Every year, a tiny, beautiful part of Los Angeles gets transformed into a fantasy realm for the annual Labyrinth of Jareth Masquerade, produced by Sypher Studios. The event occurs in just one week, on August 5th and 6th, 2016,

Now in its 17th year, the masquerade ball is in its second year at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, a storied historic building in downtown Los Angeles, built in 1923 in the Renaissance and Mediterranean Revival style, and home to the early years of the Academy Awards ceremonies.

We are giving away a pair of tickets to both Friday and Saturday of the masquerade! See bottom of article for how to enter!

Sure, a game is a game, but if you’re dealing with the Final Fantasy franchise, why not make it a muti media experience that you can live and love through spinoff mini games, movies, anime, and music? Let’s do ALL THE THINGS!

Square Enix hosted an elaborate announcement event in Los Angeles yesterday, “UNCOVERED: Final Fantasy XV,” which was chock full of 14 (!!!) announcements around the franchise.

So let’s see where this leaves our little fandom hearts, shall we?

As a rabid Jane-ite, one who considers themselves an expert in all things Jane Austen, I was pleased as a Regency spiked punch to be able to attend the Jane Austen Evening this year, which is held annually at the Pasadena Masonic Lodge by the Society for Manners and Merriment.

Even more photos of the cuteness below!

On September 24th we got to go to the opening night of this year’s Knott’s Scary Farm and check out everything that the park has to offer. It was also Valerie’s first time ever experiencing a horror themed event, so needless to say the night was pretty damn awesome.

The way I feel about October and Halloween is the way most people feel about December and the winter holidays. The moment I step into that park and smell the artificial fog and sweet scent of funnel cake I am truly home.

Created by the most charming men in comic books, Mike Wellman (writer) and Rafael Navarro (artist), Guns A’Blazin’ kicks off it’s book tour at The Comic Bug on September, 2015. Manhattan Beach’s number one comic book store was party central with live music, tons of comic books, nachos, drinks and of course, the geeks (and those associated with the self-proclaimed geeks).

Next stop: The Golden Apple in Los Angeles THIS Wednesday on September  16, 2015. Check out the event page for more information.

More photos after the jump!

On Wednesday, September 2nd, Comics N Cocktails celebrated their launch on theStream.tv web channel with a fun and geeky party at Shakey’s in Hollywood!

Nathan and Anastasia (center and right) with their first episode guest Bernie Bregman (left)

Comics N Cocktails is the brainchild of  Anastasia Washington and Nathan Lichtman, the duo who have already bringing us the latest in geeky news and interviews on their podcast Awkward Conversations on Nerd Reactor. On CNC, they’ll be bringing a weekly show of  geek-talk mixed with booze-drinking to the table, featuring guests from the nerd community at large. The series airs  Wednesday nights at 8pm Pacific!

Ever since I can remember I have loved Halloween. Everything about it from the dressing up, the horror movie marathons on television, and everything magically becoming pumpkin flavored has been truly special to me.

When I was eleven I found out about Knott’s Scary Farm. I almost couldn’t believe it, one of my favorite theme parks at night transformed into a huge haunted house? A place where scenes from scary movies and stories that I loved became real life and I could experience them? I begged my mother to take me to this magical place! Well, little eleven year old Giselle got her wish. I’ll never forget how much fun I had and new love for my favorite time of year was born. Also, major props to my mom for staying up until 2am so her weird kid could pretend she was in a scary movie.

Needless to say when so many years later I got the chance to cover the official announcement for this year’s Knott’s Scary Farm I was freaking delighted as hell. Here, kids, is my report on what we all can look forward to at this year’s Haunt. May I say it looks pretty damn spectacular.

Labyrinth of Jareth brings the fantasy realm of the movie of the same name to guests every year, by providing a lavish setting to dress up in your whimsical best in a beautiful venue, with performances, merchants, dancing, music, and more available to create a night to remember. We are so grateful to Sypher Arts Studio, who puts on this annual event, and giving all of us nerds a chance to dress up and have the chance to experience such an amazing event!

This year, Labyrinth made a last minute venue change to the historic Millennium Biltmore hotel in downtown Los Angeles. The hotel is an architectural treat in itself, having been erected in the 1920s in a mix of  Spanish-Italian Renaissance Revival, Mediterranean Revival, and Beaux Arts styles. The hotel also played host to the origins of the Academy awards, hosting the Oscars in its early years.

With this historic change in venue, Labyrinth was an even greater treat than usual for patrons this year, as guests could explore 3 floors of rooms providing different musical, dance, and other various stage entertainment. On the main stage in particular, dancers and musicians spun a fantasy tale told through a sequence of performances all night, culminating in an epic all-cast finale that even included Sparkles, the dragon!

We are so grateful to be fantasy nerds in a town like Los Angeles, where other like-minded artists can come together and experience such a magical night every year.

Below are some of our photos from the night, but they barely scratch the surface of this amazing masquerade ball. We can’t wait for next year!