The South Coast · Oct 30 to Nov 1
Halloween falls on Saturday, so my picks this weekend run from a kids' planetarium show to two gothic dance programs, and Lyle Lovett wraps things up Sunday at Campbell Hall.
The editor's pick Dracula, A Dark Shadow. In one night at the Granada you get a brand-new State Street Ballet production plus Kronos Quartet playing Philip Glass live.
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Sunset Score 1/10Sunset 6:07 PM, likely a gray one: low cloud offshore in the sun's path.
Paint a pumpkin or a wine bottle with fairy lights. The $25 covers all materials plus a glass of wine or Halloween orange punch. Costumes are welcome and families are invited.
The brewery becomes a haunted Renaissance Faire. Joystix plays live from 7 to 9, DJ Frew takes over after, and Zapp Thai serves until 8. Free, with costumes optional and non-alcoholic drinks on hand.
Salty Strings, a Santa Barbara five-piece, plays fast-picking bluegrass on banjo, mandolin and acoustic guitar, with folk and Americana mixed in, among the winery's barrels.
Three-time Grammy winner Tom Scott, whose sax is on records by Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan and Paul McCartney, plays jazz with Grammy-winning pianist Laurence Hobgood, longtime partner of Kurt Elling.
State Street Ballet stages a newly commissioned Dracula choreographed by Nicolas Blanc, with Kronos Quartet playing Philip Glass's score live onstage alongside the dancers.
Also Sat 2 PMSelah Dance Collective and Novus Contemporary Ballet pair Chloé Roberts' witch piece Sorcière with Carmilla, a new ballet from Sheridan Le Fanu's 1872 vampire novella. General admission, and late seating is limited.
Also Sat 2 PM, Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 2 PMAn all-80s Halloween party with The Molly Ringwald Project. It's 21+ and standing room in the stage room; doors open at 7:30, and dinner is served in the back bar beforehand.
Showers possibleClocks fall back tonight
Sunset Score 1/10Sunset 6:06 PM, likely a gray one: a thick cloud deck overhead.
Bring kids seven and up to meet the planetarium's resident witch and her friendly ghouls. Tickets come with admission and go out 20 minutes ahead; seating is first-come, no late entry. Repeats at 3.
Pumpkin crafts for the kids from 1 to 3, ahead of trick-or-treating, with treats and wine for the grown-ups until 6. Show up in costume and glasses are $11.
Trinity's youth council throws its third Halloween Hullabaloo, with costumes, games, food and trick-or-treating inside the Parish Hall. Bring the little ones; it wraps by 4, leaving time for neighborhood rounds.
Beau's Halloween story drops Esther, its mysterious love interest, into the 1980s, so expect '80s music, Thriller-inspired touches, fog, costumes and prizes. Admission is $10.
Sunset is an hour earlier
Sunset Score 5/10Sunset 5:05 PM, pleasant, nothing wild: clear sky, so a clean, simple sunset. The weekend's best: watch from Shoreline Park, the Mesa.
Four-time Grammy winner Lyle Lovett brings longtime collaborators for a set that moves through country, swing, blues and gospel, with his wry storytelling along the way. Tickets run $115 to $150; UCSB students pay $19.
Nothing matches those filters this weekend. Try loosening one.
Updated Thursday, October 29. Picks and descriptions are ours; times and details come from each organizer, so check their page before you go. Sunset Scores are our own read of the cloud forecast, so look west before you head out. Every night's score is updated each morning.
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Oct 30 to Nov 1