After hours spent in a hot, sweaty convention center, with thousands of haunt fans, it was nice to find myself walking around Rainbow Lagoon Park, with the ocean breeze cooling me off, and the sweet, sweet sounds of ALONE in my ears.

As most ALONE events, their offering at Midsummer Scream, ALONE inc. drinks from your face, was full of surprising moments and intimate encounters.

Your journey began with a simple flier handed out by a pretty girl in a white dress out front of the convention center. Most people wouldn’t pay it any mind, but ALONE aficionados knew to give it a closer look, leading them to the secret start location.

From there, you used your smart phone and headphones to listen to a series of musical tracks and directions to go on a journey of self-reflection and exploration. The show took you from the darkest depths of a parking garage, to a gorgeous park, to the serene marina, and back again.

The simplicity of walking for those two miles, while listening to the music they created for this event, created a tranquil journey. By any other means, standing on the rocks of the marina, looking off to the horizon for a few minutes may have been boring otherwise, but by doing it within the context of the show, it forces you to take a moment and breath. To reflect. To take it all in and enjoy it as it happens, without any outside forces bothering you. It was quite beautiful, actually.

Of course, while you are out in public, face painted, and earbuds firmly in your ear, you do get some strange looks. In addition, in typical ALONE fashion, you never know who is in it on, and who isn’t. In fact, I had one interaction with a person along the marina that I was so sure was part of the experience, until I realized later on that it was just some random couple offering me their extra store coupon in case I wanted a souvenir.

But that is the beauty of ALONE. It makes you re-think ALL your interactions and view them in a new light.

The times were I was quite literally blind to what was going on, and forced to trust ALONE’s direction, and my own instincts, feed even further into the whole thing. It was interesting to have parts where I was free, and on my own to explore, and then others where they were completely in control of what I was doing.

Overall, it was a wonderful experience, and allowed everyone to break away from the busy convention center for a bit in order to enjoy life and the world around them. Yet again, ALONE proves they are masters of making use of their space, and other spaces, with some surprising twists and turns along the way. I very much look forward to their next installment.

For more information on ALONE, visit their website at: aloneexperience.com