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October 2021 events calendar for Los Angeles
Plan your month with our October 2021 events calendar of the best activities, including free things to do, Halloween festivals and our favorite fall concerts
While fall foliage is sparse in L.A., the there’s no shortage of Halloween spirit. It’s October, so there are precious few weeks left to secure your haunted house and spooky screenings tickets. If Halloween isn’t really your holiday, then celebrate the end of summertime and enjoy one of the best hikes in L.A. sans the seasonal crowds. Regardless, you’ll find something to do in L.A. in our October events calendar.
RECOMMENDED: Full events calendar for 2021
This October’s best events
Immersive Van Gogh
True to its name, this exhibition transforms the iconic paintings of Vincent van Gogh into moving, wall-filling projections. “Immersive Van Gogh” promises half-a-million cubic feet of projections that pull from some of the post-Impressionist’s most recognizable pieces, including The Bedroom, Sunflowers and, yes, The Starry Night. We don’t have any location info yet, but we do know that it’s set to open on May 27, with presale tickets available on February 10 and general sale on February 13. Tickets start at $30 for kids and $40 for adults; “peak” times top out at $50, but you’ll find a whole bunch of premium ticketing options that tack onto the price. In the meantime, check out this preview from our friends at Time Out Chicago.
Rise Festival
As cathartic and communal as it is visually stunning, the annual Rise Festival marks the release of thousands of illuminated lanterns into the night sky above the Mojave Desert. The two-day festival outside of Las Vegas kicks off in the afternoon with hourly music sets, and each night culminates in a massive, simultaneous lantern release just after sunset—and we do mean massive, with 30,000 attendees expected. Why exactly you choose to float a lantern and what wishes or remembrances you imbue it with are totally up to you, to be shred among a Burning Man-esque circle of attendees all doing the same thing. Now, to answer one of the most important questions you probably have: All lanterns are 100% biodegradable, and following the event, organizers retrieve the lanterns as well as any pre-existing litter from the surrounding desert. In addition, Rise purchases carbon offsets for every vehicle it uses—attendees will have to do so on their own, though, if they’re interested. You’ll find the festival about 25 miles outside of Vegas, just off the 15 at the Jean Dry Lake Bed. Tickets range from $78 to $129, depending on when you purchase them and whether or not you’ve attended before. The 2019 event just passed, so you’ll have to wait until fall 2020 for the next edition.
Hamilton
The bad news: Performances of Hamilton have been canceled again, and this time they’re through February 2021. But raise a glass: The touring production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s immeasurably popular musical will relaunch in April 2021. Awesome. Wow. Before the world turned upside down, the hip-hop history of Alexander Hamilton’s life had just returned to the Pantages Theater for a run that was initially slated through September and then extended through November. But as events across L.A. were canceled, so too progressively were performances of Hamilton—initially for just a few weeks but now through next year. Its new run dates: April 6 through June 27, 2021, followed by October 12, 2021 through January 2, 2022 (The Lion King will be occupying the theater over the summer). But if you’re helpless in the face of news of an extension, then mark July 28 at 10am on your calendar. That’s when the new block of dates will go on sale to the general public. But between now and then, ticketholders of early canceled performances will be contacted and given a first shot at the new block of tickets.
My Chemical Romance
I’m not okay: After a late-December reunion show at the Shrine, aughts pop-punk fixture My Chemical Romance is returning to L.A. once again for a full-blown tour. You can catch them at the Forum on four nights in October.
Eagles
These California legends of classic rock may not live life in the fast lane any more, but the surviving members are still traveling the world to bring their slick, plastic country-rock and perfect harmonies to their whopping international fanbase. For its latest tour, the band is tackling Hotel California in full, backed by a 46-piece orchestra and a 22-person choir.
Looking for some more things to do this month?
Order takeout from one of your favorite local restaurants
You’ve eaten through two bags of beans and six cans of chickpeas. Now what? You leave it to some of the city’s top restaurants and bars, who are making your social distancing as painless as possible. We’re keeping a running list of our favorite pickup and delivery menus that are popping up at L.A. restaurants.
And make sure to add in a booze order, too
Some of L.A.’s best restaurants and bars have your back when you need a stiff drink at home. Restaurants and bars can now deliver alcohol to your door—whether it’s craft beer, wine or house-made cocktails—as long as they’re offering food, which means we can finally sip from some of our favorite spots in town from the comfort of our own couches.
Go to the drive-in
Cinephiles, rejoice! You can watch a movie from somewhere other than your couch at L.A.’s half-dozen or so old-school drive-ins.
Or head to one of these pop-up drive-ins
Alfresco screenings usually pop up across the city well past the summer season. But this year, with most screenings pivoting to drive in formats, it seems like we still have months of movies to look forward to.
Take a scenic drive around L.A.
Finally, our automobile-addicted culture has an upside: You can see some of L.A.’s most stunning scenery safely from your car window. With traffic still relatively low, you may be inclined to drive as far as you can, but we’d stick to whichever scenic drive in our guide is closest to your area. Drive safe!