Leave it to Kate Bolger, owner of The Village Confectionery in Sleepy Hollow and a former film producer, to go all out for her first Halloween.
The 3-month-old shop, which before its Sept. 18 Halloween reveal, resembled an old-fashioned candy store, has undergone a transformation meant to immerse visitors into an enchanted forest complete with a space designed like the interior of a witch’s house.
Bolger, who hired Tarrytown-based EntréElan, a professional design studio co-founded by Christina Barth and Fernanda Linhares, said she had to "go big or go home."
"We're a candy store in a Halloween town."
She also comes from a place of movie magic having spent her 15-year career
working with Martin Scorsese, Steven Soderbergh and Oprah Winfrey among others.
Which is why, for her store's first October, she and her team have leaned into the lore and the legend of Sleepy Hollow's enchanted woods by creating a storybook environment where customers can walk into a living narrative. Picture a Tim Burton-like tree, lots of bats, Halloween artwork and a variety of scoopable sweets such as gummy eye balls, gummy body parts, Halloween jelly pumpkins and a variety of candy corn including a gummy version. Other items include oversized candy apples, witch caramel ganache fingers, ghost dots, Halloween bon bons, pretzels and chocolate skulls as well as various TikTok sensations like Silky Gems.
Much of Bolger's inspiration came from old European opera sets with vintage elements that play to the practical magic ambiance of Sleepy Hollow where the Headless Horseman rides at night. She also has 2D backdrops in the windows that reimagine what the village used to look like complete with a covered bridge.
Bolger has brought a spellbinding intentionality to every nook and cranny of the store.
"We're in a witches' coven right now," she said, standing near her scoopable wall, which is why she and her team were thinking "very witchy" when they were selecting their mixes, including ensuring they had all the ingredients necessary for a potion like teeth, body parts, spiders and bats.
Plus more is coming.
"This is Phase One," she told The Journal News/lohud. "The idea was to start big but to add new elements and interactive experiences each week along with events every weekend." The goal, she said, is to add more details as the season progresses.
That means a second Tim Burton-looking tree, a witches hat game, and a calendar that will start Oct. 1 and countdown to Oct. 31 based on a story they’ve created. There will also be more gourds, pumpkins and hay bales along with a selfie moment with a ghost in addition to smoke machines.
Said Bolger: "We want people to have a new experience each time they come so it's different and fun each time."
To that point, each year will be a new theme so she can continually bewitch and surprise people. Said Bolger: "We always want it to feel fresh, new and exciting."
If you go
Address: 95 Beekman Ave., Sleepy Hollow, 914-623-0308, thevillageconfectionery.com
Hours: Seven days a week during Halloween season; from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Thursday; to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday; to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Good to know: New elements and experiences will be added each week leading up to Halloween.
Interested in more lifestyle news?
Sign up for my free weekly newsletter at profile.lohud.com/newsletters/manage which often includes behind-the-scenes info.
Jeanne Muchnick covers food and dining. Click here for her most recent articles and follow her latest dining adventures on Instagram @jeannemuchnick or via the lohudfood newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Storybook transformation for Sleepy Hollow candy shop | Exclusive
