A visitor from New York City asked me this week how Las Vegas locals beat the heat.
I quickly advised, “Get to a cool place.”
And then I thought of the water effect at Particle Ink.
This is the mark of an effective entertainment vehicle, when it comes to you incidentally. Particle Ink has been in my head since it opened at Luxor 100 days ago, passing the benchmark this past Saturday.
The illuminated, multicolored pond in the middle of Particle Ink’s main room was among the more inventive elements brought to the immersive attraction. It was also the most difficult to execute, on the second-floor space that was once the hotel’s wedding chapel.
Particle Ink is simply a walk-around experience left to the visitor’s imagination. The elastic, round-headed character Particle dances around and jumps around a bedroom, interacting with the human artists in the venue. The projection in the maze of enclaves is sometimes crude, but always dazzling.
The creative team at Particle Ink has done its work so effectively that when you’re inside, you forget the space is just across from Original Chicken Tender at Luxor food court.
They also understand, 100 days in, how competitive Las Vegas has become for immersive attractions.
Vying for attention are lluminarium at Area15, Fantasy Lab at Fashion Show mall, Arte Museum at the 63 Las Vegas and incoming Dreambox 360 at Linq Promenade. There is not a weak effort in the bunch, an indication that stiff competition only enhances quality.
Particle Ink Executive Producer Cesar Hawas says that in the 100 days, he has been tweaking elements of the venue as he’s watched audiences interaction inside the space. Jennifer Tuft, co-CEO of production company Kaleidoco, has an optimism founded when she was a kid watching her favorite TV show, “Sesame Street,” with its limitless possibilities.
“We are at the beginning of the wave, and we think that this is the future of storytelling, the future of entertainment,” Tuft said at the venue opening in April. “We think that this type of entertainment reaches everyone, from young kids to adults. There is a lot of room for it in Las Vegas.”
On that visit, I stood inside “The Throne of Broken Toys,” a little set-aside room stuffed with discarded Tonka, Fisher Price and other vintage toys. I gazed at this mound for several minutes, recalling the days I played with these things, and my eyes welled up. I remarked to Hawas that rich people spend billions of dollars on buildings and fancy productions just to approach that visceral moment. I even told my brother about the experience, how vivid it was.
Particle Ink is the type of place in today’s Vegas that opens to splendid reception, but can be forgotten in the flurry of options that grace our city. But don’t take it for granted. The hope here is, 100 days is just the beginning.
Mark of the Forest
Opportunity Village is honoring Mark Davis and the Raiders at the next Camelot at the Magical Forest gala. The black-tie event is scheduled for Nov. 14 inside the Linda Smith and Christopher Smith Family Campus at 6300 W. Oakey Blvd.
Opportunity Village is an original Las Vegas philanthropic organization, dating to 1954. O.V. continues to serve adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Nevada.
“Even before the Raiders organization and Mark Davis came to Las Vegas, they were supporting Opportunity Village and the work we do to serve people with disabilities in our community,” Opportunity Village CEO Bob Brown said in a statement. “We are so excited to honor them at the biggest event of the season.”
Tickets and intel are available at camelotov.org.
What Works In Vegas
Cirque’s “Mad Apple,” which celebrated its 1,000th show at New York-New York on Sunday night. The show opened as the replacement of the popular, but double-the-expense “Zumanity,” on May 12, 2022.
Original cast member and music director Jean-Francois (“JF”) Blais has not missed a performance.
A total of 15 original cast members and 26 technicians date to the first show’s first performance. Count among them column fave and trumpet ace Isaac Tubb, whom we met as part of the Gossy Horns some time ago at Cleopatra’s Barge. The Cirque team has recruited well and kept the band in play for this hit show.
Day tripper
We’ve been reciting two dates for the finale of The Beatles’ “Love” at The Mirage, Saturday and Sunday. Both are correct. Saturday is the last ticketed show. Sunday is the actual final performance, for a VIP, invite-only crowd.
Cool Hang Alert
In honor of the closing of “Love,” a Beatles-themed Acoustic Universe show takes over Sand Dollar Lounge on Polaris and Spring Mountain from 6-9 p.m. Saturday. No cover. Go thesanddollarlv.com/lounge for intel. As always, try the pizza.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.