Iām a former Evermore Park cast member, AMA
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@evermoreparkbadger
Iām a former Evermore Park cast member, AMA

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i went back to watch Jenny Nicholsonās Evermore video again after watching her Star Wars Hotel video and found these gems in the comments
Timestamped responses to Jenny Nicholson's new Patreon ramble about Evermore.
You'll have to be subbed to her Patreon to have any context for these, but Patreon is also pretty bad at sorting and finding comments so I'm reposting it here for a bit more visibility.
4:34 I hadnāt heard of him either, despite the fact that I was a performer during time he was supposedly a manager. This isnāt really surprising, ground-level employees scarcely received communication from or about anything above their departmentās management.
6:55 Hi Bob! He was actually a cast member at Evermore for one season. This was after he had already been reporting on Evermore for a while, and AFAIK none of his content even during or after that period was endorsed by the park. I can attest he is as friendly and genuine in person as he is in his videos, and a great guy.
7:07 There were several others during the first few years. After Evermore announced in early 2021 that they were discontinuing all stories, quest, and characters they had done up until that point and changing to a more story-light experience, several of the most dedicated fans and frequent guests stopped engaging with the park, including any who made content about it.
8:32 Yeah. They did reorganize and lay people off several times, but only below a certain point in seniority. Obviously Ken himself and any business partners or investors that had any stake in the company maintained control. Though, if they ever āmanagedā anything, it was done in a very hands-off way and dictated through several layers of employees.
9:55 This kind of toxic positivity is rampant in Utah. Any type of criticism or discontent towards any leadership, usually rich, straight, white men, is highly frowned upon. Literally, in this case. The people who dare to express negative opinions or challenge the status quo (who are often not rich straight white men) are then viewed as problematic and practically shunned. Anyone who criticizes or challenges is bad, bad people are untrustworthy, therefore their criticisms and opinions are invalid.
10:23 Also strange since he did create a TTRPG company. If anything, I think that would qualify someone as a ānerdā themselves.
10:45 Exactly!
11:12 Ken held strong control over a lot of aspects of the park and the business, but itās obviously far too big of an operation for one person to micro-manage so much of it. Another example is he wouldnāt let anyone change the Evermore website. It was commonly suggested to use the website as a way to communicate storylines and background information for new guests but it never happened. Itās unclear if Ken outright refused that, or if he didnāt mind the idea but wouldnāt do it himself or let anyone else have access to do it.
13:25 There were times when the food at the park was good. I donāt know if they were only able to have better food by cutting corners, operating without being under code, and then changed once they were under scrutiny (remember when one of the buildings lit on fire?), or if they just cut costs.
17:40 I think [Jenny is] probably right, and I donāt think this was the only time it or something similar happened. There were several times Ken would try to bring new money in, and sometimes people would bite-only to quickly back out after learning how bad the situation was.
18:50 That would require admitting fault or failure from park leadership, and thus would have never happened.
22:50 This aggravates me lol. Changing the official Facebook page name for the park changed all my āworked atā and tagged posts to say āThecrookedlanternā instead of āEvermore Parkā and it looks awful and drives me crazy.
23:30 Iām definitely biased here but I do think that some of the intellectual property that Ross now owns does have some value, or at least at one point had the potential to, but ironically it was all but abandoned after the aforementioned 2021 announcement. The worldbuilding and characters had their moments, and the Evermore Realms card game, while a relatively small project, was reportedly actually profitable for Evermore. There was an entire second set of cards designed and ready to print that never saw the light of day. Furthermore, even though Ross technically owns all the intellectual property from Evermore, he might not even be aware of most of it. Even if he was it probably wasn't properly archived anywhere. Heād have to dig through old employee emails Google Drives to piece it together, if that data even still exists or he has any way to access it, or rehire someone who worked on it to attempt to recreate it.
