Creatures of the night? No, just the cuties at Woodland Park Zoo.Jump to Your Genre:
Food and Drink / Visual Arts / Live Music
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Seattleites are spoiled for choice when it comes to spending our leisure time. Just take a look at the sheer variety of options: We have an exceptional array of museums, independent bookstores, restaurants, bars (and bar trivia), record stores, nightlife options, local shops, and a rich music landscape.
And the actual landscape? Outdoor recreation opportunities abound. From abundant hikes, swimming holes, state parks, and campgrounds just beyond city limits to a voluminous urban trail system, there’s something for the outdoorsperson of every skill and stoke level. Those with little ones (human or furred) can rejoice at a bevy of great playgrounds, spray parks, and zoos.
But if you just want a guide already, we’ve got plenty for food, outdoors, shopping, and entertainment. Plus, a shortlist of what to do in Washington this month. Or find below the best things to do in Seattle, updated weekly.
Food and Drink
Halloween Afternoon Tea
THROUGH OCTOBER 30, 10:30AM–6PM | CAFE FLORA, MENU
It’s not tea, it’s a magic potion. And those aren’t just any savory treats, they’re sand-witches. Halloween tea season is back at Madison Valley’s plant-forward restaurant, and costumes are encouraged.
Image: Courtesy Sea’d In
Seattle Restaurant Week
THROUGH OCTOBER 31, VARIOUS | VARIOUS, $20–65
Unable to be contained in a single week, Seattle’s foodie exploration returns for another year of prix fixe menus from Northgate to SeaTac. Grab a $50 dinner (fried calamari, linguine and clams, and seasonal pumpkin cheesecake) at Harry’s Beach House, a $20 two-cake special at pop-up Anh Oi Bake Shop, or swing by Le Coin for a $35 brunch crafted for the occasion. The options are seemingly endless; let the race to try all of Seattle’s best dishes begin.
Black Lagoon Pop-Up
THROUGH NOVEMBER 7, VARIOUS | ROB ROY, MENU
The spooky season cocktail pop-up returns to Belltown’s Rob Roy, hijacking everything from the decor to the soundtrack to craft a gothic graveyard bar fit for Halloween. Cocktails—all adorned with haunting accoutrement—include a pear miso highball and a tropical tequila number in a skull-covered glass.
The Sacred Supper Club
OCTOBER 31, 4PM–1AM | LA LOBA, VARIOUS
Taste America: Seattle
NOVEMBER 1, 5:30PM | FOUR SEASONS HOTEL SEATTLE, $150–200
The James Beard Foundation creates a who’s who of the city’s culinary masterminds, gathering 27 chefs—from Janet Becerra to Thai and Trinh Nguyen—under one roof. Ticketholders graze from walk-around chef stations presenting Mumbai lamb empanada, kabocha squash hummus, coho salmon carpaccio, and so much more.
Pour
NOVEMBER 6, 6PM | CLUB SUR, $35–45
The ninth iteration of the annual wine soiree pops open bottles from 25 wineries, making it both tasting experience and marketplace. Ticketholders sip, take home favorites, and munch on eats from Club Sur while DJ Maxwell Edison delivers ambiance.
Visual Arts
Social Contract
THROUGH NOVEMBER 17, VARIOUS | ACTUALIZE AIR, FREE
Image: Courtesy Scott Mitchell Leen
Monochrome: Calder and Tara Donovan
THROUGH JANUARY 17, VARIOUS | SEATTLE ART MUSEUM, $29.99
Almost as large as the exhibition hall tasked with containing it, Tara Donovan’s Calder-inspired sculpture is an imposing yet curiosity-inspiring presence. Crafted from mylar, the black bubble-like structure shares the space with two Calder works—stabile Mountains and matte black mobile Jacaranda—and a handful of Donovan’s single-material works.
