Record Store Day, Formula 1, Dyke March, and More Event Recommendations

Austin Horror Film Festival

Thursday 17-Saturday 19, the Ballroom

Who doesn’t love a good scare? How about a few dozen of them, each terrifying and unique? That’s what the newly conjured Austin Horror Film Festival will be providing over three days and eight blocks of bloodcurdling shorts and features designed to shock, disgust, raise a smile, and more. Hey, who said horror could just be horrifying? So with horror hotter than ever at the box office, here’s your chance to see the fear wranglers of the future.   – Richard Whittaker

Flood of Spirits

Through October 29, Hillside Farmacy

As the waters of Hurricanes Helene and Milton subside, we are reminded more than ever how close to disaster we all are. Rebecca Maag’s powerful and immersive experimental theatrical experience Flood of Spirits connects us to an oft-forgotten disaster from Austin’s own history, the Great Flood of 1900, through a tale of spirits and spiritualism. Become part of the story as the line between actors and audience blurs, with Maag on hand to recount the lives and histories of the real people behind the drama.   – Richard Whittaker

POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive

Through November 3, Trinity Street Playhouse

Just in time for Election Day, Jarrott Productions shares a potent political reminder: Politicians are people, and people are stupid. In the world of POTUS, an unnamed male president has made a public gaffe, and it’s up to seven women on the White House staff to avert potential world war. It’s been compared to Veep or the best biting bits of Saturday Night Live, as the increasing stakes can’t help but be met with hard-headed hilarity. Listen, we’re all in need of levity in this trying time. And while the truth of our political situation is definitely stranger than fiction, join POTUS and remember that wise women can probably carry us through.   – Cat McCarrey

Christian Johnson

Thursday 17, Cap City Comedy

It’s less than a year since the perpetually upbeat Christian Johnson stopped by Austin’s premier comedy club. Yet while he’s become a fixture on the stand-up circuit you may know him best as Nathaniel, his online alter ego who is perpetually concerned by whatever it is you’re doing, especially in the kitchen, lord have mer-say! Luckily for you, both Christian and Nathaniel will both be around for the What’s Happenin’ Hea? tour.   – Richard Whittaker

Austin Ghoul Gang Movie & Music Night

Friday 18, Kick Butt Coffee

Taking place within a venue/coffeeshop whose vibes are, respectfully, supernaturally strange, Morbidly Beautiful contributor Alyssa Miller stages a terrifyingly good mashup of music and movie. Costumes encouraged, and ticket price in part benefitting We Luv Video, Friday’s lineup features metalsmiths Stitched Up, hardcore western-wear wielders Dead Horse Creek, gender-punk poets Snatchwitch, and No Culture, which plays “subatomic booty shakin’ music.” Stand for the tunes, but sit your butt down for the WNUF Halloween Special, a found-footage gem playing in the “haunted house local news segment” space complete with in-world dentist commercials offering cash to kids who toss their candy.   – James Scott

“Boner Bizarre Was an (Inside) Hand Job”

Friday 18, Come and Take It Live

Lately there seems to be an uptick in our Lone Gunmen population: serial conspiracists who see everyone as in on the con. Trustno1, as the ol’ Mulder password goes. Extreme erotic variety show Boner Bizarre harnesses all this obsessive energy to pull out their most vile show yet – asking the questions we’ve all been wondering. “Is Big Foot an alien? Is the Earth really flat? Does the COVID vaccine have 5G? Is God real? Is Elvis still alive? Is Big Boner watching you?!” Fire-swallowers, burlesque beauties, drag artists, pole dancers, and myriad more performers grace the stage to perform paranoia-inspired pieces. Grab your ticket ahead of time, or bring cashola to purchase one at the door.   – James Scott

Ghostwatch

Friday 18, Hyperreal Film Club

Britain turned on their television sets in 1992 to see a strange broadcast. Live on the BBC was a ghost sighting, presented with little denoting its fictional status. Calls flooded the station, with frightened and upset viewers demanding to know what the bloody hell was on their TVs. Simple answer? Ghostwatch, a mockumentary in the style of ye olde television specials that take place half in-studio and half on-the-ground. Our intrepid reporter Sara enters the home of Pamela Early, who claims along with her daughters to be haunted by a mysterious entity they call Pipes. What ensues will chill you to the bone and make you understand why those concerned citizens blew out the BBC switchboard. Heads up for a dash of transphobia, as nothing scares a certain type of Brit more than the idea of a trans woman.   – James Scott

