50 Awesome Things To Do in L.A. This Halloween Weekend [10-30-15 to 11-1-15]

Los Angeles provides no limit of things to do, some awesome and some not so awesome. Since time is precious in this fast paced city, we decided to curate a list of things to do in Los Angeles every week end that’ll help you decide how you want to spend your limited supply of attention (not to mention dollars!).

This Halloween weekend includes a ninja-themed haunted maze, Wiltern’s Night of Horror, Boo at the LA Zoo, the WeHo Carnaval, Dia de los Muertos celebrations on Sunday, and much, MUCH more to choose from.

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So grab some friends, get yourself a costume, and go have some fun this weekend!

[RELATED: The Best Way to Find Discount Events in Los Angeles]

Grand Park Dia de los Muertos
A Dia de los Muertos Altar in Grand Park with City Hall in background. Credit: Brian Champlin

[REMINDER: In some cases We Like L.A. does receive revenue when visitors click on ticket links and make purchases, however we maintain complete editorial control over the events we suggest. Basically, it only makes it on to the website if we think it is cool!]


Friday October 30th, 2015

1. The Wiltern’s Night of Horror

The Wiltern theater will be transformed into a haunted house to host a pre-halloween mega bash featuring a back-to-back-to-back-back horror movie screening (including An American Werewolf in London and Cabin in the Woods), a dance party hosted by Henry Pope, costume contest, virtual reality horror film showcase and live hollywood FX makeup presentation by Cinema Makeup School. Be sure to check for discount tickets for the event via our friends at Goldstar (while supplies last).

2. Revenge of the Ninja

Revenge of the Ninja is a ninja-themed haunted maze featuring a 3500 square foot indoor/outdoor solid-walled labyrinth that includes “heart-stopping displays, mind-boggling special effects, and nightmarish scare talent.”  Well, at least that’s what the organizers say! The maze is put together and sponsored by the Way of the Shadow Martial Arts Academy in Torrance.

3. Front Porch Cinema Screens Ghostbusters

The Santa Monica Pier presents Front Porch Cinema, a free movie night under the stars taking place every Friday during the month of October. Unwind on old-timey lawn chairs and watch oceanfront films on a giant inflatable screen, this week the featured presentation is Ghostbusters. The Cinema Lounge will open at 6:00pm and the movie begins at 7:30pm.

4. The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor

Long Beach Harbor transforms into a seaport of the damned this Halloween. At Dark Harbor, six mazes await you that will take you through never-before-visited areas of the haunted Queen Mary. There’s also the Monster Midway, where you, zombies, food and entertainment intertwine, including a sinister freak show and the Mechanical Monster. More information and discount tickets via Goldstar.

5. Psycho Circus

Taking place out in San Bernardino over Halloween weekend this massive party will have four stages, 50 DJs, creepy art installations, carnival rides, fireworks and haunted mazes. Acts include Benny Benassi, Flux Pavilion, John Digweed, Moby and more.

6. SkyBar At The Mondrian Is Throwing A Batman-themed Costume Bash

SkyBar at the Mondrian presents Return to Gotham, a Batman-themed costume bash that takes place Friday and Saturday.

7. BNKR Warehouse Sale

BNKR’s warehouse sale will take place at the Cooper Design Space’s suite 315 from 9:00am to 4:00pm. Score items starting at just $10 from cool girl labels, including C/meo Collective, Keepsake, The Fifth, Finders, TY-LR, and more.

8. The Halston Heritage Sample Sale

The Halston Heritage Sample Sale will take place on the 6th floor of the Cooper Building in Downtown L.A. from 9:00am to 4:00pm. Save up to 70% on women’s ready to wear, dresses and handbags, cash and credit card accepted.

9. Rooftop Film Club

The popular screening series that has already held court in London and New York is now here in Los Angeles! For each screening of the Rooftop Film Club series organizers will set up rows of lawn chairs on the r oof of the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre and provide headphones for each attendee. Doors open at 6:00pm with screenings starting at 8:00pm. Kicking off the weekend of screenings is Friday 13th on Friday and a Halloween screening of Beetlejuice on Saturday!

10. Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo

Stan Lee’s Comikaze is a multi-media pop culture convention, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Comikaze assembles comics, video games, sci-fi, fantasy, horror and all things pop-culture, making it a mash up of comic con and a pop-culture convention.

