Bohème Bewitched debuts a haunted house experience in downtown Davis
The thrift boutique’s new Halloween event features interactive activities and performances from UC Davis student clubs
By TALAR KESHISHIAN — arts@theaggie.org
Through Oct. 31, the empty buildings at 300 E St. have been transformed by locally owned thrift boutique Bohème into an immersive Halloween experience — Bohème Bewitched. Within the space, visitors can expect engaging activities and performances. The boutique’s community outreach and event coordinator Julia Holton designed the magical world.
“It's pretty much like a haunted house, but it's enchanted themed and more interactive,” Holton said.
Visitors can choose to embark on a whimsical quest or wicked quest, where they can explore six interactive lands: The Enchanted Grove, Zombie Infected Forest, Fairy and Frog Bog, Mermaid Lagoon, Witch’s Cottage and Wispy Spirit Worlds.
“It was fun creating the stories,” Holton said. “I definitely love to be a storyteller. I grew up kind of being a writer, so it was nice to tie them all together and make people more deeply engaged with the space.”
Items found through Facebook Marketplace, the Third Space Art Collective’s free art supply and Holton’s own backyard were repurposed to create the mystical atmospheres of these worlds. With a background in design and theater arts, Holton used her experience to bring her vision to life.
“Lots of things are handmade and lots of crafting went into this,” Holton said. “We tried to limit the number of new items we bought because we try our best in any way we can to be sustainable.”
Each land features activities unique to either quest — guests might tie a wish to the Enchanted Grove’s wishing tree during the whimsical quest, or turn a friend into a zombie by covering them in stickers at the Zombie Infected Forest during the wicked quest.
“We really try to make it interactive and for a wide range of ages — that was important to us,” Holton said. “We wanted it family friendly, but we also wanted to have college [students] and adults enjoy it.”
In addition, the space includes a section to buy costumes, accessories and more. A minimum purchase of $8 can count toward the $4 Bohème Bewitched entrance fee.
“The performance nights are also only $13, so we just wanted to make everything as affordable as we could for people,” Holton said.
A larger variety of new Halloween retail items can be found at 300 E St. rather than the boutique’s main location, according to Bohème Co-Owner Yelena Ivaschenko.
“It does get crowded [at Bohème] so this is a really nice space for people who get overwhelmed at Halloween stores and just want more chill space,” Ivaschenko said.
Bohème Bewitched also features three Enchanted Evenings for ages 18 and up in collaboration with UC Davis clubs, local businesses and artisans. Last weekend’s Diva with the Dead event included a fashion show presented by the UC Davis Fashion and Design Society and a performance from the Davis Pole Dancing club.
“[Involving the community is] actually my favorite thing, because I always love to connect to different groups, different parts of town and different generations,” Ivaschenko said. “I love to connect downtown with the UC Davis groups and our regular customers.”
On Oct. 24, the Davis Drag Club performed a drag show for Under Your Spell, the second Enchanted Evening. Itzel Herrera Mejia, a third-year sustainable environmental design major and vice president of Davis Drag Club, expressed her enthusiasm for the performance before the show.
“We have a wonderful show with a lot of great performers lined up, and it's sort of following an enchanted spooky theme, kind of like a witchy vibe,” Mejia said. “It should be really fun to have a lot of audience interaction in a really cool space.”
Mejia noted that this event provided an opportunity for drag performers, experienced or new, to participate in a public-facing event.
“We try to encourage [club members] to sign up, so it's very rewarding seeing everyone so excited to try new things or continuing their hobbies that they love so much,” Mejia said. “It's also beautiful to see that post-show adrenaline and seeing how the audience reacts. It's honestly so amazing how drag impacts not only the performers, but also the viewers and creates such an inviting community.”
The final Enchanted Evening will be Mystic Mayhem on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m., where visitors can discover their spirit animal pairing, dance during an LED light show and see a performance from Euphoria Pole Studio. Tickets are available for purchase on the Bohème Bewitched website for $13 ahead of time and $15 at the door. Dressing in costume is also encouraged.
Bohème Bewitched will run through Friday from 3 to 6:30 p.m. before its final day on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. For more information, visit the Bohème Bewitched website or follow @boheme.threads on Instagram.
Written by: Talar Keshishian — arts@theaggie.org