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Best Things To Do

Best things to do in LA and SoCal: Oct. 14-20

A crowd walks a street lined with Victorian houses at night, one lit with the words 'Boo-ze, Bites & Frights' for a Halloween event.
Street Food Cinema puts on Boo-ze, Bites & Frights two weekends in a row.
(
Courtesy Street Food Cinema
)

One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.

We’re getting pretty close to the midterm election, so get ready to fill out your ballot. If you’re a mail-in voter, you should be receiving your ballot soon if it hasn’t come already (mine showed up last week). As usual, there are many complicated props to read through, but we’ve got you covered with our L.A. and O.C. voter guides. After all that hard work, you’ll need to get out and do something fun.

Elsewhere on LAist, you can get a preview of Saturday’s Taste of Soul festival in South L.A.; check out an inside view of an event we’ve featured here before, the Sh*tty Movie Club; and Dave Grohl talks to us about the Soundstage of Hope fundraiser.

Music

Here's a selection of Licorice Pizza's music picks this week:

Wednesday 

Thursday

Friday

Saturday 

Sunday

Monday 

Tuesday 

Events

Beverly Hills Witch Walk

Saturday, Oct. 17, 9:30 a.m. 
503 N. Palm Drive, Beverly Hills
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

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A storybook-style cottage with steep, curved shingled roofs and arched wooden windows sits among trees and flowering shrubs.
(
Courtesy Love Beverly Hills
)

Bring your pointy hat and broomstick, then join your coven for a witchy walk through the spooky (but also… sun-spackled) streets of Beverly Hills. Hosted by women’s walking group Los Angelistas, the walk features historical landmarks like the Spadena House and wraps with 30% off treats at Sweet Angeles Bakery.


An Evening on Journalism & Public Safety in Los Angeles

Monday, Oct. 19, 6 p.m. 
L.A. Press Club 
2535 W Temple St., Downtown L.A.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Event flyer for 'An Evening on Journalism & Public Safety in Los Angeles,' Oct. 19, 2026, with headshots of panelists Abené Clayton, Aaron Mendelson, Ryanne Mena and Lamonica Peters.
(
Courtesy Los Angeles Reporting Collective
)

Los Angeles Reporting Collective (LARC) and the Association of Gun Violence Reporters (AGVR) host a discussion about journalism and public safety at the L.A. Press Club. Join reporters from The Trace, The Guardian, LA Local and Southern California News Group for the talk, preceded by a screening of the short documentary about surveillance, Flock Walk.

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No Fest 

Saturday, Oct. 17, 12 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Beyond Baroque 
681 Venice Blvd., Venice 
COST: FROM $21.99; MORE INFO

Save poetry in L.A.! No Fest features an open mic, poetry readings, art, music and local vendors, all in support of Beyond Baroque, the historic Venice space that has supported poetry in Los Angeles since its founding in 1968. The event will also be streamed on YouTube.


Cynthia Erivo: 'Let Me Sing to You' 

Thursday, Oct. 15, 7:30 p.m.
Hollywood Bowl
2301 Highland Ave., Hollywood
COST: FROM $33.39; MORE INFO 

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A bald person with round glasses, layered gold necklaces, and colorful nail art gestures while speaking outdoors.
Cynthia Erivo returns to the Hollywood Bowl.
(
LAURENT HOU/Hans Lucas
/
AFP via Getty Images
)

When Wicked star Cynthia Erivo last took the stage at the Hollywood Bowl, she was playing Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar, and she received a minutes-long standing ovation in the middle of the second act after “Gethsemane.” It was — I am not exaggerating — one of the most astonishing performances I’ve ever seen at the Bowl or anywhere else. Relive the magic with her solo show, featuring favorites from Wicked and much more.


Street Food Cinema: Boo-ze, Bite and Frights

Friday and Saturday, Oct. 16-17; 23-24.
Heritage Square Museum
3800 Homer St., Montecito Heights
COST: FROM $53; MORE INFO

A crowd walks a street lined with Victorian houses at night, one lit with the words 'Boo-ze, Bites & Frights' for a Halloween event.
(
Courtesy Street Food Cinema
)

Spooky season is upon us, and the next two weekends you can get your fill of scary movies and bites to go with them at Street Food Cinema's fourth annual immersive Halloween experience, Boo-ze, Bites and Frights at the historic village of Heritage Square Museum. They'll be screening horror classics old and new, including Nightmare on Elm Street, Sinners and Blade.

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Come From Away

Through Sunday, Nov. 8 
A Noise Within 
3352 E Foothill Blvd., Pasadena
COST: FROM $52.75; MORE INFO

Performers dance on a stage in a pose with one leg raised, under a blue backdrop reading 'GANDER'.
(
Craig Schwartz
/
A Noise Within
)

Come From Away is one of the best musicals of the 2010s, with a heartfelt score and a story that has stood the test of time through runs on Broadway and in the West End, plus a successful filmed version on Apple TV. The show follows the story of the town of Gander, which played host to passengers stranded when flights were shut down mid-path following the attacks on Sept. 11.


Narsiso Martinez

Through Saturday, Nov. 7
Charlie James Gallery 
969 Chung King Road, Chinatown
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Two cardboard-collage portraits depict workers holding produce, set against banana and watermelon box branding with QR codes above.
(
Narsiso Martinez
/
Charlie James Gallery
)

I first saw Narsiso Martinez’s work when he won the Frieze LA Impact Prize in 2023. Since then, his stirring portraits of migrant workers emblazoned on CSA boxes and Whole Foods bags have been showing up everywhere, from the Hammer to the new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Don’t miss this solo show at Charlie James, where Martinez explores the stories of farmworkers and California kitchens across a variety of mixed media.


The Peterson Show

Through Monday, Oct. 26
Echo Theatre Company 
Atwater Village Theater
3269 Casitas Ave., Atwater Village
COST: $46.90; MORE INFO 

Actors in a stage play strike playful poses with arms raised in a sitcom-style living room set, one holding a sign reading 'Insert Hayward Here'.
(
Cooper Bates
/
Lucy Pollack Public Relations
)

I heard about The Peterson Show from one of my favorite L.A. newsletters, Tasbeeh Herwees’s No Bad Days, which spoke to writer Janine Nabors about her new play. It takes inspiration from '80s sitcoms and is loosely based on the Bill Cosby scandal, reuniting five former child stars when the legacy of their TV dad goes bust. It’s only on through Oct. 26, so don’t miss it.

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