Get ready for October

by Elizabeth Morse Read

It’s time for Oktoberfests, seafood and harvest festivals, and all things Halloween!

Get outside to enjoy the foliage, cider, pumpkins and the cooling weather – it’s the lull before the holiday season gets into full swing.

All things Halloween Plan ahead for the fabulous “Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular” through October 31 at Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence (rwpzoo.org)! Find a haunted house, hay ride, corn maze, scary event or spooky place near you at (mahauntedhouses.com)! Put on your costumes and enjoy the Fall River Halloween Parade along Middle Street on October 29 (vivafallriver.com)! Don’t miss New Bedford’s Halloween classic cinema events at the Zeiterion! Buy your tickets early for “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1923) and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” both on October 30 (zeiterion.org)! Go on a lantern-led haunted history tour with “Ghosts of Newport” (ghostsofnewport.com). Woohoo! Explore the eight-acre Corn Maze at Escobar’s Highland Farm in Portsmouth (escobarshighlandfarm.com)! Don’t miss the Great Townie Pumpkin Festival on October 1 at Crescent Park in East Providence (crescentparkcarousel.org/events)! Visit the most famous haunted house on the South Coast – take a tour of the Lizzie Borden B&B Museum in Fall River (or spend the night, if you dare). Or go on a bundled tour of Salem, Boston and the Lizzie Borden House (lizzie-borden.com). To view photographs and historical artifacts of the infamous double murder, visit the Fall River Historical Society’s Lizzie Borden exhibit (lizzieborden.org)! Go on a Haunted Boat Tour through the waterways of Providence (providencriverboat.com)! Don’t miss the Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off on October 8 at Frerich’s Farm in Warren (frerichsfarm.com). Go on a lantern-led guided ghost tour of Providence’s historic East Side (providenceghosttour.com)! Have some slightly-spooky fun at New Bedford’s Buttonwood Park’s “Boo at the Zoo” on October 15-16, 22-23, 29-30 (bpzoo.org). Let the whole family enjoy the Annual Halloween on Main Street in Plymouth on October 31 (plymouthchchamber.com). Take a tour of the Fortress of Nightmares at Fort Adams State Park in Newport this month (fortressofnightmares.org). Don’t miss the annual Halloween Parade at Benoit Square in Fairhaven on October 30 (fairhaventours.com)! Scare yourself silly at Fall River’s Factory of Terror (mahauntedhouse.com, factoryofterror.com)! Buy your tickets early for one of the best haunted houses in New England! Head for Fear Town in Seekonk (fear-town.com). Take the littlest kids for a not-so-scary Halloween haunted hay ride, corn maze and make-your-own Scary Sundaes at Simcock Farm in Swansea (simcockfarm.com)! Family fun Enjoy free family fun and entertainment on AHA! Nights in New Bedford! The October 13 theme is “Art in Tune” (ahanewbedford.org). There’s fun for all ages on the new indoor Southcoast Pickleball courts in Fairhaven, open daily. AC, changing rooms, refreshments, rentals, clinics, tournaments (southcoastpickleball.com)! Check out the free “Movie in the Park” on October 21 at Crescent Park in East Providence (crescentparkcarousel.org/events)! Wander through the many creative work spaces at the Hatch Street Studios in New Bedford on the free “Studio Saturday” October 8. Enjoy live demos and music, too (destinationnewbedford.org)! When it’s raining outside, take the little ones to the Children’s Museum of Greater Fall River (cmgfr.org)! Take the whole family to see “The Three Musketeers” on October 20 at the Zeiterion in New Bedford (zeiterion.org). Head for the Museum of Natural History & Planetarium in Providence’s Roger Williams Park to watch the planetarium shows (providence.gov/museum)! Food, drink, and shopping Don’t miss the Newport Food Truck and Craft Beer Festival on October 15 at Fort Adams. Family fun, lawn games and music (foodtruckfestivalsofamerica.com)! Aw shucks! Plan ahead for the 8th Annual Ocean State Oyster Festival at River Walk Park in Providence on October 8 (oysterfestri.com). Don’t miss the Annual Oktoberfest in New Bedford on Pier 3 on October 1 – craft brews, food vendors, music (southcoastbusinessalliance.org)! Mark your calendar for the 17th annual New Bedford Seaport Chowderfest on October 8 under the tents on Pier 3 (onesouthcoast.com). Head for Newport on October 15-16 for the 31st Annual Bowen’s Wharf Seafood Festival (bowenswharf.com)! For a taste of New Bedford’s rich culinary history, go on a guided Food Tour (nbfoodtours.com)! Go on a Twilight River Cruise or a Vineyard Voyage with the Providence Riverboat Company (providenceriverboat.com) Take the family to the monthly Open Farm Days at Round the Bend Farm in Dartmouth! Grass-fed meats, botanicals, local veggies, honey and more (roundthebendfarm.org). Shop for everything fresh, local and handmade on Saturdays through October at the Southcoast Open Air Market in Somerset (southcoastopenairmarket.com). Visit the Outdoor Farmers Markets in New Bedford at Brooklawn Park on Mondays, Buttonwood Park on Thursdays, Clasky Common Park on Fridays through October (coastalfoodshed.org). Mark your calendar for Food Truck Fridays at the Carousel at Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence (rwpzoo)! Eat Fresh, Eat Local! Fill your baskets with local produce, dairy products and artisanal foods! To find a farm, vineyard or farmers market near you, visit semaponline.org, farmfreshri.org, or coastalfoodshed.org. To find food and wine events, go to farmcoast.com, coastalwinetrail.com, or ediblesouthshore.com. Festivals and fairs Hear Ye! Hear Ye! King Richard’s