Things to Do in Seattle

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. 

Unable to be contained in a single week, Seattle’s foodie exploration returns for another year of prix fixe menus from Northgate to SeaTac. Grab a $50 dinner (fried calamari, linguine and clams, and seasonal pumpkin cheesecake) at Harry’s Beach House, a $20 two-cake special at pop-up Anh Oi Bake Shop, or swing by Le Coin for a $35 brunch crafted for the occasion. The options are seemingly endless; let the race to try all of Seattle’s best dishes begin. 

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.

The James Beard Foundation creates a who’s who of the city’s culinary masterminds, gathering 27 chefs—from Janet Becerra to Thai and Trinh Nguyen—under one roof. Ticketholders graze from walk-around chef stations presenting Mumbai lamb empanada, kabocha squash hummus, coho salmon carpaccio, and so much more.

Almost as large as the exhibition hall tasked with containing it, Tara Donovan’s Calder-inspired sculpture is an imposing yet curiosity-inspiring presence. Crafted from mylar, the black bubble-like structure shares the space with two Calder works—stabile Mountains and matte black mobile Jacaranda—and a handful of Donovan’s single-material works.

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.

Pioneer Square’s community-funded underground art lair has everything you need to make that last-minute Halloween getup: hot glue, airbrush kits, sewing supplies, or just good old-fashioned motivation. 

After closing out their North American tour, hip hop icons Salt-N-Pepa make one more stop at MOPOP. The performance is one part of the culture house’s broader gala, so concert tickets include light bites and drinks too.

All-star country outfit The Chicks, of “Goodbye Earl,” “Wide Open Spaces,” and “Cowboy Take Me Away” fame, embark on a tour marking the 20th anniversary of their Taking the Long Way album. It’s a tour for the die hard fans, with updated merch and decades-old lore. 

Seattle-born singer-songwriter Lila Forde has amassed a rapt following thanks to warm, whimsical music that stays unwaveringly true to herself. Through jazz, soul, folk, and old-school American influences, she weaves a mid-twenties story of growing up in her most recent release Life Can Still Be Sweet. 

Dark yet comedic, the Capitol Hill Annex Theatre’s Rat Cage creates a deafening, warped media hellscape where protagonist Vendetta Payne must navigate the pressures of everyday life.

Born from Oscar Wilde’s play and infused with music from Richard Strauss, the one-act biblical tragedy is a bit of a shock to the system. Award-winning designers, lauded cast, and accompaniment from the Seattle Symphony bring forth high drama and a severed head.

A uniquely Seattle Halloween tradition brews at the Fremont Troll each year, as hoards of costumed neighbors gather before haunting nearby streets with a spooky procession. Under the watchful eye of the famed Troll, the Fremont Arts Council starts the evening with a theatrical pageant and live music in honor of the statue’s birthday. 

In a twist on no one’s 2026 bingo card, Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim move a documentary crew into the home of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes just weeks before her prison sentence begins. SIFF screens the curious, true crime-esque documentary through the end of the month.

Zombies, skeletons, witches, and all things creepy crawly dominate the screen at Columbia City’s independent The Beacon theater in a series culminating on Halloween afternoon. The final film is more creative feat than jump scare: stop-motion monster mashup 1967 Mad Monster Party? finds a way to fit all the quintessential spooky season characters in one 95-minute work of art.

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, 1968 Night of the Living Dead‘s zombies come out just in time for spooky season.

The Museum of Flight goes retro for campy thrills themed around the evening’s Snakes on a Plane film screening. Real live snakes (taking a trip from their Cougar Mountain Zoo home), flash tattoos, a costume contest, and early 2000s tracks keep the party rolling after hours.

A decidedly kid- and animal-friendly Halloween affair, the annual Woodland Park Zoo pumpkin bash lets bears, tapirs, wolves, tigers, and otters get into the holiday spirit with pumpkin enrichment activities throughout the day. For the humans, a mascot-led costume parade, pumpkin carving demos, and zoo-wide trick-or-treating awaits.

Wildlife photographer Mark Smith has spent countless quiet hours photographing birds; his newest photo collection celebrates the feathered creatures’ resilience, adaptability, and creativity. He’ll bring dramatic photos and the stories behind them to Elliott Bay. 

A hands-on art afternoon brings a woodblock printmaking demo from SAM artist Fulgencio Lazo followed by a conversation with Shinzaburo Takeda diving into the tradition, techniques, and social significance of printmaking in global Indigenous communities. 

Benaroya Hall’s National Geographic series hosts experts in their fields for enlightening lectures—and a plethora of trivia knowledge—alongside stunning imagery and behind-the-scenes stories. Next up, November brings multi-hyphenate epidemiologist and artist Ryan Carney for a chat on what bats, mosquitoes, and nature’s other bloodsuckers can teach us about infectious diseases. 

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.