My kids were just as excited for Midsummer Scream as I was. My 5 year old son was ready to see zombies, monsters and explore the vendors while my daughter was excited to wear her Halloween tutu with matching hair bows. I was excited not only for Midsummer’s inaugural year but to also cover my first convention for Horrorbuzz.com

It was a true family event for Mommy Fearist. My husband and his colleagues had a booth for their home haunt, I was running in between panels and the show floor, meanwhile my parents wrangled our kids for the both of us. It was exhausting for all of us just like a good convention should be!

My first stop was the HorrorBuzz booth on the show floor then I made a quick lap around the vendors while scouting out what I was going to potentially spend my money on. I made mental notes on a few items I couldn’t leave without then I shot up to my first panel, Spooky Science, which did not disappoint. The crowd was eager to participate and the experiments were informative but not in the least boring.
By the time that panel was finishing up my parents had made their way into the convention center with my two kids in tow. I watched with pride as my son made his way through the people in makeup without any hesitation. This is how his life has been since birth – people in costumes and masks that could frighten an adult, yet he has never really had a problem with it. There are times that he may shy away but after a little reminding that it’s all pretend and fun, he never hesitates to high five even the goriest zombie.

After a quick stop to see daddy at his booth, I made my way with the kids and my mother to the Crafts for Kids and Kreeps area. It was a welcome break for children from the loud noise coming from the Hall of Shadows (the Hall of Shadows was perfect for the teen and older crowd). It was well lit and filled with different activities for children ages 2-10. My kids liked the Spooky Spin (twister with a Halloween theme) and coloring pages. My son made a haunted house and of course, slime. There were plenty of other families enjoying spider and pet broom making, decorate it yourself picture frames and mask decorating.

It was really nice to see that the children’s area wasn’t off in some dark area with a couple of broken crayons and no volunteers to spur the activities. The craft area at Midsummer Scream was easy to find as well as incredibly welcoming with chairs, tables and a couple members of the scare crew to encourage  kids to get creative. We spent a considerable amount of time there until my son was distracted by the Das-Machina across the aisle. He was wondering where Frankenstein was.

From there, Grandma Fearist and I made a trip up and down the aisles with my little monsters. Big hits were the Southland Ghostbusters (they handed out Twinkies and posters), any monster on stilts roaming the vicinity, Celebration Cookies by RM for some spooky treats, various mask booths and the Decayed Brigade. Eventually my son needed to get his costume on for daddy’s booth. While he did that I caught the Spirits with Spirits panel which was fascinating. Instead of immediately driving to one of the haunted bars that they mentioned, I again rushed down to the show floor.

Unbeknownst to me, while I was in the panel, my son donned his costume and somehow procured some professional slider knee pads then decided to slide, entertain and scare the masses. It was a true treat for not only the crowd but for his glowing family. Meanwhile, my daughter (not wanting all the attention on her older brother) danced with any monster that would bend down and talk to her.

We ended our Midsummer Scream with the Decayed Brigade slider show which was definitely scream worthy. We watched in awe as these men and women demonstrated incredible athleticism and agility while performing what they do during October at their haunts.

I was impressed that this was Midsummer Scream’s first year. The crowd was impressive, the panels were varied and it was most definitely family friendly. My daughter had her first legitimate jump scare when she first encountered a ghoul on stilts. Not to worry though, she got a sticker out of it so she strolled away with a smile. As the convention wound to a close the kids were ready for an early bedtime, which is worth more than the price of admission to the festival. I can’t wait for next year!