Faire in Carver is open on weekends through October 23 (kingrichardsfaire.net). Plan ahead for the Lakeville Arts & Music Festival on October 1 (lakevilleartscouncilma.org/festival)! Check out the free Folks on the Farm festival October 2 at Frerich’s Farm in Warren (frerichsfarm.com). Head to Middleborough for the free Crantoberfest at Town Hall on October 15! Cranberry bake-off, kids’ costume parade, games, beer garden (seeplymouth.com). Get ready for the Kids Festival on October 8 at Benoit Square in Fairhaven (fairhaventours.com)! Little kids really love the Annual Fall Festival at the Silverbrook Farm in Acushnet! Through October 30, they can enjoy six hours of unlimited activities – tractor rides, corn maze, games, animals – and a free pumpkin (thesilverbrookfarm.com)! Celebrate harvest time at the Norman Bird Sanctuary’s annual Harvest Fair October 1 & 2 in Middletown! Old-fashioned family fun, food trucks, games, competitions, live music (normanbirdsanctuary.org)! All the world’s a stage Head for the Providence Performing Arts Center to enjoy “Mean Girls” October 4-9 or “Tootsie” October 25-30 (ppacri.org)! Enjoy dinner and a performance of “Social Security” through October 23 at the Newport Playhouse (newportplayhouse.com). Head for the Priscilla Beach Theatre in Plymouth, the oldest barn theatre still in operation in America! “Disenchanted” will be performed October 7-15 (pbtheatre.org). Enjoy a performance of “The Inheritance: Parts 1 & 2” through November 6 at Trinity Rep in Providence (trinityrep.com). South Coast sounds Find out who’s on stage at the District Center for the Arts in Taunton! There’s Best of Foo October 1, Moonstruck October 8, The Fools October 15, Saints in the City October 22, Best Friends Girl October 29 (thedistrictcenterforarts.com). Bring your own picnic and chair and listen to live jazz with the Bebop Docs at Linden Place in Bristol on October 16 (lindenplace.org). Head for Pilgrim Memorial Hall in Plymouth for Voyage October 7, Halloween Benefit October 22, Cage Titans October 29 (memorialhall.com). Find out who’s playing at The Rooftop at Kilburn Mill in New Bedford’s south end (kilburnmill.com)! Bring your picnic basket to Running Brook Vineyard in Dartmouth for free live music every Saturday and Sunday (runningbrookwine.com)! Check out who’s on stage at the Spire Center for the Performing Arts of Greater Plymouth! Don’t miss Sonny Landreth October 1, Jonatha Brooke October 7, Mary Gauthier October 8, Chelsea Berry October 13, Eric Lindell October 15, Porterfield October 20, Slaid Cleeves October 22, Jason Spooner October 23, Quinn Sullivan October 29 (spirecenter.org). Don’t miss Billy Ocean October 9, Doo Wop XIX October 6, Eddie B. Teachers Only October 21 at the Zeiterion in New Bedford (zeiterion.org). Enjoy wine tastings and live jazz on Saturdays at Greenvale Vineyards in Portsmouth (greenvale.com). Head for The Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River for great music! Don’t miss Entrain October 1, Vanilla Fudge October 6, Ruthie Foster October 7, Vanessa Collier October 15, Paula Poundstone October 22, GA-20 October 28 (narrowscenter.com). Classical acts Enjoy free outdoor classical music performed by members of the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra during “Sonata Saturdays,” across the street from the Whaling Museum entrance on October 22 (nbsymphony.org). Don’t miss Festival Ballet Providence’s performance of “Off the Wall” October 21-23 at the Moses Brown School in Providence (festivalballetprovidence.org)! The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra will present Sterling Elliott on October 15 at The VETS (riphil.org). Head for the Zeiterion in downtown New Bedford to hear the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra perform “American Dream” on October 1 or “Yaniv Plays Brahms” on October 29 (nbsymphony.org). The great outdoors Check out what’s happening at the Lloyd Center for the Environment in Dartmouth. The trails are free and open to the public every day from dawn to dusk (lloydcenter.org). Pack a picnic and stroll through the whimsical Green Animals Topiary Gardens in Portsmouth (newportmansions.org)! Take a leisurely stroll through Blithewold Mansion and Gardens in Bristol (blithewold.org)! Go on a free Bird Walk or Flower Walk at the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown (normanbirdsanctuary). Take a stroll through the urban greenspace of the Allen G. Haskell Public Gardens in New Bedford (thetrustees.org). “Discover Buzzards Bay” offers an online portal with information about 100+ public places to walk, bird-watch, kayak/canoe, fish, snowshoe or cross-country ski (savebuzzardsbay.org/discover). You can find other outdoor recreation spots along the South Coast at thetrustees.org, exploreri.org, massaudubon.org, riwalks.org, asri.org, riparks.com, or stateparks.com/rhode_island. Stay in shape Bike for clean water! Join in the 16th Annual Buzzards Bay Watershed Ride on October 2, from Little Compton to Woods Hole through the scenic landscapes of the South Coast (savebuzzardsbay.org/discover/events)! Learn about the free virtual classes in meditation, laughter yoga, tai chi, yoga and smoking-cessation hypnosis, offered by New Bedford Wellness Initiative (facebook.com/NewBedfordWellnessInitiative). Register now for the Newport Marathon October 9 (newportmarathon.com) or the Pell Bridge Run/Walk on October 16 (pellbridgerun.com). Explore the waterways of Providence in a single or tandem kayak (providencekayak.com). Get Healthy! “Walk With a Doc” on Saturdays at Buttonwood Park Zoo, part of the New Bedford Wellness Initiative – and don’t miss the free Tai Chi Fit Flow class just before the walk (nbewell.com)!