Things To Do

60 Awesome Things to do this Halloween Weekend in L.A. [10-28-16 to 10-30-16]

October 27, 2016 by Christina Champlin

Los Angeles provides no limit of things to do, some awesome and some not so awesome. Since time is precious in this fast paced city, we decided to curate a list of things to do in Los Angeles every week end that’ll help you decide how you want to spend your limited supply of attention (not to mention dollars!).

This Halloween weekend (Oct. 28 to Oct. 30) includes Stan Lee’s Comic Con, All Mars Considered at the Observatory, a Bloodsucker Bash, the Santa Monica Zombie Walk, NASA’s Orbit Pavilion at Huntington Library, Grand Ave: All Access, and LOTS more to choose from.

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Also remember you can always go to our L.A. events calendar page to get an updated rundown of what’s happening around the city.

Enjoy!

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Orbit Nasa Exhibit

The Orbit Pavilion (pictured here) comes to the Huntington Library starting on Oct. 29. Photo via NASA/JPL-Caltech


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Friday October 28th, 2016

1. Stan Lee’s L.A. Comic Con will be back Oct. 28 through Oct. 30! Home to all things comics, video games, sci-fi, fantasy, horror and pop-culture. Convention goers can partake in signings, panels and not to mention all the amazing cosplay photo opportunities.

2. The Pumpkin King returns! After the popularity of Danny Elfman’s Nightmare Before Christmas at the Hollywood Bowl last year he’s back along with original cast members for three dates this weekend. Check for discounted tickets while supplies last. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)

3. Explore the possibilities of humans colonizing the red planet at a special discussion at Griffith Observatory this Friday called All Mars ConsideredFREE

4. For the past 45 years, The Sivley family has been bringing haunts to Santa Clarita, and are back this year with their award winning haunted house experience, Beware the Dark Realm is happening all weekend! FREE

5. RISE of the Jack O’Lanterns at the Fairplex in Pomona features some of the craziest, most impressive pumpkin carving to be found in the world. The festivities run through Sunday. Check for discount tickets while supplies last. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)

6. The Groundlings presents Hook-Up App a new sketch comedy show that spotlights dating in the digital age. Happening Friday and Saturday. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)

7. The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor promises to be darker, more shocking, and even more terrifying than ever. A new spirit named the Iron Master will join a group of sinister spirits and hundreds of their horrific henchmen ready to scare guests in the five different mazes on the ship, along with a Paintball Shooting Gallery, a 4-D horror show, freak shows and more. Check for discounted tickets for the weekend before making your purchase. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)

8. Get ready to do your best Chicken Dance! Oktoberfest is back at the Fairplex in Pomona. Enjoy authentic German Oktoberfest beers, traditional foods, German folk music, rock cover bands, food trucks, a DJ and much more. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)

9. The Boney Island Tour in Sherman Oaks is a well celebrated tradition. Focused on being kid friendley the Halloween house is open to the public and free of charge now through Oct. 31. FREE 

10. The Virus: An Immersive Escape Room Experience happening Friday.DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)

11. CreepLA returns for it’s final week, promising a bigger and scarier time where the lines of reality and performance art are blurred into your worst nightmare.

12. Back again its 7th year, Wicked Lit is a spooky immersive theatre experience that takes classic horror literature and turns them into plays at the Mountain View Mausoleum & Cemetery every Thursday through Sunday now till Nov. 12. A special Halloween night show will take place on Monday! Check for discount tickets before making your purchase. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)

13. Knott’s Scary Farm is back with 13 haunted attractions, four new mazes, a thousand monsters and, for the first time ever, standalone Skeleton Room Keys. Don’t miss out on the laser gun fight with zombies! Check for discount tickets before making your purchase. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)

14. Wokcano in Santa Monica is hosting a special Halloween-themed bash this Friday starting at 8 p.m.

15. This Friday at The Last Bookstore author (and friend of We Like L.A.) James T. Bartlett will discuss haunted bars, hotels, restaurants and other elements of L.A.’s dark past through the lens of his latest work, Gourmet Ghosts 2. FREE

16. Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre hosts Urban Death Tour of Terror a immersive haunted house experience every Friday and Saturday from Oct. 7 – Nov. 5. Guests walk through a maze surrounded by monsters and arrive in the theater for a 20-minute performance before reentering the maze, this time with new monsters lurking at every turn.

17. This Friday Royce’s Arcade Warehouse will host ‘Threeplay Fridays’ from 4 to 7 p.m. For $3 you get three hours of unlimited play of games such as Donkey Kong, Street Fighter 2, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga and many more.

18. Norton Simon Museum presents a screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 Classic Thriller “Vertigo.” The screening is included in the admission of the ticket.