11. The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3-D With 4-D Sensory Effects

El Capitan Theatre’s dazzling 4-D screening of The Nightmare Before Christmas, will bring Halloween Town and Christmas Town to life. Watch the movie in Disney Digital 3-D while the 4-D sensory effects, that include fog, wind, snow and more, enhances your movie experience. Find a full schedule of screenings and discount tickets at Goldstar.

12. Tales From The Crypt Halloween Special

The Captured Aural Phantasy Theater  is bringing back to life the “Tales from the Crypt” comic book. Relive old stories that inspired generations of horror-tellers performed live right in front of you! Happening at The Bob Baker Marionette Theater Thursday and Friday.

13. Beware The Dark Realm

Based off a medieval castle, Beware the Dark Realm is a high intensity walk-through attraction complete with flickering torches, stone walls, torture chamber, three-dimensional ghosts, live scare actors and fire breathing creatures. The haunted house is also a non-profit Halloween haunt helping to raise funds/food for the local Santa Clarita Food Pantry.

14. ICA Sample Sale

The ICA Sample Sale happens Friday from 9:00am-4:00pm. Score 40%-60% on brands like Style Stalker, Jet Set Diaries, WYLDR, Asilio and more. This sale is cash only.

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Location: 850 S Broadway Suite 300, Los Angeles, CA 90014.

15. OktoberBeast at Alpine Village

Enjoy traditional Bavarian fun, food, and beer with a Halloween twist this weekend at the oldest running Oktoberfest celebration in Southern California the Alpine Village in Torrance. The festivities will continue on Saturday too.

16. BlueCollar Halloween Pack Walk

Celebrate Halloween with your dog. Walk to Echo Park Lake with a pack of costumed dogs and get awesome prizes, goody bags and bash pinatas in to get more treats for your pooch! The walk takes place from 7:00pm – 9:00pm.

Location: 1320 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

17. Celebrate Hallow’s Eve At Bow & Truss

Latin-inspired restaurant Bow & Truss presents a special Halloween’s Eve celebration. The evening will feature a costume contest, games,happy hour all night and a special Halloween-themed dessert!

18. Halloween Horror Nights

Halloween is just a couple weeks away but if you can’t wait till then head on over to Universal Studios for a pre-game scarefest! Universal Studios has announced some new features to their annual horror night including the Crimson Peak: Maze of Madness, based on the upcoming Guillermo del Toro film. Walk into the world of Insidious, outrun the park’s monsters and try to survive the walkers of The Walking Dead. They even revamped the Terror Tram with a 3-D maze based on the apocalyptic comedy This is the End.

19. Carrie: The Killer Musical

An immersive,  one-of-a-kind musical production of the classic Stephen King tale of bullying, cruelty, and revenge. Now playing at the historic Los Angeles Theater. Performances all week and weekend long. Discount tickets and more information available via our friends at Goldstar.

20. California Market Center Showroom Sample Sale Event

Open to the public once a month the California Market Center hosts a showroom sample sale event where 13 floors of participating showrooms open their doors from 9:00am-3:00pm to savvy patrons.

Saturday October 31st, 2015

21. 3rd Annual Santa Monica Zombie Crawl

The Santa Monica Zombie Crawl will bring out hundreds of zombies (you) on Halloween night for a chilling bar crawl in the heart of the Westside. Zombies will make their way through the city for spooky drink and food specials all night, moaning and growling from the Pier to 5th Street. Zombies will collide at the WOK-ing Dead Halloween Party, at Wokcano Santa Monica for a night of dancing, food and music. Find more information and discount tickets via Goldstar.

22. L.P Rooftop Halloween Party 

E.P. & L.P. West Hollywood’s Asian eating house and rooftop will host a supernatural Halloween celebration under the stars at the L.P. Rooftop. The L.P. rooftop will transform into a cemetery and Frankie’s Private Bar will become a haunted house for the frightful night. Costumed guests will enjoy themed small bites from Executive Chef Louis Tikaram alongside entertainment from special guest DJs throughout the night. Tickets are required for this one.

23. Bo Nuage To Hand Out FREE Pumpkin Spiced Cloud Cakes

To celebrate the opening of Bo Nuage’s newest location, the French bakery is giving out one FREE Pumpkin Spice cloud cake to everyone who arrives in costume on October 31, it’s their way of celebrating Halloween.

