Interactive!

To add more fun, between each show you can interact with the kiosks to choose what is projected on the building. Do you like Snowmen? Teddy Bears? The iconic Beverly Hills Turtles? The choice is yours to decorate City Hall!

Here is Beverly Hills Mayor Bosse to introduce it along with the other stunning holiday attractions!

WATCH HERE!

Happy Halloween

Costume Highlight for Halloween

This Halloween we are looking back at some incredible costumes over the years. Enjoy your costumes and ours, and Happy Halloween!

Norberto Urrea Promoted to Director of Promotion

Norberto Urrea has been promoted to Director of Production. He has worked for many successful projects including Beverly Hills’ Holiday Decor, SeaWorld’s Howl-O-Scream, and Southern California Association of Governments’ Conference.

Currently, he is Co-Producing Beverly Hills’ 2022 Holiday Decór, which includes the return of the Glowing Reeds show along with some exciting new surprises this year.

Parade Highlights

This month we are taking a look back at some of our favorite parades throughout the years:

Magical Starlight Parade

Paramount Winterfest

Summer Carnimal

Utopia Worldwide welcomes Maura Chavex

As part of Utopia’s Team, Maura contributes to both the On and Off Field Visions. ‌ While working for Picsolve and Warner Brothers, she aided in the planning process of coordinating events for high profile clients.

With an emphasis on pre production planning and design, her Criminal Justice degree has enabled a thirst to solve almost any production problem. In addition to Utopia, Maura enjoys hiking, cooking and spending time with her family. Most of all she enjoys her trips to National Parks, having visited 6 in her quest to see all 63.

Celebrate Pride in Beverly Hills

Beverly Hills Lights up with Pride!

Check out the new Pride display with projections and new custom programmed pride colored LED lights on the palm trees. This is part of Beverly Hills first annual Pride event.

Check out Beverly Hills’ Pride Celebration

Congratulations SCAG

Congratulations Southern California Association of Governments on the successful return of the annual regional conference. The team produced sessions tackling our toughest issues like efficient public transportation and affordable housing, along with a student showcase, encouraging the political minds of tomorrow.

A Greener Future with Utopia

UTOPIA WORLDWIDE is committed to making the future a better place through our sustainable practices.

We are a proud member of the Sustainable Event Alliance, which is a global affiliation of organizations, suppliers, events, and individuals who are focusing on improving the sustainability outcomes of events. Check out details here!

We have recently begun the upgrade to electric vehicles with our purchase of a new electric Chevy Silverado. When this truck enters our fleet it will be used for event production support, which is easy with the 400 mile range on a full charge. Check out details here!

We also installed solar panels in our Orange County Office. Sunlight is an unlimited resource, and most panels pay for themselves in under ten years. A big thank you to Ferris Thomson and Freedom Forever for helping us make the switch. Check out details here!

If you are looking to make your event sustainable, Utopia has the passion and experience to make that a reality.

SCAG General Assembly & Regional Conference

On May 5-6, local leaders from throughout Southern California will convene for SCAG’s 57th annual Regional Conference and General Assembly at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, CA. This conference brings together state and local elected officials, CEOs, business and civic leaders, transportation and environmental stakeholders, local government staff, and others.

The keynote address will be performed by John Quiñones of ABC News and What Would You Do? There will be presentations on important topics like Advancing Housing Production, Bridging the Digital Divide, and Long-range transportation.

Utopia is providing production and stage management for the return of this annual multi-day event.

March is Red Cross Month

The Red Cross is experiencing the worst blood shortage in the last decade. Only 5% of eligible blood donors donate their blood. Support the red cross by financial donations, volunteering, donating blood, or even spreading the word on social media!

Find a Blood Drive near you!

20 Years of Award Winning Events

UTOPIA WORLDWIDE has over 20 years of experience creating award-winning attractions. Our philosophy is about the key partnership in design and production. We work with our clients to take their imagination into reality. We’ve been honored to work with clients all over the world. Previous clients include Universal Studios, Warner Brothers, Ocean Park Hong Kong, SeaWorld, and more.