25:25 An Evermore property only designed to look nice and not actually facilitate people or events there? Consider me shocked. /s
30:00 Beyond the Gates is not the first former employee/fans spiritual successor that has been attempted. I was briefly involved with a group called Mynheras larp that was also the same concept. Their goal was to not have the same problems Evermore had and then almost immediately began falling apart because they were having the same problems Evermore had-at least on the creative side of things. They didnāt have any money. I havenāt worked with Beyond the Gates but there are good and talented people who are involved and I wish them the best.
31:20 Iād like to think most of us are appreciative towards the work [Jenny] did and agree with all the criticism [Jenny] made (and more), and I know several of us are, but it is Utah. I would be disappointed, but not surprised, to find a handful who hold undue resentment towards [Jenny].
39:00 I donāt know anything about this exhibit in particular, but there were so many incredibly talented people who were exploited, burned, and abandoned by Evermore. Several sculptors and creature-creators worked for months to years before the park opened, and then were laid off within months of the park opening. Iām glad to see some of their efforts and creations survived and are being put to some use.
42:30 Iām getting emotional and nostalgic seeing these omg ;_;
44:25 oh Iām so glad you had the opportunity to speak to one of them directly!
44:50 YES. This was actually a part of a big and surprising problem with Evermoreās development and how there was no intellectual property developed (e.g. story and characters) before they had to start building them. Iāll go into this in more depth in my eventual video about my experiences at Evermore if I ever finish it
45:28 yep yep yep
46:20 YEP YEP YEP
47:00 I actually didnāt know a lot of this either and it explains a lot.
47:20 and while Iām sure this all true, a lot of the puppets and creature suits did fall into significant disrepair and were never fixed.
51:20 I never personally saw any of this behavior but I did hear about it from others who I 100% believe.
52:00 My impression is that heās not evil or malicious per se, but is someone whose ego far surpasses his competence and refuses to acknowledge or accept his failures or shortcomings. When confronted with them, he lashes out.
EDIT: I have since seen his recent Twitter replies. He has gone full alt-right Musk bro. Evermore was something of a haven for a lot of marginalized communities in Utah, not to mention -he has queer children himself-, so him revealing those opinions is a complete betrayal. I try to afford some benefit of doubt where possible, but heās shown his true colors.
55:00 this is hilarious and I never heard these details before. While, I believe, none of the displays were intended to be specifically religious, several of the antiques were originally religious in nature and several sculptures made for the park were themed similarly. It all felt very classically Catholic or Anglican, which is funny to do in Utah where the population is very religious and conservative but specifically (and proudly) NOT Catholic or Anglican. Mormons. ĀÆ\_(ć)_/ĀÆ
56:55 lmao we literally called that building āthe barnā the first couple of seasons.
57:55 I was under the impression that the tavern was one of the few that was an original design, but maybe that was just the interior.
59:10 As far as I know, they never attempted to sell liquor on the park premises outside of the premium special events and Vanderās Keep. Corners were cut constantly, but I donāt think they were ever this bold with it. Iām sure he wanted to, but it would be impossible to get away with in Utah. It would stand out so much compared to any other similar attraction in the state, and enough of the population would actually be shocked and offended at the presence of alcohol that some suburban parents with too much time on their hands would report them immediately.
1:00:30 I donāt recall any specific details but there were several liens and lawsuits from contractors who werenāt paid even in the first year Evermore was open.
1:01:40 Iām not an authority on this subject but I donāt actually think this was the case for this building. The upper floor did have āpillarsā, but they werenāt put in until several years after the park opened and were clearly fake and not structurally integral. There were antique stone columns in the park (and I once heard they were actually the oldest artifacts on site), but they were across the graveyard from the building around the weird shrine with the antique statue of Saint Apollonia, the Catholic patron saint of dentistry. To be clear, the mausoleum could easily have not been up to code but it wasnāt because there were marble columns in the upper floor. Iām not trying to defend the park by any means, but Iād like to try to keep the facts straight to paint an accurate picture.
