Spooky pets and tasty bites: October fun arrives in the Seattle area this weekend

We are really getting into the spirit of fall now that we have officially hit October, and that means there are lots of spooky season events happening this weekend and throughout the month!

At Fishermen’s Terminal in Interbay, you’ll find the Fishermen’s Fall Festival, which is a family-friendly event with tons of activities like face painting, shell and balloon art, wooden boat building, a bouncy house, plus contests like the Survival Suit Race, a main stage with a day full of live performances, tours of the Ship Canal, and plenty of food and drinks to check out. This free, educational event is Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Costumed pets, Oktoberfest celebrations, and $6 bites await this weekend

Break out your best pet costumes and head to Volunteer Park on Sunday for the Halloween Pet Parade. This is a free event, and in addition to a bunch of pets dressed up in their best costumes, there will also be food and vendor booths to check out, costume contests, and of course a parade. The Halloween Pet Parade is Sunday at 11 a.m.

Oktoberfest celebrations continue. This weekend is the kickoff of Leavenworth Oktoberfest, complete with three stages of live music, plenty of vendors, German food and drinks, Oktoberfest contests, and so much more. Leavenworth Oktoberfest runs the next three weekends. In Burien, there is a 5K and 1K fun run called the Brat Trot, and after that there will be games and activities for you and the kids, live entertainment, and of course local beer. For those under 21, there will even be a root beer garden! Town Square Park will be the venue for the Brat Trot and Oktoberfest, which is Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Try a new restaurant, or a couple of new restaurants, in the U District this weekend during the U District Chow Down and Street Party. Seventy businesses will be participating in this event, serving up bites for $6, giving you plenty of opportunities to find a new favorite spot. University Way NE will be going car free for the event, and there will be live music until 6 p.m. You can also play Hungry Dawg Hunt Bingo, which will have you exploring the U District, snapping selfies at different locations, all for a chance to win a prize. The U District Chow Down and Street Party is Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Greek eats, sports and vintage finds round out the weekend

The three-day Seattle Greek Festival returns this weekend with three days of delicious Greek food, tons of live music and dancing, plenty of shopping to do from vendors, and of course tours of St. Demetrios Church. The Seattle Greek Festival is free to attend and is located at Saint Demetrios.

Sunday is a big day for Seattle sports, and downtown will be bumping as the Seattle Kraken are back in action with the 2026-2027 home opener against the Calgary Flames. Puck drop will be at 5 p.m. The Seattle Seahawks are taking on the Los Angeles Chargers Sunday at Lumen Field. Kickoff is at 1:25 p.m. On Friday, the Seattle Reign take on the North Carolina Courage at Lumen Field. The match starts at 7 p.m.

Here’s an event sent by a listener! If you are always on the lookout for cool vintage finds, head on over to Ballard this weekend for the Ballard Vintage and Secondhand Crawl. This is the debut of this event and will bring three days of discounts and specials at 10 vintage and secondhand shops, plus four Ballard bars and cafes will be participating, so you’ve got food and drinks covered there. You’ll need to pick up your crawl passport to make sure you get deals from all the participating locations, and you can pick up those passports at Thread Hunter or Simple and Just. The Ballard Vintage and Secondhand Crawl starts today and runs through Sunday.

Don’t let weekends with good weather pass you by as we roll on through the fall. It’ll be wet, cold, and dark before you know it! As always, if you know of cool things going on, let me know at paulh@kiroradio.com.