A 'BSR' guide to your Philly Halloween weekend

Still looking for something fall-festive (but, you know, a little cultured) to do on the weekend before Halloween (besides gorging on miniature candy and pumpkin ales and making your Ken Bone costume)? Here’s your round-up.

We’ve already featured Red 40 and the Last Groovement’s SHE’S KEEN TO FEED album release party, coming up at FringeArts on October 29, but FringeArts will be a great place to get into the Halloween spirit on Friday night, too.

It’s screening Nosferatu, the first-ever vampire film, alongside a live quartet of local musicians who will create “a haunting tapestry of Klezmer motifs, Gypsy grooves, avante-garde textures, and classic horror effects.” The night’s original score is coming from Not So Silent Cinema musical director Brendan Cooney, with Larry Goldfinger on the clarinet, Carlos Santiago on the violin, Chris Coyle on bass, and Cooney playing piano. The show is coming up on Friday, October 28 at 8pm at FringeArts, 140 N. Columbus Boulevard, Philadelphia. Tickets are $15 ($10.50 for FringeArts members).

Grave entertainment

Naturally, Halloween-themed festivities are on offer at Laurel Hill Cemetery too. On Friday, October 28 at 10am, take the Hot Spots and Storied Plots tour of the cemetery, great for first-time visitors and “anyone who enjoys beautiful art, scenic nature, and fascinating history.” (This tour will be coming up monthly as part of Laurel Hill’s Fourth Friday and Second Saturday series.) The tour is $12 ($10 for students and seniors; $9 for members) and tickets are available at the cemetery Gatehouse (3822 Ridge Avenue) or online.

That night, things get a little shivery-er with the candle-lit True Tales from the Tombs tours, featuring tour-guiding storytellers from the Not Ready for After-Life Players. The hour-long graveyard trek will feature the real-life stories of Laurel Hill’s “most provocative and memorable permanent residents,” and will finish around the fire pit with snacks and cocktails. Tours ($20 per person at the Gatehouse) will depart every half-hour from 7pm to 9:30pm. Wear clothes and shoes comfortable enough for exploring between the graves, and BYO flashlight. (Tour times are already selling out, so best to reserve in advance, especially if you’re bringing a group.)

And you can bring the family for Laurel Hill’s Fall Family Day, a Halloween picnic and parade. Kids can come in costume and families can bring a picnic and share festive treats. There’ll be arts and crafts and a pumpkin patch. It’s $5 per person and it’s happening Sunday, October 30 from 1-3pm.

South Street festivities and Halloween comedy

On Saturday, the South Street Headhouse District’s (SSHD) annual South Street PumpkinFest kicks off at noon in Headhouse Square at 2nd and Lombard Streets. Family-friendly activities will include pumpkin-decorating, hayrides, a hay bale maze, a magic show, and performances from the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts. This year’s costume contest (held at 3pm) will have a new category for dogs, and the Society Hill Dance Academy will perform a Thriller dance.

The daytime fun runs from 12-5pm, with kids’ Trick-or-Treating at South Street businesses from 3-6pm. Then, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (6pm) and Beetlejuice (6:30pm) will screen for the kids under the Shambles, and there’ll be an interactive adults-only screening of Rocky Horror Picture Show hosted by DJ Robert Drake at 9pm.

It’s all free and open to the public, and SSHD invites PumpkinFest goers to bring new or lightly used winter coats to donate to One Warm Coat.

On Sunday October 30, head to the 2nd Stage at the Adrienne (2030 Sansom Street) for PHIT’s Stay Dead: An Improvised Horror Comedy ($5), an hour-long show happening at 7:30pm. The cast will riff on horror movie tropes, and “everyone will die. Not everyone will STAY DEAD!”

At right: Superdog attends PumpkinFest in Headhouse Square. (Image courtesy of South Street Headhouse District)