Welcome to Event Horizon, your weekly roundup of the best events in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and beyond.
MONDAY 10.27
Madi Diaz
7th St Entry
I know, sad songs say so much, but there are also so many of them, and so many lovely voices singing them. So why did Diaz’s latest album, Fatal Optimist, click with me during a recent nighttime drive through western Minnesota? It’s a breakup album rooted in the end of her relationship with Teddy Geiger, and a well-observed one at that, adding “I wanna be someone who doesn’t know your middle name” and “Some ‘I’m sorry’s’ are so selfish” to the big book of heartbreak. And it doesn’t settle for anger or sullenness, but passes through multiple moods. Diaz’s voice hurts in such a resonant way for me, I may just revisit her past albums. OK, maybe not all six of them. With Clover County. 18+. $22. 8 p.m. 701 N. First Ave., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Keith Harris
WEDNESDAY 10.29
The Color of Pomegranates
Macalester College
“One of cinema’s most enigmatic meditations on art and beauty,” as the aesthetes at Criterion call Sergei Parajanov’s masterpiece, may not be for everyone. It certainly was not for the Soviet culture commissars of the ’60s, who blocked its distribution. But if it is for you it is for you. Parajanov was an Armenian born in Georgia who became a Ukrainian nationalist, and if you caught his beautifully folkloric Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors at the Trylon a couple weeks ago—well, sorry, but that relatively straightforward film won’t prepare you at all for The Color of Pomegranates. This meditative, poetic study of the Armenian poet Sayat-Nova demands to be seen on a big screen. And by the time I finish this blurb, I will never again forget how to spell pomogranites. I mean, pomagranates. I mean, pom—aw, forget it. Free. 7 p.m. John B. Davis Lecture Hall, Campus Center, Macalester College, 1600 Grand Ave., St. Paul; find more info here (scroll down).—Keith Harris
THURSDAY 10.30
Last Call: Twin Cities Horror Festival XIV
Crane Theatre
Horror live and onstage? You betcha! Watching gruesome tales unfold can be pretty scary when you’re sitting a few feet away from the blood and carnage. As always, TC Horror Fest offers a variety of chills and freakouts, from gore-soaked massacres to subtle ideas that will haunt you for days. Expect a sampling of creeps both local and visiting; participants include Four Humors Theater, Dangerous Productions, Hot Chocolate Media, and Melancholics Anonymous. Productions include Terms, a “horror play about insurance”; The Last Menagerie, a zombie take on the classic work; and Gudling, which follows a man attempting to give his family the best Christmas ever—even as an ancient demon awakens to fuck with space and time. 2303 Kennedy St. NE, Minneapolis; find tickets and the complete schedule at tchorrorfestival.com. Through October 30–Jessica Armbruster
Count Spookula
7th St Entry
There I was, biking to Duck Duck Coffee on a glorious Sunday autumn afternoon, and what should I behold but a sidewalk crammed with becostumed kids, their amused parents, and other gawkers, many of their foreheads anointed with bloooood from an unholy chalice. In the bed of a pickup, Count Spookula, a wiry black-clad man with a jack-o’-lantern face, regaled us with pre-recorded tunes about bats, monsters, and falling in love with spiders. It was the least spooky context imaginable, yet it was perfect. Tonight’s “ritual,” as the Count refers to his shows, won’t have toddlers dressed as Spider-Man or Matilda bouncing around, but you’ll have a good time regardless. Boo! Or mwahahahaha, as the case may be. The bill is rounded out by seasonally appropriate supporting acts King Sized Coffin, BIG DELICIOUS, and Unattractive Giant Monster. 18+. $12. 8 p.m. 701 N. First Ave., Minneapolis; more info here.—Keith Harris
Lowertown Terror
CHS Field
“In the late 1920s and early ’30s, St. Paul earned a chilling nickname: Crooks’ Haven,” the organizers of Lowertown Terror write. “The city became a sanctuary for outlaws, bootleggers, and bank robbers who found safe passage under the protection of crooked politicians. But while the law may have looked the other way… death did not.” (In 2025, this sounds more like a dream come true than a nightmare.) This week is your last chance to check out Lowertown Terror at CHS Field, where you’ll get a “hair-raising” tour of the tunnels beneath the ballpark. Ages 12 and up. $23.48. Doors open at 6 p.m. Thu.-Fri. 360 N. Broadway St., St. Paul; find more info here. Through October 31—Em Cassel
FRIDAY 10.31
Halloween Beer Parties
Various Breweries
