Sugar Rush at the 2016 LA Cookie Con and Sweets Show!

They weren't kidding when they named this the convention of sweets! I am a dessert person so I was smitten at the word "cookie"! This was a two day convention, however we could only attend on Sunday. My daughter and I had press passes to attend so since we were available and it was complimentary, why not?! We game planned this event since I had heard about the long lines from the first day of the convention. We arrived early enough to check in and were among the first 50 or so attendees in line for the convention to open. We looked at the layout of the vendors inside the program and took notice that massages were being held at one of the VIP areas.  After a 2 hour drive to Los Angeles, my shoulders needed to rubbed a bit!  We made a bee line to the area after the doors opened and  we ended up being the first in line there, hahaha! Seems that students from this college were offering massages to earn hours toward their certification.  Everyone got a complimentary 20 minute massage. It was so well worth it!

Then it was sample time! Oh my gosh, look at the spread we had.  Tiny portions of this and that added up.  I really wished there were water stations to cleanse my palate.  I was grateful too that there were some booths that were protein-based to balance out the sweets!

The following items were found in the VIP areas:

Many vendors had their products on sale, perfect for Valentine's Day gifts!

Don't really know what Del Real was doing here,  but hey the samples were great!

There was also a cake decorating contest!

This wasn't in the contest, I just thought it was really cute!

I even found some Disney characters!

In real life too! Do you recognize this cutie? She's Trinitee Stokes from "K.C. Undercover"! There were many YouTube personalities and Master Chef Junior contestants sitting on panels as well as workshops and demonstrations. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to sit in on any, there were too many booths to visit!

I was grateful to meet up with my fellow blogger friends even if just to take a quick pic. It was getting crowded, not like Comic-Con crowded, but to the point I know some people left because they felt claustrophobic. 

Some suggestions for next year!

• Keep the VIP areas, but add some belly bars for people to eat at! It is difficult to eat a cupcake and drink coffee when you're laden with swag bags.
• I LOVED the massages, but maybe add privacy panels. It's hard to drift off to a peaceful place when twenty people are in line staring at you waiting for their turn!
• Have water stations throughout the hall.  Sweets require some liquids!
• Offer more variety of real meal food than the one convention vendor if possible.  Sweet lovers are also probably foodies too!  We can't live off sweets alone!
• This one I got from the lady I was chatting with in line before the convention opened. Food demonstrations needed mirrors above the cooking station so the audience can see technique and finished products.
• Limit how many tickets are sold. It was really crowded.
• As in most conventions, check in should really be done just once.  I was in line with some people who were annoyed that they had to stand in line to check in again for the second day to get another bracelet.  They at least got another swag bag filled with protein shake mixes, but see if that can be figured out. 
• We loved the vendors that had samples in "to go" packaging!  They made for quick pick up and we could save them for later!

Until next time LA Cookie Con!