October brings more fall fun
By DONNA MCCROHAN ROSENTHAL
October spells harvest festivals, drama and eerie doings. Find old favorites and new in this month's roundup of tips for short hops and longer trips around the Golden State.
To the northwest, the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival honors "The Great Gourd" Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 19-20 (pumpkinfest.miramarevents.com).
Seasonal spookiness unfolds down below from Buena Park's Knott's Scary Farm and Anaheim's Disneyland to downtown Riverside's Tales from the Crypt.
Knott's rolls out "the largest and most haunting Halloween experience in Southern California, with unimaginable scares and innovative thrills" on selected nights through Saturday, Nov. 2. Look for mazes, sinister shows, and more than 100 creatures lurking in the fog (not recommended for children under 13; www.knotts.com; 714-220-5200).
Disney delivers Haunted Mansion Holiday, Main Street Pumpkin Festival, Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark, and so much more, in both parks through Thursday, Oct. 31 (Disney land.disney.go; 714-781-INFO). Building momentum for the February Riverside Dickens Festival, Tales from the Victorian Crypt Chapter V Crematorium brings performances, readings, and "appearances" by Poe and the ghost of a very famous witch on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 4 and 5 (dickensfest,com; 951-781-3168).
On the coast, the Arts Council for Long Beach asks, "What's better than a Day of the Dead book event that offers gourmet dining and takes place on an 85-year-old, Art Deco, haunted ship?" The Queen Mary Secret Spice Café Dinner and Tour on Saturday, Nov. 2, combines these plus a customized ship tour led by author Patricia V. Davis. A portion of the ticket price goes toward the new Long Beach Billie Jean King Library (lory.espinosa@queenmary.com; 562-499-1658).
To the east in Death Valley, Amargosa Opera House on Saturday, Oct. 26, stages the interactive mystery "Lenore Nevermore" in partnership with Master Mystery Productions (www.amargosaoperahouse.org; 760-852-4441).
North on Hwy. 395, Lone Pine's 30th annual Film Festival stretches from Thursday to Sunday, Oct. 10-13 (www.museumofwesternfilmhistory.org; 760-876-9103).
Farther north over the Oct. 26 and 27 weekend, Bishop's Imagination Lab celebrates its exciting new project, The Museum of High Sierra Artists & Visionaries, with music, entertainment, poetry and flash fiction readings by writers from Inyo, Mono, Kern and Alpine Counties (details: 760-872-2446).
Just over the Sierra in Tehachapi: Enjoy craft beer, local wines, mouthwatering cuisine, live music, games for kids, and merchandise vendors at the Stallion Springs annual Oktoberfest on Saturday, Oct. 5 (661-822-3268); that evening and also on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 6, Tehachapi Community Theatre presents "Little Women" (www.tctonstage. com). On the following Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 12 and 13, the Tehachapi Apple Festival on Green Street downtown features hand-crafted artisan gifts and apple-related items, an apple pie baking contest, apple pie eating contest, a modern twist on bobbing for apples and a Kid Zone, with carnival games and inflatables for all-day fun. Local farmers will sell apples and other locally produced food products (www.tehachapiapplefestival.com; 661-374-0395).