This holiday, kids attempt to amass an epic candy collection, piece by piece. Meanwhile adults pick up a discounted bag of “fun size” bars from Cub, crack open a beer, and call it a day. But what if—hear me out here!—you add in a brewery party? Could be fun, right? For example, on Thursday there’s Indeed’s Halloween Flight Night, where candy and beer become one. This year, pints will riff on Skittles, Lemonheads, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and sour apple sweets. Casks & Candy at Insight on Friday will feature pumpkin carving, free candy, spooky movie trivia, and a screening of the ’90s Disney Channel classic Halloweentown, starring Debbie Reynolds (aka Princess Leia’s mom). BoO-tepils Night Market will be taking over Utepils this weekend (Fri.-Sat.) with kooky vendors, horror movies, scary tunes, and uh, hopefully not terrifying special beer releases. All of these events are free and costumes are very optional. Stay tuned for Freeloader Friday this week, which will have even more chill(ing?) Halloween options (and a few not-so-lowkey happenings).—Jessica Armbruster
SATURDAY 11.1
Artistic ReUse-A-Thon
The Flux Arts Building
Trash will be transformed at the Flux this weekend. Some of it will become art, some will become functional items, and some will even become functional art. For “Mystery Trash Remix” exhibition, 20 local artists were invited to pick up a garbage bin filled with single-use plastics and other regrettables destined for the landfill. Their task: Turn it into something special, using every single item—including the container. You can check out the resulting sculptures, wall hangings, and displays this Saturday. Be sure to vote for your favorite; the “People’s Choice” winner takes home a $500 prize. Guests will also be invited to turn trash into treasure (or at least something more useful) via a handful of workshops throughout the day. There are opportunities for jewelry-, wallet-, and toy-making, or you can grab a discarded item and re-paint it into something pretty. There will also be an art swap, where you can drop off unused supplies—paper, frames, paints, yarn, etc.—before the event and shop Saturday for something to take home that you can use. Free. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 2505 NE Howard St., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Jessica Armbruster
Festival de las Calaveras
The Hook and Ladder Theater & Lounge
The 13th-annual Festival de las Calaveras has a little bit of everything for just about everyone. There’ll be live music on two stages. There’ll be tons of Twin Cities artists selling and showing off their wares. And you’ll also see low riders, lucha libre, puppets, art bikes, and food trucks. What more could you want? Did I hear “incredible face painting?” They’ll have it, courtesy of the Catrina Face Paint Crew. This is probably the biggest and most well-rounded Día de los Muertos celebration in the Twin Cities, so get those tickets early and get ready for a full day of fun. All ages. $14.23; $7 youth and seniors; kids under 4 are free. 3 p.m. 3010 Minnehaha Ave, Minneapolis; find more info here.—Em Cassel
John Waters
Parkway Theater
It’s fall, and that means it’s once more time for John Waters to pop in at the Parkway. Though it’s customary shorthand to refer to Waters as a filmmaker, and that is how he made his name—whether honing a subversive strain of underground excess or smuggling his camp sensibility into the cineplex—he’s really an multimedia impresario of well-honed bad taste. And at 79, he’s keeping plenty busy, not just touring but releasing an audiobook where he voices all the characters from his early movies. As his frequent visits suggest, he’s a fan of Minneapolis—but not our biggest tourist attraction. “Nothing against it. But I’m scared of malls,” he told Derek Murawski-Harguth of the Twin Cities Queer Scene last year. “Other people are scared to go in bad neighborhoods. I’m scared of malls.” Even Waters has his limits. $69-$129. 7 p.m. With DJ Jake Rudh. 4814 Chicago Ave., Minneapolis; find more info here.—Keith Harris
A Trip Around the Sun 11
Insight Brewing
A party at a brewery that’s not Halloween-themed? Yeah, those exist this weekend too. Take this b-day party, for example, where Insight will turn its parking lot into a mini fest. Cover bands Pleezer and Private Oates will play earlier in the day, with geek rapper Nur-D performing around dinnertime, and synth rockers GUYTANO playing into the night. Special beer releases will be available, as will on-site tattooing. Uh, but don’t go for both of those at the same time. $5. 1-10 p.m. 2821 E. Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis.—Jessica Armbruster
ONGOING
“Dyani White Hawk: Love Language”
Walker Art Center
Wisconsin-born Minnesota resident Dyani White Hawk gets a major survey covering 15 years of work at the Walker Art Center this fall. Mostly working in abstraction, she explores her Lakota and European heritage using a variety of media. For “Love Language,” White Hawk’s work will be arranged in four sections, starting with paintings and quill- and beadwork, shifting to video installations featuring Indigenous languages and large-scale photography, and concluding with recent and new works of glass mosaics and beaded sculpture. 725 Vineland Place, Minneapolis; walkerart.org. Through February 15—Jessica Armbruster
