This week finds us even closer to Halloween, and there are several spooky events sprinkled in among the book festivals and other cool things for you to get into around the Mountain State and a few points beyond. In fact, it seems like a lot of folks are jumping the gun and getting their Halloween parties out of the way a week and a half early.  As I have been doing of late, this a good time to remind you that THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST OF EVENTS.  It’s just a starting point, so don’t expect anything comprehensive, and if you feel strongly about me leaving anything out, feel free to mention it in the comments.

ArtWalk happens in Downtown Charleston Thursday, October 19 from 5 PM to 8 PM, and as part of that they’ll be unveiling the new ART BUS at Slack Plaza at 5 PM.

This weekend at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center get ready for the annual West Virginia Book Festival.  Here’s the graphic below, and you can find all the details about it HERE.

Live Music is back at Taylor Books. There is no cover charge, and shows start at 7:30 PM.  Friday Chet Lowther takes the stage. Saturday Swingstein and Robin performs, along with Stefan Cotterat the beloved bookstore/cafe/art gallery.

The World Famous Empty Glass Cafe has some great stuff this week  to tell you about.  Thursday at 5:30 PM, Swingstein and Robin return with Swing for a good cause. Friday Tim Courts plays during happy hour.  Friday at 10 PM The Scott Bane Quartet return to The Empty Glass. We have graphics below for the rest of the weekend shows at The Glass.

Please remember that the pandemic is not over yet. It’s still a going concern with the ‘rona surging again. And now there are seasonal allergies, the flu, Peruvian marching toads, stinky leaf peepers, gestacular mondamenments and other damned good reasons to be careful. Many people who have very good reasons are still wearing masks, and many of us, understandably, are still nervous about being in crowds, masked or not. Be kind and understanding  while you’re out.

Keep in mind that all shows are subject to change or be cancelled at the last minute.

If you’re up for going out, here are a few suggestions for the weekend, roughly in order, after the jump…