You guys have been around for a while- you know there are two things that we at NerdLush LOVE ~ conventions and Halloween. Well, there’s a new convention in town that happens to be all about Halloween! WIN!
ScareLA celebrated it’s first year with a convention in downtown LA, at the LA Mart. They took up the 2nd floor of the building with classes, workshops, panels, presentations, and booths. Emily and I opted for the cheapest, one day ticket, and so we did not have access to participate in the classes or panels, but we could wander the hall (through the booths) and around the workshop areas (to see the various projects being taught/done) and sit at the stages to enjoy the presentations.
Spoiler Alert… probably. Again.
For a first year convention, we give it a B. The ticket we bought was $25. OK… but, we felt that there should’ve been more for that amount. There really needed to be a maze or haunted house of some kind- that would make it awesome. Also, for a Halloween con, there were no booths with costumes, and very little props (other than large body parts or extremely unique- like pigs hearts in jars). Someone should connect with a Spirit Halloween Superstore and set up a booth in the corner. I mean… I need a pair of evil wings for a costume I have and there was nowhere to get such a thing. The few clothing type booths had “gothic” clothes, which is fine, but not Halloween stuff. Also, there was very little in the makeup available. So, the basic stuff that you need for Halloween was not there.
However, we did pick up several info cards and talk to people for several of LA’s
she was such a pretty girl once… oh well.
Halloween attractions/events. So that was good because we may be able to hit a few new (to us) things this year. I mean… apparently there’s a zombie paintball place, where you get to hunt the zombies! WIN! There were also a few booths where you could pick up tips or learn how-to about some makeup or effects. We hadn’t even been inside for 10 minutes when Emily got offered to have a “shard of glass” wound done for free. It actually was pretty cool.
What else? The were demonstrations on how to be a “slider”- a very cool part of some of the major Halloween attractions. And there was a spot where you could get made up- they were doing some pretty awesome makeup jobs. There was also a booth where you could go on a “virtual” ride in a double casket. Yes, Emily somehow talked me into joining her. It was fun. But it was pitch black inside, and had audio and smell effects, as well as being on a support that shook and rocked the casket… we laughed so much. Except when the smell happened. At first it was a lovely floral scent… then this evil rotting smell… OMG! My eyes were watering and I was gagging. So gross. But still fun.
OK… so how can ScareLA be better? Again, there should be a haunted house or maze. There were a ton of people there who could certainly contribute their skills. It would ROCK! Also, more Halloween stuff. Not just goth clothes. And if the main room is all the cheapest ticket has access to, the ticket should be $15-$20 max. Oh, also, a space screening films or videos would be awesome. It could just be on a loop or even schedule specific screenings… yeah, that’d be a good addition. I did enjoy the demonstrations and getting to see the workshops. And there were some great monsters walking the floor- the body parts booth had a zombie torso that attached to your leg so you could drag it; a couple of their booth staff walked around with it, it was entertaining.
Quality viewing for me!
It was a fun convention, and I’ll add it to the list to check out again next year, but it’s important to note that we got there around 11:30am and left by 1:30pm. That’s a problem. However, they did a great job with the ticket/check-in lines, and getting around the floor was a breeze- two big pluses; let’s hope that continues.
The rest of our photos are in the ScareLA album on the facebook page.
Photos here and in Facebook album provided by James Kus.
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NerdLush 
Hi there,
We appreciate your feedback! And of course, appreciate the support to take the time and check out the event. To clarify, the ticket you purchased INCLUDED panels/presentations on our two stages (where Halloween Horror Nights and Knott’s made announcements). But did not include workshops and classes. We are definitely shooting for bigger and better next year. We agree – a haunted house would’ve been a great addition. Alas, that could not happen this year, especially with the short one day set-up… maybe 2014? 😉 But we did have multiple “interactive” booths such as Sinister Pointe and Haunt SB. Again, thank you for coming out.. scare you next year!
– Johanna Atilano, ScareLA
Thanks for stopping in and replying. We look forward to seeing the show next year!