APL After Dark: Superpowered

Friday 18, Central Library

We’re long past the days where adults needed to keep their love of superheroes under wraps – after all, comic books and their TV and movie spinoffs have been the dominant culture for most of this century – but that doesn’t mean we don’t long for a space where we can enjoy our fandom with other grownups. Enter APL After Dark, an after-hours, 21+ hang at Central Library. This month’s activities include a graphic novel tutorial from Ngozi Ukazu (Barda), Spidey-like acrobatics from aerialists Sky Candy, a make-your-own-superhero-mask station from Austin Creative Reuse, the Innovation Lab showing off how to stop-motion, Get It Games’ trivia, and more. All that and no underagers harshing our buzz? Kapow!   – Kimberley Jones

Real Ghosts: A Halloween Adventure

Friday 18 - Sunday 27, Austin Scottish Rite Theater

Want to put the “haunt” in “haunted house”? Original Austin Ghost Tours and Haunted Texas are bringing all their evidence of the Other Side to Austin’s most haunted theatre in a completely unique Halloween experience that will have you questioning whether there’s something beyond the veil.   – Richard Whittaker

Formula 1 Grand Prix

Friday 18 - Sunday 20, Circuit of the Americas

Is the face of Formula 1 going to change in Austin? For the past three years, F1 has been dominated by Max Verstappen, and no one else has come close. But somehow 24-year-old Brit Lando Norris in his McLaren-Mercedes has been steaming up on the unstoppable Belgian. After dominating September’s Singapore Grand Prix, he opened a seemingly impossible pathway to championship victory, and Austin could be the make-or-break race for the young racer. And if that’s not enough excitement to get you to COTA, how’s about after-race musical performances by Sting and Eminem?   – Richard Whittaker

Casper

Saturday 19 - Monday 21, Alamo Drafthouse Lakeline, Mueller, Slaughter Lane

When Seymour Reit and Joe Oriolo created Casper the Friendly Ghost in 1945, it’s safe to say that they were never thinking anyone would ask about his tragic backstory. It took 50 years for us to find out how 12-year-old Casper became a ghost and stayed so friendly when all the other ghouls are just out to frighten everyone. Luckily, 1995’s Casper made him everyone’s best pal, and the first ever fully CGI lead character.   – Richard Whittaker

Ghostbusters Movie Party

Friday 18 - Monday 21, Alamo Drafthouse Lakeline, Mueller, Slaughter Lane

Pull on your best boilersuit and break out your P.K.E. meter to hunt down the spookiest blockbuster of the Eighties. This isn’t just a screening of Ivan Reitman’s hilarious New York classic – it’s a party. And what’s a party without favors? So every ticket comes complete with Stay-Puft Marshmallows, slime, and your own proton pack – well, at least a glow necklace to wave whenever the ’busters do some bustin’.   – Richard Whittaker

Cat People

Saturday 19 - Sunday 20, Alamo Drafthouse Lakeline, Slaughter Lane, Village

The greatest lie about the movies is that you can’t make a great film without a big budget and an extraordinary script. In 1941, Jacques Tourneur was at the end of his commercial rope, having delivered flop after flop to MGM since he’d emigrated from France in 1934. The only gig he could get was churning out B-movie schedule fillers for RKO Studios, where he got stuck with a tiny budget and a script with an impossibly silly name. But what he delivered a year later was a psychosexual masterpiece that uses mood, shadow, and captivating performances to turn what could have been a forgettable monster flick into a landmark. Cinema doesn’t get eerier than Jane Randolph being pursued around an empty swimming pool.   – Richard Whittaker

Taste of Texas Hemp Cup

Saturday 19, The Far Out Lounge

Hemp will be putting its best foot forward at this competition and celebration of the gentleman’s herb – kidding, no one calls it that. Come out to taste, smell, and generally appreciate what local cultivators and artisans are creating and cooking up with weed’s second cousin (no one calls it that either, we know). While you wait to see who will take home the award for Best Hemp Flower in Texas there will be live music and vendors to keep you entertained and looking forward to the future of casual cannabis.   – James Renovitch

Dog Beard and Moustache Competition

Saturday 19, The Little Darlin’