19. Eat|See|Hear presents Front Porch Cinema, a free movie night under the stars taking place every Friday on Santa Monica Pier from Sept. 30 through Oct. 28. This week Tight Loose will be screened. FREE

20. Greenbar Distillery will host a Prohibition Era Cocktail Class this Friday. Learn about our city’s bootleg and speakeasy history and how to recreate popular cocktails right at home. Guest will have access to a fully stocked bar of home-made syrups, fresh juices, herbs, fruits, liqueurs and bitters. Located in DTLA, tickets cost $40 a person.

21. Rooftop Cinema Club features four screenings this weekend: Psycho on Friday, Hocus Pocus on Saturday and Beetlejuice on Sunday.

22. Head over to Oktoberfest in Alpine Village and enjoy traditional Bavarian fun, food, and beer. The is considered one of the oldest running Oktoberfest celebration in Southern California. Festivities continue all the way until Oct. 29.

23. LACMA’s Film department presents Fuel for Nightmares, a curated film series based on Guillermo del Toro’s favorite films. This week Pan’s Labyrinth will be screened.

24. Horror Made Here is a night time tour of the Warner Brothers studio and a movie screening of The Conjuring on Friday and the sequel on Saturday.

25. The House on Haunted Hill has been a community tradition for 16 years. Free to enter, the haunted house works off an original script, score and story. All donations are donated to non-profit charities at the end of the Haunting Season. Happening Oct. 28-31. FREE

26. The SGV’s Fall Fun Festival has everything a family friendle fest has to offer from tick-or-treating, games, free family photos, kid’s activities, a “Pumpkin Drop” and a movie in the Mission Playhouse this event is sure to please all ages. Taking place at the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse. FREE

27. If the idea of hopping on a bandwagon that travels through the darkness of Griffith Park while monsters hide in the shadows to scare you sounds like fun, than the L.A. Haunted Hayride is the place to be. Happening all weekend!

28.  Free admission days this Friday for: Long Beach Museum of Art and Museum of Latin American Art. FREE

Norton Simon Museum presents a screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 Classic Thriller “Vertigo.” The screening is included in the admission of the ticket.

29. This Halloween weekend (Oct. 28-31) Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams will offer free mini-cones to kids in costume. ALL trick or treaters or adults in costumes this weekend will receive a “buy one, treat a friend card” a.k.a. a free small scoop with purchase of a small, trio, or sundae 😉

30. Come celebrate the Day of The Dead with classic sugar skull face painting, Halloween glam eyes by MAC, live music, tequila tasting and more at FIGat7th. This event is free and open to the public. FREE

Saturday October 29th, 2016

31. The 17th annual Dia de los Muertos celebration at Hollywood Forever Cemetery returns with live performances, traditional rituals, 100+ altars, Aztec ritual dancers, a costume contest, and more.

32. Grand Ave: All Access is a day-long deluge of free events from The Broad to LA Opera over a seven block stretch of Grand Ave between Temple and 6th Street. FREE

33. Street Food Cinema has screenings of two movies this Saturday. Beetlejuice at Will Rogers State Park, The Shining at King Gillette Ranch (discounted), Ghostbusters at Expo Park. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar).

34. The 4th Annual Santa Monica Zombie Crawl kicks off at Rusty’s Surf Ranch. The pub crawl continues through multiple bars, ending at 1212 Santa Monica, home of the Official Zombie After Party. Dress like a zombie… or be prepared to be chased by one! Check for discounted tickets before making your purchase. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)

35. The 11th Annual Monsters Ball takes over Alpine Village with a ghoulish dance party. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)

36. The Electric Dusk Drive-In is back at a new location on Fletcher Street at the LACCD Van De Kamp college campus complete with an astroturf outdoor seating area. This weekend they will screen Silence Of The Lamb. Check for discount tickets before making your purchase. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)

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37. Take a three-hour Downtown Los Angeles Food Walking Tour thats part history, architecture, and food! You’ll get plenty of chances to grab a bite from seven unique eateries so come hungry. Happening Saturday and Sunday. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)

38. The Fright Feast Film series in Eagle Rock will screen John Carpenter’s Halloween. Check for discounted tickets while supplies last. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)

39. A Cajun Shrimp Boil is happening at Santa Anita Park. Dig into the Louisiana feast while enjoying the day at the races! DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)

40. Descanso Gardens has something mildly spooky and fun for the entire family when the Ensemble Shakespeare Theater perform during Slightly Spooky Stories right in the middle of the boo-tiful gardens on Oct. 29-30.

41. The Aero Theatre will host an All Night Horrorthon. This year’s films include The Blob, Devil Fetus, Hell Night and more. There will be free food, giveaways, trailers, shorts and other surprises.

