👻 Grab your costume, Philly | Things to Do

Happy Halloween!

It’s time for candy, costumes, and hijinks all around. Will you be handing out candy tonight? What will you be snacking on while you celebrate? Personally, I’m a chocolate fiend. My absolute favorite is Krackel (and Crunch bars) because there’s something so satisfying about having that rice crunch combined with the sweet treat. I’ll also trade for Tootsie Rolls, Twix, Kit-Kats, Snickers, Reese’s…truthfully I’m not that picky about it. What’s your favorite Halloween candy? Let me know!

What’s coming up:

— Rosa Cartagena (@_RosaCartagena, Email me at thingstodo@inquirer.com)

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Grab that costume and get out there! If you’re still looking for Halloween fun there are a few final events around town that are family-friendly, from the Museum of Illusions or the Morris ArBOOretum & Gardens. If you’re looking to stay away from the kids, it’s also your last chance to try a Trick or Treat martini or Hocus Pocus lemonade in Halloween bars around the city.

🔎 People are strange: Enter the End Times Boutique, an oddities shop in Kensington that aims to be a room of wonder with everything from a two-headed goat to a crocodile rug to match Philly’s “unique and feral spirit.” Curious? Take a look inside.

🎥 Fright night: For anyone who’s still in scary movie mode, a new short from Philadelphia filmmaker M. Asli Dukan transforms West Chester into an eerie, dangerous place when three traveling friends have car trouble and get lost in the woods. Watch Sundown Road on YouTube.

🎮 Try your luck: If you like escape rooms, this might be for you. I recently joined my coworkers in the team-building experience Beat the Bomb and it was surprisingly fun. We competed in silly challenges like dodging lasers and word memorization all to end up slimed — and I bet you’d get slimed, too.

🗡️ Grisly and gruesome: The new true crime show Philly Homicide examines 10 high-profile murders in and around Philadelphia that dominated headlines in recent decades. Catch up on the mysteries.

💀 Deadly fun: El Día de los Muertos is this weekend and Philadelphia’s Mexican community is celebrating in various ways. The Independence Visitor Center, partnering with the Consulate of Mexico in Philadelphia, will host crafting workshops, an altar for the dead, and a free screening of Coco.

🎸 The Boss doc: The new film Road Diary takes audiences on the road with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in a carefully curated journey with incredible concert footage. You’ve gotta hear about the time he was actually booed in Philadelphia.

🎬 Speaking of: The Bruce Springsteen biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere has begun filming in New Jersey this week. We got a first look at The Bear star Jeremy Allen White as Springsteen (brown contact lenses, leather jacket) and if you’re really excited about it, you could even play an extra.

📅 My calendar picks this week: 49th Annual Apple Festival, A TRAGAR Take Over, Ice Dinosaurs

Ahead of the presidential election on Tuesday, the new documentary, The American Question, came out this week (available on-demand), investigating division in the United States with a large focus on two Pennsylvania towns considered particularly consequential in our swing state: Erie and Hazelton. As former factory and coal towns that have experienced major population shifts in recent years, these sites served as case studies as director James Kicklighter explored “how the glue that held Americans together dissolved and why this threatens the stability of America today.”

Filmed over the course of eight years, the film showcases voters on different sides of various issues who shared their fears and motivations on screen as experts explained how increasing intolerance has historically led previous empires to decline. It’s also about the people in Erie and Hazelton (Detroit is the third city featured, too) organizing to bring people together, like the Hazelton Integration Project. The narrator concludes: “It’s not enough to tolerate our differences. Without solutions rooted in the common good, Americans will continue to get angrier. Those who divide us will keep power over society.”

The biggest takeaways: Meet your neighbors, get involved in local politics, build community, and — you already know this one — vote.

😈 When Halloween was scarier: We take a look back at the history of Mischief Night, including the time when more than 50 people in Camden were caught lighting up 86 buildings. It was a cautionary tale.

🎅 The birds and the bards: We keep learning more about the Eagles holiday album, which drops later this month. The latest news? Jason and Travis Kelce collab with Boyz II Men.

🧶 The coolest studio: I visited a warehouse in Southwest Philadelphia to see the magic behind Tuft the World, an arts organization dedicated to teaching the rug-making process of tufting. The craziest part? They’re using a massive robot. We filmed the studio tour so you can see the robot in action.

🎨 Philadelphia as a canvas: Painter Titus Kaphar co-created the mural Declaration in Center City and now his work will appear in the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s new exhibit “The Time Is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure” opening next week. We caught up with the fascinating artist who’s leaving his mark on the city.

🐻 Beary exciting: The Philadelphia Zoo is upgrading its Bear Country exhibit with a $20 million transformation that’s set to debut in 2026 with a bigger and better set-up that’s more comfortable for Bhalu, Kayla, and their fellow bear friends. Here’s what you need to know.

🎄 Presents and more: Looking ahead to the holiday season, Christmas Village will return to LOVE Park beginning Nov. 28 with a beer garden, Ferris wheel, and of course a market where you can find Philly gifts for your family and friends.

Pop music critic Dan DeLuca breaks down the best shows coming up.

🎸 Thursday: There’s a three cover band bill at Johnny Brenda’s on Halloween. Coca Leaves & Pearls — featuring guitarist Chris Forsyth and Nick Millevoi — who define their mission as “playing the music of Neil Young, cosmically” — is sharing a bill with Thin Lizzy cover band the Wild Ones, and the Misfits lovers Ghouls Night Out.

🎤 Friday: André 3000 brings his New Blue Sun flute-forward tour to the Met, for his second Philly performance this year, after the OutKast rapper (who no longer raps) played the Roots Picnic in June.

🎸 Also Friday: British metal heavy hitters Iron Maiden are at the Wells Fargo Center on Friday on their Future Past Tour. The band led by bassist Steve Harris will be focusing both on their most recent release, 2021′s Sengetsu, and their 1986 set, Somewhere in Time.

Read more music picks.

This week I’ve been watching Halloween classics like Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and Hocus Pocus. What are you doing to celebrate the holiday? Let me know!