This is the weekend of Halloween in all but the name. True, Halloween is next Friday, which really makes it part of next weekend if you want to get all official about it, but its Halloween part is only at the beginning. The pre-weekend day, really, and 10/31 is going to be all about the trick-or-treating anyway. Then come Saturday and Sunday, and at that point you might as well launch your pumpkins into the sky, because it'll be November and Dia de Los Muertos and Halloween will be little more than a sweet, cavity-inducing memory.

See, all the real Halloween action is this weekend. The festivals. The pumpkin patches. The chills and the thrills. Halloween at the aquarium, the zoo, the garden, the museum, another aquarium, another zoo, a scary train ride. Halloween with fairies, books, puppets, another garden, comic book Halloween, surfing Halloween, science Halloween. Dancing Halloween, racing Halloween, eco Halloween, Haute Dog Halloween, another aquarium.  Chances are you're going to be so busy Halloweening in this "not Halloween" weekend that come next weekend you'll be all "Halloween? That was so last weekend."

Well, that is until next week when we tell you all the spookilicious fright-tivities that lay in wait for you. But in the mean time:

Keep reading for our most Halloweeny picks for this weekend...

Someone file a name change because Philadelphia is about to become the city of Motherly love. That's right, Mommy Poppins is setting up shop in the town William Penn founded. I'm looking forward to cheesesteaks and soft pretzels and runs up the steps of the Art Museum. But that crack in the Liberty Bell? We had nothing to do with it, nothing, you hear? (We were being careful!)

Of course, the real excitement is in our little hometown (which is, for the record, bigger than Philadelphia, not that we're bragging). This weekend we can explore the communities that make LA great, with the Found: LA Festival of Neighborhoods, the Sherman Oaks Street Fair, Taste of Soul LA, the Mar Vista Community Fall Festival; Fall/Harvest/Pumpkin/Halloween festivals at Underwood Farms, the Original Farmers Market, Kidspace, Descanso Gardens, Calabasas, the LA Zoo, Shadow Hills Equestrian Center, and the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium - to name a few.

The Read for the Record fun starts this weekend, with high octane readers like Josh Duhamel and kid-favorite locations like Lakeshore Learning. LeVar Burton boldly goes where no one has gone before...scratch that, where a lot of people have gone (the Santa Monica Library), but dudes, he's Geordi, Kunta Kinte, and the Reading Rainbow guy! If you're looking for a theatrical experience, we've got a mouse with no tail, a hungry caterpillar (so hungry it'll take him two days to eat through the Southland), a tree-planting man, a princess with a pea and a newly clad emperor, and a silent Joan of Arc (with choral accompaniment).

And Dan Zanes, pretty much our all-time favorite kids' performer, makes a rare LA appearance for two shows at the Wallis.  Catch that train, Philadelphia!

Keep reading for our favorite picks for the weekend...

Look to the stars, baby!  It’s a truly astronomical weekend in Los Angeles. First we had another one of those blood moon things, (which I’m told was lovely but, you know, late. Momma needs sleep). Then we had all sorts of executive visits (both presidential and vice). I didn’t actually see those either, though I may have heard them (helicopters and Tea Party rants). But I tell you what I wouldn’t miss for all the world: the return of the JPL Open House. Science, dudes! Rockets! Spacecraft! 

If the only star you need to see is your own beaming baby, you might want to check out LA Parent’s cover kids contest. If you can’t say Star without Wars, you can join fellow readers at Barnes and Noble or fellow bricklayers at Toys R Us. The Music Center is the star of its own festivities, as is Marina del Rey.

And as any child will tell you, the real star of October is Halloween.  The trains, mazes, and spook-fests have begun. You have two more weekends to get your spook spirits up, before the most hallowed eve arrives. And possibly the Great Pumpkin.

Keep reading for our most out of this world picks for the weekend...

This is a weekend of the weird and the quirky, the spooky and the ooky. Things popping up unexpectedly, nothing where you expect it to be, and surprises at every turn.  What has put such mystery in the air?  Is it the end of the summer and the beginning of the Fall? The approach of our most spooktacular holiday season? Or maybe, just maybe, it's the renovations our site is undergoing which might lead to some extraordinary and/or unexplainable results. For which we apologize and/or say you're welcome.

