Plan out your month with the city’s best concerts, culture and cuisine.
THINGS TO DO
Through Nov 3
Halloween Horror Nights; Universal Studios Hollywood
Travel to the Upside Down as this big-budget scare, which includes a Stranger Things maze, continues.
Through Oct 31
Los Angeles Haunted Hayride; Old Zoo
Brace yourself for the 10th anniversary of this frightening fall staple.
Oct 1–Jan 29
The Pizza Experience; Raymond Theatre
Stop us if you’ve heard this one: A photogenic, immersive installation themed around a single concept is popping up in L.A.
Oct 3
Passport to South Africa presented by South African Tourism; The Mayfair Hotel
Experience a slice of the sights, sounds and flavors of South Africa here in L.A.
Oct 6
Amber Rose Slut Walk; Pershing Square Park
Model Amber Rose leads this impassioned walk from Pershing Square in the name of ending sexual injustice, victim blaming, derogatory labeling and gender inequality.
Oct 6
RuPaul’s Drag Race: Werq the World; Orpheum Theatre
Bob the Drag Queen hosts an evening with sickening performances by the queens from season 10 plus fan favorites.
Oct 6
Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic; Will Rogers State Historic Park
Put on your wide-brimmed hats and sip on some bubbly at this annual polo match.
Oct 7
COAST Open Streets Festival; Santa Monica
Bike, bus, train or walk your way to a free and fun means of exploring the beautiful city of Santa Monica.
Oct 11–13
IndieCade; Santa Monica College Center for Media and Design
Play through the year’s most innovative independent releases at this juried video-game festival featuring up-and-coming game developers and artists.
Oct 12
Skylent Disco; OUE Skyspace LA
Dance your heart out above DTLA at this sky-high dance party.
Oct 19–21
Long Beach Zombie Fest; Rainbow Lagoon Park
Join the horde at this annual Long Beach outbreak, where would-be-zombies descend upon Rainbow Lagoon Park for three days of scares, makeup workshops and costume contests.
Oct 20, 21
Politicon; Los Angeles Convention Center
Politics—on both sides of the aisle—and entertainment collide at this two-day convention.
Oct 20
Strut Your Mutt; Exposition Park
Take a walk, with or without your furry sidekick, around the park for this Best Friends Animal Society’s annual fundraiser.
Oct 24–25
Lucha Vavoom: Circo de Vampiros; Mayan
Add some sexo y violencia to your month at the Halloween edition of this exuberant, high-flying wrestling-meets-burlesque show.
Oct 26–28
Los Angeles Comic Con; Los Angeles Comic Con
Attend three days of comic book panels, anime screenings and celebrity appearances hosted by the Marvel icon.
Oct 27
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 27
KCRW Masquerade Ball; Los Angeles Theatre
Santigold and White Denim top KCRW’s beloved Halloween masquerade party.
Oct 27, 28
Halloween & Mourning Tours; Heritage Square Museum
Brush up on the mourning rituals of the Victorian era during this dose of living history.
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 2018 events calendar.
FOOD & DRINK
Through Oct 12
Hail Mary Bistro Pop-Up; Garçons de Café
Triniti chef Joseph Geiskopf pops up in this gem of a Spring Street Arcade wine bar, serving a limited but varying, innovative bistro menu.
Oct 4
San Gabriel Dumpling & Beer Fest; San Gabriel Mission Playhouse
Indulge in, you guessed it, dumplings and beer at this SGV food fest.
Oct 6
Off the Hook Seafood Festival; Santa Monica Pier
Dine on the best our local waters have to offer at this seafood fest and fundraiser.
Oct 13, 14
DTLA Oyster Festival; Grand Central Market
Meet the farmers, score plenty of oysters and pour yourself French wine at this briny event.
Oct 14
Octubrefest at Smorgasburg; ROW DTLA
Trade bratwurst for chorizo and steins of beer for Tajin-rimmed micheladas at Smorgasburg’s Mexican take on Oktoberfest.
Oct 16
Arctic Monkeys; Hollywood Bowl
The snotty British garage-rockers return after a four-year hiatus.
Oct 20, 21
Oktoberfest DTLA; Pershing Square Park
Oktoberfest comes to Pershing Square for a two-day street festival with music, dancing and Bavarian charm.
Oct 21
Burbank Beer Festival; Burbank
Sample more than 85 beers on tap as downtown Burbank transforms several blocks into a beer lover’s dream.
Oct 21
Eastside Food Festival; Mack Sennett Studios
Eat your way through the Eastside by snacking from more than 35 vendors, including Kismet, Otoño and Homestate.
Oct 27
Lagunitas Beer Circus; Fairplex
The circus is in town, and there will be beer at this sideshow-themed beer event.
ARTS & CULTURE
Through Mar 3
“Ai Weiwei: Life Cycle”; Marciano Art Foundation
The acclaimed Chinese artist takes over the Marciano’s massive theater gallery, including an inflatable boat inspired by the refugee crisis as well as Ai’s floor-covering “Sunflower Seeds” and “Spouts” pieces.
Through Jan 5
“Ai Weiwei: Zodiac”; Jeffrey Deitch
Distinguished art dealer Jeffrey Deitch inaugurates his new L.A. gallery with LEGO zodiac portraits and 6,000 wooden Ming and Qing dynasty stools from Ai Weiwei.
Oct 12
ArtNight Pasadena; 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.
