Plan out your month with the city's best concerts, culture and cuisine.
THINGS TO DO
Oct 2-31
Los Angeles Haunted Hayride; Old Zoo
Enlist in one of two secret society factions at this year’s hayride, which, for the first time, happens partially on foot.
Oct 13-16, 27-30
Rise of the Jack O'Lanterns; L.A. Convention Center & Fairplex
Stroll a festive trail of thousands of intricately hand-carved jack-o-lanterns.
Oct 14-16
IndieCade Festival; USC
Play through the year’s most innovative independent releases at this juried video-game festival featuring up-and-coming game developers and artists.
Oct 15
Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic; Will Rogers State Historic Park
Put on your wide-brimmed hats and Sunday best for this annual polo match. Sip on some bubbly and expect to spot a few celebs, especially if you shell out for tickets to the Rosé Garden.
Oct 16
CicLAvia: Heart of LA; DTLA
Pedal your way through DTLA, Chinatown, Westlake, Little Tokyo, the Arts District and Boyle Heights during the bike-friendly fest.
Oct 22
Strut Your Mutt; Exposition Park
Take a walk, with or without your furry sidekick, around the park for this Best Friends Animal Society's fundraiser.
Oct 26, 27
Lucha VaVOOM; Mayan Theater
Add some sexo y violencia to your month at the “Halloween Madness” edition of this exuberant, high-flying wrestling-meets-burlesque show.
Oct 28-30
Stan Lee's Comikaze; Los Angeles Convention Center
Attend three days of comic book panels, anime screenings and celebrity appearances hosted by the Marvel icon.
Oct 29
Día de los Muertos at Hollywood Forever; Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Find traditional Mexican music, food and altars dedicated to the dead at this annual celebration.
Oct 29
Grand Ave Arts: All Access; Grand Avenue
Celebrate 11 Bunker Hill institutions with free performances, exhibitions and tours at spots like the Broad, MOCA and the Music Center.
Oct 29
Adults-Only All-Nighters; Natural History Museum
Put on a pair of footed pajamas for this adults-only sleepover with DJ sets, scavenger hunts and a breakfast buffet.
Oct 31
West Hollywood Halloween Costume Carnaval; West Hollywood
Dance and drink your way through West Hollywood with thousands of other (sometimes scantily) costumed revelers.
Find more things to do in our October 2016 events calendar along with our guide to Halloween in LA.
FOOD & DRINK
Oct 1
Off the Hook Santa Monica Seafood Festival; Santa Monica Pier
Indulge your cravings for shrimp, fish, lobster, oysters and more at this oceanfront seafood-centric festival.
Oct 1
Spring Street Oktoberfest; Various locations
Start off your Oktoberfest celebrations with a Downtown pub crawl as select bars offer sausages, brats and specialty German beers on tap.
Oct 1
EAT Show; The Reef
Snag a ticket to this inaugural food festival featuring restaurants, food trucks and dessert shops, like gyros from the Halal Guys and ice cream from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams.
Oct 1
Taste of Italy; Italian American Museum of Los Angeles
Slurp up pasta, drink wine and enjoy live performances at the eighth annual Taste of Italy, which dedicates its ticket proceeds to the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles and the Italian Hall.
Oct 2
Eastside Food Festival; Mack Sennett Studios
Eat your way through the Eastside by snacking from more than 25 vendors, including Knuckle & Claw, Buttonmash, Homestate, Little Beast and more.
Oct 15
Vegan Oktoberfest; Los Angeles Center Studios
Raise a stein to meat-free dishes and plenty of beer at L.A.’s annual Vegan Oktoberfest, where you’ll find vegan food trucks galore and a lively oom-pah band.
Oct 15
Burbank Beer Festival; Various locations in Burbank
Sample more than 85 beers on tap as downtown Burbank transforms several blocks into a beer lover’s dream.
See more of our favorite Oktoberfest events.
ARTS & CULTURE
Sept 30-Oct 7
NOMO FOMO: An Art Show about Broads in the City; NerdMelt Showroom
Wait out Broad City's hiatus with more than 75 pieces of the show's most impressive fan art.
