Ghost hunting.
Arizona Ghostbusters
It’s the time of year when something strange goes down in the neighborhood. Prove you’re not afraid of ghosts and head downtown for a screening of the 1984 hit comedy Ghostbusters. Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd star as members of the largest paranormal removal company in America trying to stop the end of the world. Before this PG-rated movie begins, there will be games, fun activities, and a costume contest. If you’re still scared of getting slimed, the Arizona Ghostbusters will be on hand to trap any spirits that may fly about.
Don’t cross the streams at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 26, at Collier Center, 201 East Washington Street. This is a free event. For more information, visit arizonaghostbusters.com. Jason Keil
It's time for the annual Moonviewing Festival.
Japanese Friendship Garden
Maybe you think of Michael Jackson or Neil Armstrong when it comes to moonwalks. But there’s an entirely different type of moonwalk coming to the Japanese Friendship Garden, 1125 North Third Avenue. It’s a leisurely stroll through the garden during a moon-viewing festival called Otsukimi. The two-day festival starts Friday, October 26, from 6:30 to 10 p.m. It’s a chance to explore the tea garden that’s normally off-limits to the public, and experience art installations, music, dance, and traditional tea demonstrations. Food vendors are bringing the culinary flair, from sake to takoyaki balls, and local astronomers are bringing the telescopes. Tickets are $25. Visit japanesefriendshipgarden.org. Lynn Trimble
Punk Rock Halloween Bash
Punk rock might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Halloween, but bands like the Misfits may sway you to see the connection. For two nights in a row on Friday, October 26, and Saturday, October 27, from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., you can rock out at the Punk Rock Halloween Bash at Yucca Tap Room at 29 West Southern Avenue, Tempe, with local bands and artists. Accompanying the music are carnival games, complete with a prize booth and costume contest. The event is free, but games are $1 each, with the proceeds going to Scares That Care, a charity that raises money for families with sick and badly burned children, and women fighting breast cancer. Whether you want to unleash your inner rock star or get in touch with your inner child, this event is loaded with entertainment. Visit yuccatap.com or call 480-967-4777. Angelica Cabral
Scaryoke Halloween Party
Karaoke is what Kobalt Bar does best, but this weekend the club is doing it with a spooky twist. If you step up to the microphone at the Scaryoke Halloween Party, you don’t have to sing a scary song, but you should still sing your heart out, along with any other body parts that you deem necessary on this ghoulish evening. There will be drink specials all night as well as a costume contest.
Belt out a tune beginning at 9 p.m. on Saturday, October 27, at 3110 North Central Avenue. There is no cover for this 21-and-over event. For more information, visit kobaltbarphoenix.com. Jason Keil
Día de
If you want to celebrate life, celebrate Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. It’s a tradition that honors the lives of those who’ve gone before, and their connections to present and future generations. Mesa Arts Center, 1 East Main Street, kicks off its two-day Día de los Muertos Festival from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, October 27. The free event includes live music and dance, artist demonstrations, a custom car show, family activities, and an artisan market. While you’re there, check out altars created by local artists, and add your own touch to a giant community altar. Or look for stilt walkers, and graffiti artists Such and Champ Styles, along with a fun assortment of food vendors. Visit mesaartscenter.com. Lynn Trimble
The Haunted Phoenix Bus Tour
Downtown Phoenix is haunted. Tormented spirits are trapped forever inside the hotels, graveyards, and churches that dot our fair city. The Haunted Phoenix Bus Tour, hosted by “history raconteur” Marshall Shore and author and ghost chaser Debe Branning, will transport any curious and fearless souls who are eager to learn more about the morbid events that transpired inside these scary locations, including the Orpheum Theatre and the Pioneer and Military Memorial Park.
The bus leaves at 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 27, from The Clarendon Hotel, 401 West Clarendon Avenue, and returns at 5 p.m. Tickets are $30. For more information, visit marshallshore.com. Jason Keil
Penny Quinn
If you go out for libations this Halloween weekend, chances are you’re going to have to wait in line only to have a multitude of costumed patrons get in your personal space. The First Annual Downtown Phoenix Halloween Bar Crawl Party will get you into seven great pubs without the hassle of going alone. There will be drink specials and prizes, too. Think of it as adult trick-or-treating, with cocktails instead of candy.