24. Dracula & The Black And White Ball

There’s no vampire like Bela Lugosi’s character and there’s no vampire classic like the 1931 “Dracula,” this time accompanied by a live performance of the film’s score by Philip Glass and the Kronos Quartet. On Halloween the screening will be followed by the Black and White costume dance party with themed rooms at the Ace Hotel, perfectly gloomy with its Spanish Gothic design

25. Studio 448

DTLA’s Mrs. Fish is throwing a ’70s-themed Halloween bash. There will be live music from Crystal Starr & The Bowties, plus a DJ spinning ’70s hits. all night long. This event is free.

26. Street Food Cinema

Good movies, amazing venues, up and coming local bands and tasty food trucks. What more could you ask for? This weekend Street Food Cinema screens Shaun of the Dead at Exposition Park. The event will open at 5:30pm with the movie starting at 8:00pm.

27. Wanderlust Hollywood Illuminated Halloween Ball

Join newly opened yoga studio Wanderlust for their inaugural Halloween ball. Come in for a yoga class with Kia Miller and Tommy Rosen accompanied by a live band Aykanna, or an intention dance ceremony with Hemalayaa & Parashakti with music by DJ Imagika Om. Visit the Cave of Cacao, where a chocolate ceremony will be held to sweeten the evening. Wine-derlust elixirs will also be served that evening. Dance on two floors of DJs and enjoy tarot card readings, henna tattoos and other surprises. Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door.

28. Belles And Bandits

Villains Tavern is hosting a Halloween party sponsored by Sailor Jerry rum. Admission is free and live music will be provided all night by Hudson and Ted Z & the Wranglers. There will be deals on Sailor Jerry drinks and a costume contest with a $300 cash prize.

29. LA Haunted Hayride

If the idea of hopping on a bandwagon that travels through the darkness of Griffith Park while costumed characters seep out of the shadows to try to terrify you sounds like the time of your life… then step right up to the L.A. Haunted Hayride!

30. Creepy Rum Punch And Bloody Oysters At The Wallace

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The Wallace has a great deal for Halloween. Executive Chef Joel Miller will be offering a bottomless black punch ($14) called ”Heaven’s Gate Punch,” made with rum, candy corn simple syrup, lime juice, and squid ink. The restaurant will also serve $1 oysters paired with blood mignonette made with hibiscus and annatto.

31. Old Pasadena Halloween Celebration

Halloween fun for the whole family, there’s even a Day of the Dead Tour of Altars, and Fiesta! All activities like pumpkin decorating and a movie screening of Mad Monster are FREE for all ages. For a list of special activities and dates of events visit the official Old Town Pasadena page.

32. Halloween Party At The Blitz

The Halloween party at The Blitz is a swell way to follow the Halloween parade and other West Hollywood festivities. Open til midnight (likely even later), the gallery and community arts events center will have piles of candy to hype you up for the night and will display creepy paintings by Harry Blitzstein to rattle your nightmares. Dozens of costumes and some musical instruments will be floating around the gallery for you to borrow for photos and mayhem. Admission is FREE!

33. Knotts Scary Farm

For 2015, the Knotts Scary Farm features 11 menacing mazes, tons of interactive scare experiences and more than 1,000 monsters roaming the park and lurking in the fog, whatever you’re imagining, it’s here…at Knott’s Scary Farm. Knott’s Scary Farm takes place on select nights September 24 – October 31. Tickets go for around $46, but sure to check our friends at Goldstar for discount offers throughout the month.

34. Surprise! All Musical Halloween Show & Party

Come and LOL your ass off on a downtown rooftop for a night of comedy, singing, delicious spooky cookies, aka “spookies”, a costume contest and one booze filled dance party. The comedic guests are kept secret but past performers include: Demetri Martin, Ron Funches, Cameron Esposito and Matt Braunger. Tickets cost just $5.

35. Boo At The Zoo

The LA Zoo’s annual Halloween celebration includes spooky tales, puppet shows, pumpkin carving, interactions with some of the zoo’s creepy crawlers, a haunted barn photo op, lots of trick-or-treating and a “Graveyard Safari” maze.

36. WeHo Carnavale 

On Halloween night, 2014, an estimated 500,000 people took the the streets in West Hollywood in one of the biggest Halloween celebrations in the entire world. Organizers are still in the process of finalizing this year’s lineup, but if it was anything like the festivities will be an event to remember.

37. 8th Annual Halloween Party for Downtown LA Kids

Children and their families living in Downtown Los Angeles are invited to a Halloween Party in Grand Hope Park at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM.) Kids can enjoy puppet shows, bouncy houses, crafts, face painting, “Trick-or-treat” doors, snacks and refreshments. General admission is $5 in advance and $8 at the door.

