Thursday, October 30
DANCE: Brightest Young Things continues its Super Best Friends Forever group deejay nights, this time at Cafe Saint-Ex. The thinking here is that we all like (at least some) good music, so a few people will play a few songs, and that’s all there is to it. This week there’s a spooky theme, because of course there is. Free. 7:30 PM.
PUMPKIN CARVING: As you can probably guess, the vast majority of events this week have some sort of Halloween bent to them: First up is Hotel Helix’s tenth annual pumpkin-carving contest. The pumpkins are pre-scooped, so all you gotta do is jab some knives into yours and hope for the best. Winners will get gift certificates, and there’ll be special zombie cocktails, discounts on seasonal drafts, and happy hour prices on other beers. Free. 6 PM.
Friday, October 31
SCARY MOVIES: Lots of places are screening actually good scary movies today. Check out our roundup for details on where to go so you can avoid shelling out for Ouija.
COMICS: Don’t know what to be this year? Be a comic book character! Town Tavern is hosting a very mini Comic-Con DC party. For $15, you’ll get open bar from 9 to 11 PM, with happy hour prices before that. Free. 5 PM.
BIKE: If you’d like to be spooky but also get some exercise, join the Night of the Bicycling Dead bike ride, which starts at BicycleSpace, heads around town, and eventually ends at a zombie party at Bardo Brewpub. Be sure to trick your bike out with pumpkin lights or some sort of ghost-sound-making device. Free. 7 PM.
FILM: Union Market hosts its last drive-in movie of this season—unsurprisingly, it’s a Halloween-ish one: The original Ghostbusters will be projected on its giant wall, by popular demand. As always, it’s free if you walk up, ten bucks if you bring a car. 8 PM.
RETRO HALLOWEEN: Why dress up as something modern or spooky when you can be all retro at Malmaison’s Flashback Friday Halloween party? Be a zombie who wears leg warmers and a tracksuit, or a grungy Frankenstein. Or just dress up like yourself but from the ’80s and/or ’90s. Technically, time traveler is a costume! Tickets ($20) are available online. 10 PM.
Saturday, November 1
MARKET: DC MeetMarket features more than 40 local vendors and craftspeople, Thanksgiving crafts for the kids (yes, it’s already time for Thanksgiving stuff), food trucks and barbecue, and a couple of deejays. Free. 11 AM to 5 PM.
CHRISTMAS: November 1 is also somehow the time to start worrying about Christmas! Somehow! Anyway—if you’re down, the Czech Embassy is hosting a Christmas market featuring mulled wine, Christmas cookies, and lots of trinkets and decorations that’ll come in handy in roughly two months. Free. 10 AM to 4 PM.
DRINK: One night of Halloween is not enough: Give it a second go at the Clarendon Halloween Crawl, which hits Mad Rose, Spider Kelly’s Whitlow’s, SoBe, Mister Days, Hard Times, and more. Your ticket gets you specials on food and drinks at every bar and a sweet “haunted” mug to put said drinks in. Tickets ($15) are available online. 2 to 9 PM.
ZOMBIES: Blind Whino hosts Zombiefest 2014, featuring two floors of dancing and music (Congo Sanchez from Thievery Corporation will deejay), a zombie factory that will turn you into the living dead if you don’t know how to zombify yourself, a live painting, and one free zombie drink with admission. Tickets are $15 in advance or $30 at the door. 8 PM.
Sunday, November 2
ROCK OPERAS: The Baltimore Rock Opera Society presents Electric Pharaoh, an original garage-rock/electronic music opera that follows a young pharaoh in Egypt as he tries to figure out what the heck the deal is with the pyramids. Tickets ($20) are available online. 6 PM at Atlas Performing Arts Center.
TV SHOWS: If you haven’t had enough zombies for one weekend, here’s one last chance—you can watch The Walking Dead at Little Miss Whiskey’s. They’ll project the hit show on a giant screen with surround sound, so it’ll feel extra-apocalyptic. Free. 8:30 PM.
Know of something cool going on around town? E-mail Jason Koebler at jasontpkoebler@gmail.com, or find him on Twitter at @jason_koebler.
