Things to Do in Seattle

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.

A neighborhood-wide food crawl, U District outposts from the Mountaineering Club to Shawarma King sell $6 bites and drinks for the annual try-it-all food festival. The main stage brings comedy, live music, and audience eating contests. 

It’s the Great Pumpkin Beer Festival, Charlie Brown! Capitol Hill’s unofficial spooky season kick-off comes by way of a giant pumpkin-turned-keg filled with pitchers of pumpkin beer. There’s a pumpkin pie eating contest, crowns for best costume, and live music throughout the street. 

It’s not tea, it’s a magic potion. And those aren’t just any savory sammies, they’re sand-witches. Halloween tea season is back at Madison Valley’s plant-forward restaurant, and costumes are encouraged. 

Monochromatic paintings by Samantha Yun Wall are both haunting and captivating; their inspiration draws from a Korean folk tale of loss and familial ties, a flower motif weaving together the pieces that speak to stigmatization and taboo. 

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.

Expansive, folk-ish artist Beth Orton comes to Washington Hall with opener Kenny Stahl. Orton’s meditative, almost poetic tracks blend electronic influences, pop, and jazz. Her newest 2026 release, The Ground Above, leans more swelling and ethereal. 

Multi-hyphenate singer-songwriter Sting collaborates with guitarist Dominic Miller and drummer Chris Maas for a tour spanning decades of his discography. With enduring hits like “If You Love Somebody Set Them Free” and “Fields of Gold” to draw from, the evening promises mega hits and deep cuts alike.

The PNB season opener Serenade brings three works—one a world premiere from resident choreographer Jessica Lang—to the McCaw Hall stage. Stunning lighting, costumes, and stage design complement a bill of ethereal and lush pieces; ticket-holders can get a peek behind-the-scenes with dancer Q&A sessions following each performance. 

Following up this year’s Hamnet craze, Shakespeare’s most legendary tragedy comes to the Union Arts Center stage. Performance and reality meld for Hamlet in the wake of his father’s murder; for audiences, opening night brings an hour-long pre-show celebration.

Reality TV producers, take note: comedian Allison Goldberg’s live dating show flips the usual script. The four men—self-appointed bachelors or nominated by friends—on stage can’t speak, but Goldberg can call their parents, search their phones, and implore them to compete in comical challenges in the name of love.

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.

Ballard’s independent theater is a master of the throwback; a weekly series brings nostalgic favorites back to the big screen. Next up, Halloween’s creepy crawlies come early with the human-eating creatures in sci-fi thriller Tremors.

The original Magenta from the 1970s film and theater productions, Patricia Quinn, returns to the stage for a screening of the cult classic with a live shadow cast. Audience participation is a must, and a costume contest encourages creativity.

Underground music festival meets roller skating at the annual Rat City Recon. Heavy rock outfit Torche headlines, and bands alternate between playing in the middle of the rink and the bar stage until Portland’s rock trio Gaytheist leads a midnight afterparty. 

Prepare to be absolutely overwhelmed by creativity, as the annual craft fair brings hundreds of small makers under one roof. Be warned: it’s nearly impossible to leave without picking up inspiration for a few new hobbies to buoy the Big Dark.

Seattle’s glass hot spot, Chihuly Garden and Glass, celebrates a handful of anniversaries for local glass art with a private gallery tour, live glassblowing demonstrations, music, cocktails, and hors d’oeuvres. As the official kickoff soiree for city-wide Refract, the evening leads into a weekend full of glass art celebrations.

A day-long class starts with a log and ends with a spoon. Throughout the process, instructor Brendan McGarry follows the tradition of Sloyd, using just four simple hand tools to craft functional spoons and bowls. 

After a summer hiatus, school is back in session at the First Hill art house. Frye does more than display artworks; class is in session each month with a lecture series helmed by art historian Rebecca Albiani. October focuses on how contemporary artists develop Indigenous weaving practices with fresh materials, methods, and design.

Author Daniel Tam-Claiborne curates a reflective fall series at SPL, digging into the many diasporas that continue to shape 250 years of U.S. culture. Highlighting the Nordic community’s influence on the PNW in this iteration, artists, activists, and community leaders from Seattle’s Nordic diaspora share stories and reflections.

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. 

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.