17th Annual Richmond Zombie Walk in Carytown, Saturday, Oct. 29
Oh, does Richmond ever love the living dead. And the Zombie walk is their premiere throwdown of the year. It’s like their Grammys, Oscars, and Emmys all crammed into a blender with some corn syrup and red food coloring. Hordes of bloody local zombies get all gussied up and grunt and stagger through Carytown to the cheers and cellphone snaps of onlookers. Runs 1 to 5 p.m. (though the walk will begin in front of the Byrd Theatre around 2:30 p.m.) For more information, and the meet-up place and time for participants, go to richmondzombiewalk.com.
Harvest Fest at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Saturday, Oct. 29
Looking for an outdoor autumn festival vibe that is family friendly? Then bring your crew to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden for food, drink, a local maker’s market, fall photo booth, carving of pumpkins and apples, plus there’s plenty of live music, too. Hear tunes in the Children’s Garden from Markiss Blowfish, a Richmond school bus driver, Army veteran, and father of three kids, who performs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Also, The Slack Family Bluegrass Band plays from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Bloemendaal House, while jazz band The Sweet Potatoes keeps it going from 5 to 8 p.m. The whole fest runs from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Admission is included with regular admission. Rain or shine. Visit lewisginter.org for more.
Richmond Symphony presents Danny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton at Altria Theater on Saturday, Oct. 29
Old school fans know him as the lead singer from Oingo Boingo, but composer Danny Elfman is far more widely known for the fun, spine-tickling music he has created for movies by Tim Burton, such as “Beetlejuice,” “Edward Scissorhands” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” At this special Pops concert, the classic scenes will be projected above the Richmond Symphony orchestra on a giant screen, as Elfman’s scores are performed. Good way to get into the Halloween spirit. 8 p.m. For tickets, go here.
Gwar, Nekrogoblikon and Crobot at The National on Sunday, Oct. 30
You wanted the best? You got the best. Or maybe you don’t. But let’s face it, Gwar is one of the greatest musical exports and art collectives to ever belly crawl out of the psychic black hole of Richmond – not to mention the first band to put our insanely great metal scene on the international map. We’ve been writing about them for so long that it can be tough to think of new adjectives for their mutant space metal. Allow us a tip of the hat to a writer at Willamette Week in Portland who recently described them in a calendar pick as “like the mutant spawn of Orcs and monster trucks.” Not bad.
But the writer neglected to mention the band is still riding high after the release of COVID, a new documentary (“This is Gwar”), a graphic novel (“Gwar in the Duoverse of Absurdity”) and its 15th studio album, “The New Dark Ages.” Smart, shocking, stupid, subversive. It really doesn’t matter. Gwar encompasses all that we frail, pathetic humans can imagine in the realm of art – then sprays it right back in our faces. 7 p.m. All ages. Go here for tickets.
