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Things To Do in LA this Weekend: Enchanted Crawly Halloween, Boos at Zoos, and P-22

Get hands on with some creepy crawlers at the Enchanted Crawly Hallow's Eve. Photo courtesy of STAR Eco Station
Get hands on with some creepy crawlers at the Enchanted Crawly Hallow's Eve. Photo courtesy of STAR Eco Station
10/17/19 - By Toby B

Throw on your masks and open up your treat sacks, because this is the weekend we start taking Halloween seriously. True, in some corners Halloween has always been deadly serious (as in full-on Zombie attack), but for the most part we have been attending our trick or treateries sans costumes, and more in onlooker mode. Well, no more. This weekend you start trick-or-treating at the LA Zoo. You can trick-or-treat at the Santa Ana Zoo. You can trick-or-treat with the Peanuts gang, and you can trick-or-treat with bugs (though hopefully not for bugs).

You can get pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins, from a town called pumpkin (ish), and then you can watch as they light up the night. 

You can party with guinea pigs (no, that's not a costume; they're always that adorbs). You can party with the Jonas Brothers (no that's not a costume, they're always that adorbs). You can party with P-22 (don't bother calling an Uber, he'll get there on his own).

Or you can spend the weekend with a bunch of superheroes. Not the types who wear capes: I'm talking the kind who save lives. The 22nd Annual LA Cancer Challenge 5K Walk/Run brings folks together on the UCLA campus for fun times, fitness, and raising awareness about pancreatic cancer research. It's a cause we believe in so much we became a media sponsor. (Do we still have to do 5 kilometers if we're sponsors? Asking for my knees.)

Keep reading for our most heroic picks for the weekend, because next week things are going to get real:

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Photo courtesy of City of Calabasas
Photo courtesy of City of Calabasas

Things To Do All Weekend

Calabasas Pumpkin Festival

Calabasas
The annual Calabasas Pumpkin Festival returns for one day only this year! Families can enjoy music, carnival games, crafts, inflatables & rides, and a pumpkin patch. Pumpkin facts and history are shared, too—after all, calabazas means pumpkins. READ MORE

Haunted Little Tokyo Block Party

Little Tokyo
The 2022 event is an evening block party for ages 21 and older.   Haunted Little Tokyo Block Party 2022 is coming; stay tuned as location and details will be revealed soon! READ MORE

Día de los Muertos Community Celebration

Griffith Park
This free, two-day extravaganza honors the traditions of Mexican and native Mesoamerican cultures with daytime activities for the whole family, including Día de los Muertos face painting, live music and storytelling, food, crafts, and live mural painting by father and son graffiti artists Such and Champ. READ MORE

Boo at the Zoo (Santa Ana)

Santa Ana
The zoo presents a "merry not scary" Halloween event with a decorated trail along the animal enclosures. Kids follow a fun Halloween trail through the zoo during extended admission hours, taking home goodies from 10 toy/treat stations. Family-friendly costumes encouraged. READ MORE

Boo at the LA Zoo

Griffith Park
A trip to the LA Zoo is always a treat, but the last two weekends of October are especially sweet: this year's Boo at the Zoo includes trick-or-treat stations with Mars candies.  READ MORE

The Adventures of Peter Rabbit

Hollywood Hills
UPDATE: March 14, 2020 was the final performance of The Adventures of Peter Rabbit. The show closed a couple of weeks early due to the coronavirus.   Storybook Theatre's version of Beatrix Potter’s classic tale hops into Theatre West this fall, with plenty of audience participation and singing and dancing. Audience members can join in a special version of “The Bunny Hop.” This adaptation is specifically created to appeal to young audiences. READ MORE

Bob Baker’s Halloween Spooktacular

Echo Park
A beloved Bob Baker tradition returns! The Bob Baker Marionettes presents Halloween Spooktacular, a family-friendly musical revue, set to haunting and jazzy holiday-themed tunes celebrating nearly every decade. READ MORE