The festivities begin at 9 p.m. with registration from 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, October 27, at Chambers, 705 North First Street. Tickets are $5 and $10 the day of the event. For tickets and more information, visit brownpapertickets.com. Jason Keil
Celebrate the history of Coronado Park, 1717 North 12th Street, while looking towards its future. WayneFest features local artists from all different genres, including Las Chollas Peligrosas and Fairy Bones. The event will also feature food and beer. Proceeds will help fund community programs in the Coronado Neighborhood, such as little free libraries and a community garden, with $1 from each ticket going to the music program at North High School. The event runs from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, October 27. Kids up to 12 are $10 and adults are $20. For more information visit thecoronadoneighborhood.com. Angelica Cabral
Diana Gabaldon
Nancy Castaldo
Diana Gabaldon has been trying to stay in her Scottsdale home for much of 2018 in order to complete the ninth novel of her popular Outlander books (which serves as the basis of the Starz drama of the same name). This is easier said than done as Voyager, the third story in the series, is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a new edition containing bonus material and a new introduction by the author. She will discuss the book, take some questions, and sign your copy of Voyager in this rare public appearance.
The program begins at 1 p.m. on Sunday, October 28, at DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Hotel Paradise Valley, 5401 North Scottsdale Road in Scottsdale. Tickets are $43, which includes a copy of Voyager. For more information, visit poisonedpen.com. Jason Keil
Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers
Neither the Arizona Cardinals nor the San Francisco 49ers are having a very good season; their records are tied with six losses and one win each. With rumors about Mike McCoy being fired, the Cardinals need to do something about their offensive strategy if they’re going to move up. On the other hand, the 49ers’ offensive line has been praised, but they need to work on their defensive problems. The teams have opposite strengths, so it should be an interesting matchup. The game will be at the State Farm Stadium at 1 Cardinals Drive, Glendale, at 1:25 p.m. on Sunday, October 28. Tickets range from $44 to $145.25 and can be bought at ticketmaster.com. Angelica Cabral
AIDS Walk Arizona
There’s power in numbers, as evidenced by this year’s AIDS Walk Arizona. Happening on Sunday, October 28, the event helps a dozen agencies working to prevent AIDS and support those living with it. Adults walkers or runners pay $35 to register. Student walkers are $15, and your dog can join the walk for $10. The day kicks off at 7:30 a.m. at Third Avenue and Washington Street, and main stage presentations get underway at 8:30 a.m. The 5K run starts at 10 a.m., and the walk just five minutes later. The event also includes entertainment on five stages. It’s being presented by Aunt Rita’s Foundation, which has awarded more than $1.7 million in grants for HIV/AIDS programs in central Arizona. Visit auntritas.org. Lynn Trimble
Howl-O-Ween: A Dog Costume Parade
A dog in a costume is perhaps one of the cutest sights in the world if you’re an animal lover. Luckily, Howl-O-Ween: A Dog Costume Parade gives audiences a chance to see just that and engage in a whole lot of other activities. There are food trucks, live music, a game zone, stilt walkers, and much more. If the event inspires you to get a pet of your own, there’ll be a pet adoption area. The parade and accompanying party are free to attend, but there’s a $15 fee if you’d like to register your pooch to walk. The proceeds go to One Community, Arizona Animal Welfare League, and 100 Club. The event begins at 2 p.m. on Sunday, October 28, at Margaret T. Hance Park, located next to the Japanese Friendship Garden at 67 West Culver Street. To register your dog and see the schedule of events, head on over to howloweenphx.com.? Angelica Cabral
World of Dance Live!
You can pick up some great dance moves watching NBC’s World of Dance, which wrapped its second season after crowning a hip-hop dance group called The Lab. But there’s another way to expand your dance horizons. It’s the World of Dance Live! tour, which rolls into Phoenix’s Comerica Theatre at 7 p.m. on Sunday, October 28. The tour features dancers hailing from L.A. to Australia, who have diverse specialties from ballroom to krumping. Tickets start at $29. The lineup includes world final runner-up Michael Dameski, as well as BDASH, Charity and Andres, Embodiment, Konkrete, Royal Flux, and Tawnya Kuzia. Visit comericatheatre.com. Lynn Trimble
Explore Matisse works inspired by Native Alaskans at Heard Museum.
