As the spookiest day of the year approacheth, we've rounded up our top picks for the best Halloween and non-Halloween things to do online through the weekend to help you keep your schedule full of ways to stay entertained without leaving your couch. Read on below for details on virtual events ranging from Eyes on The Ground: A Conversation with Portland’s Protest Journalists Past Event Like List (hosted by the Mercury's own Alex Zielinski) to a Powell's reading with Roxane Gay and Tracy Lynne Oliver Past Event Like List , and from Madame Duvall's Pandemonic Ball Past Event Like List to Le Chat Noir Moderne's The Tower of Terror Past Event Like List . Plus, peruse our complete in-person and streaming calendars, and look out for a roundup of socially distanced things to do in the flesh this weekend.

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MONDAY

FILM

Collide-O-Scope: Halloween 2020 Past Event Like List
Collide-O-Scope's annual Halloween celebration will come to your home with a mashup of horrific, campy, hijinks.

MUSIC

COOPFEST 2020: Pete Krebs Past Event Like List
Longtime Portlandian and singer-songwriter Pete Krebs will celebrate the memory of local musician Christopher Cooper, who founded Cavity Search Records, with a solo performance on the LaurelThirst Public House stage. 

Live Music: Edna Vázquez Past Event Like List
Cozy up for an intimate solo set from Portland-based singer, songwriter, and guitarist Edna Vázquez. 

READINGS & TALKS

Claire Messud in Conversation with Hilton Als Past Event Like List
Prolific novelist Claire Messud (The Emperor's Children) turns to a new form to share her life and inspirations in Kant's Little Prussian Head & Other Reasons Why I Write. She'll discuss the memoir with celebrated author and New Yorker contributor Hilton Als (White Girls).

See Also: Multi-Day Events

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TUESDAY

COMMUNITY

Consider This with Jamelle Bouie Past Event Like List
One week before Election Day, Oregon Humanities will host an online conversation with New York Times op-ed columnist and CBS News analyst Jamelle Bouie on voting and democratic transitions. Tune in on YouTube. 

Eyes on The Ground: A Conversation with Portland’s Protest Journalists Past Event Like List
The Portland Mercury’s own Alex Zielinski will host this online conversation with reporters and documentarians (like Tuck Woodstock, Donovan Smith, Andrew Jankowski, Mariah Harris, Catalina Gaitán, and Annie Schutz) who have spent hours upon hours covering the last five months of Black Lives Matter protests in Portland—many of whom faced confrontations with the police. "You’ll hear honest reactions on topics such as their motivations, confrontations and arrests by police, journalistic ethics, personal safety, and how they keep their message centered on the Black Lives Matter movement. This is the type of behind-the-scenes, candid conversation you won't be hearing anywhere else," writes The Mercury's Wm. Steven Humphrey.

MUSIC

October Extra '80s Livestream Past Event Like List
Splatter your neon spandex with fake blood and join DJ NoN a night of '80s bangers online.

READINGS & TALKS

21st Annual Oregon Jewish Voices Reading
Past Event Like List Hear virtual readings from prominent Oregon Jewish poets and writers, including Jacob Boas, Sherri Levine, Willa Schneberg, Betsy Fogelman Tighe, and Leslie What. 

Roxane Gay and Tracy Lynne Oliver: The Sacrifice of Darkness Past Event Like List
The best-selling author of Bad Feminist is out with a new book co-authored by Tracy Lynne Oliver (Magician) and illustrated by comic artist Rebecca Kirby that expands Gay's short story "We Are the Sacrifice of Darkness" into a full-length graphic novel. Join the creators for an online presentation with Powell's.

See Also: Multi-Day Events

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WEDNESDAY

MUSIC

Whole Lotta Celebratin’ Goin’ On: 85 Years Of The Killer Past Event Like List
John Stamos will host the YouTube and Facebook Live celebration in honor of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame icon Jerry Lee Lewis's 85th birthday, featuring performances and well wishes from friends and fans of Lewis. 

