Back in summer of 2018 when I was endlessly chasing after pop-ups as they were increasing in popularity and quantity, literally popping up all over the pace, I visited Happy Go Lucky, a small pop-up in Soho. You can read about my initial visit here in an old blog post. 3 years later, they have come back to Soho again, in a different building/location but not far from the original. I was originally planning on visiting earlier this summer with friends but plans fell through. And then recently, as luck would have it, I was asked this past week to come visit. Unfortunately by the time this gets posted, the photos I’m sharing of the rooms will be outdated as I literally visited two days before they closed it down for a week long renovation to change it over to their Halloween layover. BUT! No worries, I was invited back for that edition too so when I get around to visiting the newly madeover space, I’ll report back on that as well.
So if you weren’t around for the first Happy Go Lucky, this version was very similar. The diamond room was their most coveted piece from the first round and was brought back and rightfully so, as it was one of the best rooms. This time, we weren’t rushed on time, so we were able to take our time. The staff was much fairer this time around making sure everyone was allotted the time they wanted to be satisfied with their experience, especially with it being the first room and setting the mood for the rest of your time there. I feel like my first experience 3 years ago was soured by being rushed in the first room and that’s all I really remember of it, overshadowing the rest of my time there. So this time around, I would definitely say it has been greatly improved.
The clam shell was also brought back, in mirror form this time, and the trippy black and yellow room was also re-imagined. My favorite new edition to this experience was the kaleidoscope room, similar to the diamond room, where the walls are mirrored and the images are constantly changing. Honestly those two rooms are the only ones you need to really come for, as they gave the most dynamic photos since they were constantly changing. They were my favorite rooms in the experience, and honestly I wish someone made an entire pop-up of mirrored infinity rooms like this.
The other rooms were interesting to walk through, but I wish there was a more connecting theme to bring it all together. It was similar to the first pop-up, in that it was a mish mosh of random rooms thrown together so it makes it a little difficult to figure out what to wear to go with everything when taking photos. I guess the most central theme of the pop-up is illusions since a lot of it is mirrored and projections. It reminds me of a carnival funhouse so that’s probably the closest thing I can describe it to. But if you’re looking for just a fun experience and photos with friends, it’s perfect for a silly, fun time, which I guess in the end is perfect since the name is literally happy-go-lucky. Anything goes in a carnival funhouse.
Masks are required to be worn as you walk around the exhibit and you’re allowed to remove them when actively taking photos. I do recommend bringing your own hand sanitizer for in between rooms especially if you’re visiting during a busy time. They also offer free individual bottles of hand sanitizer at the end, as well as free ice cream! The staff was very patient, friendly and more than helpful, always offering to help take pics for you if you visit alone or just need someone to take pics of your entire group. Tickets are available online only and are about $17 for kids and $31-35 for adults depending on your date. My recommendation would be to check out photos of the space, plan your outfit, plan your poses and be ready to snap, snap, snap away to maximize your time and experience here. The lighting changes a lot since a few of the rooms were designed with projections and constantly changing images so it is definitely a challenge to get the shot, so I would recommend a good camera and know how to play with your settings to adjust as quick as possible to each room’s environment. But if you’re just looking for fun photos with your friends, again, just have a good time and don’t worry about the rest.
Thank you to the team at Happy Go Lucky for having us!
Photos by: NYC Traveler TV