Everywhere You Can Peep Leaves, Pick Apples, and Wear a Costume in Philly This Month
Haunted houses, pumpkin festivals, and more fun things to do in Philly this weekend (and every weekend throughout the month).
Chunky sweater lovers, now is your time. The season for peeping fall foliage, picking apples, and wearing costumes has now arrived, and this month’s happenings reflect the seasonal exuberance.
October is one of the few months that all of Philly’s professional sports teams have home games on the calendar. (Stay tuned for the Phillies' playoff schedule.) It’s also prime time for haunts and eerie drinking experiences. Intrigued yet? Here’s everything fun to do on the weekends in Philly this October. We update the Weekend Guide each month, so be sure to check back often.
Sports Events in Philly
October 7, 7:30 pm
Chester, Starting at $46
Philly’s pro soccer team, the Philadelphia Union just secured their spot in the playoffs for the sixth time. But before the playoffs, witness the triumphant close to the regular season. The Union plays its last home weekend match early in the month on October 7 against Nashville Soccer Club. (Bonus: That’s fan appreciation night, complete with special concession prices, discounts in the Union Shop, and special game experiences!) Decision day is October 21, so keep your eyes peeled for the playoff schedule.
October 14, 7:30 am
Art Museum Area, Prices vary
The city’s only truly car-free bike ride returns this month with 20 miles of closed roads full of iconic views like Boathouse Row. For riders of all skill levels (ages three and up with no charge for kids under seven riding in a seat, tagalong, or tandem), this rain-or-shine event culminates with a festival in front of the iconic Philadelphia Museum of Art featuring music and food trucks. (The festival is open to the public, so bring your non-cyclist friends, too.)
October 20 and 29
Stadium Complex, Starting at $51
The 76ers, under new head coach Nick Nurse, hope to begin the 2023-24 basketball season on a strong note. Be there for the home action with a pre-season game against the Atlanta Hawks on October 20. The team plays the Portland Trail Blazers on October 29 for the regular season home opener.
October 21, 8 am
Stadium Complex, $55 (free for kids under 12)
Everyone’s favorite mascot Gritty once again hosts his annual Gritty 5K, now in its fifth year. The 3.1-mile course will start and end at the Wells Fargo Center complex in front of Xfinity Live! before looping through FDR Park. Expect games, ribbon dancing, egg races, and cake. Orange and/or furry costumes are highly encouraged. No running required.
October 22
Stadium Complex, Starting at $240
Nothing brings the city together quite like Sunday football. If you can manage to pay your way into the Linc, check out the Eagles live as the team takes on the Washington Commanders on October 1 and the Miami Dolphins on October 22. (And if you can’t make it to the game, tailgate your face off Philly’s 80,000-square-foot sports bar Xfinity Live!.) Go Birds.
October 28, 1 pm
Stadium Complex, Starting at $52
The Flyers hit the ice for the start of their 2023-24 season this October with new burnt orange uniforms. The Sunday, October 28 game versus the Anaheim Ducks is the only non-weekday home Flyers game for the entire month. Luckily it starts at 1 pm since it’s technically a school night and all.
Drinking Events in Philly
Opens mid-October
Midtown Village, Prices vary
Tinsel, the seasonally shifting pop-up bar, gets dressed up for Halloween as the Nightmare Before Tinsel, complete with ornate decorations and themed cocktails. This year’s theme, The Vampires of Sansom Cathedral, will provide plenty of photo opps in ancient catacombs, dungeons, and cathedrals overrun by vampires and beasts. Don’t miss the Blood Bag cocktail served in, well, a blood bag. Opening date, sometime in mid-October, will be announced on Tinsel’s Instagram and Facebook pages
October 7, noon
Fishtown, Prices vary
Things get downright horrific under the El when the Evil Genius Beer Company taproom hosts its Halloween-themed block party. Expect themed vendors, live music, and a food truck, plus seasonal beers like Trick or Treat—a dark, roasty porter with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and chocolate.
