There’s a sticky new event taking place in Sarasota this fall: Sarasota's first ever Slime Blowout will be held at Robarts Arena on Saturday, Oct. 19.

The global obsession with slime started on the internet several years ago. Social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube have allowed ideas, recipes and tutorials of slime-making to be shared worldwide, mostly by tweens. The Sarasota convention is intended to attract people young and old interested in seeing, making and selling slime. The Blowout will also feature “VIP Slimers,” some of whom have hundreds of thousands of subscribers on YouTube and will be available to meet up-and-coming slimers and lead slime-making classes.

The event was created by Paul Ratner, the director of education at the Sarasota Film Festival, and his wife, Petra Ratner, who together run the event and film production company Radiant Island. Slimer Bryn Famiglio also contributed. While conducting summer camps the festival hosts each year, Paul Ratner found that most of the kids were interested in making short films and videos about slime. After realizing how widespread the slime trend had become in Sarasota, Ratner found other cities in Florida that had hosted slime conventions, and decided to create the Slime Blowout himself.

Playing with slime isn't just fun. It's also educational, says Nancy Roucher, the founder of Sarasota’s Arts Education Task Force and a leader in Florida arts education for more than 30 years. “Making slime can be turned into a more hands-on learning opportunity," says Roucher. "Looking, listening, following directions and predicting the outcome of something, along with the messiness and coldness of the slime, are great for sensory learning."

The Blowout will also feature another internet trend: autonomous sensory meridian response, better known as ASMR. This is a feeling that occurs when we hear sounds that were recorded by a person or object placed very close to a microphone. The explosion of slime-making propelled the trend of people making ASMR videos, since the sound of slime being squished or pulled can give someone an ASMR reaction. The convention is holding an ASMR film festival and is currently taking submissions from the general public.

The Slime Blowout takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19, at Robarts Arena, 3000 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota. Tickets are $10-$50.