What to Know

  • Boo at the L.A. Zoo
  • Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens
  • Oct. 18-19 and 25-26
  • Included with zoo admission

Boo at the L.A. Zoo: Trick-or-treating at a place full of glorious growls and throaty roars and all sorts of animal amazingness? This is no fanciful movie nor old tale: You can costume-up and collect goodies at the Los Angeles Zoo Oct. 18, 29, 25, and 26. The annual weekend celebrations also feature special seasonal activities, and the oh-so-monch-able pumpkin feedings, too (for the critters, of course, not the people in attendance). Zoo admission gets you into the fun.

Los Angeles Korean Festival: A fully festive four-day celebration of live K-pop shows, amazing Korean foods, and all sorts of shopping opportunities? Make for Seoul International Park for this long-running gem, a warm community gathering that is free and full of cultural delights. Be sure to get parking and shuttle information before you head to Koreatown for the popular event.

Fall Festival at the Original Farmers Market: A happy harvest happening that includes A) animals and B) homespun tunes and C) an extremely vintage location that is known for its vibrant scene and yummy eats is tuning up the banjos at the corner of Third & Fairfax Oct. 18 and 19. Entry is free to this nostalgic fest, which has been around for over nine celebratory decades.

The Great Los Angeles River CleanUp: We’re flowing into weekend #2 of this gargantuan give-back effort, and there are two tidy-up locations to join Oct. 18: Sepulveda Basin and Compton Creek. If you are able to play a role at one of the spots, you’ll be helping out the wondrous waterway and all of the animals and plants, too, by picking up litter, one cup at a time. Can’t join? Donations are welcome at the Friends of the Los Angeles River site.

Aquariums get eerie: Aquarium of the Pacific’s not-so-spooky Scarium Family Night will dive into the delights of the Halloween season Oct. 17, while Cabrillo Marine Aquarium will summon the sirens and a Sea Scare Oct. 18; secure your tickets to one or both before making for the ocean-close institutions.