Yulissa Chavez
Staff Writer
Halloween in May? It’s happening at the Haunt Supershow exhibit at the Los Angeles County Fair at the Fairplex in Pomona, just south of the University of La Verne campus.
Following COVID-necessitated adjustments last year, the Fair is back in full force this month. It runs through May 30.
The Supershow features Halloween tracks like John Carpenter’s “Halloween Theme” playing throughout the day, photo opportunities with spooky creatures, and more than 50 vendors showcasing their variety of horror-related merchandise, games, and photo opportunities.
Among the items brought by vendors are stickers, baked goods, and candles, to list just a few.
The Haunt Supershow is located at Exhibit 9 on the fairgrounds.
There visitors can find captivating pastries decorated with Halloween characters like Jack Skellington and Beetlejuice at the Black Magic Cakery booth. Owner Nicole Bulkley shared that she had previously been a fan of the exhibit and was thrilled to be invited as a vendor this year.
“The Haunt Supershow is all spooky creators and we do Halloween all-year round, so when we were invited to be a part of this, we couldn’t turn it down,” Bulkley said.
Artwork that has circulated the internet is also on display for a photo opportunity at The Haunt Supershow exhibit, such as Area 90 Art’s Ghostface mirror. This piece displays an artwork of Ghostface from the movie Scream with his blade being made from a reflecting mirror.
Area 90 Art’s video of their Ghostface mirror went viral with 99,100 likes on their TikTok page @area90art.
“I thought it would be cool to have a piece where everyone who looks at it sees something different, meaning their own reflection and TikTok blew it up,” creator and owner of Area 90 Art Michael Sedano said.
Despite the name, The Haunt Supershow is not exclusively bone-chilling creations. Small shops like Caffeinated Coven Company show the innocent perspective of horror with heart shaped Halloween jack-o’-lanterns and pink accented Jason Voorhees stickers.
“I always was a huge fan of horror and all things alternative growing up, but I realized it was a male-dominated genre and merchandise was always dark and scary and appealed to men,” Caroline Hernandez Medina, owner of Caffeinated Coven Company, said. “I make all the intimidating scary characters, cute, bubbly and approachable.”
Other vendors shared their work such as Project13 Creatures promoting their candles in the shapes of owls, cats and skulls and creepy dolls and Warlord Clothing selling t-shirts and handmade dresses.
At the back of the exhibit hall, an interactive zombie game is available to play in which participants pay a fee of $6 per player or $10 for two. Laser guns are used to aim at targets on zombie animatronics and when shot, bring the zombies to life as it sets off their audio and movements.
Andrew Hayes, owner of 805 Zombie Shootout, said a portion of these proceeds benefit the Kensington Foundation that helps brain injured children in Ventura.
Visitors of the exhibit enjoyed being transported to Halloween during their visit to the Los Angeles County Fair.
An exclusive photo opportunity is presented through the Kingdom of Zombies walkthrough that features a maze-like path with horror figures that one can capture a picture with.
“I have been enjoying this exhibit because it reminds me of Midsummer Scream and Halloween Horror Nights,” Laura Valle, junior behavioral science major at Cal State Dominguez Hills, said. “I like supporting small businesses and all the vendors are very passionate about their work and great to talk to.”
Expo 9 marked the spot for the horror community to come together and support one another. This experience is available at the Los Angeles County Fair until May 30.
For more information and tickets, visit lacountyfair.com.
Yulissa Chavez can be reached at yulissa.chavez@laverne.edu.
Yulissa Chavez, a junior communications major and sociology minor, is a staff writer for the Campus Times.