Happy Holidays

As we enter a bright new year, UTOPIA WORLDWIDE wants to give thanks to our clients, collaborators, partners, and friends that have contributed to us reaching our 20th year in business. Our team wishes you and your family a wonderful holiday season!

UTOPIA is proud to have collaborated with SeaWorld San Diego to transform from a theme park into a winter wonderland. Over 3 million twinkling lights illuminate the park. New shows for the season include a Christmas circus show and Elmo’s Christmas Wish. Meet and Greets with Christmas favorites like Rudolph, Cookie Monster, and Santa himself. The days conclude with a spectacular fireworks show. This Christmas season, create unforgettable memories at SeaWorld San Diego.

Check out the promo video for SeaWorld San Diego’s Christmas Celebration!

Award for Most Creative Christmas Show!

UTOPIA WORLDWIDE is ecstatic to congratulate Universal Studio Japan for receiving the IAAPA Brass Ring Award for the Most Creative Christmas/Holiday Show.

“The Crystal Promise,” is a multimedia live show spectacle featuring talented singers and dancers, an illuminated Christmas tree, fireworks, projection mapping, and more. This glittering, fantastical show wowed audiences with a heartwarming storyline and incredible effects. Utopia is proud to have provided a Show Producer and Design and Logistical Support for the creation of this World Class Holiday Show.

Final Weekend of Howl-O-Scream

It’s the final weekend of SeaWorld San Diego’s Inaugural Scare!! By day this theme park is a family-friendly destination and by night it is a sinister playground for creepy clowns, bloodthirsty sirens, savage slaughterers, and more. Experience the haunt before it’s too late!

Enjoy 3 haunted mazes, 4 roaming haunts, 6 scare zones, live shows, and spooky concoctions, IF YOU DARE!

Promotion Announcement

Norberto Urrea was promoted from Project Coordinator to Production Manager.

Currently, he is Co-Producing Howl-O-Scream in SeaWorld & Beverly Hills’ Holiday Decór with Executive Producer, Norman Kahn. Norberto has proven invaluable to our efforts. We look forward to the exciting events ahead!

Howl-O-Scream is met with positive reviews!

SeaWorld San Diego and Utopia Worldwide Inc. have collaborated on the Halloween Experience Howl-O-Scream. The theme park is transformed in a frightful haunt. The critics have spoken:

“’Vampire Circus’ is the best Halloween show I’ve ever seen during a haunted event at a Southern California theme park.”- OC Register
“A favorite realm of mine would be Deadly Toys, where you will encounter young girls who are simply thrilled to show you their dollies, and toys… or ask you where their mommy is.”- Muse TV
“The Haunted Houses are the main event and these are best described as living Horror Movies.” – Your USA City Guide
“The most eye-catching scare zone is La Llorona. It manages to be scary and beautiful at the same time.” -Theme Park Tribune
“I loved “The Sirens,” which saw creepy mermaids and pirate characters roaming through SeaWorld’s Ocean Explorer area amid sunken ships and eerie blue lighting.”- Laughing Place

Utopia's Team is Growing!

Hailey provides administrative support to the UTOPIA Team. As a Jack-of-All trades in entertainment, she steps in to help in all phases of projects.

Hailey graduated with high honors from the University of California Berkeley studying Theatre and Performance Studies with a thesis on environmental and interactive theater. She has worked for the San Francisco Playhouse and Aurora Theater. In her free time, she can be found reading, watching TV, playing tabletop games, or feverishly working on whatever hobby she is obsessed with this week.

Some of her theater credits include:

Director Romeo and Juliet
Light Designer Dance Choreography Showcase 2020
Stage Manager Theater4Charity
Lighting Crew Dream of Kitamura
Director Senior One Acts
Assistant Stage Manager Legally Blonde

Bringing Terror to a Theme Park: SeaWorld San Diego's Howl-O-Scream

Coming to San Diego is a brand-new Halloween experience featuring creatures lurking in dark passageways, experiments gone wrong, a curse from a swamp witch, and more.

UTOPIA WORLDWIDE is proud to collaborate with SeaWorld San Diego to transform their park into Howl-O-Scream featuring:

· 3 Haunted Houses echoing with blood curdling screams

· 7 Scare Zone where there’s no place to hide

· 4 Roaming Haunts with Splats the Clown and his misfits waiting to scare you.

