Halloween is, obviously, right around the corner! Sometimes my biggest annoyance with myself (on making plans in general) is waiting last minute and finding out the event that’s been on my mind is sold out; I simply forgot to buy tickets.

I learned the hard way, especially in Houston, if there’s something you have any inkling of desire to attend, it’s better to just buy tickets and figure it out later, than to have FOMO.

Choose your own Halloween night adventure…

Victoria Monét: Frequency of Love Tour at 713 Music Hall
The Grammy-winning R&B star will be spending her Halloween in Houston performing her latest album. A concert on Halloween isn’t a bad idea tbh. $50 and up.

Montrose Masquerade at Hotel Saint Augustine
A surrealist Halloween masquerade with DJ Mikey Hayden. 21+. $35.

Montuno Social Club at Around the Corner
Get your salsa on for Halloween night. Beginner-friendly lesson starts at 8:30pm, then all-vinyl salsa with live percussion until close. Costumes welcome! $20.

Spirits & Skeletons at HMNS
A crowd-pleasing favorite, you can’t go wrong with Halloween party at the museum with DJs, a Sinners screening and Thriller karaoke in the planetarium. $70 and up.

Nights Like This: Halloween at Crybaby
Night Like This is back! And they’re making a strong return with what looks like will be a fun, dance-y Halloween night. Bass, Jersey club, baile funk and bounce all night at Crybaby (new club?), plus an extra hour when the clocks fall back. $10 and up.

Go at your own risk! YMMV (your mileage may vary):

POST Apocalypse at POST Houston
Ok here’s the deal: we went to this 3 years ago and it was a major flop but we were mainly disappointed because we saw so much potential! Maybe they learned their lessons and it’ll be better this year? A Halloween “rave” with lasers, a $2,000 costume contest, and a bonus hour when the clocks fall back. $30 and up.

— Kathrina Maribao

Art on the ballots! VP Wright says Houston creatives can’t skip the November 3 midterms, because arts funding runs through the ballot. Congress decides the NEA budget (held at $207M), the Legislature and governor set state arts money and the hotel-tax rules, and Prop A tackles policing. Early voting runs October 19–30. The Forward Times

Indoor alien landscapes? 👽 Texas A&M’s $200M Space Institute is building the world’s largest indoor moon (plus a football-field Mars, linked by a tunnel called the Wormhole) next to Johnson Space Center. Texas Monthly

The “Kirby Krew” is not okay. Googly-eyed Kirby, Houston’s viral baby elephant, is leaving the zoo, but she’s traveling with mom Shanti and sister Joy. It’s part of a national conservation program, though the zoo hasn’t said when or where. Visit the McNair Asian Elephant Habitat while you can! Houston Chronicle

This week’s Friday night plans are on Kinetic Ensemble! That means 5 readers will receive 2 tickets to their live performance show, Mosiacs. All you have to do is click on this link and you’ll be entered to win.

Winners will be randomly selected and emailed tomorrow morning.

On Friday, October 23, Kinetic Ensemble presents a moving program curated in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month that draws on themes of collective grief and the power of community.

Want to collab on a future issue and treat readers to experience on you? Hit reply.

All weekend

Thursday, 10/22

5:30pm-7:30pm, Art | Big Dome, Bigger Dreams opening at Architecture Center Houston. The rise, glory and uncertain future of the Astrodome. Free.

6:30pm, Poetry | Sunset Poetry with Undercurrents: Roberto Tejada at The Water Works, Buffalo Bayou Park. A sunset reading, then a trip into the Cistern. $15.

7pm, Talk | Meet the Composer with Kinetic Ensemble at Archway Gallery. Free with RSVP.

7pm-9pm, Crafts | DIY Oil Pastel Portraits with Craft Club HTX at Paper Co Cafe. $5, free for food and bev workers. Sold Out. Join the waitlist.

9:45pm, Film | Jennifer’s Body (2009) at Rooftop Cinema Club. $20 and up.