Oct 1
Noon to Midnight; Walt Disney Concert Hall
Kick off the LA Phil's progressive Green Umbrella series with an entire day of pop-up performances throughout the Downtown concert hall.
Oct 1, 15
LACMA Local: Zombie; LACMA
Learn how to act, dress and walk like a zombie with a workshop from Zombie Joe’s Underground Theater, then parade around the LACMA campus.
Oct 13
Bryan Cranston; Santa Monica High School
Find out how Cranston is so damn good at any role he steps into when the acclaimed actor discusses everything from Breaking Bad to Malcolm in the Middle during this memoir release discussion.
Oct 13
High Five Art Launch Party; Autry Museum of the American West
Listen to live DJs, fill up on tacos, contribute to a community chalk mural and see the winning California-inspired works featured in the Autry’s exterior banner design contest.
Opens Oct 15
The Science Behind Pixar Exhibtion; California Science Center
Take a peek into the engineering and technology that goes into the animation studio’s moviemaking magic.
Oct 21
ArtNight Pasadena; Various locations in Pasadena
Explore Pasadena’s underrated bounty of museums and cultural spaces with pop-up performances across the city as well as free shuttle buses and admission to local institutions like the Norton Simon Museum and Pasadena Museum of California Art.
Oct 25
Carrie Brownstein; Largo
Hear the Sleater-Kinney icon and Portlandia star read from her memoir about growing up in the Pacific Northwest.
Oct 29
EW PopFest; The Reef
Geek out with your favorite pop-culture stars at this TV, movie and podcast fest, including an advance screening of Doctor Strange and performances from Nick Jonas and Janelle Monáe.
FILM
Oct 23
The Harry Dean Stanton Award; The Theatre at Ace Hotel
Pay tribute to the veteran actor at this Vidiots fund-raiser, with musical performances from Karen O, Father John Misty, John C. Reilly and more.
Oct 25
The Evil Dead in Concert; The Theatre at Ace Hotel
See Sam Raimi’s schlocky horror classic with a reimagined live score, hosted by B-movie legend Bruce Campbell.
Through Oct 28
Front Porch Cinema; Santa Monica Pier
Spend Friday evenings by the beach at this music and screening series complete with movie-themed cocktails.
Oct 28-30
The Nightmare Before Christmas Concert; Hollywood Bowl
See Danny Elfman step into the role of Jack Skellington for a live orchestrated performance and screening of the stop-motion cult classic.
Oct 29, 31
Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror; The Theatre at Ace Hotel
Listen to the LA Opera’s chamber orchestra live score the silent Dracula tale, followed by a costumed dance party.
Through Oct 30
Rooftop Film Club; Ricardo Montalbán Theatre
Keep the outdoor movie season alive at this top-notch Hollywood rooftop series.
Through Oct 31
Fuel for Nightmares; Bing Theater at LACMA
Watch films from classic cinema greats who inspired Guillermo del Toro, including a Halloween night screening of The Bride of Frankenstein.
MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE
Oct 7-9, 14-16
Desert Trip; Empire Polo Club
Prove that rock 'n' roll is here to stay at the affectionately nicknamed “Oldchella,” with sets from the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, the Who and Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters.
Oct 8, 9
Festival of Disruption; The Theatre at Ace Hotel
See surrealist director David Lynch's unbelievably curated festival, including St. Vincent, Robert Plant and a Twin Peaks concert by Angelo Badalamenti, Sky Ferreira and Xiu Xiu.
Oct 8, 9
Sia; Hollywood Bowl
Catch the astounding singer and hit maker on her first tour in five years, with opening sets from Miguel and AlunaGeorge.
Oct 14-16
Desert Daze; Institute of Mentalphysics
Head to the desert for this antidote to the typical music festival, featuring Primus, Television, Washed Out and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
Oct 15
Stockholm, CA; Shrine Expo Hall & Grounds
Show Swedish pop music and its host nation some love with this inaugural fest, topped by Little Dragon and Icona Pop.
