To Do 10.29.20

TOUR: A haunted house

There are several ways to create a haunted house experience. The easiest one is to let people do it for you. Marina’s Equestrian Center asked teams to decorate their own 10-by-10-foot space at the center for a drive-thru Halloween experience. It takes place from 6-9pm on Halloween (Saturday, Oct. 31); call 521-4159 with questions. Another option: Transform your own house or neighborhood into a spooky sight. Is the front yard a graveyard now? Are there yellow eyes or shadows peeking through the windows? If you have a neighborhood association or HOA, consider making it a team effort – a whole neighborhood of creepy homes creates an atmosphere. You can also tour the haunted house set up by the Artichoke Festival at the Monterey County Fairgrounds, open 5-10pm Friday and Saturday; $10-$15. The Fairgrounds will also have a Trunk-or-Treat Drive-Boo event where you can deck yourself and the back of your trunk out. RSVP to 372-5863 or kelly@montereycountyfair.com.

FEED: The sugar rush

Don’t take candy from the baby – especially on Halloween. Though traditional trick-or-treating is ill-advised, there are a bunch of organized drive-thrus. Pacific Grove has a city-organized drive-thru from 6-9pm, Thursday, Oct. 29 on Ocean View Boulevard (648-3134, cityofpg.org for details). For those low – to zero-waste warriors who dread the pile of single-use plastic left over by the piles of individually wrapped candy, a Covid Halloween is a weird blessing in disguise. Look to your own kitchen instead to create a Halloween feast. Bake treacle tarts and brew butter beers of Harry Potter by following the recipes on YouTube channel Binging with Babish. Or for the ambitious chef-types – and if you’re feeling extra-creepy – have a Hannibal Halloween and create one of his fancy dinner parties. There’s an entire book, Feeding Hannibal: A Connoisseur’s Cookbook, which details the real recipes created by food-stylist Janice Poon (Chef José Andrés consulted) for the 2013 television drama. Deerly beloved meat pies, anyone? Or kibbeh tongues?

TRANSFORM: Into someone (or something) else

This one is a no-brainer. Take away the door-to-door knocking or the overcrowded Halloween parties, but even Covid can’t take away the ability of a person to express themself. Luckily for us, there are an abundance of vintage shops to help. Cat’s Meow in Monterey – known for kooky finds – is having a liquidation sale before a remodel of the building. Perfect timing to find the right costume. If you’re so inclined, consider posting your photos on social media too, to let the world know the spirit of Halloween still exists.

WATCH: a film fest

Curate your own or attend a drive-in. Monterey County Fairgrounds has a schedule of Halloween-themed movies for any age, from Disney’s Coco to Stephen King’s It. It’s $30 per car; montereycountyfair.com. Watsonville Film Festival has Día De Los Muertos covered through Nov. 1 with virtual art activities, poetry readings, panels and more. Screenings include two locally-made short films Macaria and Common and one from Mexico, Music for the Ultimate Dream. wastonvillefilmfest.org.