What is it about October that makes it feel so fun and eventful?
Is it the spooky vibes? The seasonal drinks and pastries? The Halloween decorations everywhere? The change of the seasons? Or maybe that feeling of, “Wait, the year is almost over, but we still have a few months left”? Honestly, I think it’s all the above. October has always felt like a fresh start to me. It’s the beginning of the end of the year, but it’s also a month where everyone seems to have a little more fun. Halloween brings out the creative side of people, whether that means decorating your house, dressing up, watching Halloween movies, visiting pumpkin patches, or simply enjoying all the seasonal food and drinks. Of course, living in the San Fernando Valley means our version of fall can look a little different. We don’t always get that classic fall weather that other parts of the country experience. We don’t necessarily have colorful leaves falling everywhere or crisp, chilly mornings. Sometimes October in the Valley feels more like summer decided it wasn’t quite ready to leave yet. And this year? We’re definitely feeling that. We’re starting October with a pretty crazy heat wave, which is honestly very on-brand for Southern California. Somehow, we’re hotter than Arizona and Nevada right now. How does that even happen?! Thankfully, the heat is supposed to break later this week, and we’re even expecting some rain by the weekend. Because apparently the Valley likes to give us every season in the span of a few days. But even without the traditional fall weather, October still feels like October here.
My relationship with spooky season
I’m probably about 50/50 when it comes to spooky season. I love the fun parts of Halloween the decorations, costumes, lights, pumpkins, black cats, bats, skeletons, ghosts, witches, vampires and all the creativity that comes with it. I love seeing how much effort people put into decorating their homes, too. Some people go ALL out, while others put up a couple of decorations and call it a day. I’m somewhere in the middle. When it comes to scary movies, though, that’s where I draw the line a little. I’ve never been a huge horror movie person. I’m not really into the movies that are constantly trying to make you jump out of your seat. The Exorcist, Scream, and Chucky were never really my thing. I don’t think I’ve ever been much of a dark, scary-movie person. That said, getting older has made me appreciate Halloween a little more. I can appreciate the creativity and the nostalgia behind some of these movies, shows and traditions, even if I don’t necessarily want to watch the scariest ones. I’m much more of an Addams Family kind of Halloween girl. And honestly, that’s probably why something like Halloween Horror Nights is interesting to me. I may not have seen every movie or TV show represented in the mazes, but I’m familiar with a lot of them because they’ve become such a huge part of Halloween culture.
October in the Valley
One of my favorite things about October in the San Fernando Valley is that there’s just so much happening. It’s not all about Halloween parties and scary movies. We have pumpkin patches, fall events, Oktoberfests, family activities, local festivals and plenty of little things to get you into the season. One local tradition I always think about is the pumpkin patch at Los Angeles Pierce College in Woodland Hills. It runs throughout October and eventually transitions into a Christmas tree lot later in the year. I love little traditions like that because they make the seasons feel more real — even when it’s 90 degrees outside. Last year, Halloween felt especially exciting for me because we had just moved out on our own for the first time. This year, we’re still enjoying the season, but life is definitely a little busier… And Halloween falls on a Saturday this year! You already know that’s going to make things even crazier. Last year it fell on a Friday, which was pretty perfect too. I swear, when holidays like Halloween land on a Friday or Saturday, everyone just seems ready to have a good time.
Give me all the fall flavors
And then we have one of the best parts of fall: The food and drinks. Pumpkin spice. Apple. Caramel. Pecan. Cinnamon. All the cozy flavors start showing up everywhere. I’m personally a huge fan of pumpkin, apple and caramel. Give me a good pumpkin spice latte and I’m happy. I don’t necessarily need everything to be pumpkin spice, but I definitely understand why people go crazy for it. Fall really does seem to have some of the best seasonal flavors. Pumpkin usually feels like a September-through-November flavor, especially because of Thanksgiving. But apple, caramel, cinnamon and some of the other fall flavors could easily carry into December in my opinion. Yes, Christmas has peppermint, gingerbread and all those holiday flavors, but there’s just something about fall flavors that people really love. Maybe it’s because they represent the transition into the holiday season.
Fall without the fall weather
That’s really what I love about October in the Valley. Even though our weather doesn’t always cooperate, we still find ways to celebrate the season. We may not have a cold, traditional fall, but we have pumpkin patches, Halloween decorations, seasonal drinks, local events, sunsets, palm trees and that unmistakable Southern California version of autumn. By December, we’re usually feeling a little more of that winter weather, but October and November can really go either way. One day you can be wearing shorts in 90-degree weather, and the next you’re wondering if you need a jacket because it’s suddenly 60 degrees. And now we’re heading into an El Niño year, so I’m curious to see what kind of weather the rest of the season brings us. Maybe I’ll finally get some good rainy Valley days to photograph. And hopefully, by then, I’ll be getting paid to write about them instead of heading off to my day job.
So, what is it about October?
Maybe it’s the Halloween decorations. Maybe it’s the pumpkin patches. Maybe it’s the seasonal drinks and pastries. Maybe it’s the movies, costumes and events. Maybe it’s simply the feeling that we’re entering the final stretch of the year. For me, it’s probably a little bit of everything. October is fun, creative, nostalgic and just a little bit spooky. And even though the San Fernando Valley doesn’t always look like fall, we definitely know how to celebrate it. So, Happy Spooky Season, Valley Gurls! 🎃🌴 If you love fall, tell me what’s your favorite thing about October? I want to get to know my audience a little better. 🩵
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