by Dot Cannon
(Graphic courtesy of ScareLA, and used with permission.)
OK, this is going to scare you.
And you’ll love every minute of it.
ScareLA™, the world’s first summer Halloween convention, has a brand-new 2017 “haunt”: the Los Angeles Convention Center!
And on August 5th and 6th, “Halloween in the summer” will bring hundreds of Halloween vendors and thousands of fans together in the Convention Center’s West Hall. That’s a show expansion, from last year, to 200,000 square feet, for an early taste of the eerie, gory, creepy and downright scream-worthy!
ScareLA™‘s 2017 theme, “Monsters Come Together”, celebrates the diversity, unity and tolerance that is the Southern California Halloween community.
ScareLA™ raised gooseflesh and set a record number of ghosts, ghouls and goblins screaming (and laughing, making things and being creative) in 2016. Twelve thousand attendees ventured into the dark and creepy caverns of last year’s event, according to ScareLA™ staff.
(And yes, those are real snakes, in last year’s “Basement of Horrors”!)
“2017 marks a milestone for ScareLA™ and our fifth-year anniversary,” said Lora Ivanova, ScareLA™ Executive Producer and Founder, in a recent press release. “To celebrate this occasion, we are brewing up an incredible mix of entertainment, and preparing for what is sure to be our biggest and best year yet. We are thrilled to welcome fans to our new home at the Los Angeles Convention Center, our city’s premier event venue. We believe our community deserves the very best and we are proud to take our place among the best shows in the country.”
This reporter has had the pleasure of following the show since its inception in 2013. Among our favorite highlights from past shows were:
2014: “Meet the Krampus”, a presentation by Krampus Los Angeles Directors Al Ridenour (l) and Al Guerrero (r), who explained the Krampus folklore behind the hit movie;
2014: The 45th-anniversary observation of the opening of Disneyland’s “Haunted Mansion”. “Doombuggies” podcast host Jeff Baham moderated a discussion panel featuring Disney legends Bob Gurr (who came up with the concept of the “Doombuggies” that transport Haunted Mansion guests), and Alice Davis, wife of late Disney artist and animator Marc Davis!
2015: “Zombie Joe”‘s wonderfully-weird show, and our favorite “haunt” (of six!), which managed to startle us into a good, loud scream!
2015: A new Guinness World Record, set right onsite at ScareLA™! One thousand 1,000 ScareLA™ “fear freaks” and “scream specialists” opened 1,000 bags of Halloween Sticky Candy at the same time.
(Another 2015 highlight was a visit with “Krampus”, on the show floor.)
2016: A “zombie ballet” troupe introduces another total favorite: Universal Studios Creative Director John Murdy and Art Director Chris Williams, previewing the new Universal Studios Halloween mazes they’d just created!
2016 also saw the introduction of ScareLA™’s first original maze!
As well as Brian Evan’s live performance of his original song “Creature”: the first, and only, music video filmed at the Bates Motel, of Psycho fame.
And, our every-year favorites include Decayed Brigade‘s sliders show.
As well as Wicked Lit’s spine-tingling preview of their Halloween performances.
And ScareLA™’s DIY workshops.
And, of course, we never want to miss the “Timewarp”, a la Rocky Horror.
(Perhaps the best thing about ScareLA™? No matter if you’re a “make-my-blood-run-cold” Halloween aficionado, or more an”Elvira” enthusiast, you’ll have a blast. ScareLA™’s exhibits, shows and special events span the full scary spectrum.)
Over Coffee® is delighted to wish ScareLA™ a very Happy “Scarenniversary”!
For a look back, here is a 2014 interview which ScareLA™ founder Lora Ivanova was kind enough to give us, as we first went independent with the podcast, in which she explains the origins of ScareLA™.
Meanwhile, we can’t wait to see what Lora and her staff are brewing up, this year.
ScareLA™ invites you to “celebrate Halloween early” as they haunt the Los Angeles Convention Center’s West Hall, 1201 South Figueroa Street, Saturday and Sunday, August 5th and 6th, 2017. Here’s the link for information and registration.