HI FRIENDS!!! We are 16 days from Halloween, and I am currently bringing exactly zero costume ideas to the table.

Every year, I swear I’ll plan ahead. Every year, October gets busy, I ignore the problem, and then sometime around the 29th, my brain goes WAIT I HAVE AN INCREDIBLE IDEA, like it wasn’t given an entire month to participate. 

I’ve decided to stop calling this procrastination and start calling it my creative process. Please respect the artist.

While I wait for inspiration to strike, Lions Tigers & Bears is doing spooky season considerably better. Their annual Spooky Campover + Pumpkin Bash returns 10/23–10/24 with camping, costumes, pumpkins + sanctuary animals getting their own treat-filled gourds.

Better yet, I’ve got a pair of Member for a Day Passes to the Pumpkin Bash on 10/24 for one lucky winner. Go win your little fall outing!

JUST ANNOUNCED

• Imagine leaving a career as a public defender because your voice is simply too damn good not to use full-time. That’s Danielle Ponder’s story. Hear why on 3/4 at Voodoo Room.

• The whole appeal of Umphrey’s McGee is that you’re not really buying the same show twice. Their improvisational chaos gets a fresh 2027 chapter at Belly Up on 3/3.

• Detroit roots, decades of house records + a catalog that still sounds extremely at home at 2am. MK brings the dance floor credentials to Fit Social on 12/5.

• Forget quietly marking numbers at a folding table. Bingo Loco turns the whole thing into a three-hour party with music, ridiculous prizes + crowd chaos. The party comes to Sycuan on 10/24. Win tickets + a hotel stay!*

• + more just announced shows at the full list!

BOO DIEGO

October 31 is no longer a distant threat. It can see us now.

Whether you need somewhere to wear the costume you haven’t bought, something haunted to voluntarily enter or just an excuse to be weird in public, your options await.

Proceed spookily.

THIS WEEKEND

LOCALS ONLY

• Chula Vista’s new Harbor Park is officially open, with a giant climbing structure, crow’s nest, little-kid areas + waterfront scooter paths. Go explore!

• KPBS is building a community Día de Muertos altar, and you can add someone you miss. Submit a photo + memory of a loved one and help create something beautiful together. Submit yours!

• Your Saturday golden hour could involve picking marigolds and turning them into a crown, which feels objectively better than running errands. Workshop is 10/17 from 4–6pm, tickets are $45.

FIND DOGGY PARTON A HOME

WIN STUFF

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