“It’s a quirky romp through this thing that we call Christmas.”

In Season 6, episode 10 of Reality Escape Pod, we talk to visual installation artist Lonnie Hanzon, who has been creating immersive displays celebrating Christmas for over 30 years. Lonnie is the mastermind behind the wildly creative Christmas trees and windows at Neiman Marcus in Dallas, and “The Evolution of the Ball” installation at Coors Field in Denver. His holiday immersive experience, Camp Christmas, is a whimsical journey into the land of Christmas where every surface is exploding with decor that tells a story.

Lonnie is a self-professed maximalist. Trained as a magician, he employs a variety of techniques designed to convey a narrative. Lonnie has amassed a collection of objects he calls his “palette,” and as a visual artist, he deploys them strategically to craft a specific mood or era. At his core, Lonnie is an environmental storyteller, and he breaks down his design decisions, explaining how different elements come together to craft a narrative.

I particularly enjoyed hearing Lonnie explain his process of creating immersive environments, often starting with what he calls “a color story” and a vision of sparking childlike joy and exuberance. We also discuss things like the social contract when visiting an immersive space and how to encourage polite etiquette among guests. Lonnie’s Camp Christmas has converted more than one cynic to the magic of Christmas, and it made even David’s heart swell a few inches.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

We are immensely grateful to our sponsors this season: Morty App, Buzzshot, and COGS. We truly appreciate your support of our mission to promote and improve the immersive gaming community.

Topics Discussed in this Episode

• 00:04 Introduction and Sponsors
• 00:11 Sponsor Break: COGS by Clockwork Dog
• 01:25 Meet Guest Lonnie Hanzon
• 02:57 Lonnie’s Early Career in Interactive Merchandising
• 07:11 The Art of Maximalism in Environmental Storytelling
• 12:06 Creating Crazy Christmas Tree Installations

• 21:58 Sponsor Break: Morty App
• 24:00 Materials and Techniques
• 25:23 The Evolution of the Ball Sculpture for Coors Field

• 28:34 Sponsor Break: Buzzshot Escape Room Software
• 29:25 Designing for the Wizard’s Chest Toy & Magic Store
• 32:13 Designing for Joy and Play
• 33:06 Creating a Burlesque Cabaret
• 34:06 The Power of Fantasy and Art in Creating Safe Spaces
• 35:48 The Magic of Camp Christmas
• 39:32 Telling a Story with Objects
• 40:21 The Importance of Color Stories in Design
• 42:17 Creating Different Aesthetics in Camp Christmas
• 44:32 The Fun of Pun Trees
• 46:44 Social Contracts in Immersive Environments 
• 53:34 The Joy of Camp Christmas and Converting Cynics
• 57:00 Upcoming Projects
• 58:57 The Impact of Lonnie’s Work
• 1:01:51 Bonus Story about a Little Girl and a Castle

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Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• Camp Christmas
• The Wizard’s Chest
• Lonnie Hanzon YouTube
• Lonnie Hanzon Website
• The Hanzon Archive

About Lonnie Hanzon

IG: @lonnie.hanzon

FB: Lonnie Hanzon

Lonnie Hanzon is a Colorado-based installation artist. Hanzon was raised near Pine, Colorado. His career started in the performing arts and fashion design, but he was soon hired to create major public works of art, immersive entertainment projects, visual merchandising and fine art commissions.

Comfortable with any medium and material, Lonnie is a design daredevil with a true DaVinci spirit: multi-disciplined, cross-trained, and absolutely fearless. With an astute sense of visual dramatics and an understanding of the classic rules of storytelling, Lonnie has a reputation for amazing crowds around the globe with his original works. His various product lines and bodies of work have run the gamut, from sculpted designer lollipops to massive installations.

Since 2019, Denver Center for the Performing Arts has produced Lonnie’s quirky Camp Christmas, a walkthrough world that draws over 50,000 people annually, which bills itself as the “ultimate immersive Christmas experience.” Lonnie’s landmark public works of art can be found throughout the Denver Metro area. In Denver, Hanzon is known for designing the perapatetic Wizard’s Chest toy store, The interior design of The Clocktower Cabaret, the original Parade of Lights, and his installations at Pridefest in Civic Center Park for many years. Lonnie served inside the Museum of Outdoor Arts from 2007-2011 as “Wizard in Residence” and he was a lead show producer for LucasArts Attractions, a division of LucasFilm in the early 90’s.

Nationally, he is known for his work for Neiman Marcus featured in numerous TV specials, Houston ZooLights, and the original Heist nightclub in Washington D.C. Over the course of his rich and robust career, Lonnie has never let go of his belief that “form follows function, and those functions should include storytelling, humor, meaning, and magic.”

“My goal as a creator is to reach the largest audience possible with images and messages of joy, history, and faith in the human spirit.” “I’m a maximalist,” he said. Maximalism, he explains, “is basically using everything you possibly can use to help tell the story.”

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