Ten Thousand Things
THROUGH SPRING 2027, 10AM–5PM | WING LUKE MUSEUM, $24.95
A Tatung rice cooker, an abacus many generations old, a take-out plate wrapped in tin foil—all ordinary items with deeper stories, if you dig past the surface. Podcaster and exhibition curator Shin Yu Pai did just that: in her podcast by the same name, she’s spent five seasons exploring what our stuff means to us. Now through the spring, a handful of those items and stories, many with Seattle ties, reside in the Chinatown-International District museum.
Make-Your-Own-Costume DIY Day
OCTOBER 31, 3–8PM | ASYLUM COLLECTIVE, DONATION
Pioneer Square’s community-funded underground art lair has everything you need to make that last-minute Halloween getup: hot glue, airbrush kits, sewing supplies, or just good old-fashioned motivation.
The Studio at SAM: Entertaining Evenings
NOVEMBER 5, 4–8PM | SEATTLE ART MUSEUM, FREE
Part of Free First Thursdays—when, by the way, most major Seattle museums offer free admission and special programming each month—the Seattle Art Museum’s fourth floor galleries play host to hands-on letterpress artmaking. After cosplaying as an artist, multiple tours and talks throughout the day add more touchpoints for SAM’s collection.
Live Music
Stravinsky’s Petrushka and Leila Josefowicz
NOVEMBER 5 AND 7, VARIOUS | BENAROYA HALL, $37–162.30
A bill of Stravinsky’s compositions: At Benaroya Hall, the Seattle Symphony brings lively “Petrushka,” the traditional sounds of southern Poland in a violin concerto performed by Leila Josefowicz, and dynamic, light-infused “Rocaná.” A pre-concert artist talk kicks off one hour before renowned musicians take the stage.
Lila Forde
NOVEMBER 9, 8PM | FREMONT ABBEY ARTS CENTER
Seattle-born singer-songwriter Lila Forde has amassed a rapt following thanks to warm, whimsical music that stays unwaveringly true to herself. Through jazz, soul, folk, and old-school American influences, she weaves a mid-twenties story of growing up in her most recent release Life Can Still Be Sweet.
Performance
Image: Courtesy Patricio Cassinoni
Salome
THROUGH OCTOBER 31, VARIOUS | MCCAW HALL, $39–284.90
Born from Oscar Wilde’s play and infused with music from Richard Strauss, the one-act biblical tragedy is a bit of a shock to the system. Award-winning designers, lauded cast, and accompaniment from the Seattle Symphony bring forth high drama and a severed head.
Trolloween
OCTOBER 31, 7PM | FREMONT TROLL, FREE
A uniquely Seattle Halloween tradition brews at the Fremont Troll each year, as hoards of costumed neighbors gather before haunting nearby streets with a spooky procession. Under the watchful eye of the famed Troll, the Fremont Arts Council starts the evening with a theatrical pageant and live music in honor of the statue’s birthday.
Eureka Day
THROUGH NOVEMBER 15, VARIOUS | LEO K. THEATER, $50–109
Chaos turns to comedy in Seattle Rep’s rendition of Eureka Day. When a bumbling committee of higher-ups at a progressive Berkeley private school must navigate a mumps case on campus, satire and community shine bright—bright enough to have won the 2025 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play.
Ghost Stories
NOVEMBER 6–15, VARIOUS | MCCAW HALL, $36–270
FILM
You Can See Everything
THROUGH NOVEMBER 5, VARIOUS | SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN, $15–18
In a twist on no one’s 2026 bingo card, Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim move a documentary crew into the home of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes just weeks before her prison sentence begins. SIFF screens the curious, true crime-esque documentary through the end of the month.
The Night They All Came Out of Their Coffins At Once
THROUGH OCTOBER 31, VARIOUS | THE BEACON, $15
Zombies, skeletons, witches, and all things creepy crawly dominate the screen at Columbia City’s independent The Beacon theater in a series culminating on Halloween afternoon. The final film is more creative feat than jump scare: stop-motion monster mashup 1967 Mad Monster Party? finds a way to fit all the quintessential spooky season characters in one 95-minute work of art.
