Music and Gaming Festival ‘Magfest’ is The 24-Hour Vampire Party You Need

So, last week I spontaneously hopped on a bus to MAGfest (the Music and Gaming Festival) 2018 in National Harbor, Maryland. Before I go into detail, let me say this: WOW. This event is truly special, yet it went right under my nose for my entire convention career. Boy, am I glad I opened my eyes to Magfest. *Disclaimer to those who have never attended the Music and Gaming Festival: you will be exhausted, you might not have time to eat, you definitely won’t have time to sleep, but it’s okay, because you’re going to love every second of it. No regrets. If you call it a “con”, you’ll be corrected immediately. Magfest has all the essentials of your basic convention; a dealer’s room/artist alley, panels, cosplay, etc. The difference is most definitely the vibe. That might sound spacey, but I’m serious… it’s the vibe. All festival attendees are in party mode. One of my favorite things about this event, is that you don’t necessarily need a schedule to enjoy the features of the weekend.

Every night I found myself wandering the convention halls, following the sound of music to a random pop-up party at the end of an empty hall that no one would seem to check otherwise. Don’t like the music the DJ is spinning? Conveniently, there’s another pop-up party 500 feet to the left underneath the stairs. Music and dancing everywhere, just how I like it. Magfest is literally a 24-hour event, so nothing ever stops, which is the reason why I’m on double espresso shot #2 as I write this. Aside from…