Getting a little old to trick-or-treat for recycled candy corn this Halloween? Looking for something fun to do for Halloween that doesn't necessarily involve fishnet tights or aerosol-spray hair color?
Buffalo has an assortment of festivities going on this weekend such as costume contests, concerts, and other events.
For those looking for Halloween bashes full of music, concerts are plentiful this weekend. On Friday, there will be a Halloween bash featuring Gravity Machine, Floozie, A New Low, and Pale Face at Malibu Night Club. Admission is $6 and show time is 10 p.m. The Mohawk Place will be holding their Halloween Craptacular on Friday at 10 p.m. including Mommy Super High, the Transonics, and the Franks. Admission is $5.
On Saturday, the Hard Rock Caf?(c) will host their "Dead Rockster Halloween Party" featuring the angry rock of Ours, a free show at 9 p.m. "Death Fest 5" will be held at Xtreme Wheels with hardcore bands such as Boss Tribal, the Code, Switch 86, Bloodjinn, and From This Day at 6 p.m. for $8 admission. The Continental will host "Dead by Dawn," a music festival with Veil, Mad Yellow Sun, As Summer Dies, Darkling, and Netwerk DJs on the bill Saturday; the show is $5 admission at 10 pm.
Also on Saturday, Refer to Manual, Ghostrunner, Da' Loris, the Mind Automatic, and the Gaia Tribe Bellydancers will be featured at Nietzsche's at 10 p.m. for $5 admission. The Mohawk Place will be showcasing a variety of cover bands on Saturday night including the Irving Klaws (the Violent Femmes), Girlpope (Slade), Semi-Tough (the Replacements), and It Crawled from the South (REM); the show starts at 10 p.m. Palmeri's Day and Night Club will be hosting their third annual Halloween show featuring Canto V, Heather Mere, and Dead Even & Shenoah at 6 p.m. for $6.
If those fishnet tights are too tempting, there are still costume contests happening all over the city.
At Soundlab, there will be a Halloween costume benefit ball for CEPA at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday with music from the Vores, Barrel Harbor, the Date, and Mark Webb and horror movies by Gayle Gorman; admission is $5 with costume, $10 without. The Crocodile Bar will be holding a costume contest Saturday at 10 p.m. with a first prize of $500. Also on Saturday, the Cozumel Grill and Tequila Bar will hold a costume party at 7 p.m. with music by the Poor Boys and DJ Trimmer; all donations benefit Roswell Park. "Hell Night" will be held at O Restaurant and Lounge on Saturday at 10 p.m.; first prize in the costume contest is $500 and DJ Ding will be spinning tunes.
For the old-fashioned crowd, there will be a harvest festival at Bidwell Farmer's Market Saturday on Bidwell Parkway near Elmwood from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m.; festivities include pony rides, a petting zoo, and hayrides. The Buffalo Zoo is also offering hayrides from 5:30 until 8:30 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday.
The Extreme Emporium's grand opening will be held at 5150 Broadway on Saturday, showcasing "darkly decorative duds and d?(c)cor." The Halloween sale will have items such as gothic apparel, incense, candles, tapestries, and gifts. In addition, Nietzsche's will hold their Artist Response Movement Halloween celebration Sunday at 11 p.m.
Haunted houses will be in full swing this weekend, too. In Hamburg across from the Erie County Fairgrounds, there will be hayrides beginning at 7 p.m. both Friday and Saturday for $10 a person. At the same location, there are the "Barns of Doom" haunted houses for $10 admission. The Lockport Haunted Cave offers a spooky adventure for $9.25 admission at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
No matter what the taste, Buffalo has plenty for a spectacular Halloween weekend.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