1:03:50 These details are also new to me and also not a surprise. Infrastructure throughout the park was very limited. Again, Iām not an expert and donāt know the specifics, but the idea of hosting mid-sized performances and concerts was brought up several times almost immediately when the park opened, and I was told the infrastructure couldnāt support anything like that. Not even electricity for proper lights and sound.
1:04:50 As far as I know this is correct. Iām sure new owners wouldnāt want to inherit all the problems, debts, and negative reputation Evermore Park the company has, but it is sad that the park and the intellectual property have been separated.
1:12:13 Iām getting flashbacks to hbomberguy revealing that Tommy Tallarico wasnāt actually on MTV Cribs
1:16:00 While Iām also not particularly optimistic, this is still a much better outcome than having it all be demolished and bulldozed for condominiums.
1:20:00 This isnāt the first time this has happened in Utah. They seem to be copying a trend of semi-high-profile scavenger hunts that have taken place in the state over the past several years. Unsurprisingly, the winners are always the people who can afford to commit the most time to it (i.e. not working a day job), which arenāt the people that could use the money the most.
1:32:20 Amongst the several, several red flags around Realm Town (and that terrible, terrible name), the one point of optimism Iāll give is that the man in this footage here (heās not as public as the owners so I wonāt name him but for all I know he introduces himself in one of their videos) is the former āProject Directorā at Evermore from late 2019 until the layoffs in 2021, and was in a senior creative position for at least a year before that. He was creatively involved in all the storylines and āgameplayā that existed during what is considered to be Evermoreās peak, and experienced firsthand all the traps, shortcomings, frustrations, and challenges in developing and operating Evermore. Him returning to the land formerly-known-as-Evermore is something of a redemption arc, or could be. I would say that because of his direct, firsthand experience that he is one of the more qualified people who could direct this project, but judging by everything youāre pointing out here I worry he is in a similar position under the Foxes as he was under Ken. But I also wonder, because of the new ownershipās apparent cluelessness and aimlessness, if he and/or other people passionate about the park were the ones who encouraged them to purchase the land in the first place.
1:50:40 Meh. If they didnāt know what they were getting into when they purchased the land then youāre just educating them about it now. Anyone reasonable would be grateful for it, but maybe itās unrealistic to expect that anyone who owns these projects to be reasonable.
1:52:10 Oh! There it is! The card game. I am forever bitter about it because the characters I played werenāt included in the initial set that was printed but were going to be in the finished but unpublished second set. Someone who had connections to its development very generously leaked the art to me and itās amazing and I donāt know if I can even legally share it.
I moved states after my last season at Evermore in August 2023, so I donāt have too much more insight into Realm Town or any other ongoing developments. What small relevance Iāve had here is quickly diminishing haha. I mentioned in another comment that Iām working on a video describing my experiences at Evermore. I say this not to self-promote, but hopefully by making myself accountable to some other people I might be encouraged enough to actually finish it. Big thanks yet again to Jenny for her earnest and thorough approach to this fascinating topic (and to all the topics she covers on her channel) that means a lot, or meant a lot, to several passionate and talented people and for encouraging large-scale creative endeavors to meet their potential by offering helpful and specific criticisms and ideas.
Fontainebleau State Park, Louisiana by Lana Gramlich
Iām a former Evermore Park cast member, AMA
Reopening this.

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Based on your personal familiarity with the park, do you think any of the small changes Jenny mentioned will ever be incorporated into the park? Things like better food, merch, or better concealment of unfinished sections?
Ever? Almost definitely. Better concealment has already happened in a lot of places largely through landscaping, itās just the church in particular that is impossible to hide because itās so large and fairly central.
The quality of food took a hit after COVID, so there actually have been times already when it was much better than it is now. That seems to be a detail that they do value, but theyāve struggled to bounce back. Ironically, Vanderās Keep closing may lead to better food options in the park itself because a lot of the space and resources that went to the restaurant can now be allocated to the general refreshments.
