The beginning of fall means a month packed with Halloween events. While not all kid-friendly events this month are focused on Halloween, you can bet that you'll be seeing plenty of pumpkins. When a simple trip to the playground won't do, keep your tot occupied with these 23 things to do with kids in October.
Oct 1-31
Boo at the L.A. Zoo; Los Angeles Zoo
Listen to not-so-scary tales and explore creepy-crawly–filled caves, and on weekends, tour a spooky safari.
Oct 13-16, 27-30
Rise of the Jack O'Lanterns; L.A. Convention Center & Fairplex
Stroll a festive trail of thousands of intricately hand-carved jack-o-lanterns.
Opens Oct 15
The Science Behind Pixar Exhibtion; California Science Center
Take a peek into the engineering and technology that goes into the animation studio’s moviemaking magic.
Oct 15, 16
Fall Festival; The Original Farmers Market
Catch a musical performance or make a friend at the petting zoo during this family-friendly harvest festival.
Oct 15, 16
Pumpkin Festival; Brookside Park
Explore a petting zoo, pony rides, bounce castles, carnival games and seasonal crafts at this Pasadena pumpkin patch and costume parade.
Oct 15, 16
Calabasas Pumpkin Festival; Juan Bautista de Anza Park
You'll find no shortage of pumpkin-related activities at the annual Calabasas event, from pumpkin pies to pumpkin bowling.
Oct 16
CicLAvia: Heart of LA; DTLA
Pedal your way through DTLA, Chinatown, Westlake, Little Tokyo, the Arts District and Boyle Heights during the bike-friendly fest.
Oct 21
ArtNight Pasadena; Various locations in 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 like the Norton Simon Museum and Pasadena Museum of California Art.
Oct 21
Odd Nights at the Autry; Autry Museum of the American West
Hit up the final night market of the year with everything imaginable: live music, bounce castles, more than 200 artisan vendors—and then some (i.e., horse parking, yes, horse parking).
Oct 22
Strut Your Mutt; Exposition Park
Take a walk, with or without your furry sidekick, around the park for this Best Friends Animal Society's fundraiser.
Oct 23
Skirball Playdate: Harvest Hoopla!; Skirball Cultural Center
Learn about delicious harvest foods and create your own table lantern in celebration of the Jewish festival of Sukkot and the autumn harvest.
Oct 23
Boo at the L.A. Zoo; Heritage Square Museum
Skip this Halloween tradition's first day of grisly details and instead attend a family-friendly storytelling event on Sunday.
Oct 28-30
The Nightmare Before Christmas Concert; Hollywood Bowl
See Danny Elfman step into the role of Jack Skellington for a live, orchestrated performance and screening of the stop-motion cult classic.
Oct 29
Halloween Hunt; Kidspace Children's Museum
Dress up in costume, make a unicorn horn, transform yourself into a troll and partake in a Medusa freeze dance at this trick or treating trail around the outdoor Arroyo Adventure space.
Oct 29
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 29
Grand Ave Arts: All Access; Grand Avenue
Celebrate 11 Bunker Hill institutions with free performances, exhibitions and tours at spots like the Broad, MOCA and the Music Center.
Oct 30-Dec 11
Spider Pavilion; Natural History Museum
Face your fears and observe approximately eight local and exotic species of spiders in an open, landscaped area where arachnids can wander freely.
Oct 31
Annual Halloween Party for Downtown LA Kids; Grand Hope Park
Celebrate the spookiest night of the year with bounce houses, caramel apples and faux trick-or-treat-doors.
Oct 31
Go trick or treating; Various locations
Make sure to find a pillowcase big enough for all your candy if you plan on visiting one of these nine top-notch trick or treating neighborhoods.
Through Oct 31
Mickey's Halloween Party; Disneyland Resort
See Halloween spirits materialize all month long as Disneyland hosts a special parade, fireworks and trick-or-treating trails along with some spooky Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain makeovers.
Ongoing
Visit a pumpkin patch; Various locations
Take a trip to one of these local pumpkin patches to find that perfect orange squash before Halloween arrives.
Ongoing
Go apple picking; Oak Glen
Pluck delicious apples straight from the tree at these orchards on the edge of the desert.
Ongoing
Free museum days; Various locations
Make the most of free days at LACMA, the Natural History Museum and more, plus always-free museums like the Hammer, Getty and Broad.
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