In-Person Events

This weekend

• The Bourse Food Hall is showing campy horror classic Hocus Pocus on its 5th Street patio at 7pm on Friday, October 30. The gathering features Halloween-themed treats from food hall purveyors like Scoop DeVille, Prescription Chicken and Freebyrd Chicken.
• The Philadelphia Film Society hosts a full night of free, mostly family-friendly Halloween programming at the drive-in theater at the Navy Yard on Saturday, October 31, beginning at 6:45pm. The lineup: Monster House, The Monster Squad, PG (Psycho Goreman) and Deadline.
• Beyond the Bell is hosting a 90-minute trolley tour around Philadelphia on Halloween night, October 31, at 8pm. Bring your own booze and masks for the Halloween Spooktacular Trolly Tour, which focuses on queer and women’s history in Philadelphia “with a healthy dose of spook.” Tickets are $48.
• Dress the kids in their best historic Philly garb and take them to the Museum of the American Revolution for a “Halloweekend” full of activities like spooky storytelling, pumpkin carving and more. That happens all Halloween weekend, from October 30 to November 1.
• This is the last weekend of the Philadelphia Zoo’s annual Halloween celebration Boo at the Zoo, which happens all day October 30 through November 1. Families are invited to come dressed in costume to explore the grounds that will be decorated with fall plants and foliage and kid-friendly Halloween decor. Costume parades are also scheduled throughout Boo at the Zoo’s run, so be sure to arrive in your best and spookiest getup.
• More things to do for Halloween: Embark on a Scary Night Climb at Treetop Quest Philly; check out these night tours at Eastern State Penitentiary; have dinner and margs at a Day of the Dead-inspired restaurant in Center City; and grab drinks at Haunt Halloween Bar.
• Join the last get-out-the-vote push this weekend with Cycle to Vote. Gather with fellow cyclists November 1 at 10am at LOVE park, don a T-shirt with a QR code that folks scan for voting info, and ride through West, North and South Philly, encouraging anyone who still hasn’t yet voted to go to the polls on Tuesday. —Katherine Rapin
• Check out some cool dining experiences in Philly. Restaurants around town are getting creative when it comes to outdoor dining in chillier weather: You could eat in a glowing, heated greenhouse at Harper’s Garden (pictured, very top); in a poolside igloo at Germantown Garden Grill, or get a free embroidered blanket to wrap up in with a drink purchase at vegan spots Charlie was a sinner. and Bar Bombón.

• If you’re ready for indoor dining, check out Chef Jose Garces’ new library-themed bar and restaurant located in The Olde Bar in Old City. Socially distanced nooks are set up throughout the space and decorated with book shelves, candles and reading lamps, and quirky art.

Next week

• If you haven’t already done it by mail, get ready to vote, vote, vote! Polls open at 7am on Tuesday, November 3. You can get help finding your polling place here. If you still have a mail-in ballot, do not put it in a mailbox. Take it directly to a satellite election office and drop it off there. Find one of those near you here.

Things to do at home

This weekend

• Kick off Halloween weekend with a performance by Martha Graham Cracker, streamed live from Turtle Studios in South Philly on Friday, October 30, from 8 to 10pm.
• Mural Arts Philadelphia teamed up with the African American Museum in Philadelphia for a virtual art exhibition, Rendering Justice, which offers “an expansive examination of mass incarceration … in contemporary America.”
• The Philadelphia Film Festival is running now through November 2 with more than 90 of the year’s best new short and feature-length films. Go here for the full lineup of flicks. Most will be shown virtually, but you can also catch some IRL at the drive-in movie theater at the Navy Yard.
• Philly Improv Theater’s Halloween troupe Not Yet Rated performs a brand new improvised horror-comedy spectacle every night at 8pm from October 29 to 31. Each night, the group will use a popular scary movie trope to create a brand new horror flick—so no two performances will be the same.