Dance and dine on cumbia and burgers (Thursday, Oct. 8)
Head over to Good Time on Thursday night to dance to live cumbia music and eat some burgers. Hamburgers Nice will provide the bites, while Linda Nuves and Quatre Cinq will pick the vinyls. The event is free to attend, but you can purchase burgers and also pick up some vinyls and cassette tapes from Ghetto Palm Sounds’ pop up. Learn more about the event here.
Shop for handmade art at SoreThumbs Market (Friday, Oct. 9)
SoreThumbs Market, an art market that values homemade creations and connections in an inclusive space, is hosting their next market at Plantitas on 4th Street. Come shop from local artisans (their rule: nothing A.I. generated) and meet creators like Emily Kiwa Tanaka and her clay creations and Zoe Bautista and her punk rock patches and prints. The market starts at 4 p.m. and you can learn more about it here.
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at the annual Noche Latina (Friday, Oct. 9)
Renaissance High School is hosting the fourth annual Noche Latina event from 6-8:30 p.m. on Friday. Grab dinner at the variety of food vendors like Te Quiero Mucho Tamales and Elotes Hijos Del Maiz. Or shop for beaded creations at My Lively Studio or calaveritas stickers from Ninoska Arte. Kids can get their face painted, make sugar skulls, or burn off all that energy in an inflatable obstacle course. More information on Noche Latina can be found here.
Get into spooky season with Hamburger Mary’s “Hocus Pocus – The Witches are Back,” drag show (Saturday, Oct. 10)
Grab your tickets to see Hamburger Mary’s “Hocus Pocus – The Witches are Back” this Saturday. There’s just one more Saturday performance (Oct. 24) after this weekend to watch a star-studded cast of queens. This year, Hamburger Mary’s has two casts for Hocus Pocus starring: Miss Clair Voyance, April Showers, Mama St. Merman, Andy Ogny, Leeko Rae, Big Dee, Zai, Reina, Thai Teaze and King Phantom. General admission tickets go for $27.3, but if you splurge on a Jubilee VIP ticket for $218.58, you can get a drink in a “Diva Pump” and a choice between a t-shirt, crown, tiara or sash. Purchase tickets here.
Cheer on runners at the Long Beach Marathon (Saturday, Oct. 10 – Sunday, Oct. 11)
It’s time to hydrate, stretch and carbo-load. Or if you are on the sidelines, set your alarms, prep your posters and get your cheers ready. This weekend marks the 42nd Long Beach Marathon. It kicks off on Saturday at 6:50 a.m. with a 5K at the Aquarium of the Pacific. The marathon, which is an official qualifier for the (ahem) 2027 Boston Marathon in April, starts on Sunday at 5:30 a.m., followed by the half marathon, which starts at 6:30 a.m. You can check out schedules, course maps and other information here.
Chill out with some chili at Huntington Beach’s annual cook-off (Sunday, Oct. 11)
Sunday’s weather forecast calls for rain, but the annual Chili at the Beach cook-off in Huntington Beach may help stave off weather woes. The cook-off goes from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, taking over three blocks of Main Street in downtown Huntington Beach. Ticket holders will be able to sample a variety of chilis from contestants, but you can also pursue the vendors and enjoy the live music. Tickets cost $16.15 (on sale!) and you can purchase them here.
Latino Theater Company – sponsored
On the border between life and death, the monsters are both real and imagined. Mexican folklore collides with the terrifying realities of the border in Yamel Cucuy. Yamel is a girl on the precipice of adulthood, hunted by immigration agents while haunted by specters from Mexican folklore. As she navigates the physical and metaphysical violence of borders, she must confront the cucuys surrounding her and forge her own spirit of courage and wisdom. Set to an original score of Indigenous percussion, Yamel Cucuy blends sophisticated puppetry, live actors, frightening folk tales, and modern horror to create a haunting theatrical world where the dangers are both legal and spiritual. Glass Half Full Theatre returns to The LATC from Oct. 8 – Nov. 1 at The Los Angeles Theatre Center. For tickets and more information visit here.