My favorite weekend, Hallo-weekend, is just around the corner and I couldn't be more excited! Soon, thousands of ravers will be making their way back to the NOS Events Center in San Bernadino, CA for a ghoulish-ly good time at Escape Pyscho Cirus. This annual Halloween festival, hosted by Insomniac Events has been in the running for six years and is, arguably, one of the best Hallo-rave events in the United States. Boasting a capacity of 65,000 attendees and four stages, there's a reason this event attracts ravers from across the United States. Personally, I've had major FOMO of this event ever since I started raving in 2014 and I couldn't be more excited to attend my first-ever Escape.
Here are 5 reasons why I'm looking forward to Escape Psycho Circus:
#1: THE LINEUP
Okay, this one is super obvious, but let’s take a minute to gush over it anyways. There’s a total of four stages at Escape, boasting an incredible amount of headliners over just two nights! I will for sure be at Ghoul’s Graveyard most of both nights - you can DEFINITELY catch me at Excision (I haven’t seen him in over a year and I couldn’t be more thrilled), GTA, Joyryde, Eric Prydz and Tchami x Malaa. I’m also looking to exploring the rest of the stages and catching some classic headliners like Kaskade, Zed’s Dead and Diplo.
#2: Dressing Up
I love dressing up for raves! Combine this love with my favorite holiday and, BAM, I’m one happy camper. It’s no secret that the iHeartRaves Team likes to wear matching outfits and we can’t wait to show you what we’re brewing up this year. Catch us on the iHeartRaves instagram stories to see our costumes and follow along with our adventures during the weekend!
If you’re looking for costume inspo, check out our blog post created with Escape Pyscho Circus Outfits in mind!
#3: The Asylum
Last year, Insomniac announced the return the Asylum - a 32,000 square foot Haunted House that takes the meaning of “Haunted House” to the next level. This horrifying exhibit is staged like a real-life Insane Asylum - complete with straight jackets. Get ready to be completely terrified as a nurse slaps a mask on your face and gives your “medication” and sends you on your way to meet the “Master.” This massive exhibit features 30 distinct environments with movie-stage quality, 120 interactive performers and 25 separate sound systems. You even get to keep the custom Escape hockey mask - so you can be reminded of your biggest nightmares again and again!
I’m definitely a chicken when it comes to Haunted Houses, but I’ve heard amazing things about this incredible performance, so I’m planning to suck it up.
#4: The Performers
The performers at Insomniac Events always go all out, but I’m especially looking forward to seeing the performers at Escape Pyscho Circus. I love thatthere are so many different spooky looks, including psycho clowns and blood-soaked brides. The photos I’ve seen of the incredible makeup and special effects to make these outfits believable is absolutely amazing. I’m looking forward to seeing it in person and hopefully getting to take some pictures!
Photo Courtesy of Insomniac Events/Escape
#5: The Weather
Last year, my husband and I moved to Socal from The Pacific Northwest. I still haven’t gotten used to this concept that’s it’s sunny and warm almost all year round here. In my opinion, we’re totally spoiled with the weather at Escape. While most Halloween raves require careful outfit planning with layers to keep warm, the weather at Escape is usually an average of 83 (high) and 54 (low). This year it looks like it’s supposed to be in the 70s which sounds perfect to me! I’m planning to bring a cute faux fur jacket to throw over my costume just in case it gets chilly late at night.
Bonus: Just Because It’s Halloween
As I said, Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. As I got older, it became less about actual Halloween night and more about Hallo-weekend. This weekend has always been a special weekend for me, but especially since I started raving. In 2014, my boyfriend and I went to our first rave together, Freaknight, in Seattle. We had a great time (despite my phone getting stolen and Day 2 of Freaknight getting canceled) and knew that raving would always be a special part of our relationship. My boyfriend made the concept of Hallo-weekend even more special by proposing the following year at Freaknight. Last year we moved from the Pacific Northwest, so this will be our first Halloween rave we’re attending together in Socal. I can’t wait to make new memories!
I'm a total cheeseball, but I love matching couples outfits! From left to right; 2014, 2015 & 2016
If you're still hoping to attend Escape Psycho Circus, move quickly! Tickets are selling out fast. For more event/ticketing info, head to Insomniac's website for full details.