Classic Horror Festival

El Segundo
The Old Town Music Hall's October movies feature monstrously big stars, including Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney.  READ MORE

OC Japan Fair 2024

Costa Mesa
The Annual OC Japan Fair is one of the largest Japanese cultural festivals in Southern California. Guests can enjoy shopping, indulging in Japanese cuisine, and learning about Japanese culture, with live performances, games, Kimono models and more. READ MORE

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (PG)

Hollywood
Well, well...  if you're hoping to see Maleficent at the El Capitan, best get on it.  Now's your last chance before a cold front sets in! READ MORE

26th Annual Fall Harvest Festival

Moorpark
Underwood Family Farms' annual Fall Harvest Festival features pig races, animal shows, a corn maze and gourd tunnel, a combine slide, tractor rides, Farmer Craig’s Chicken Show, hay pyramids, and animals to feed, as well as a gigantic pumpkin patch. READ MORE

Kiddee Matinees

Hollywood
On Saturdays and Sundays, families can catch a matinee screening of a kid-friendly movie at the New Beverly Cinema.   READ MORE

The Patchwork Girl of Oz

The Land of Oz comes to life in a narrated dance/multimedia production of The Patchwork Girl of Oz. READ MORE
Celebrate Griffith Park's biggest celebrity - P22. Photo courtesy of National Park Service
Celebrate Griffith Park's biggest celebrity - P22. Photo courtesy of National Park Service

Things To Do Saturday, October 19

Family Festival: Manet and Modern Beauty

West LA
What a beautiful day for a day of beauty! Getty visitors can travel back to 19th-century Paris at this daylong Family Festival inspired by the exhibition Manet and Modern Beauty.    READ MORE

P-22 Day Festival

Griffith Park
 LA’s legendary mountain lion is once again celebrated with a fun community event. READ MORE

Latino Heritage Parade & Festival

Pasadena
Local schools, community groups, elected officials, neighbors, and friends participate in the 24th annual Latino Heritage Parade and Festival. More than 2,000 participants and visitors are expected at this year’s parade and festival celebrating Latino Heritage. READ MORE

Fall for All!

Costa Mesa
Argyros Plaza at Segerstrom celebrates fall with a free festival. The afternoon is filled with performances, games, and festive activities for the whole family. READ MORE

Archaeology Day 2023

Calabasas
Wannabe Indiana Joneses can live out their "archaeologist for a day" fantasies at this free event. READ MORE

Open House - Day of the Bison

Newhall
Visitors can explore the Hart Museum at their own pace, on a day that focuses on the bison. Guests can engage in casual chats, view displays, and participate in hands-on activities related to the history of the bison in North America, including why we call them bison rather than buffalo. READ MORE

Museum Open House: The Gilb Museum Turns 18!

Arcadia
The Gilb Museum holds an open house in honor of its 18th anniversary. READ MORE

Teddy Bear Concerts

Eagle Rock
At these concerts, kids are welcome... and so are favorite teddy bears! January's concert introduces the Brass Family. READ MORE

Nothin' But Sand Beach Cleanup

Santa Monica
Kids can get involved and help the environment by participating in this monthly beach cleanup. The first event in 2024 is held at Malibu's Zuma Beach. READ MORE

A Faery Hunt & A Faery Hunt's Halloween Party - Griffith Park

Griffith Park
The trick after this week's Faery Hunt is a treat:  a Halloween Party with the fairies! READ MORE

Heritage Halloween

Simi Valley
Admission is free to this family event at Strathearn Historical Park featuring games, trick-or-treating, a movie, and a costume parade. READ MORE

Annual Family Halloween Carnival

Manhattan Beach
The Manhattan Beach Parks and Recreation Department's 34th annual Family Halloween Carnival is held at Manhattan Heights Park. Highlights include carnival games, a costume contest and parade, face painting, a cupcake walk, and more. READ MORE

Dia de los Muertos Celebration

Costa Mesa
Families can immerse themselves in the colorful traditions and festivities of the Mexican holiday Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). This special program includes kid-friendly activities and traditional music, featuring tunes from Disney-Pixar’s Coco. READ MORE

Harvest Fest at the Shoppes

Westlake Village
The Shoppes at Westlake Village welcomes fall with fun and fright at the family friendly Harvest Fest. READ MORE

Amazon Treasure Truck with Think!

