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SYNCRA City Music Experience in Vancouver

SYNCRA City

SYNCRA is an immersive experience with electronic dance music, lighting effects and interactive activities. It premiered in Vancouver in February 2023.

The attraction was in Vancouver from mid-February until April 30th. It was open from Thursdays to Sundays during the School Spring Break. As of the start of the school holidays in March, SYNCRA also had three new exhibits as well as roving performers which added to the experience.

The venue was fully licensed and both food and beverages were available inside SYNCRA City.

 

Experience SYNCRA

 

Vancouver’s SYNCRA Experience in 2023

SYNCRA is a brand new music experience touring North America. The exhibit’s first stop was in Vancouver on Valentine’s Day this year. Folks in the Lower Mainland were the first in the world to check out the immersive walkthrough attraction. SYNCRA is a fresh and unique way to experience new electronic dance music (EDM) and visual art.

The event is a high-tech attraction covering about 7,000 square feet of space. The venue is made to look like a unique and futuristic city with different areas to explore. Each room isd like its own neighbourhood inside a cyberpunk-like city. You can walk around freely. There is no set route and you can stay for as long as you like while interacting with all the different displays and technology.

The place has a bit of a nightclub feel to it. Bright neon lights and all sorts of colours greet attendees. Original music plays as well throughout the attraction, and each beat is synced to a variety of different visual and interactive displays. It’s an impressive sight to see and experience!

 

SYNCRA Station
SYNCRA Station

 

When is SYNCRA City

SYNCRA opened on Valentine’s Day in 2023. It ran on different days and times from February 14th until April 30th.

The attraction opened on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. It was also open on statutory holidays (like on the Family Day Monday).

Hours of operation up until mid-March were the following (although exact details were subject to change):

  • Thursdays – 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm
  • Fridays – 5:00 pm to 10:30 pm
  • Saturdays – 1:00 pm to 10:30 pm
  • Sundays – 1:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Over the school Spring Break holidays between March 16th and 26th the attraction was open during the following time slots (with the place closing each night at 10:30 pm):

  • Thursdays – 7:00 pm, 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm
  • Fridays – 7:00 pm, 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm
  • Saturdays – 5:00 pm, 6:00 pm, 7:00 pm, 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm
  • Sundays – 5:00 pm, 6:00 pm, 7:00 pm, 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm

 

Where is SYNCRA City

The attraction was set up in the Croatian Cultural Centre building at 3250 Commercial Drive in the City of Vancouver. There was free parking at the venue which is conveniently just a 10-minute walk from the Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain Station. It’s also just a couple of blocks from John Hendry Park and Trout Lake.

 

Ticket Prices for the SYNCRA Experience

Admission prices varied depending on your age and how many people you were going with. Individual ticket prices as of mid-March 2023 were as follows. Online service fees and taxes were extra. (Note: Prices and other details were subject to change.)

  • General Admission (ages 12+) – $25
  • Children (ages 3 to 11) – $20
  • Little Kids (ages 2 and under) – Free
  • Families (with 2 adults & 2 children) – $70
  • Groups of 10 or More – $20

In addition to general admission tickets, the venue could also be rented to larger groups. Parties of 25 or more could pre-book at $50 per person, and with that the price included two drinks for each attendee. Because the venue has a nightclub-style feel to it, in our opinion, the more friends you went with, the more fun it was (especially if you turned it into a party)!

The venue could also be booked for private, exclusive events for two or more hours at a time (subject to availability). For that, maximum capacity was 250 people.

 

SYNCRA Experience Rooms

 

SYNCRA Rooms

SYNCRA City had seven different “neighbourhoods” or rooms to check out. Below are descriptions of each of the areas.

 

SYNCRA Station

The experience started in SYNCRA Station. This room was what you’d first see as you entered the venue.

The room was made to look like an underground train station from the future. There were train tickets and information booths. Visitors could listen to EDM music, admire interesting projections and interact with a few different screens. Nearby was the Pulse Alley light tunnel that connected the station with the Arena and Particle Park.

 

Pulse Alley

Staged to look like an alleyway, this area was the underground passage of the city. Pulse Alley was a tunnel full of arches of light. The lights reacted and responded to movement inside the tunnel with changing colours, lines and more. It was one of the best places for photos, but there were lots of other great spots too!

 

SYNCRA City Light Tunnel
Pulse Alley at SYNCRA City

 

Frequency Bar

SYNCRA Station connected with Pulse Alley in one direction, but it also led into the Frequency Bar if you headed the other way.

As its name suggested, the Frequency Bar looked like a funky bar. In this area guests could interact with tables in the room to change the colours of the lighting. When you moved your drink, the visual experience around you changed as well.

The Frequency Bar was where you could purchase food and beverages. There was beer (from Parallel 49 Brewing) and other refreshments.

 

Mirror District

This area got its name because of its featured infinity mirror. Your reflection went on forever! There was a line of lights on the ceiling that created stunning reflections.

The Mirror District was an interesting hallway for pictures of yourself and your friends and family. It connected the Frequency Bar with the Sound Gardens.

 

SYNCRA City Mirror District
The Mirror District at SYNCRA City

 

The Arena

Located in the middle of SYNCRA City, the Arena was a multimedia walkthrough experience. Most of the colours, shapes and other visuals inside the Arena were the result of interactive activities from other parts of the city. In other words, there were things to do in other rooms that changed the experience of people inside the Arena.

In this room, visitors who looked down over the railings felt like they were on a platform high above the ground.

 

Particle Park

Particle Park was the “Central Park” of SYNCRA City. It was in the same room as the Sound Gardens.

Particle Park had several neon beams and lights, as well as a few elements of nature. This area also featured a dance station where different movements were projected into particles. There was also a mirror structure that was cool to put your head inside for a look around.

 

Sound Gardens

Last but not least, the Sound Gardens area featured an interactive fountain. There were several knobs, sliders and buttons to play with. The interactions affected the music and helped guests feel more immersed and connected with the beat. The same as elsewhere in SYNCRA City, you had to play around with the technological displays and experiment to see what things would do.

The Sound Gardens weren’t outside or a real garden. The area was on one side of the same room as Particle Park, which also wasn’t outside or a real park. Both areas were in a large room full of interactive displays and fun things to see. It was one of a couple of places we could picture people wanting to dance!

 

SYNCRA City Video

To give you an idea of what SYNCRA City is about, check out the video below. It shows scenes of the attraction from when we got a preview just prior to opening day.

The following video begins in SYNCRA Station. What you won’t see in the video are scenes of the subway train whizzing by. For that, and many of the other cool effects, you needed to visit the attraction yourself. In this video, however, you will see someone walking through Pulse Alley, admiring the inside of a mirror sculpture in Particle Park, and checking out the dance station where body movements appear as particles of light on a screen.

Also in this video you’ll see a guy (and his many reflections) walking through the Mirror District before checking out a display in the Frequency Bar. The video finishes with a look inside The Arena (which is arguably the trippiest neighbourhood of them all).

 

 

Other Information

For more information about the attraction, visit the official Experience SYNCRA website.

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