There is also much going on to leave you inspired.  It is a weekend filled with compassion, and hope, and giving back. Whether there's an angel on your shoulder, or a Mustang in your garden, this is the kind of weekend that reminds us that LA is really just our own little hometown. Grab your bike or take a stroll, say hola to your amigos and listen to the music of your neighborhood.

You know what else? Pie!  And Hot Wheels!  Let the October fun begin!

Keep reading for our most perfectly placed picks for the weekend...

Hello, Present You. This is Future You, telling you not to panic. I know what you're thinking. I've been there, (I'm you), and I'm telling you it all works out okay. Yes, it is Fall. Fall means Harvest, Harvest means pumpkins, pumpkins mean from now until 2015 it's Halloween-Thanksgiving-Hanukkah-Christmas-Kwanzaa-New Year's all presented in a non-stop, candy-coated, costume-wearing, gifts-piled-high frenzy...

Oh dear. That's not helping you relax, is it? Okay. Let's just focus on the now. This weekend. So much fun to be had in two little days: San Gennaro, free museums, Hispanic Heritage celebrated all around town, Abbot Kinney, a giant kids' book festival, the Day of the Drum, wiggle waggle walking, and a chance to mingle with celebs while learning how to keep your kids safe.

See? Everything is going to be okay. You'll even get that thing you want. Oh, and you won't believe what your kid is gonna do next.... but why spoil the surprise!

Keep reading for some of our favorite picks for this weekend....

If you're reading this, it means we made it through the last heat wave (and without the benefit of a fancy name like Heat-maggedon or Hotpocalypse, either!).  Lucky us, because this weekend is really too good to miss. It's got lords & ladies, XBox One, trucks for touching, spiders, The Sound of Music, coastal cleanup, Minnie & Mickey, and Thais, Swedes, Koreans, Greeks, Latinos, and  lobsters getting all festive. For starters.

In case you're wondering how you're going to power through all these fair skies and good times, never fear: this weekend even comes complete with its own refreshments: BOGO coffee, free coffee, and, if you're willing to show your pirate side, free donuts!

Yup, this weekend it's smooth sailing. Next week, on the other hand... I'm not sure which of these is going to scare you more: a) the heat is coming back or b) we are in countdown mode for Halloween. Aaaaand they run away screaming.

Keep reading for our hottest (oops) picks for this weekend....

Is it hot in here, or is it just me? (Because, you know, I’m a mom who’s got it going on like that.)  But no, it’s That Hot, as in You Might Even Think It’s Still Summer hot (which technically I suppose it is, but no it isn’t because Back to School and Labor Day.) You might want to consider some indoor, AC-assisted events for the weekend. You can let down your hair with Rapunzel in the breezy El Capitan,  stroll with Dinos at Staples, and jam with Mickey and Minnie at the Terrace Theatre in Long Beach. You can also learn a thing or two at the Green Festival (like maybe a way to cut back your global-warming carbon footprint so we can lower the temps a degree or two).

Of course, there’s plenty of outdoor activities that are worth going out for. The lobsters and puppets are hanging out close to the water; I’m guessing they got a tip that it’s cooler there.  If you wait until the sun goes down, you can party with Bart Simpson or the moon. And the LA Zoo wisely scheduled its Cool at the Zoo event for this weekend, with ice sculptures and misters and free treats to keep things copacetic. (Coincidence or evil genius plan?)

Whatever you do, be sure to wear sunscreen and drink lots of water. (I may be a hot Mom, but I’m still a mother!) 

Keep reading for our coolest picks for this weekend....

I admit it, I complained a lot about the end of summer; but I'm starting to get onboard with this whole school thing. Think about it: someone else is taking it upon themselves to make your kid smarter. And as if that weren't enough, there are even afterschool programs to make your kids even more accomplished, and many of them are cheap or even free! (Have I mentioned how much I love free?) Why, with your smart and now skillful children, you'll have no choice but to set them free into the world. (Just be sure to pack them a healthy snack).

But that's just Monday to Friday, the 9-to-3 grind. On the weekend they're all yours. Whatever will you do with them? (Are you sensing the ace up my sleeve?) Why yes, we might have a thing or two to amuse them. Like, I don't know, large as life dinosaurs!  Really big ships! Nom nom lobster and fried-anything-you-can-conceivably-fry. Free family fests at the Hammer, the Bowers, and CAAM. Chalk and bugs and howling at the moon....

It's a good thing there's school on Monday, because you're going to need a break after this weekend.

Keep reading to get schooled on our favorite picks for this weekend....