October Events For Myth Lovers
Virtual Events
From October 1 to the 3, The National Irish Science Fiction Convention takes place online.
On October 2, listen to a lecture about Octavia Butler.
On Monday October 4, have an online discussion about Death in the Death Cafe.
On October 5, listen to a lecture about Homer and the archeology of Crete.
From October 7 to 10, you can watch New York Comic Con online. It will happen in person too, but they already ran out of tickets, so you won’t be doing that unless you’d heard about this already.
From October 8-10, you can attend the Irish Discworld Convention online, a gathering of people who like Terry Pratchett’s Discworld book series.
On October 10, learn about the “Long Lost Lives Of Forgotten New Yorkers At Dead Horse Bay,” which got its name during a time when it was clogged periodically by carcasses from the glue factories nearby.
On October 12, have an online discussion with others about what you are reading (mythology of course, right?)
On October 12, discuss the short story Beware of the Dog by Roald Dahl, which is about an English soldier in WWII who experiences strange events after he loses his leg.
On October 12 attend an online freewriting happy hour. You will get a prompt, write for 30 minutes, and then spend an hour reading and listening to one another’s pieces.
On October 27, you can listen to a one hour lecture about Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex, and learn about the social, political, and spiritual environment of fifth century Athens.
On Wednesday October 27, you can discuss Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s book Mexican Gothic, which is about a socialite whose newlywed cousin claims her husband is poisoning her and that she is having visions of restless ghosts.
On October 31 at 7 pm EST, you can watch the Village Halloween Parade live online. Or check out the miniature one from 2020 that featured puppet characters ranging from Baba Yaga to Pinnochio to Alan the Alien.
New York City Events
All month on Fridays-Sundays through November 8, take an outdoor tour on the grounds of Washington Irving’s estate in Sleepy Hollow and go on a literature-themed scavenger hunt. Later that evening, watch a performance of the legend.
All month through November 21, meander through an 18th-century landscape and discover more than 7,000 illuminated jack o’ lanterns. made to resemble mythical creatures.
On October 2, shop for oddities at the Living Dead Market in the historic cemetery in Long Island City.
On October 2, 9, 16, 23, 29, or 30, take an evening walking tour to meet the ghosts and see the catacombs in Green-Wood Cemetery.
On October 5, discover a number of Poe’s “frenemies” who ended up at Green-Wood, such as those who accused him of indecency or alcoholism. (And of course, BYOB in his honor.)
On Tuesday October 5, tell ghost stories around the fire pit at Barrow’s Intense Tasting Room.
From October 7-9, attend a festival in Greenpoint that includes light-based art installations of mythological figures, Burning Man-like art, dancing, and more.
On Friday October 8, watch Beetlejuice outdoors at the Queens Botanical Garden. Pumpkin carving demonstration beforehand.
On October 13, 28, 29, or 30, take a virtual ghost tour of the Merchant’s House Museum.
On Friday October 15, tour the Morris-Jumel Mansion in candlelight while hearing stories about the ghosts that haunt it.
On October 22, take an illuminated mausoleum trolley tour at Woodlawn Cemetery.
From October 22-24, have a halloween weekend at the BlackThorne Resort in the Catskills.
On October 23, go on a halloween scavenger hunt.
On October 28, go to Green-Wood to learn about the bats in NYC (whether they are vampires, etc.)
On October 29, attend Wizardfest, an interactive party that celebrates the wizarding world, cosplay and all things magic.
On October 30, visit the graves of The Wizard of Oz (actor Frank Morgan), George Washington’s favorite dentist, the somewhat shady originator of Spiritualism, and many more.
On October 31, watch a live Rocky Horror Performance with costumes, prizes and drinks at the Historic Cemetery in Jersey City.
On October 31, why party when you could be exercising? Dress up with other bikers on a ghost ride instead.
Any day you want you can go to Beetle House, a restaurant that takes inspiration from Tim Burton, Alfred Hitchcock, Bram Stoker, Washington Irving, Edgar Allen Poe and many more. The menu includes, Blood Bags, Hautned Lemonade, Bio-Exorcism’s, among other things. Dining in only, which adds a new COVID element to the scare show.
"NORMAN MILLS PRICE (American, 1877-1951), 'The Great God Pan'" by sofi01 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
Check out the dragons, kings, pirate ships, Merlin’s flying machines and other spectacles at the new Legoland in Goshen, New York.
Get Butter Beer at the new Harry Potter-themed store and bar at 935 Broadway near the Flatiron Building.
Until October 31, see Yayoi Kusama’s exhibition Cosmic Nature, which features monumental sculptures such as “I Want to Fly to the Universe” at the New York Botanical Garden.
Miss going to the movies? Watch a socially distanced one outside with your friends at Sidewalk Cinema on Thames Street in Brooklyn.
Watch a string quartet perform the soundtracks from movies such as Aladdin, the Little Mermaid, Cinderella, and more in candlelight at the Mondrian Hotel Terrace. Tickets available on different days.
