In case you were wondering, yes, we are capable of talking about things other than Halloween. Take El Niño, for instance. El Niño may not be here yet, but once that soggy rascal does arrive, there won’t be much opportunity for heading outdoors; best to enjoy Griffith Park Observatory’s Sunset Walk and Talk one more time before the deluge arrives. We can talk about teens, too: Santa Monica high schoolers may want to check out the library's Teen Advisory Council, a leadership program advocating for the library that meets this Monday and throughout the year. As anyone with kids starting to think about college knows, leadership and community service are vital components of the application process. Or we could mention the LA Kids gigantic consignment sale in Woodland Hills, where 650 families have contributed 100,000 new and barely used items; if you're working on a Halloween costume, this may be a place to pick up a few items. 

Oops - there we go again talking about Halloween. Well, let the hauntings begin, or rather continue! There’s a maze in Malibu, and Sherman Oaks has Boney Island. And as part of the El Capitan’s Halloween trilogy, Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas screens. It’s a favorite family tradition in my house to watch this movie, which somehow manages to work our two favorite holidays into one stop action animation masterpiece that includes a tremendous score by Danny Elfman.

With Halloween just around the corner, there are plenty of opportunities to get in the spooktacular spirit this week. Have a bewitching good time at Bergen County Zoo’s Boo Zoo, Tuckerton Seaport’s Haunted Seaport and Heaven Hill Farm’s Great Pumpkin Festival. It’s also a wonderful week for Alice in Wonderland-themed fun, including A Very Merry Un-Halloween Day and Alice in Yogaland. And don’t forget to check out our Event Calendar for even more options!

The Halloween season is in full swing, with pumpkin decorating, fall crafts and more happening this week. For even more fall fun, check out our Long Island Events Calendar, which is updated daily. And get the best of what's happening for the upcoming holiday with our Halloween Guide.

In fact, you can get the best events of the week sent directly to your inbox each week if you sign up for our newsletter. 

Each week is beginning to look more ghoulish than the last as we inch toward Halloween. Spooky activities are available most days of the week, including a Halloween festival and trail this coming Friday and Saturday. One of the coolest-sounding events this week celebrates pumpkins themselves, so make sure to visit a local pumpkin patch to pick your own beforehand.

If you're not so into Halloween, there are plenty of other ways to enjoy the fall. My kids and I recently went on a scavenger hunt at Gore Place (pictured), where plenty of other cool activities for families are offered in the coming weeks. Keep your eye on the full Event Calendar for more happenings all month!

As we get closer to Halloween, even more family activities throughout Westchester focus on the holiday theme. This week, kids can do some Halloween Hand Sewing and combine a sweet tooth with some creativity. Or wax nostalgic at the big-screen showing of the Back to the Future trilogy—with three films for the price of one.

There are many more fun Halloween programs on our Event Calendar, and don’t miss our roundup of uncommon Halloween events that are FREE! Read on for our top picks for the week.

East Haddam, a town in southeastern Connecticut that is rich in natural scenery and history, is a fabulous destination for a day trip and there is no better time to visit than the fall. Located along the Connecticut River, most of its charms are outside, so be sure to wear comfy shoes and bring a camera because there will be some spectacular fall foliage photo-ops. You might have to plan two day trips, however, to fit everything in.

It is commonly thought that exposing children to music at an early age helps to kick-start their learning. If nothing else, it gives them an opportunity to have a rich sensory experience through rhythm and movement. Whether little ones prefer attending live music shows or taking classes to learn how to make their very own beats, parents can't go wrong by encouraging them to tap their toes and sing their hearts out.

Interactive rock and roll "kindie" band Jason Didner and the Jungle Gym Jam came to WXPN in Philadelphia on Saturday, October 10, 2015, and they certainly did offer up that amazing sensory experience! They often play shows in New Jersey and New York as well. Read more about what my family thought about the concert, learn about what makes the band tick, and see where they're playing next. 

This post is from 2015. For current info see our 2016 post.

There are many levels of pumpkin carving. There's picking up a pumpkin at the grocery store and jabbing it with a knife until is makes a crooked smile. There's downloading a stencil and spending an afternoon with a $5 carving kit turning your pumpkin patch purchase into Jack Skellington. And then there's taking 5,000 fresh pumpkins per week and carving them into multi-gourd masterpieces never before conceived out of fruit. That last thing is what you'd call Rise of the Jack O'Lanterns.

The Rise, as those in the know call it, has been a popular Halloween event near NYC, on Long Island, for years; SoCal got its first peek at the hard-to-describe pumpkin phenomenon last year, when it moved into Descanso Gardens. This year The Rise is at two LA locations (adding the Santa Anita Race Track), as well as the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. And it is pretty darn different from any other Halloween event I've seen.