31 Cool Things To Do In October
Well, October! Hopefully you have made it through back-to-school season and are ready to embark on three months of holidays! If you’re looking for something to do this month in Boston and beyond, grab your calendar and peruse this list of events—one for every day of October!
October 1: Take a Wild Edibles Walk with an expert forager (Lincoln)
October 2: Wicked Wednesdays starts up with family-friendly programming, costumed characters, kooky creative crafts, freaky face painting, kids costume parades, monster music, and more (Salem)
October 3: The Haunted Happenings Grand Parade kicks off the Halloween season (Salem)
October 4: Follow the free Naumkeag Pumpkin Trail at night to meet nocturnal woodland creatures as they emerge from the local forest to share their stories (Stockbridge)
October 5: The Dudley Grange Apple Festival features live music, tug-of-war and apple pie eating contests for all ages, games, craft vendors, and a bounce house (Dudley)
October 6: Once again, the Needham Harvest Festival offers a fun fall celebration with a pumpkin patch, trolley rides, apple cider, and tons of activities for the whole family (Needham)
October 7: Make bubbling slime, flying ghosts, and more at Halloween STEAM for Kids (Boston)
October 8: Head to the Topsfield Fair (Topsfield)
October 9: Get outdoors for a Parents and Tots Nature Walk (Norwell)
October 10: Naomi Klein reads from her new book, ON FIRE: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal (Cambridge)
October 11: Don’t miss the fun when Honk! comes to town, bringing three days of brass bands from around the world together for a celebration of music, community, and activism (Somerville)
October 12: The Boston Agricultural Fair celebrates the season with displays, exhibits, goat milking and pie eating contests, animals, old-time games and activities for kids, tasty local treats, and the chance to learn about beekeeping, backyard chickens, mushroom cultivation, cider pressing, and composting (Roxbury)
October 13: Fruitland Museum’s Autumn Fest brings together local food, live music, craft activities, and other special programs throughout the day (Harvard)
October 14: Opening Our Doors is the largest day of free art, culture, and music in town (Boston)
October 15: Families with young children can get concrete ideas to help kids create healthy and balanced screen time habits through predictable routines and developmentally appropriate rules at this workshop (Wellesley)
October 16: Explore the Enchanted Garden at Tower Hill Botanic Garden to find fairies, elves and gnomes, plus have fun with fairy house building, scavenger hunts, dress ups, potion brewing, and more (Boylston)
October 17: It’s time for the Great Salem Pumpkin Walk (Salem)
October 18: With a costume parade, magic tricks, floating pumpkins, and other luminaries, the annual Frog Pond Pumpkin Float is always a fun, gorgeous evening (Boston)
October 19: This Fall Foliage Celebration includes admission to all three Trustees properties for guided hikes to scenic vistas and unusual habitats, a pumpkin hunt, craft activities, and historic home and garden tours (North Andover)
October 20: Codman Community Farms hosts Sukkot on the Farm, a morning of Sukkah building, learning about honeybees, crafting, cider pressing, sauerkraut making, singing, visiting with chickens and cows, storytelling, and more (Lincoln)
October 21: Pumpkin People in the Park features larger-than-life creations and displays (Chatham)
October 22: Zoo Boo Days return to Southwick’s Zoo (Mendon)
October 23: Check out more than 50 works by New England artists at the Flying Horse Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit (South Hamilton)
October 24: Head to an evening of hands-on electronic arts, architecture, woodshop, and life sciences activities at the Acera School Innovator Symposium (Winchester)
October 25: Take a Halloween Family Night Hike at World’s End to meet nocturnal animals, plants, and insects, and explore the world at sunset (Hingham)
October 26: Food, music, and fun activities abound during a Día de los Muertos Block Party at Taza Chocolate (Somerville)
October 27: Celebrate all things owl in myths, legends, and art, meet live owls up close, enjoy kids’ crafts and food trucks, and discover how owls survive in the wild at this Owl Festival (Milton)
October 28: The Toe Jam Puppet Band Halloween Spooktacular offers up original Halloween songs, puppets, and stories, plus a chance to limbo to the Monster Mash (Jamaica Plain)
October 29: Spend An Evening with Drumlin’s Owls (Lincoln)
October 30: Celebrate Diwali at the MFA (Boston)
October 31: The Robbins Library Teen Halloween Party is a chance to hang out, get spooky, eat snacks, and watch a movie (Arlington)