Oct 20, 21
James Blake; Hollywood Palladium
Listen to Blake's twitchy instrumentals and fragile croon as the intimate, introspective singer-songwriter-producer hits Hollywood.
Oct 22, 23
Beach Goth; Oak Canyon Park
See the Growlers' eclectic O.C. concert transition from indie upstart to full-blown fest with a lineup that includes Bon Iver, Justice, Gucci Mane, James Blake, Future Islands, Violent Femmes, TLC, Patti Smith and more.
Oct 23
Bon Iver + Patti Smith; Hollywood Bowl
Hear Justin Vernon’s folk outfit's first new songs in five years alongside a set from legendary punk poet Patti Smith.
Oct 25-27, Nov 1
Kanye West; The Forum
Stretch your hands as West's suspended stages comes to the Forum during one of the most impassioned, self-indulgent and over-the-top concert experiences to date.
Oct 28
M83; Greek Theatre
Catch Frenchman Anthony Gonzalez's no-holds-barred approach to electronic pop, from ’80s haze to synthesized ragtime.
Find more shows in our October 2016 concert calendar.
COMEDY
Oct 15
Trevor Noah; Dolby Theatre
See The Daily Show host continue his legacy of leaving audiences in stitches with bits about politics, race and class.
Oct 23
Amy Schumer; The Forum
Don’t let Schumer’s status as a pop-culture icon overshadow the fact that she’s a stellar stand-up with wicked smarts and quips.
Oct 28-30
Now Hear This; Anaheim Marriott
Hear more than 40 live podcasts across six stages at this inaugural podcast festival, including Comedy Bang! Bang!, WTF with Marc Maron and more.
Oct 29
Festival Supreme; Shrine Auditorium
Rock your socks off with Flight of the Conchords, Weird Al, Patton Oswalt and more at the Tenacious D-curated music and comedy fest.
Find more upcoming shows in our comedy calendar.
THEATER
Oct 23-Nov 20
Vicuna; Kirk Douglas Theatre
Dive into the political season with this world premiere satire about a TV star who runs for president and somehow becomes a major party’s nominee—sound familiar?
Sept 30-Oct 23
Our Town; Actors Co-op
See this revival of Thornton Wilder’s 1938 classic that will remind you to appreciate life and death.
Sept 29-Oct 23
Fall for Forsythe; Various venues
Celebrate the internationally recognized choreographer William Forsythe with a monthlong program of various events in L.A.
Sept 30-Oct 23
Bars and Measures; The Theatre @ Boston Court
Find out if the bonds of brotherhood are strong enough to withstand prison and accusations of terrorism in this must-see play.
Sept 30-Nov 20
Arcadia; A Noise Within
Fall in love with Tom Stoppard’s 1933 romantic look at our never-ending curiosity and quest for knowledge.
Oct 5-16
Macbeth; Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
See Plácido Domingo plays Macbeth as James Conlon conducts the operatic rendition of this thriller.
SHOPPING & STYLE
Oct 1
Coffee Hike; Various coffee shops in Downtown LA
Join this coffee crawl to three spots where you can learn about the L.A. coffee industry and taste what each spot has on offer.
Oct 8
Silverlake Flea; Micheltorena St. Elementary School
Peruse the wares at this local flea market, and stick around for the Silver Lake Fencing Academy’s daring demonstrations.
Oct 17
Tarot + Intuition with Rachel Howe; Otherwild
Learn the meaning behind Tarot cards at this workshop hosted by artist and Insta-famous tattoo artist and amateur astrologist Rachel Howe.
Oct 21
Odd Nights at the Autry; Autry Museum of the American West
Hit up the final night market of the year with everything imaginable: beer gardens, live music, bounce castles, more than 200 artisan vendors—and then some (i.e., horse parking, yes, horse parking).
Oct 22
Candle-making workshop with Ibi Yoo; Poketo at the Line Hotel
Combine fragrances to make your own scents and walk away from this weekend workshop with two homemade candles.
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