· Terrifying Performances with zombie DJs and party zones.

· Thrilling rides and coasters for an extra dose of fun.

· Speciality cocktails and concoctions to complete the evening.

September 17th-October 31st, 2021 come scream your head off at SeaWorld San Diego.

Celebrating TWENTY Years of Doing

Wow, time flies! UTOPIA is so grateful to the people, organizations, and communities that have collaborated with us to deliver world-class events over the past 20 years. It has been an honor to have produced attractions in over 28 countries, to have earned several theatrical awards, and to have wowed millions of guests along the way.

UTOPIA is looking towards the future by combining cutting-edge technology with decades of experience to make inspiring attractions and events in all-new markets. We are thrilled to see what the future holds but some things will always be the same: Utopia will never stop seeking out the next frontier of themed entertainment production.

Holiday Parades Bring In Big Crowds

Holidays are a prime opportunity to create events catering to families. Whether it’s Santa Claus waving on his sleigh or elves dancing on the streets, each holiday draws crowds.

UTOPIA worked with Cedar Fair to design and build a successful holiday season spectacular. Winterfest was a twinkling nighttime parade featuring over a hundred costumed performers at Kings Island and Carowinds. UTOPIA brought these floats from the page to the park.

From the Vault: Paramount on Parade

When set with the task of taking popular movies from the Paramount Pictures library, the UTOPIA team came up with the float, costume, and prop designs that embody each of the different thematic elements of the “Paramount on Parade” experience.

Looking through our vault of projects, “Paramount on Parade” shows how each float can take the audience into a party celebrating some of the most popular movies in history. In just a few moments, the audience goes from a joy ride in the world of “SpongeBob Squarepants”, to a “Saturday Night Fever” 70’s roller skate dance party, to the drama of “The Titanic”, each scene is carefully designed to highlight the best of Paramount Pictures.

Alas, this one never got off the page, as they say. But even so, it was a lot of fun to work on.

Street Festivals for the Whole Family

Next Night is a Summer Block Party on South Beverly Drive featuring a beer and wine garden, specialty pop-up shops, and live entertainment. The turnout made a boom for local businesses and created social media buzz for the area.

Beverly Hills has always been a beacon of glamor and innovation. Utopia is proud to have worked with The Next Beverly Hills committee to produce this family-friendly event, multiple years in a row. Utopia provided design, production, and operations support for this lifestyle festival.

Welcoming a New Team Member

Norberto Urrea is the newest addition to the Utopia Worldwide team. After working as a Production Assistant for Beverly Hills Holiday Lighting and Hikari: A Light Festival, Norberto’s exemplary work ethic and “can do” attitude nabbed him the role of Project Coordinator. His efforts will extend throughout all phases of Utopia’s project development, production, and execution ensuring success in all areas.

He has taken on multiple roles within the entertainment/events industry including a 6-year stint as a freelance film and theater technician. For the past 3 years Norberto’s professional ambition and focus has turned to coordinating and producing all types of corporate, charity, entertainment, and cultural events. He received a Master’s of Science in International Festival and Event Management from Edinburgh Napier University. In his little free time, he enjoys weightlifting, reading books, and woodworking.

Pumpkin Patch Adventures for the Whole Family

Utopia Worldwide and Tanaka Farms would like to say Happy Fall!

Tanaka Farms is offering lots of autumn activities and stay tuned for what we have planned for the Holidays!

*The DRIVE-THRU PUMPKIN PATCH will be opening Saturday, September 19th and run every Saturday and Sunday through October 31st.

*The U-PICK PUMPKIN WITH WAGON RIDE option will open on Monday, September 21st and run Monday through Friday through October 30th.

*Our DRIVE-THRU PRODUCE MARKET STAND will remain open, with easy access, daily from 9am to 6pm.

*You can also ORDER ONLINE for curbside pick-up from 9:30am to 4pm.

