‘Illumination park’ in Myrtle Beach brings dazzling light displays to Broadway at the Beach
Broadway at the Beach is getting a new massive new restaurant and bar — The Hangout — in the coming weeks, and it will be joined by a spectacular outdoor light display.
On June 2, “Illumination Park: An Art Experience” opens to the public across the lawn from The Hangout. The exhibit and the restaurant a part of the new Key West Village section of Broadway at the Beach.
“This art experience offers a visually vibrant and interactive backdrop for our guests to create life-long memories,” April Dendy Martin, senior vice president of Broadway at the Beach owner Burroughs & Chapin, said in a statement. “As part of our redevelopment efforts at Broadway at the Beach, we’re committed to creating unique experiences like Illumination Park to enhance the quality of life of our community.”
The exhibit is “magnificent from day to night,” according to a press release from Broadway at the Beach. The shopping and entertainment center said the art display will include “Electric Dandelions” with light displays that will mimic fireworks; “Cloud Swings” that change colors while the guests swing below; and “Evanescent,” giant glowing orbs that change colors.
Work by local artist Jim Swaim also will be featured in the exhibit with a colorful crab sculpture that is meant to represent environmental preservation, Broadway at the Beach said.
“At The Hangout, we create experiences that bring generations together and art is a big part of that. We’ve gathered an assortment of unique art installations curated especially for the Myrtle Beach location. We like to make sure our visitors aren’t just observers — they become participants in the fun,” The Hangout’s owner Shaul Zislin said in a statement. “Illumination Park is an immersive experience that will also bring generations together by providing people a place where excitement and adventure await.”
The Hangout and “Illumination” come to Broadway at the Beach as the shopping and entertainment center has undergone some major changes in recent years. The last two night clubs at Broadway, Oz and Malibu’s Surf Bar, closed permanently in 2020. In November 2021, Señor Frogs started closing earlier and no longer transformed into a dance club on weekend nights.
A year later the Wonders Theatre returned to Broadway at the Beach in a new venue, the former Oz night club, after a two-year hiatus. Soon, The Hangout, a massive restaurant and bar that will offer live music and requires nearly 300 employees to operate, will open as well.
The “Illumination” exhibit is just the first step in the expansion of art displays in the Key West Village area at Broadway at the Beach. In the coming months, permanent murals will be painted on the buildings, and the shopping center said additional art might be added later in the summer to Illumination Park.
Future expansions of the Key West Village are planned, too, including new “specialty retail concepts” that have not yet been announced.
The area where Key West Village is located once contained the AMC Classic Broadway 16 movie theater, Dragon’s Lair Fantasy Mini-Golf, Pavilion Park East and MagiQuest. They were all demolished by late 2019.
This story was originally published May 26, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