As far as merchandise goes, their current strategy seems to be focused on negotiating with local third-party vendors to come in and sell their wares. This unfortunately means that there are few official Evermore-branded items available to purchase, but there are still a lot of great thematic items that can be bought at the park such as wardrobe pieces and accessories for cosplay, props like glowing crystals and potion bottles, leather-bound notebooks, dice and accessories for TTRPGs, etc.
I donāt know what the precise agreement between Evermore and the vendors is, like whether Evermore takes a percentage of sales or just charges a flat fee Iām not aware, but several vendors have been present for many seasons now so they must be satisfied.
From what I hear, they've recently cut down on vendors, too.
The scenes on Jenny's video regarding a character called Wen Weaver seemed pretty dark and adult thematically. Can you talk a little bit more on that? I thought the actress who played Wen was amazing at improv but I'm not sure how I would've reacted if I'd saw that one 'DO YOU WANT ME TO SLEEP WITH HIM?' scene take place in real life. It seems... I don't know. I'm not even really sure what it is I'm asking. Just if you could clarify if there was any guidelines around how adult the scenes were allowed to be, and What's The Deal With Wen Weaver in general and why she always seems to be having a bad time
See the linked reddit comment that was a response to a similar question, but also there werenāt really any specific boundaries or guidelines with content beyond āgenerally family-friendlyā or āmostly āPGā with some āPG-13āā
And actors just love to capitalize on moments of drama when they happen. If itās in front of guests we recognized and the circumstances of the scene justified it, we would often test those boundaries on those rare occasions. Jennyās quick compilation made it seem much more common than they were.
565 votes and 155 comments so far on Reddit
āour teeth and ambitions are baredā is a zeugma
and itās a zeugma where one of the words is literal and one is metaphorical which is the BEST KIND
I didnāt know about zeugmas until just now! That isĀ so awesome, everybody:Ā
zeugĀ·ma ĖzoĶoÉ”mÉ/
noun
a figure of speech in which a word applies to two others in different senses (e.g.,John and his license expired last weekĀ ) or to two others of which it semantically suits only one (e.g.,Ā with weeping eyes and heartsĀ ).
ISNāT THAT AWESOME??
#in english class in high school my teacher had us write our own zeugmas in class#and one guy came up with āhe fell from her favor⦠and the windowā#i am forever looking for opportunities to use that one
She dropped her dress and inhibitions at the door.
Whatās this? My favorite rhetorical device showing up on my dashboard?
IT HAS A NAMEEEE!! OH MY GOD!!!
I LOVE THIIIIIS!!!
One Iāve loved was āon their weekend trip they caught three fish and a coldā
I love these theyāre like a pun and a metaphor wrapped up into one neat phrase
Based on your personal familiarity with the park, do you think any of the small changes Jenny mentioned will ever be incorporated into the park? Things like better food, merch, or better concealment of unfinished sections?
Ever? Almost definitely. Better concealment has already happened in a lot of places largely through landscaping, itās just the church in particular that is impossible to hide because itās so large and fairly central.
The quality of food took a hit after COVID, so there actually have been times already when it was much better than it is now. That seems to be a detail that they do value, but theyāve struggled to bounce back. Ironically, Vanderās Keep closing may lead to better food options in the park itself because a lot of the space and resources that went to the restaurant can now be allocated to the general refreshments.
As far as merchandise goes, their current strategy seems to be focused on negotiating with local third-party vendors to come in and sell their wares. This unfortunately means that there are few official Evermore-branded items available to purchase, but there are still a lot of great thematic items that can be bought at the park such as wardrobe pieces and accessories for cosplay, props like glowing crystals and potion bottles, leather-bound notebooks, dice and accessories for TTRPGs, etc.
I donāt know what the precise agreement between Evermore and the vendors is, like whether Evermore takes a percentage of sales or just charges a flat fee Iām not aware, but several vendors have been present for many seasons now so they must be satisfied.
What did the standard day at Evermore park look like for adult guests? Did more adults come with kids or with other adults?
The audience is pretty evenly split between families with younger children and adult groups, with the balance shifting more from one to the other the later the night goes on.