Oct 13, 14
Festival of Disruption; The Theatre at Ace Hotel
Director David Lynch’s two-day fest includes music from Vic Mensa and Mike Patton, a live score by RZA, a sound bath from Sigur Ros’s Jónsi, talks from Francis Ford Coppola, Grace Jones and Carrie Brownstein, and more.
Oct 28–June 9
“Rauschenberg: The 1/4 Mile”; LACMA
See Robert Rauschenberg’s magnum opus, a nearly quarter-mile display of 190 painted panels, on display at LACMA.
FILM
Through Oct 31
Rooftop Cinema Club; NeueHouse • LEVEL
Continue outdoor movie season at this top-notch Hollywood and Downtown rooftop series.
Through Oct 27
Street Food Cinema; Various locations
Gourmet food trucks meet outdoor screenings at this seasonal series, showcasing films like It and Edward Scissorhands.
Oct 4–9
Freeform’s Halloween House; Lombardi House
Mark the 25th anniversary of both Hocus Pocus and Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas at this pop-up inspired by the films.
Oct 9
Swim Up Cinema; NoMad
Catch a poolside screening of Point Break on a DTLA rooftop.
Oct 13, 20, 31
Cinespia; Hollywood Forever Cemetery • Los Angeles Theatre
Wrap up the season with outdoor screenings of Young Frankenstein and Halloween, followed by a Willy Wonka costume party in DTLA.
Oct 26–28
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Live with Danny Elfman; Hollywood Bowl
See Danny Elfman step back into the role of Jack Skellington for this live performance and screening.
MUSIC
Through Oct 7
Twilight on the Pier; Santa Monica Pier
Wrap up the return of this free oceanfront concert series with Afrobeat and South Asian-themed evenings.
Oct 4
Interpol; Hollywood Bowl
Paul Banks and crew play the Bowl with support from the Kills and Sunflower Bean.
Oct 5
Courtney Barnett; Greek Theatre
The clever, angsty lyricist is adept at foot-stomping, rollicking sets.
Oct 6
Cal Jam; Glen Helen Amphitheater & Regional Park
Foo Fighters are back to close out Cal Jam, and they’re bringing Iggy Pop, Tenacious D, Garbage, Greta Van Fleet and Silversun Pickups along with them for the rock-focused fest.
Oct 6, 7
Adult Swim Festival; ROW DTLA
Run the Jewels, Hannibal Buress, Thundercat, Wavves, Mastodon, Neko Case, at the Rick and Morty Musical Ricksperience head to the Arts District.
Oct 8
Jeff Tweedy; The Theatre at Ace Hotel
The Wilco frontman’s freewheeling solo shows balance acoustic takes, deep cut requests and charming banter.
Oct 11
Andrew Bird; Walt Disney Concert Hall
The expert violinist, guitarist and whistler gets a little support from Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil.
Oct 12
Moby; Walt Disney Concert Hall
The electronic composer plays through his genre-spanning catalog, backed by tge Dudamel-led LA Phil.
Oct 12–14
Desert Daze; Lake Perris State Recreation Area
Tame Impala, My Bloody Valentine, Death Grips, Shellac, Mercury Rev, Warpaint and Ty Segall top this year’s lineup.
Oct 12–14, 16–20
Drake + Migos; Staples Center • The Forum
Billed as the Aubrey and the Three Amigos Tour, this arena-filling series finds the turtleneck-sweater–wearing rapper teaming up with the ad-libbing trap trio.
Oct 13
Emo Nite Day; Shrine Auditorium Grounds
Cake on the eyeliner at this festival-sized edition of the emo dance party, with Dashboard Confessional, All Time Low, Mayday Parade, 3OH!3, a DJ set from Travis Barker and more.
Oct 13, 14
Secret Project; Chinatown
Bicep, Bonobo and Motor City Drum Ensemble headline a DJ-heavy fest, with food and drink pairings at Majordōmo and Apothéke.
Oct 20
Gorillaz Demon Dayz Festival; Pico Rivera Sports Arena
Erykah Badu, The Internet, DRAM and others. join the Damon Albarn-fronted animated band.
Oct 31
John Carpenter; Hollywood Palladium
Expect to hear some of Carpenter’s latest work and classic cues from his films during the rare live performance.
Find more shows in our October 2018 concert calendar.
THEATER
Through Oct 21
The Cake; Geffen Playhouse
A baker hesistates to create a wedding cake for two women in this play from This is Us writer Bekah Brunstetter.
Through Oct 7
The Untranslatable Secrets of Nikki Corona; Geffen Playhouse
When a woman loses her twin sister, a strange business puts her in touch with a dying man.
Oct 4–Nov 10
Wicked Lit; Mountain View Mausoleum
Spend a night in an Altadena cemetery as you’re led across the grounds for spooky theatrical productions.
Oct 5–7
Autobiography; Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
British choreographer Wayne McGregor arrives with Company Wayne McGregor. Before each show, a computer arranges and selects from among the 23 sections to be performed.
Oct 12–14
Diavolo Architecture in Motion; Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
The Los Angeles company literally balances athleticism and architecture in Jacques Heim’s choreography, as his dancers climb, dangle, soar and perch in their explorations of movement, space and time.
Oct 17–Nov 25
Dear Evan Hansen; Ahmanson Theatre
In this captivating original musical, high school student Evan Hansen is thrust into social relevance after a classmate’s suicide.