Drinkaway Camp coming to The Big Rip Brewing Company in North Kansas City, Missouri, presented by Fishing Lion Theater Company and Signal Horizon, is more than just a pop-up bar. It is many things at once. Weaving elements of a themed bar, an escape room, and a scavenger hunt, it is an intense horror world experience. It stands poised to change the way we define pop-up bars. It’s funny, raunchy, nostalgic, deeply unsettling, and more fun than you could ever imagine. With a fully fleshed backstory, including a world-building podcast that tells the horrific backstory, it is the future of what can be done with imagination, skill, and commitment.
The brainchild of Signal Horizon and Fishing Lion, Drinkaway Camp takes the best of the 80’s slashers and mixes them with a Cabin In The Woods vibe that is utterly unique and wildly creative. The sneak peek I got made me want to come back when it was dimly lit and full of nervous, giggling guests. Layered and rich, the bar is full of professional set pieces that are interactive and complex. This isn’t just knick knacks thrown on the wall and stacked on cardboard boxes hidden beneath tablecloths. Every tableau has a purpose and craftsmanship rarely seen outside Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights.
Everyone has those childhood horror stories that are more urban legend than fact, and Drinkaway Camp capitalizes on those memories and fears. Take a trip back to 1986 when danger lurks outside the door or coming from inside your house. Satanic Panic ran wild and blue vans waited to snatch up unsuspecting kids. Sex and drugs can kill you, and camp comes with a side of a machete to the head. Do you remember the days of driving down old country roads to see the abandoned house or Devil tree? They do, and they somehow captured that feel right down to the payphone and doll heads.
Play your night as the Fool, Nerd, Jock, Whore, Final Girl, or Killer, where each “game” differs from the next. Are you clever enough to figure out all the clues before you become the killer’s next victim? Maybe you want to drink your fears away. The Big Rip Brewing Company, just five miles north of the River Market, has been making high-quality small-batch beer for years, and they have brewed up some craft cocktails for the pop-up that are tasty and balanced. Award-winning BBQ is available at Hawg Jaw BBQ right next door. Grab a bite before entering the nightmare of your dreams. Signal Horizon Magazine has covered genre entertainment for the past decade while conceiving Drinkaway Camp. They know horror because it is their job.
It’s perfect for Bachelor or Bachelorette parties, dates, or social groups, and Drinkaway Camp can accommodate large or small group sizes as long as you hurry to book your dates now. Tickets are selling fast for the event that opens on September 29 and runs through October 29, 2023. There are two seatings at 6:00 PM and 8:30 PM on Friday and Saturday night, with a 6:00 PM seating on Sunday. Book reservations for the weekend seatings or indulge in the Halloween Party on October 28 that offers entry into Drinkaway Camp plus the creepy backwoods gas station-themed tap room complete with scaractors and complimentary drinks and brews.
Get your tickets for Drinkaway Camp here or the Halloween Party here but hurry. Reservations are filling up fast, and this will surely be the event for all fans of horror, fun, and themed experiences. You even get sent away with a keepsake of your night of terror. Take your guidebook, a mini Necronomicon, home to remember a night you will never forget. Grab your best buds and come in costume or hold onto a date. The choice is yours. Enter if you dare this Fall.