October 7, noon
Roxborough, Prices vary
The city’s Oktoberfest season continues with Roxtoberfest, Roxborough’s cozy version of the German fall fest. The outdoor event features craft brews, food trucks, live music, a stein-holding competition, a pet costume contest, a circus performance, kids activities, and plenty more. In case of rain, the festival will be pushed to October 8.
October 13–14
Center City West, Starting at $20
Get a taste of Germany during this two-day Oktoberfest celebration that takes over the massive 23rd Street Armory in mid-October. The space gets decked out with long, wooden festival tables (perfect for communal imbibing) imported from Germany, blue and white streamers and banners hanging from the ceiling, and a stage for musical acts and traditional German dancing. Beer comes from Germany’s Hofbräuhaus München, and local German cuisine mecca Brauhaus Schmitz provides the Oktoberfest fare.
October 27 and 28
Stadium District, $10
Halloween weekend brings two days of bashes to Xfinity Live! for you to show off your cleverest costumes and most sickening dance moves. On Friday, Screams in the Stadium District brings souls of past players back to life. On Saturday, A Haunting on Pattison Ave lands with a huge paranormal-themed Halloween party. Both events boast multiple parties under one roof, with DJs, karaoke, silent disco, mechanical bull-riding, and, of course, a costume contest with serious cash prizes.
October 28, 10 pm
Fishtown, Starting at $10
Swoop your hair to the side, paint on some heavy eyeliner, and throw on a studded belt for Scene Queen Halloween, a very emo party at music venue and nightlife hotspot Kung Fu Necktie. Mosh the night away to hits from My Chemical Romance, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Valencia, Panic! At The Disco, Taking Back Sunday, and many more. Costumes, highly encouraged, will score you discounted admission if you wear one.
Outdoor Events in Philly
Throughout October
Various locations, Prices vary
Intrigued by things that go bump in the night? Get a little thrill at any of the city’s most terrifying haunted attractions: The always-incredible Fright Factory, Halloween Nights at Eastern State Penitentiary, and newer haunted house Lincoln Mill.
October 6–8
City Hall, Prices vary
Who said you need to leave the city to get a taste of the farm life? The cornstalks and pumpkins come to you during the three-day Harvest Weekend at Dilworth Park. Enjoy making apple cider, live pumpkin-carving demonstrations, roaming circus performers, pumpkin painting, and a local craft market. Seasonal fare like bratwurst and Bavarian pretzels, as well as Troegs Oktoberfest beer. It’ll be cozy and picturesque, promise.
October 7–8
Gayborhood, Prices vary
Philadelphia is hosting a National Coming Out Day parade, the first national Coming Out Day parade in the U.S. according to event organizers, complete with the unfurling of a 200-foot rainbow flag. The procession, featuring designed floats, community organizations, and live performances, begins at 5th and Market Streets at 4 pm on Saturday, October 7, and culminates at Broad and Locust Streets. The fun continues on Sunday at noon with the OURfest National Coming Out Festival in the Gayborhood, complete with art, music, grassroots organizations, restaurants and bars, food trucks, vendors, and more.
October 8, 11 am
Old City, Prices vary
Spend your fall Sunday in idyllic Old City where local designers, creative firms, restaurants, retailers, galleries, and more take to the streets (North 3rd Street and Arch Street) to celebrate the neighborhood’s art, culture, and food. Marvel at pop-up performances from Old City’s cultural institutions; food and drink from world-class restaurants such as Fork, Buddakan, and Cuba Libre; and over 100 vendors like neighborhood shops Philadelphia Independents and Anima Natural Pet Supplies.
October 28, noon
Headhouse Square, Prices vary
Start Halloween weekend on a wholesome note at this annual event under the Headhouse Shambles. Kids can decorate pumpkins, trick or treat at local businesses, and go wild for circus performers. Plus, a costume contest (for kids, families, and adults), so wear your holiday best.
October 28, 11 am
East Passyunk Avenue, Prices vary
Frolic in an urban pumpkin patch on East Passyunk during Fall Fest and Spooky Saturday. The long-running fest always delivers on excellent shopping from craft vendors and sidewalk sales, trick or treating along the Avenue for kids, outdoor fare from neighborhood restaurants, and live music.