Glendale
THINK! bar & Amazon Treasure Truck invite health enthusiasts and foodies for an energetic and fitness-forward day of fun at The Americana at Brand. READ MORE

Spooky Science Night

Downey
Columbia Memorial Space Center hosts a spooky-themed night of science, with a variety of hands-on activities available for all ages. READ MORE

Cinemalibu

Malibu
Wax on, wax off, Malibu.  The Karate Kid screens at Malibu Bluffs Park. READ MORE

Electric Dusk Drive-In

Glassell Park
Don't feed them after midnight! Gremlins screens in an old style drive-in setting. READ MORE

Movie Night at Malibu Creek State Park

Calabasas
Malibu Creek State Park recalls its movie heritage with a free screening of The Second Time Around, a 1961 comedy starring Debbie Reynolds. READ MORE
Family Fun Day at the Norton Simon Museum on October 22, 2017 in Pasadena, California. Photo by Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging
Family Fun Day at the Norton Simon Museum on October 22, 2017 in Pasadena, California. Photo by Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging

Things To Do Sunday, October 20

LA Cancer Challenge 5K Walk/Run

Westwood
The 25th Annual LA Cancer Challenge 5K Walk/Run is the signature fundraising event of the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research. The LACC brings the cancer community together to shine a light on this disease and honor loved ones.    READ MORE

Enchanted Crawly Hallow's Eve

Culver City
STAR Eco Station's Trick-Or-Treat Village is filled with unique Halloween fun. It's a fairy tale gone green with an environmental and entomology twist. Kids can meet some cartoon characters, enter costume contests, and try the Fear Factor edible insect challenge (if they dare!). READ MORE

Norton Simon Fall Family Festival: Family Festival: Time Travel

Pasadena
This year's fall family festival at the Norton Simon is themed to travel through time.  Families are taken on a journey around the world and through time with pop-up art-making workshops in the galleries and garden.  READ MORE

Sherman Oaks Street Fair

Sherman Oaks
The Sherman Oaks Street Fair returns for its 31st year. Billed as the largest single-day event in the San Fernando Valley, the fair runs along Ventura Boulevard from Kester to Van Nuys Blvd. READ MORE

Fowler Families: Dive into Design!

Westwood
Fowler visitors can explore how stepwells from as early as the fifth century have been used to store monsoonal rains for communities across India before imagining a new water-storage system for their own neighborhood. READ MORE

Jonas Brothers Happiness Begins Tour

Hollywood
I suspect Mommas may be the ones begging to go to this concert...the GRAMMY nominated teen heart-throb trio's Happiness Begins Tour features special guests Bebe Rexha and Jordan McGraw. READ MORE

Movie Night at Heritage Square

Montecito Heights
Lights, camera, Los Angeles!  Heritage Square screens movies that spotlight Los Angeles as a location. READ MORE

Los Angeles Guinea Pig Rescue Fall Festival

Chatsworth
Los Angeles Guinea Pig Rescue, the largest guinea pig rescue in America, invites families, animal lovers, and children of all ages for a fun family day at its Fall Festival. Guests are invited to bring their own guinea pigs to the event. READ MORE

Family Garden Workshop: Pumpkin Decorating in the Garden

Downtown
A pumpkin can be transformed into a festive work of art at this month’s Family Garden Workshop. Participants  carve, decorate, and learn about the life cycle of a pumpkin. READ MORE

Places featured in this article:

Japanese Village Plaza
Shane's Inspiration Universal Playground Griffith Park ,
Argyros Plaza at Segerstrom Center for the Arts
Santa Monica Mountains Interagency Visitor Center
LACCD Van De Kamp College Campus
Los Angeles Guinea Pig Rescue