The Austin Facial Hair Club is back at it with their K-9 beard contest bringing a day of tail-waggin’, hair-groomin’, raffle prizin’, and more – all benefiting Austin Pets Alive! No dog? No problem. Come watch for free. Got a dog, but dog’s got no beard? No fear. You can design one for your pup at the craft table. Up for grabs are awards for Best Groomed, Gnarliest Beard, Sweetest Stash, Freestyle, Old Timer, and Dog & Owner Look-A-Like. (You must match in appearance, style, and attitude.) Place your pooch in one or all categories, but be ready to bark up $5 for each entry. Advance sign-up is recommended. All four-legged contestants, owners, and onlookers are encouraged to stick around for the Best of Show finale where one top dog will rise above the pack.   – Amber Williams

“Elevate”

Through November 23, Ivester Contemporary

Visual texture does more than garner interest – it ignites the brain, allowing for overwhelming emotional reactions. Artist Anya Molyviatis is a master at creating exactly that with her exploratory weavings. According to the exhibit statement, the work is designed to transform “material and color into expressions of weightlessness.” Indeed, the woven panels typically work in one hue, or a slightly related color story, the variations in thread tone precisely placed to make the panels feel like a portal. Where do they go? That’s up to the viewer. Float along a blue wave into depths of sky or ocean. Enter into an orange and pink sunscape. Sink into the woven world of Molyviatis.   – Cat McCarrey

Panic at the Paramount: the “Fun Ones”

Saturday 19, Paramount Theatre

Real practitioners of the horror lifestyle know that the good stuff – the real human meat and potatoes, if you will – always lies deeper in a franchise’s guts. First movies, pfft. That’s for the normies. Cultured freaks appreciate a third or fourth film deep cut, and that’s what this quad-feature night celebrates. Four films, all late entry franchise players: Halloween III: Season of the Witch, The Return of the Living Dead, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. Cool guys who love to numb their butts in a theatre seat can get a $5 discount for buying tickets for all four films, but the more cautious among us can just nab a ticket for two.   – James Scott

“A Path of Impermanence: life along a highway expansion”

Through October 29, the Future Front House

Photographer Liz Moskowitz spent the last year – as we all have – driving through the guts and gore of TxDOT’s I-35 expansion. All along the frontage road are businesses bearing “we’re still open!” signs, while others are empty husks bearing their new location’s address – or have been leveled completely. (R.I.P. old Chron building and its many rat occupants.) In her new show opening this Saturday at Future Front House, Moskowitz collects half a year’s worth of photographs chronicling the expansion’s impact on the Austin community between Manor Road and 51st. This represents the beginning of a longer project wherein Moskowitz plans to develop the story of I-35 through the people who it impacts, both through her own research and audience contributions – all of which will be donated in its final form to Austin History Center.   – James Scott

Hysteria!

Saturday 19, ColdTowne Theater

Previously under the moniker “Whose Life Is It Anyway?” this comedy variety show skewers the Lone Star State’s backwards movement on reproductive rights. Carolyn Kelleher and Caroline Penca play hosts/producers/directors to a cast of comedic talent that includes such luminaries as Becca Andrews, Ricky Corragio, Rainny Daze, Kim Egner, Sandra Fountain, Judy Lee, Chelsee Lopez, Shannon Mullery, Martha Neil, and Kat Williams. Be there this Saturday, or be an aborted little cell clump!   – James Scott

Fifth Annual Doggy & Kitty Drag Show

Saturday 19, Paws on Chicon

Arf, arf, meow, meow, you know – pet noises! You’ll hear plenty of ’em at local pet retail shop Paws on Chicon this weekend, where they host their fifth edition of this pup strut competition. Dress up your pet in a cute costume and they’ll get walked down the runway by a local drag artist, with the best outfits winning gift baskets assembled by the event’s 50+ vendors. But it’s not just the fashion show that’ll wag your tail: There’ll be a live DJ, food, drinks, and sales throughout Paws. Can you say woof?   – James Scott

BrewtoberFest

Saturday 19, the Brewtorium

Raise a stein to the month that makes polka-lovers and hefeweizen-hopheads out of all of us. In fact, a stein-holding competition is one of the many enticements the Brewtorium offers at Saturday’s BrewtoberFest. But it doesn’t stop there: The lineup includes a German-forward menu (there’s a Dad joke about brat summer —-> bratwurst fall I can’t bring myself to make), live music, and house-brewed pours including Yes, Hef! Hefeweizen, Brewtoberfest Märzen, Schwarzengiggles Schwarzbier, Electric Lederhosen Vienna Lager, Das Day Drinker Munich Helles, and Just Add Polka Festbier. The festivity is free to attend, but do RSVP so they know you’re coming.   – Kimberley Jones