READINGS & TALKS

Silent Reading Party Remind Like List
A lot of people are taking the opportunity to turn the online version of The Stranger's super-successful words 'n' vibes experience into a weekly online destination, a respite from (waves hands exasperatedly at basically everything) and an opportunity to simply... slow up, sit down, and just listen to live piano music while sinking into a good book. If you haven't tried it out yet, tonight's the night, and we'll see you at 6pm. If you have tried it out before? Welcome back. It's a damn nice oasis of low-key bliss, isn't it?

See Also: Multi-Day Events

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THURSDAY

COMMUNITY

Ignite 2020: The New Roaring '20s Past Event Like List
What's at stake for LGBTQ+ Oregonians this election cycle? Discuss the past year and the four years ahead with Basic Rights Oregon. 

MUSIC

Mike Krol's Halloween Deadstream Past Event Like List
LA power popper Mike Kroll will spook your boots with his Julian Casablancas-esque voice a couple days before Halloween. 

Okkervil River Past Event Like List
"If you read the word 'genius' enough times in the bevy of glorious praise thrust at Okkervil River songwriter/singer Will Sheff, you might actually believe it to be true. Granted, it's a tag that wields much heft—in addition to unrealistically lofty expectations and a songwriting bar set to Dylanesque heights—but with Sheff, the word just seems to fit. Will Sheff, songwriting genius," reads an old Mercury review by Ezra Ace Caraeff. Join the band for a live broadcast.

READINGS & TALKS

Andrés Neuman & Fernanda Melchor Past Event Like List
Prize-winning authors Andrés Neuman and Fernanda Melchor will read from their new books, Fracture and Hurricane Season, respectively. 

See Also: Multi-Day Events

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FRIDAY

HALLOWEEN

The Mount Online Ghost Tours Past Event Like List
The Berkshires of Lenox, Massachusetts are home to noted American author Edith Wharton's former estate, which was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971 and is apparently crawling with ghosts. This online tour will lead you through its darkened halls, including areas that are off-limits for in-person tours.

MUSIC

Hawthorne Heights Virtual Tour Past Event Like List
Mood out to emo rock with Ohio-bred rock quintet Hawthorne Heights.

Madame Duvall's Pandemonic Ball Past Event Like List
Local band the Shivas, Plastic Cactus, Dirty Princess, and Box (plus a secret celeb guest) will give you a reason to put on a costume and dance in your living room at this Holocene show. 

READINGS & TALKS

Reading: Lois Ruskai Melina with Paulann Petersen Past Event Like List
Annie Bloom's Books will welcome Portland author Lois Ruskai Melina for an online reading from her new book, The Grammar of Untold Stories. She'll be joined in conversation by local poet Paulann Petersen.

THEATER & PERFORMANCE

Spectral Transmissions: A Ghost Story Radio Show with Hosts Donal Mosher and Mike Palmieri Past Event Like List
With original music and vintage audio and TV clips, this radio program will send chills down your spine with tales of ghostly creatures, with an intro from Northwest documentarians Mike Palmieri and Donal Mosher. 

See Also: Multi-Day Events

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SATURDAY

FILM

Slay Past Event Like List
From the freaks who brought you the HUMP! and SPLIFF Film Festivals comes something new, fun, and totally terrifying: SLAY! SLAY calls for filmmakers to send in homemade short horror films—eight minutes or less—capturing what scares them most. From classic ghost stories and slasher films to dystopian cults and political nightmares, SLAY dares you to show us your darkest fears. We know reality is scarier than fiction right now. Let’s purge our fears together. WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY

MUSIC

10th Annual Bollywood Thriller - A Virtual Halloween Costume Party
Past Event Like List Michael Jackson meets Mumbai at this virtual Bollywood-inspired Halloween mashup dance party. Learn the choreographed dance moves in advance at choreographer and DJ Prashant's weekly Wednesday dance classes, don a costume if you like, and dance the night away on Zoom.

Animal Collective Past Event Like List
After a welcome set from Geologist, a screening of the 2010 visual album ODDSAC, cast and crew interviews, and DJ sets by Avey Tare, Deakin, and Panda Bear, enjoy a live, on-demand concert from Animal Collective. 