Check out the images of buddhas, bodhisattvas, tantric deities, protectors and more at the Rubin Museum’s Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room.
U.S. Events
"Myth.Slide1.16" by c.a.francese is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
From October 1-3, Capclave, a literary convention focused on short fiction, takes place in person in Rockville, Maryland. Programming includes an interview with Peter S. Beagle, writing fantastic creatures, “character arcs other than the Hero’s Journey” and “Twice upon a time: revisiting classic tales.”
On October 1-3, Archon takes place at the Hilton in Collinsville, Illinois. Programming includes “Pagan Origins of Modern Holidays,” “The Social Relevance of Star Trek,” and “Help My House Is Haunted!.”
From October 15-27, the science fiction and fantasy convention ICON 46 takes place at the Marriott, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Programming includes Crochet Cthulu, building legos with the Pygmy, and learning how to divine the future with Klingon runestones, CCG tarot, button oracles, and libromancy.
DisCon III, the 79th World Science Fiction Convention, no longer takes place August 25-29, 2021. Instead, it will be held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington DC on December 15-19, 2021, with both virtual and in person components.
The conference Anime Los Angeles 17 has been postponed for a year. Instead of this month, it will take place from January 6-9, 2022, in Long Beach California.
World Events
On October 16-17, the science fiction and fantasy convention Geek Days takes place in Caen, France.
On October 22-24, the science fiction convention FedCon takes place in Bonn, Germany. Programming includes writing and cooking workshops, as well as a lecture about science fiction in Romania.
On October 30, the science fiction and fantasy convention BristolCon takes place at a Hilton Doubletree hotel in Bristol, U.K..
Recurring Virtual Events
Nina Allender’s 1915 cartoon “Fairy Godmother Wilson: 'The pumpkin shall be a coach; the mice will be the horses to pull it; and YOU shall go to the polls!'" is in the public domian.
Starting May 1 until November 22 at 7 pm U.K. time, twice a month you can attend Fairy Tales and Therapy: “group discussion spaces exploring fairytales and mythology stories to expand our understanding of individual and collective psychology.” £17.50
Every year in the secret realm of Bunnyville, magical creatures from around the world gather for their annual summit. This is supposed to be a time to reconnect with old and new friends, but this year someone (or some creature!) has stolen the Easter Bunny’s magical golden egg! Kids and adults can both enjoy this enchanted game featuring creatures like fairies, dragons, mermaids, and of course the Easter Bunny!
If you would rather be in France right now, view a selection of thematically-themed works from the Louvre online, including the ones in the Sully Wing, which includes major works of Greek and Egyptian art such as the Venus de Milo.
Take an online course with Stanford research scholar Adrienne Mayor in which you will “uncover the natural origins of stories about dragons. . .; ponder whether the Amazon horsewomen-archers of myth existed; consider the dilemmas of using poison weapons in myth and ancient historical times; and marvel at robots and other science fiction tales from the time of Homer.” $120.
Take an online mini-course about Rome, seeing how it exists not only in brick and mortar, but also in the realm of ideas, and through the eyes of locals and visitors. Topics will include Rome’s urban and architectural development, as well as its representation in maps and artworks from across the city’s exceptionally long lifetime. $99.
On Sunday mornings, Krista Lea will present an online meditation class that uses sound, aroma, poetry, and goddess mythology to focus on the archetype of the Divine Feminine. Tickets $11
The NY Mythology Group, which is associated with the Joseph Campbell Foundation, holds presentations and discussions about mythology related topics ranging from the Greek goddess Hecate to Carl Jung. Their events usually take place on Tuesday evenings at 8 pm EDT, and have been online since the pandemic started.
BSFW, or Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers, meetings take place mostly online currently, but pre-pandemic were in the homes of writers mostly in Brooklyn but also on occasion Manhattan or Queens. Check out their calendar on meetup to attend their numerous writing workshops, social gatherings, meetings with editors/agents/authors, book clubs, and more. The group includes many published writers and has its own audio fiction magazine, Kaleidocast. If you post about your fetish for Olympian gods on their Facebook group feed, they (probably) won’t judge.
EREWHON BOOKS, a publisher focusing on novel-length works of speculative fiction: science fiction, fantasy, and related genres, holds readings usually on the second Thursday each month virtually for now and in a pre-apocalypse world at its high ceilinged office of many windows in Manhattan.
Fantastic Fiction at KGB is a monthly speculative-fiction reading series held on the third Wednesday of every month virtually for now, and in a pre-apocalypse world at KGB Bar in Manhattan. Ellen Datlow and Matthew Kressel host the event. As one might expect from a communism-themed bar, admission is free.
The NYC Greek Myth & Classical Lit Meetup meets every third Thursday of the month at the Cloister Cafe in the East Village to discuss the work of mostly long dead authors (e.g. Aristophanes, Dante.) The group has existed for more than a decade, so the long-term participants have already earned their unofficial classics PhD’s, and we already know that anybody who would do this for fun is as hip as a person can get.
Marcantonio Raimondi’s “A Bacchanal”. CC01.0 Public domain.
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