42. The 1922 horror classic Nosferatu will screen at the Theatre at Ace Hotel on Oct. 29 and Oct. 31, with each showing accompanied  by a live musical score courtesy of the LA Opera.

43. Tenacious D’s Festival Supreme takes over the Shrine Auditorium this Saturday with a list of headliners that includes Patton Oswalt, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Sarah Silverman and Flight of the Conchords. Check for discount tickets before making your purchase. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)

44. The Theatre at Ace Hotel’s Bloodsuckers Bash returns for the third year in a row on Oct. 29 with an evening filled with dancing, drinks, and dark arts.

45. Get ready for three days of free, family-friendly Halloween activities during the Old Pasadena Halloween Celebration, happening Oct. 29-31. Folks can enjoy pumpkin decorating, a movie screening, a doggie costume parade and even trick or treating at over 100 businesses. FREE

46. SoCal Corgi Beach Day is back at Huntington Beach this Saturday. The free all ages event brings hundreds of corgis to the beach for a day of fun in the sun, costumes and corgi activities like limbo. FREE

47. Grand Park in DTLA will host a Dia De Los Muertos exhibition titled Noche de Ofrenda all weekend long. The exhibit will feature traditional dance and prayer, poets and musicians and Master altar maker Ofelia Esparza who will unveil a community altar. FREE

48. Villains Tavern is throwing a Halloween party this Saturday with Jack Daniels and PBR drink specials, live music, a costume contest, prizes and trick or treat bags given away to anyone dressed up in costume. There’s no cover either! FREE

49. Head over to Sunset Beach for the International Tiki Market Place. Score some tiki goods from over 50 vendors, the $10 admission even comes with a voucher for food & drink.

50NASA’s Orbit Pavilion sound experience will open at The Huntington this Saturday. The “soundscape” expereince represent the movement of the International Space Station and 19 Earth Science satellites. Shaped like a shell the sculpture emits sounds each interpreting one of the satellites’ missions. Open to the public till Feb. 27, 2017.

51. The Hammer Museum presents Mutant Salon’s Festival De Las Muertas, an engaging performance and art event featuring a mutant beauty parlor, music, poetry readings, a selection of zines by the Mutant Salon community of queer, trans, womyn, POC and more. FREE

52. The Calvary Cemetery invites you to discover the meaning of Dia De Los Muertos during their celebration this Saturday. The event will have a blessing of the alters, dancers, children’s workshops, food, music and more.

53. Howl N’ Bowl Halloween Bash is an adults-only costume ball with open bowling, four bars, complimentary party favors, drink specials, DJ tunes and all-night dancing. DISCOUNTED (via Goldstar)

Sunday October 30th, 2016

54. Celebrate the Day of the Dead in Old Town Pasadena by heading over to One Colorado for a free screening of animated film Book of Life. FREE

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55. Spend the day with your four legged friend during the 16th Annual Haute Dog Howl’oween Parade in Long Beach. Dubbed as the largest pet Halloween celebration, the event will have vendors, a pet adoption fair, a great pumpkin drop and a parade of costumed kids, adults, and dogs! FREE

56. The LAVA Sunday Salon talk and walking tour returns with a discussion on architect William L. Pereira’s 1973 Los Angeles Times Corporate Headquarters. Endangered of being demolished, hosts Alan Hess, Kim Cooper and Richard Schave will discuss the legacy left behind by the mid-century architect and city planner William L. Pereira’s corporate and civic work which helped define Los Angeles. FREE

57. Go on a Hollywood Forever Cemetery Walking Tour. The two hour tour will have you visiting the grounds and its famous residents like Cecil B. Demille, Marion Davies, Rudolph Valentino, Mickey Rooney and more.

58. The Main Museum of Los Angeles presents Beta Main a 10-day performance by Suzanne Lacy and Andrea Bowers. Both will live in the museum and guest will observe Lacy teaching Bowers about performance art. The purpose of the project is to answer the question “can performance art be learned?” Beta Main is the first installment of a three phases, when complete, The Main will unfold across three historic buildings in Downtown Los Angeles.

59. The LA Zoo’s annual Halloween month long celebration Boo At The Zoo is back with spooky attractions for kids and adults. Happening daily with special events on the weekends, guests will enjoy mazes, costumed characters, pumpkin carving and more!

60. Partake in a double feature at New Beverly Cinema this Sunday they will screen Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009) see a theme here? 😉

MORE IDEAS: If you need ideas for Halloween proper (this Monday) then check out these two lists:

Here’s a Big List of Kid-Friendly Ideas to Celebrate Halloween in Los Angeles

Here’s a Massive List of Halloween-Themed Events & Other Spooky To-Do’s in L.A.


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