The āaverageā experience is actually quite hard to define because it can vary dramatically depending on which season and year you visited, how busy that night was, and whether or not you were an experienced regular or brand new.
If you were a first-time guest who did very little research beforehand and you came on one of the busiest nights your experience could easily have been aimlessly wandering around, stopping to watch the fire dancers, waiting in line to shoot an arrow or throw an axe, watching the bird show, occasionally stopping briefly to admire the architecture or decoration, waiting in line to buy food, and maybe getting to meet a character who maybe would have given you something specific to seek out or do. If this was at a time when guilds were at their biggest you could have joined in the task required to join and been a part of a group invitation event into one of them, and leave the park being able to say that you became a knight or got to join the Rangers or Witches. Guilds on that scale are no longer present at Evermore. Oh! How could I forget, you could also pay a few dollars extra to ride the train that travels through the sections of the park where there is the least to look at.
Now, if you were a dedicated regular who came on a less-busy evening your experience would be very different. You would first immediately find a favorite character who youāve developed a rapport with and ask them if anything new had happened or changed since your last visit, you would seek out specific characters and ask them questions about a detail they or another character had mentioned in order to learn more of the history. You could try and gain the trust of a character you didnāt know as well in order for them to be more likely to share lesser-known information and secrets that may help you piece together larger mysteries about the worldbuilding or underlying tension that was menacingly growing as the season progressed. If guilds were present, you would speak to the leader of your guild who had a record of your name and rank to get advice about completing the requirements for your next advancement which had become increasingly more difficult and required much more time to complete over the course of multiple visits to the park. If a major story event happened to occur that night, you might be called out by name by a character to help or participate in some way. You would likely ignore whatever generic fetch quest that may have been running at the time because they were largely introductory and wouldnāt provide any of the answers you were looking for. You would spend a lot of hours both during and outside of park hours theorizing and telling stories of your experiences with other regular guests who you had met and become good friends with entirely through Evermore.

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What was your experience like backstage? What kind of briefing did you get to play your roles? I'm curious how a professional NPC experience compares to the one's I've had at LARP. Thanks.
Describing Evermore as LARP is a bit misleading because itās only true in the most basic of senses, and has little in common with most typical LARPs. There are hundreds if not thousands of guests and only dozens of actors, and the potential amount that any individual guest can affect the story is quite limited.
My contracts at Evermore spanned over a few years and while there were many problems that were never addressed there were still many changes and improvements to how things were run over that time. Generally anything ābackstageā was very crowded and uncomfortable, but the mood was usually good because despite everything most of us were still excited and having fun. Problematic instances were usually laughed or shrugged off. Admittedly, especially at the very beginning, we all thought fixes and improvements would come much faster than they did, so peopleās tolerance was higher for the opportunity to be a part of the very beginning of something ābigā.
Generally we received little material or information about story and characters, but this also varied considerably between ābasically nothingā and āan actually decent amount if you were one of the favored characters at the timeā depending on which season and under which team it happened.
I assume you saw Jenny Nicholson's video, is there anything you strongly disagreed with?
Not at all. The only things to add or clarify would be:
1. The ācreativeā staff has been reorganized multiple times, and each iteration had their own method of writing and communicating stories, characters, quests, gameplay, etc. so a lot of answers to questions about story and gameplay can vary considerably depending on the timeframe.
2. The other half of the January 2021 layoff announcement that Jenny didnāt mention was that all story, characters, quests, guilds up until that point would be discontinued, and that moving forward Evermore would be lighter on the story side.
3. Jennyās personal experience at the park happened at the worst possible time. Thatās not to say that had she visited at even the best of times all her problems would be gone, and it is 100% a terrible look for the park that it has EVER been that bad, but itās worth noting that her experience isnāt entirely indicative of what most guestsā experience is like.
the weekend (by m a v)
Photographer: Rob S. DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE THE CREDITS. THANK YOU.
such a beautiful sunset i captured like an hour ago, totally in love with this
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by Weronika Izdebska
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