The Leviathan's Riddle Hunt This interactive element serves as the engaging core of the party experience, utilizing a six-part linear scavenger hunt to encourage exploration and discovery. The riddles follow a narrative about the ill-fated voyage, guiding participants on a winding route that begins at the front entrance gate, travels through the different zones, and highlights the scenic elements. By hiding the riddles within specific props, the game forced guests to closely examine the details of every custom build. While party attendees typically stay stationary with a drink, this interactive layer gave them the confidence and incentive to move, explore the entire environment, and mingle. The disco skull from years past was worked into the story as the spiritual heart of the sunken Leviathan to give guests a visual reward for finishing the riddle hunt.

Ship Anchor: Suspended overhead to draw eyes upward and create a silhouette against the sky, this anchor prop introduces environmental irony to the narrative. Representing the exact point where the ship's lines snapped during its initial descent, it hangs above the wreckage below, reminding guests that they are standing at the very bottom of the ocean in the abyssal plain. The fabrication materials were ultra-lightweight, allowing for easy rigging and eliminating the need for heavy structural supports.

The Leviathan's Riddle Hunt

1. At the Front Gate

Riddle to Point 2: I am the star that shines in black, a false light leading an attack. Seek the beast with a glowing jaw, the hunger hidden in the maw.

2. on the Angler Fish

Riddle to Point 3: The beast is dark, its light is dead, a colder garden lies ahead. Seek the reef of slate grey stone, where the ship's deep sorrow has been sown.

3. on the Coral

Riddle to Point 4: Where sorrow's stone, a new path starts, to cheer the crew's despairing hearts. Seek the galley, drowned and deep, where spectral spirits secrets keep.

4. in the Galley

Riddle to Point 5: The spirits drink to forget their grave, but something holds them 'neath the wave. Find the bond, a heavy chain, that keeps the wreck in this domain.

5. At the Anchor

Riddle to Point 6: The chain is found, the tether breaks, but one last piece the spirit wakes. Go to the stern, where the ship meets its end, find the head of rhythms, the final friend.

6. At the disco Skull

The hunt is done, the riddles cease. The Heart now beats, the souls find peace. The curse is broken, the night is bright, now join the crew and share the light.

Scenic Elements

• The Angler Fish: Conceived to immediately and clearly communicate the aesthetics of the environment, this biological hero prop presents a stylized creature based on the classic deep-sea predator. The core structure uses cardboard and foam board, finished with glossy and matte black surface and a red interior mouth cavity. The fish features oversized, jagged white teeth and removable, battery-powered flickering red eyes, creating a menacing presence hanging over the heads of guests.

Deep Sea Diver Helmet: This vintage diver helmet was constructed from scratch using historical photographs of early diving apparatus as reference. Built from foam board, cardboard, and hot glue, the final piece was finished with metallic spray paint. While scaled to have slightly oversized proportions, the design was ultra-lightweight (weighing just 2lbs) to ensure it wasn't taxing to wear and allowed the wearer to easily turn their head with a full range of motion while inside the helment. Ironically this underwater dive helmet was constructed with numerous gaps and holes providing excellent ventilation and airflow. Serving as one of my costumes for the event, the piece perfectly compliments the theme of the environment.

The Wreckage of the Leviathan: To ground the overall project, a shipwreck was a necessary narrative anchor. Nothing communicates deep ocean floor quite like a sunken vessel. Modeled after the silhouettes of late 1880s steam tankers, this installation features the bow of the ship looming over guests at the far end of the yard. Focusing the fabrication on just the front part of the ship allowed for a massive, high-impact structure that fit the physical constraints of the venue. The internal armature was built using bamboo poles, wood scaffolding, cardboard, and taut metal wire, then sheeted in cardboard and black craft paper. The hull integrates dimensional details like a deck railing, a wheelhouse, and mechanical parts, decorated with algea and detritus to look integrated into its the surrounding environment of rock and coral.

Rock Formations and Coral: To transform the linear geometry of the patio into a rocky underwater canyon, the rock formations were designed with a highly variable shape language. The fabrication involved sculpting cardboard sheets into irregular, organic forms, then gluing them together in dynamic ways and then skining them in textured paper to hide seams and hard edges. Spray foam insulation was applied as an accent across the surfaces to create a textured finish mimicking deep-sea marine growth. Similarly the coral made from carefully sculpted cardboard futher enhances the ocean floor aesthetics.