Lynn Trimble
Isolationism may be all the rage in politics. But global perspectives abound in art history. Take the case of Henri Matisse, a French artist best known for his colorful paintings and large cutouts. Late in life, he discovered the art and culture of Inuit people living in the Arctic, creating simple black-and-white portraits influenced by their ceremonial masks. Stop by the Heard Museum between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Monday, October 29, to see Matisse works that reveal their Inuit inspiration, plus Yup’ik masks and other cultural objects that make clear what beauty can transpire when people warm up to other cultures. “Yua: Henri Matisse and the Inner Arctic Spirit” costs $7, in addition to $18 museum admission. Visit heard.org. Lynn Trimble
Religion, Journalism, and Democracy
Daniel Burke has been reporting on the recent Catholic Church sex abuse scandal in Pennsylvania as the religion editor at CNN. He has also penned some of the most personal and thoughtful pieces on spirituality, including an enlightening piece for the network about his search for the reason his life was spared in the tragic Amtrak Train 188 crash three years ago. He will discuss the connections between faith and government when he visits Arizona State University for a presentation titled Religion, Journalism, and Democracy.
The discussion begins at 7 p.m. on Monday, October 29, at the First Amendment Forum in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, 555 North Central Avenue. This is a free event. For more information, visit cronkite.asu.edu. Jason Keil
Four Peaks’ Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest
Grab a Pumpkin Porter and show everyone that you carve what you drink: the Four Peaks’ Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest is back. Turn your gourd into something truly decorative for a chance to win gift cards from the Valley’s most popular brewery. Awards will go out for Best Overall, Most Creative, and Best Four Peaks Themed pumpkin. You can carve your jack-o-lantern at home or at the brewery.
Sharpen your knives from 5 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, October 30, at 1340 East Eighth Street in Tempe. It costs $10 to enter the contest, which includes a six-pack of Pumpkin Porter and a small Halloween candy and beer pairing. For more information, visit fourpeaks.com. Jason Keil
PoeFest
You’ll have a hard time shaking Edgar Allan Poe’s famed poem “The Raven” from your brain once you’ve seen it come to life during PoeFest. Head to Rosson House, a restored Victorian mansion at 113 North Sixth Street, to witness it performed on a grand staircase, on Wednesday, October 31. Readings happen between 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., starting every 20 minutes. Get your timed ticket for $14 in advance because the event typically sells out. While there, you can tour the home’s lower level, which includes a doctor’s examination room, and check out “creepy items of Victorian mourning.” Visit poefest.org. Lynn Trimble
Orpheum Ghost Tours
It’s no secret that the historic Orpheum Theatre is the original haunted house. What most visitors don’t know about the Downtown Phoenix landmark is that it has been long-rumored that the original owner Harry Nace, who was shot inside the building, calls out to visitors when they visit his office. Others claim to have seen and taken pictures of the mischievous Maddie, who frequently lurks in the balcony. For this edition of the Orpheum Ghost Tours, the lights will be off. Grab a flashlight and try not to raise the dead.
Light your way at either 6, 7, or 8 p.m. on Wednesday, October 31, at 203 West Adams Street. Tickets are $45. For more information, visit phoenixconventioncenter.com. Jason Keil
Sean Watson’s Costume Ball
While the kids are out trick-or-treating, the adults can come to Sean Watson’s Costume Ball. This 21+ costume party features music from Sean Watson, also a promoted partner for the event, on the Ballroom Stage and Djentrification on the 2nd Ave stage. The event promises to transform Crescent Ballroom into a link between downtown Phoenix and the spirit world. Whether or not you believe in the spiritual dimension, you’d better be wearing a costume because it’s required for entry. Located at 308 North Second Avenue, the event starts at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 31, and costs $10 to attend (ticket prices will rise closer to the event). For more information, go to crescentphx.com. Angelica Cabral
