Fall fun, Halloween haunts all month in OKC October events

Last Updated on October 5, 2023, 6:38 PM | Published: October 1, 2023

OKLAHOMA CITY — Ninety-degree days aside, the calendars and meteorologists all tell us that it’s finally officially fall, and that means longer, cooler October nights full of seasonal soirées, evening markets, and of course the requisite holiday scares.

But October in Oklahoma City isn’t just all color-changing foliage and costume parties (though there is plenty of that, too.) It’s also a time of groundbreaking theater, creative, communal art, and an integral holiday of cultural celebration centered beautifully right here in our city.

No matter what kind of fun you’re looking to fall into, OKC has you covered this month.

October Night Market at Scissortail Park – Friday, October 6th

There’s just nothing that says “fall” quite like an outdoor night market, and there’s no better outdoor venue in the city than Scissortail Park.

With the evening kicking off and stalls opening up at 5:30 (and with the forecast looking mercifully mild,) you’ll be able to stroll around the park and shop as the sun sets over the skyline.

If you can think of a better way to welcome in the autumn, I’d like to hear it.

For more information, visit scissortailpark.org.

Theatre Crude Fringe Festival – Thursday, October 5th to Saturday, October 14th – Oklahoma Shakespeare Theater – 2920 Paseo 

In the theater world, there’s nothing better than fringe, that edge-of-your-seat and seat-of-your-pants style of ultra-indie live performance.

Fringe can be anything from music performance to stand-up comedy to short, original storytelling and beyond.

The one thing you can be sure of is that every show across the full ten-day event will be wildly creative and bound to challenge your idea of what live theater can be.

Highlights from this year’s schedule include a musical that educates about vaccine science, multiple shows from standout local comedian Alex Sanchez, and a full slate of workshops teaching everything from burlesque to writing a one-person show.

For tickets, passes, full schedule, and more, visit theatrecrude.org.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day Short Films with deadCenter – Monday, October 9th – First Americans Museum

For this year’s Indigenous People’s Day, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better or more beautifully realized place to celebrate than OKC’s most remarkable new museum and cultural center.

deadCenter Film has teamed up with The Reel Indigenous Podcast to present a slate of some of the best recent short films from Indigenous creators for a cinematic celebration of culture, heritage, and the boldly developing future of First Nations filmmaking.

And the best part is that it’s totally free.

The two-program film event in the museum’s Five Moons Theater is just one part of the all-day Indigenous Peoples’ Day festivities at FAM, so get there early and stay late after the screenings to enjoy everything they have to offer.

For showtimes and more information, visit deadcentercontinuum.eventive.org or famok.org.

ARTonTAP 2023 – Friday, October 13th – Oklahoma City Museum of Art

The beloved annual marriage of fine art and fine drink returns once again for its 20th-anniversary installment.

Featuring fifteen local breweries (and one distillery) each bringing a selection of their finest brews, ARTonTAP offers guests the unique opportunity to take in the museum’s remarkable collection while sampling the best of the city’s favorite beverage.

As part of this year’s 20th anniversary, the festivities return to the museum’s interior for the first time since 2019, where visitors can check out the night city skyline on the rooftop terrace.

For tickets and more information, visit okcmoa.com.

Adult Book Fair – Thursday, October 21st – Full Circle Bookstore

For any precocious, young bookworm, there wasn’t anything better in school than the book fair.

It was a celebration of reading, of your favorite writers and favorite characters, and a chance to fawn over the kind of open-minded imagination only found inside a great book.

Well, if you’ve been missing that kind of positive energy surrounding reading and everything that makes it magical, you’ll want to swing into Full Circle for their Fall Adult Book Fair.

Appropriately, it’ll be steeped in Halloween this month, with face painting, costume contests, and more. Plus, it’ll feature one thing that the book fairs of your school days never had: alcohol. So please remember to drink, and to read, responsibly.

For more information, visit fullcirclebooks.com.

‘Hamlet’ presented by OKC Ballet – Friday, October 27th through Sunday, October 29th – Civic Center Music Hall

Ghosts, poison, deception, murder, and creeping existentialism. William Shakespeare’s immortal “Hamlet” is actually a pretty perfect presentation for the Halloween season.

But the version of the ultra-classic tale coming to the Civic Center via OKC Ballet is no ordinary Shakespearian production.

This sleek, modernist balletic interpretation is the brainchild of groundbreaking, innovative choreographer Stephen Mills, with stark, hyper-minimalist sets, modern, high-fashion wardrobe, and perhaps most intriguingly, a propulsive, haunting new score by experimental composing master Phillip Glass.

For showtimes, tickets, and more information, visit okcballet.org and okccivviccenter.com.

Halloween Procession presented by Factory Obscura – Tuesday, October 31st – Automobile Alley

At sunset on Halloween Night, the crowds will gather on the street at Factory Obscura’s Mix-Tape art space (see the feature photo,) sporting costumes, masks, or just their own sense of wonder and reverence for the macabre, and they’ll march through the streets of Automobile Alley with music and light.

There will be bells, drums, songs, and scares, and the incomparable Jarvix will be on hand to provide live Theremin to set the appropriately spooky mood.

It’s a fully free, public gathering, open to all who wish to join to help truly and finally usher the autumn into the world, and the departing spirits out.

For more information, visit factoryobscura.com.

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