Turning Acres into a Safe Holiday Experience in Irvine

From a 30-acre farm to a twinkling festival- Utopia Worldwide in collaboration with Lightswitch, 4Wall Entertainment, & Diablo Sound brings Hikari- A Festival of Lights. This holiday drive-thru experience in Irvine is inspired by the Japanese concept of Hikari – To Shine. Both Traditional Japanese and Christmas Farm themes create a sparkling show for the whole family to enjoy safely from their cars.

Tickets here

Evolving Event Production in Uncertain Times

A message from Utopia Worldwide & the City of Beverly Hills:

BE SAFE – WEAR A MASK!

As COVID 19 continues to impact everyone, the Utopia Team is adapting to a new normal. The entertainment world is evolving and so are we.

Utopia is staying informed about all the new protocols that are being implemented nationally and internationally to ensure our clients, guests, and staffs safety.

Hollywood Stunt Spectacular

As the flowers bloom and new projects are stirring. Here’s a throwback to Paramount’s Hollywood Stunt Spectacular that opened in the Spring of 2006 in Canada’s Wonderland.

UTOPIA designed, fabricated, installed and operated this Mission Impossible themed stunt show attraction. It was the world’s first live action show to feature the “SuperMoto” racing motorcycles. An arena of 2,000 guests were thrilled by performers flying through the bleachers on Motorcycles reaching speeds of 60mph, massive fire and water effects, Stunt performers doing death defying jumps, achieving impressive aerial tricks. This temporary show ran for 100 days of the Summer Peak Season of 2006.

Ending 2019 in Opulence

UTOPIA is proud to serve the City of Beverly Hills with design and production support for their ambitious Holiday lighting and décor program.

“Time Out” recently listed Beverly Hills as a top place to view Christmas lighting in Los Angeles, describing decor as opulent and extravagant. As we breakdown and put our Holiday production away, we are proud to start the new year with ambitious projects.

Wowing Guests & Winning Awards

The Universal Spectacle Parade is a groundbreaking spectacular presentation of projection mapping, moving sound, special effects, lights, and live performers that dance through the streets of Universal Studios Japan every night. Guests get to live their favorite movies like Harry Potter, Transformers, Despicable Me, and Jurassic World.

We’d like to thank the wonderful team we collaborated with.

UTOPIA hopes 2023 holds even more wondrous projects.

Award Winning Guest Experiences from UTOPIA

While “WaterWorld” the film was a box office flop, “WaterWorld- A Live Sea War Spectacular” is still entertaining audiences at Universal Studios 22 years later.

Planes crashing landing on water, explosions lighting up the stage and live action stunts this attraction is still a must-see. Utopia Worldwide CEO, Norman Kahn was the original project manager and holds the patent for the innovative stage design.

The attraction won a Themed Entertainment Association’s THEA Award for Outstanding Achievement in 1996 and The THEA Classic Award in 2017.

Check out more in a recent Thrillist Article highlighting the achievement.

BOLD New Décor for a New Season

This month at Utopia, we are helping businesses transition from summer to fall with commercial decor.

Beverly Hills illuminates with string lights to elevate the guest experience. Utopia installs and maintains the lights for the city. Soon Christmas decorating will commence!

Utopia assisted Swarovski in updating their store display. In preparation for the gift buying season, we created a sparkling display to welcome customers.

Whether it’s big or small, Utopia brings world-class design services.

Earning a Guinness Book World Record

Ever think about breaking a Guinness World Record? Utopia Worldwide has helped organizations earn several.

For example, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Peace Paddle event. Utopia Worldwide and the NRDC collaborated to earn a place in the records for achieving the world’s largest surfboard-created logo.

Two-hundred-and-thirty people paddled out from Malibu, California to form a large peace sign. Among participants were surf legends Laird Hamilton and Dave Kalama, volleyball champion Gabrielle Reece, and philanthropist Kelly Chapman Meyer.

Why should your organization consider a Guinness World Record? It’s certain to drive a newsworthy story, generate brand recognition across the world, and create shareable content. Guinness backed events boost marketing efforts to world-class status and become one for “The Record Books.”

Brings Cities To Life

Utopia Worldwide has proudly collaborated with municipalities to celebrate their unique communities. Through almost two decades of experience, we understand all the components to serving cities and governments.

Whether you’re looking for event management, holiday decor, large scale festivals, community events or something completely different, our expert team can meet your community’s needs.