Nouvelles Femmes
THROUGH NOVEMBER 17, VARIOUS | SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN, $18–160
Euro summer comes to SIFF by way of a series that centers the women of the 1960s’ French New Wave cinematic era: actresses like Jeanne Moreau, Anna Karina, Brigitte Bardot, and Delphine Seyrig; writer-director Agnès Varda. Screenings at SIFF include remarks from film curators and professors for an introspective, deep-thinking series.
Retro Night: The Ring
OCTOBER 28, 7PM | MAJESTIC BAY, $13.50
Ballard’s independent theater is a master of the throwback; a weekly series brings nostalgic favorites back to the big screen. Next up, creepy 2002 film The Ring brings a deadly race against a cursed video just in time for Halloweekend.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Pumpkin Bash
OCTOBER 31, 9:30–3PM | WOODLAND PARK ZOO, $29
A decidedly kid- and animal-friendly Halloween affair, the annual Woodland Park Zoo pumpkin bash lets bears, tapirs, wolves, tigers, and otters get into the holiday spirit with pumpkin enrichment activities throughout the day. For the humans, a mascot-led costume parade, pumpkin carving demos, and zoo-wide trick-or-treating awaits.
Science After Dark: Fungi Fest
OCTOBER 31, 7–10PM | PACIFIC SCIENCE CENTER, $45
Seattle Sauna Festival
NOVEMBER 7 AND 8, 9AM–7PM | NATIONAL NORDIC MUSEUM, $79–189
Ballard gets particularly Nordic with a two-day fest centering Scandinavian wellness. Tickets include one-and-a-half-hour access to saunas, cold-plunges, and campfires carted onto the museum’s campus. Live music and nearby Nordic refreshments at Freya round out a pre-winter recharge.
READINGS AND LECTURES
The Studio at SAM: Fulgencio Lazo and Shinzaburo Takeda
OCTOBER 29, 4–8PM | SEATTLE ART MUSEUM, $29.99
A hands-on art afternoon brings a woodblock printmaking demo from SAM artist Fulgencio Lazo followed by a conversation with Shinzaburo Takeda diving into the tradition, techniques, and social significance of printmaking in global Indigenous communities.
National Geographic Live: Battling Bloodsuckers
NOVEMBER 1–3, VARIOUS | BENAROYA HALL, $33
Benaroya Hall’s National Geographic series hosts experts in their fields for enlightening lectures—and a plethora of trivia knowledge—alongside stunning imagery and behind-the-scenes stories. Next up, November brings multi-hyphenate epidemiologist and artist Ryan Carney for a chat on what bats, mosquitoes, and nature’s other bloodsuckers can teach us about infectious diseases.
Claudia Rankine: Triage
NOVEMBER 4, 7:30PM | TOWN HALL SEATTLE, $10–123
Claudia Rankine, poet and essayist behind the American trilogy, joins Jodi-Ann Burey at Town Hall Seattle for a conversation on grief and friendship among never-ending loss. Her newest release comes in the form of a genre-blending tapestry of lyric essay, criticism, visuals, and narrative.
ON SALE NOW
Guest Chef Night at FareStart
THROUGH DECEMBER 3, 5–9PM | FARESTART, $60
Seattle’s renowned chefs rotate through guest spots at nonprofit FareStart, each bringing a tailored three-course menu. The dinners, from cooked by folks like Rachel Yang and the Nguyen siblings behind Ba Sa and Ramie, routinely sell out weeks before the tasting menus make it to the table.
Up Close with Conservators: Conserving Schubert Sonata
NOVEMBER 19, 6PM | SEATTLE ASIAN ART MUSEUM, $10–15
SAM’s ever-popular behind-the-scenes conversation series brings Assistant Objects Conservator Erin Fitterer in November. Before walking through how the team conserved Mark di Suvero’s “Schubert Sonata” sculpture—and made discoveries in the process—attendees get a peek inside the conservation center where the conservation magic happens.
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