Following the 2018 Leisure Lifestyle Awards, Kimberly Krol, Angelique Platas and I decided to extend our stay in Los Angeles to see a bit more of the city. The morning after the awards we made our way to Santa Monica to experience the sweet pop-up Candytopia.

We arrived at Santa Monica Place at our allotted time and were given a brief set of instructions before making our way through the rooms. The interactive attraction features more than a dozen unique installations throughout the two-level, 16,000-square-foot space. The installations range from works of art made with candy and unicorn pigs to candy sea creatures and a marshmallow pit. The experience feels like a real-life visit to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory — with a happier ending.

We felt like kids in a candy store, delighting in the candy samples available throughout the experience, purchasing a few extra treats to go from the gift shop and taking some Instagram photos along the way.

Due to popular demand, the Santa Monica experience has been extended through July 22. There’s still time to see Candytopia if you’re in the area. Sign up for the newsletter for more information about future cities.

— Katie Skrzek, vice president/digital director