Carved

Lightswitch designed this family-friendly, Halloween-themed immersive experience, which took place on the grounds of Descanso Gardens. Carved built upon the infrastructure already in place for Enchanted Forest of Light, Descanso’s annual winter show, and offered an option for families looking to spend a spooky – but not scary – evening together outdoors during the autumn season.

Our team led the Creative Direction and Visual Design for Carved, a Halloween experience aimed at attracting families with young children, as well as adults seeking an alternative to the more traditional scary Halloween fare. Our main challenge was figuring out how to maximize the efficiency of the project while still distinguishing it from Enchanted.

Lightswitch suggested utilizing much of the same infrastructure used for the winter show. Our intent was to create a Halloween-themed art direction overlay, which would maximize budget efficiency while still giving audiences a unique show. The theme emphasizes the spirit of autumn, focusing on organic, hand-crafted artisan creations throughout the experience, including “Rhizome” by artists Tom & Lien Dekyvere.

In 2023, Carved expanded into a new area as a result of anticipated refurbishment elsewhere in the gardens. We used this as an opportunity to relocate and refresh some audience-favorite experiences, as well as to create fresh ones in this new area. This change also had the benefit of lengthening the route of the show, offering guests even more opportunity for fall fun.

By capitalizing on the existing infrastructure from Descanso Gardens’ annual winter show, we were able to craft a family-friendly experience with high production value. This meant that Carved stood out among similar seasonal events, which are often either quite frightening or less immersive. The experience has made a big impression, establishing itself as a recurring tradition for families in Southern California.

Photography by Jake Fabricius & Chris Medvitz