Concert to Support Oregon Fire Victims Past Event Like List
Artichoke Music will host a Facebook Live concert with Tom May, Dan Weber with Michael Henchman, and Pretty Gritty to support those impacted by the devastating Oregon fires. 

Flying Lotus x Brainfeeder Halloween Special Past Event Like List
LA rapper/DJ Flying Lotus will round up artists from his record label Brainfeeder for a night Halloween chills and spoopy psychedelic beats. 

Halloween at the Bronze: Buffy the Vampire Slayer VIRTUAL Tribute Event Past Event Like List
Sharpen your stake and join the Bronze on Halloween for a night of covers from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer soundtrack, plus more spooky jams from DJ Colin Jones. 

See Also: Multi-Day Events

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SUNDAY

READINGS & TALKS

Eduardo Halfon, Chloe Aridjis, & Andrés Neuman Past Event Like List
Hear how Eduardo Halfon, Chloe Aridjis, and Andrés Neuman have been coping with the ongoing COVID crisis and channeling that energy into art at this Powell's presentation of their book And We Came Outside and Saw the Stars Again: Writers from Around the World on the Covid-19 Pandemic. 

MULTI-DAY

FESTIVALS

Vulture Festival Past Event Like List
The New York Magazine affiliate Vulture will hold its annual pop-culture extravaganza "curated with the mind of a critic and the heart of a fan" online this year, promising a full week of live virtual events and special content including cast reunions, table reads, and conversations with your favorite creators like Whoopie Goldberg, the boys of New Girl, and Rachel Bloom.
(Monday-Friday)

FILM

BloodyVox: Lockdown Past Event Like List
BodyVox, a local dance school led by Emmy Award-winning choreographers Jamey Hampton and Ashley Roland, made a film "immersive cinematic experience" based on their stage show BloodyVox. A collaboration with Northwest filmmaker Robert Uehlin, the Halloween-y project is inspired by The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Moulin Rouge, The Blair Witch Project, and Chicago. 
(Monday-Saturday)

The Fungi Film Festival Past Event Like List
As far as we know, this is the world's first short film festival dedicated to the mushrooms, lichens, and microfungi of the Pacific Northwest. Premiering during the peak of mushroom-foraging season, the first night of the festival will also feature an event with mushroom growers, artists, and mycologists livestreamed from McCoy's Portland-based mushroom farm. 
(Monday-Friday)

Portland Latin American Film Festival XIV Past Event Like List
The Hollywood Theater is moving the Portland Latin American Film Festival online, which is bittersweet. Bitter: Everyone loves a big screen, especially at this historic gem. Sweet: You'll have a full 48 hours to watch a film once you hit play. From September to November, the festival will present six movies from Argentina, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, Switzerland, and Belgium that celebrate and honor the cultural diversity of Latin America. The upcoming film is Maria Novaro's Tesoros, about a child's journey to find a long-lost pirate loot left behind by Francis Drake centuries ago on Mexico’s Pacific coast. 
(All week)

MUSIC

Be About Love Festival Past Event Like List
Blackfish Gallery features genre-spanning musical acts on YouTube every Friday in October, along with interviews with artists featured in the gallery's current exhibition every Wednesday on Facebook Live. 
(Wednesday & Friday)

PODCAST

Vinegar Tom by Caryl Churchill: A Podcast Past Event Like List
Portland's Theatre Company is bringing Caryl Churchill’s modern critique of 17th-century femme witchiness to your home to kick off their inaugural season. They recommend that you "turn off your screens, make a pot of soup, turn up the volume, and take down the patriarchy." 
(Friday-Sunday)

THEATER & PERFORMANCE

Le Chat Noir Moderne's The Tower of Terror Past Event Like List
This Experience Theater Project production, written by its Artistic Director Alisa Stewart, is an interactive story that allows views to choose their own adventure in a haunted setting. 
(Friday-Saturday)

OBT Act I: Wish List Past Event Like List
The Oregon Ballet Theater had to cancel its in-person events for the season, but they'll stream performances—like the solo showcase Wish List—online.
(Thursday-Sunday)