What to Know
- Los Angeles Haunted Hayride opens on Friday, Sept. 23
- Griffith Park
- $29.99 and up
Los Angeles Haunted Hayride opens: If you're sitting atop hay, and various monsters are groaning in your vicinity, chances are A) it's fall and B) you're rolling through Griffith Park, where a whole wicked world has materialized, all to entertain guests looking for ghoulish scares. The popular outdoor event, known for its towering jack o'lantern wall and themed town of Midnight Falls, opens on Sept. 23. But this hayride isn't for songs and sweetness: It can be intense, so think of this as frightful fun for a more mature audience.
Knott's Scary Farm: Dreaming of the Green Witch, the spectral scene around Ghost Town, and all of those intricate mazes? Then your thoughts have surely alighted at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, where one of the oldest Halloween-inspired events is ready to again hold haunting court. Knott's Scary Farm will soon turn 50, and the venerable spectacular's experience is on dazzling display throughout the happening's elaborate scare zones, mazes, treats, and atmosphere. It's the first weekend of the outsized eeker, which will run on select nights through Oct. 31.
LA Times Food Bowl: The chance to swan about the Paramount Studios backlot with a plate of something delicious in hand? It doesn't come along too often, it's true. But true story: This annual eat-around gathering o' gourmets (and everyday foodies) offers just that rare chance, and the opportunity to try some of the best vittles made by local chefs. The atmospheric "... Night Market will feature all-inclusive food and drink tastings, cooking and mixology demonstrations, wine seminars and more from the world-class culinary artists behind over 100 of the city’s top restaurants."
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Bob Baker's "Hallowe'en Spooktacular": While intensely eerie events are scarily shimmering into view, there are more wholesome choices, the sort of seasonal offerings that the youngest of Halloween fans can enjoy. The Bob Baker Marionette Theater is presenting one of those returning favorites, starting on Sept. 24, when "Hallowe'en Spooktacular" dances across the troupe's vintage Highland Park stage. Look for a cameo from Frankenstein's monster and a "Venutian dreamscape" will transport audience members to a faraway land. Sweet: This frolic will extend almost a week beyond Halloween.
Frogtown Artwalk: Saunter through artists' studios, jump into a get-moving activity, and sup/sip not far from the beautiful banks of the great LA River during this biennial event. The Elysian Valley Arts Collective is behind the free happening, which spotlights the creative community in several whimsical ways, with music, walks (led by local Corgis), the chance to make seed bombs, and a hula hoop contest, too. An interactive light installation will add a glow to the sure-to-be-warm evening, so stay a little later and savor sunset in the storied neighborhood.