38. Rise of The Jack O’ Lantern Festival

Attention pumpkin carving enthusiasts! The Rise of the Jack-O’-Lantern Festival features more than 5,000 hand-carved illuminated jack o’lanterns created by professional artists and sculptors arranged in creative ways along a 1/3-mile scenic walking trail all set to an original music score. In 2015 there are two L.A. locations where you can enjoy The Rise, at either Descanso Gardens or Santa Anita Park. For more information and discount tickets check out Goldstar..

39. Celebrate Halloween At Manhattan House

Manhattan House is offering up a spooktacular Halloween themed menu, happy hour all night long for those in costume and a best costume award.

40. Halloween Trick-or-Treat At Westfield Topanga & The Village

Westfield Topanga & The Village retailers will be hosting a special trick-or-treat Halloween event for children aged 12 and under. Children and families can stop by both centers to hunt for treats at participating retailers for fun, safe trick-or-treating. The event will take place from 3:00pm – 5:00pm. Participating retailers will have signage displayed to inform shoppers that they have treats to pass out.

41. HARD Day Of The Dead

HARD is back for another two-day festival this time at the Fairplex. Headliners include: Deadmau5, Hot Chip, Glass Animals, Nero, Flying Lotus and more.

42. Doma Kitchen’s Halloween Party + Costume Contest

Don your favorite costume and join Doma Kitchen in Manhattan Beach for an all-inclusive Halloween Party and Costume Contest on Saturday, October 31st. The ticketed event will include small bites prepared by Chef Kristina Miksyte along with bottomless beer, wine and music from DJ Justin Date. The event is 21+ and priced at $50 per person.

Need even more Halloween events? Check out our Massive A-Z List of Things to Do for Halloween.

Sunday November 1st, 2015

43. SoCal VegFest

The First Annual SoCal VegFest, is a free event chalk full of action! Think, plant-based food sampling, musical entertainment, guest speakers, cooking demons, raffles, interactive booths, food vendors, humane organizations, a yoga tent, a children’s area with a variety of engaging opportunities and much more.

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44. Celebrate Day of the Dead in Los Angeles!

Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is kind of a big deal in Los Angeles, and while a number of the celebrations take place in October the majority of the biggies fall on Sunday, November 1.

Here’s a quick link list of some options for you:

45. Picture This! At Satellite

LA’s only live animated comedy show is going down at the Satellite. Hosted by Brandie Posey with Max Silvestri, Dan St. Germain, Ryan Singer, Erik Charles Neilsen, Thai Rivera, Georgia Brooks, Mike Mayfeild, Josh Cheney, Luke McGarry, Mike Hollingsworth and more. This event is 21 and over. Tickets are $5 a pop.

46. Veuve Clicquot Celebrates Dia De Los Muertos At Toca Madera

Expect to be greeted by stilt walkers as you enter into a mystical world of luminous flowers and elaborate candle lit skulls at Toca Madera. Celebrate in style with craft Veuve Clicquot cocktails all night long and receive complimentary Dia De Los Muertos face makeup by Make Up Forever. Entrance to the party is free and runs 5:00pm to 2:00am.

47. Hollywood Sites & Bites Food Tour

This four hour tour of the sites and taste of what Hollywood has to offer will take you to The Roosevelt Hollywood to the iconic Capital Records and even Melrose avenue. You will make several stops at some of Los Angeles’ most talked-about restaurants for a variety of savory and sweet tastings. Half price tickets are available via Goldstar. Bon appetit!

48. Hinterland’s New Fall Menu

Chef Max DiMare reworked Hinterland’s lunch and dinner menus to incorporate new flavors just in time for fall! Menu highlights include: crispy pork belly with smokey lentil ragu, Fuyu persimmon & burrata and a delicious caramelized apple bread pudding with vanilla bean ice cream, fall spice anglaise, and salted bourbon caramel.

49. Rice & Shine’s Afterbrunch

Sleep in after your wild Halloween night and make your way to a late brunch filled with Filipino Soul Food AND mimosas brought to you by Chef AC Boral and his traveling RICE & EVENT food party! Happening at the Lock & Key in Koreatown from 4:00pm-8:00pm! Oh yeah…show up in last night’s costume and receive a free hangover toast.

50. Free Taco At Tacos Tu Madre

Tacos Tu Madre is set to have a grand opening on Sunday November 1, 2015 and to celebrate they will be giving away one free basic taco to folks following the restaurants Instagram account.


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