UT-Austin Football vs. University of Georgia

Saturday 19, Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium

The undefeated, top-ranked Longhorns host the No. 5 ranked Bulldogs in a blockbuster primetime matchup sure to impact playoff seeding come December. Texas started off a bit slow in quarterback Quinn Ewers’ return from injury last Saturday but eventually marched to a 34-3 drubbing of Oklahoma in the first SEC edition of the Red River Rivalry. Those looking for some early fun can freely get loud at 8am for ESPN’s lively Saturday morning program College GameDay, which heads to the University of Texas campus for the first time in two years. Texas opened as 3.5 point favorites.   – Derek Udensi

Lone Star Zine Fest

Saturday 19 - Sunday 20, Blue Genie

Biased alert! I am tabling at this event. But it’s me and like over 100 other local creators – zinesters who’ve been putting in mondo work to provide y’all with cool handmade creations in a massive variety of genres. Whether you’re a seasoned zine queen who never misses open hours at the Sherwood Forest Zine Library (Hi, Twister!!) or want to start enjoying the DIY arts, this meeting of many cool minds is the place to be. There’ll also be nonprofits on hand to chat with, the Austin Public Library tabling with their own zine collection, and plenty of stations where you can make your own zine creations. Yay for zines! Please come see me at booth 80!   – James Scott

ATX Theatre Halloween Costume & Thrift Sale

Saturday 19 - Sunday 20, Memorial United Methodist Church Gym

There are two ways you can approach your costume this year: 1) Go to a big box store or online behemoth and buy some plastic junk that’ll make you break out in hives before it arrives at its final destination in a landfill. 2) Give new life to costumes that once tread the boards at Austin Shakespeare, the Archive Theater, Salvage Vanguard Theater, Zilker Theatre Productions, and Concordia University’s Theatre Studies, and in the process kick some cash to nonprofit ATX Theatre, which connects Austin’s theatregoers with the great work happening on local stages. No contest, right? Note: There are mirrors but no dressing rooms on site, so wear an underlayer, people.   – Kimberley Jones

Wind in the Willows

Sunday 20 - Monday 21, Stateside Theatre

What makes a hero? When it comes to Austin Theatre Heroes, it comes from breathing incredible new life into classics of children’s literature. Their 2017 production of Call of the Wild was more than just Noel Gaulin recreating every character, whether four- or two-legged, against a stunning projected background of gigantic illustrations. It was a true journey into the wilds. Now Gaulin and company find the same thrills and wonders in Kenneth Grahame’s delightful tale of the English countryside, and how Mr. Toad learned to be his own kind of hero.   – Richard Whittaker

Dyke March

Sunday 20, Museum of Human Achievement & Cheer Up Charlies

“Me when I’m a dyke and I’m marching.” Is that anything? Nah, it’s not, but y’all know what’s up – Austin’s annual rally/march for the butch, the femme, and all those in between returns under new leadership. This year offers educational workshops that “directly engage with our community and provide valuable resources” as the key word here is “protest” rather than “party.” But don’t worry if you still wanna go hard with a bunch of lesbians: There’s an afterparty at Chups post-protest.   – James Scott

Coco Coquette’s 9th Annual Vintage Costume Yard Sale

Sunday 20, Coco Coquette

Coco Coquette, purveyor of Austin’s best wigs, is already a good place to go for a quality Hallloween costume. What’s more, each year they maximize their joint slay with other local creators to offer up a vintage costume yard sale, so you can find an outfit to go with that hair. Halloween is one of the most wasteful holidays, with pounds of plastic candy wrappers and cheap synthetic Amazon costumes filling up landfills each year. Instead of ordering a flimsy pirate fit woven from nurdles that will rot for centuries, why not invest in sick vintage pieces you could repurpose for future fits?   – Lina Fisher

SunGay: Death on the Beach

Sunday 20, We Luv Video

I was just espousing the joys of SunGay screenings to a friend. "They pick deep cuts!" I proclaimed. "It's not just But I’m a Cheerleader!" Not that there's anything wrong with that, but there's a huge queer film history to explore, y'all! Much in that deep-cut style, WLV chooses Nineties blood and gay guts for their upcoming collabo with local sexual health clinic ASHwell. Death on the Beach features hot guys, internalized homophobia, and lots of pool scenes – spicy! Take a dip in these choppy waters, and be the envy of all your Letterboxd followers.   – James Scott

---

Want to see all of our listings broken down by day? Go to austinchronicle.com/calendar and see what's happening now or in the coming week.