Utopia provides year round lighting for Beverly Hills, and also provides Event Production and Holiday Décor. We have collaborated with the City for over a decade and our efforts are targeted to improve the quality of life for members of the community while also emphasizing economic development for local businesses.

Utopia and California State Parks collaborated to produce the Doheny State Beach Surf Festival. Two days of celebrating surf culture with attractions such as live music, surf demonstrations, environmental education, beer gardens and more.

Utopia partnered with Orange County Great Park to produce several community events. The Harvest Festival welcomed autumn with street performers, a hay maze, pumpkin patches and more to entertain families.

Extend Length of Stay with Nighttime Attractions

Ocean Park Hong Kong wanted to create an attraction that would encourage visitors to stay late. The later a guest stays the more they’ll spend. The solution?

Utopia Worldwide developed a fire and water concept to transform the Aqua Park Lagoon into an after-dark extravaganza. SYMBIO! became the centerpiece of Ocean Park’s entrance and the premier attraction.

A 360-degree water screen was the canvas for a custom animated projection of dragons fighting. LED water fountains danced, flame jets articulated, and pyrotechnics blasted to the melody of an original soundtrack.

Despite a long day of Ocean Park attractions, exhausted families gladly stayed to see the fire and water extravaganza.

Projections on Beverly Hill's City Hall

Utopia Worldwide proudly serves the City of Beverly Hills.

The Beverly Hills community offers a unique and friendly character for its residents. They pride themselves on building community locally and internationally.

Some of Beverly Hill’s initiatives include partnering with Israel for charity work for Israel Day, celebrating British creativity in the US with Brit Week, and kicking off the Christmas season with Bold Holidays.

Projections are a way to highlight city projects while adding a little beauty to the evening landscape. Each projection illuminates the iconic Spanish Renaissance architecture of The City Hall of Beverly Hills in new innovative ways.

Congratulations to Universal Studios Japan

Universal Studios Japan (USJ) won Best Live Show Spectacular at this year’s Thea Awards for their Universal Spectacle Night Parade- “Best of Hollywood.”

Utopia is honored to have worked alongside the USJ team for over 3 years to bring this to life. We are proud of everyone at Universal Studios Japan for their hard work and look forward to future collaborations.

“Best of Hollywood” Night Parade illuminates the streets of USJ with characters from Transformers, Despicable Me, Harry Potter. Visitors get to live the movies they cherish.

The stories come to life with animatronic and costumed characters choreographed to musical scores on massive virtual environments. A new parade control system had to be invented to synchronize on-board and off-board projection mappings with progressive of parade units.

Sending Warm Wishes and Cheer this Holiday Season

Season’s greetings to you and yours!

May your days be filled with peace, hope, and joy this holiday season.

As always, thank you for your business, loyalty, and support.

From all of us at Utopia; Norm, Sam, Victor, Ethan, Brad, Zach, Jereme, Laura, Dave, Pauline, Kenny, & Sammy

Have you considered an experience audit?

Gain valuable insight into your guest’s experience with a confidential, secret shopper review of your event or attraction.

We review operational performance, food and beverage quality, and entertainment value.

Our clients have included

Live Nation, Universal Studios,

Swarovski, Chimelong, and many others.

Lights & Music Keep Beverly Hills Open at Night, Year Round

With help from Utopia, Beverly Hills attracts nighttime foot traffic with lights and music all year round.

Utopia is proud to provide service for over 1000 glittering trees and 200 wireless speakers in the City of Beverly Hills.

Curated music and saturated white light create an undeniable atmosphere promoting patronage after dark.

Next Night Returns to Beverly Hills

Utopia is proud to announce the return of Next Night where we are providing event design and production for the Next Beverly Hills Committee and the City of Beverly Hills.

All the facets of fun come together for NEXT NIGHT-a block party celebrating the community we love and the people who make it great.

After last year’s success seeing an attendance of over 2,500 we’ll be back on South Beverly Drive, Sept. 23rd, for a night of live music, food trucks, a beer and wine garden, and exclusive shopping with a mix of local artists and an emphasis on goods crafted in Beverly Hills.