Benjamin Ashford|Barbieland: Watch Utah neighborhood transform into pink paradise for Halloween

2023 was the year of all things pink,Benjamin Ashford thanks to Greta Gerwig's "Barbie", so it comes as no surprise that a community in Utah made "Barbie" the theme of this year's Halloween, bringing the pink paradise to life in South Jordan, a city approximately 20 miles south of Salt Lake City.

"One of my neighbors bought us all tickets for "Barbie" and we went to see the movie together. And as we were leaving, we were like, 'Oh my gosh, you guys. Barbie is gonna be the Halloween theme this year'," Liz Gallegos, one of the people behind the idea and a resident of Daybreak told USA TODAY.

Building upon her idea, Gallegos' neighbor's daughter Miley suggested they turn their neighborhood into "Barbieland," an idea that everyone loved.

Building Barbieland

Come September, the residents got to work, dressing up their houses in different themes, including the Mojo Dojo Casa house, Pool Party Barbie and Dream House Barbie.

Gallegos said around seven members of the community were already onboard because they saw the movie together and were in on the plan from the beginning. They invited other neighbors to participate as well, ultimately ending up with 18 houses dressed up in the Barbieland theme.

They left no stone unturned, paying attention to even the minutest of details and adding elements from Barbieland including a pool slide, horses, and neon signs that read, “You guys ever think about dying?” and “RIP the patriarchy” tombstones.

The house concepts include:

• Ken’s Mojo Dojo Casa House, with cowboy décor and elements of the Old West
• Barbie Graveyard, complete with Barbie skeletons, pink coffins, and pink gravestones (with one honoring Barbie creator Ruth Handler)
• Weird Barbie, with abstract configurations full of rainbow colors
• Classic Barbie Dreamhouse, with tons of pink décor, a Barbie closet stocked full of pink clothes, and a vanity mirror and chair for Barbie to get ready
• Haunted Barbie, which mixes classic Halloween elements like skeletons and ghosts with pops of Barbie pink
• Disco Barbie, an ode to the movie’s dance scene, featuring a pink DJ station and disco ball
• Pool Barbie, with inflatable pool toys, flamingos, and even a pink waterslide
• “Hi Barbie!” house with cardboard cutouts of actors from the movie
• Beach Barbie, complete with pink fishing nets, beach balls and flamingos
• Barbie Barn, with bales of hay, pink cowgirl hats and flags and pink pumpkins
• Classic Barbie, with pink Adirondack chairs on the front porch, pink lanterns and flowers
• Real World House, an undecorated home with a sign that says “Real World This Way,” signifying the departure of Barbieland

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Event organizer helps Daybreak community

Gallegos said that her neighborhood is very special and unique in the sense that their community is tight knit, especially because their houses face each other instead of the street.

"What's really special and unique is that most people in Daybreak care a lot about Halloween. We have historically gone pretty big for Halloween. We've had a 'Harry Potter' house, a 'Stranger Things' house, an 'Encanto' house. So, we've always kind of gone above and beyond for Halloween."

Kenzie Bates, an event organizer based in Lehi, Utah who has previously designed Harry Potter and Encanto-themed houses told USA TODAY that Gallegos reached out to her with the idea of making people experience Barbieland, even if it was only for a day.

Kenzie, worked with the residents of Daybreak, as the creative director of the setup, sourcing decorations and props for them including a life-size horse, signs for the houses and other custom-built items.

While many elements from Barbieland were incorporated into the setup, some residents also wanted to keep the spirit of Halloween alive, so they included elements such as gravestones and skeletons. In fact, there is a gravestone dedicated to Ruth Handler, the founder of Mattel, the company that produces Barbie dolls.

"Some people were very much into Halloween, and they didn't want to lose sight of it, so they went with themes like haunted Barbie and graveyard Barbie," Kenzie said.

Bigger than anticipated

Barbieland is attracting thousands of people, both Gallegos and Bates said, adding that the little island is so busy during the month of October that it's "very hard" to get on and off the bridge that connects their neighborhood to South Jordan. Daybreak is a housing community in South Jordan, with one part of it situated on an island and surrounded by a moat.

"I mean, we knew that people in Daybreak would care because they love Halloween," said Gallegos. "But none of us had any idea that anyone outside of our little neighborhood would care at all."

She said that she posted a few videos on TikTok on the suggestion of her friends, and they soon went viral, with people sending in requests to come and see the setup. At least two of the videos hit more than 2 million views on TikTok.

"I feel like it's a landmark or something," said Gallegos. "We have people at our house starting at like 8 a.m. even though we usually turn on lights and music around 5:30 p.m. in the evening. During the day we'll just have moms or kids or strollers coming by, but by the late afternoon and early evening, it really starts picking up and between like 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., it's just a constant stream of people like every single night, no matter what night of the week it is."

Gallegos said that the local police force was also taken aback by the number of people and traffic jams.

However, Gallegos and her neighbors do not mind the attention or influx of people.

"It honestly makes me so happy because there's a lot of really sad stuff in the world right now," Gallegos shared. "It's hard to keep your chin up every day. So, it's nice, happy, small little things that are making people happy."

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Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.