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Your Week — Daily event picks
Your Week: Haunted Trail, Dandy Warhols and Kula Shaker, French Lit Fair, Toxic flora tour, Oktoberfest
Events October 2-5, 2025
Thursday | 2
Take an evening stroll through a mile-long trail that winds through Balboa Park’s twisted pines and gnarled oaks. Each year features a different horror-themed scene. The “experiment maze” is a separate, 3500-square-foot maze offering additional scares with its own collection of characters and special effects. Timed general admission tickets and passes for faster entry are available. Not recommended for children under 10.
When: Through Saturday, November 1.
Where: Balboa Drive & Juniper, Balboa Park. hauntedtrail.net
Friday | 3
The Dandy Warhols and Kula Shaker
The Dandy Warhols is an alternative rock band from Portland. Their breakout album: Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia (2000), featured the hit single “Bohemian Like You”. The band released their album Rockmaker in 2024, featuring collaborations with Debbie Harry, Frank Black, and Slash. They are touring with UK band Kula Shaker for a co-headlining North American tour. Dandy Warhols singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor has stated that this will be the band’s last tour for “a few years”.
When: Friday, October 3, 7:30 pm
Where: House of Blues, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, Shelter Island
Saturday | 4
San Diego French Literature & Arts Festival Book Fair
Come peruse a large selection of French books for adults and youth, offered through Clotilde French Bookstore. Meet Francophone authors and discover new works. Éric Fottorino, the “Literary Guest of Honor” is a French journalist, novelist, former reporter, editor-in-chief, and publisher at Le Monde. He is the author of over forty books, including sixteen novels published by Gallimard. The book fair is an event within the three-day French Literature & Arts Festival. Other events include a theater performance, a film screening, and concert.
When: Saturday, October 4, 10 am to 4 pm
Where: Athenaeum Music and Arts Library, 1008 Wall Street, La Jolla. ljathenaeum.org
Horticultural Tours: Toxic Flora of Balboa Park
Plants that live their lives rooted to a single spot must develop a broad range of defenses to survive. These defenses can be toxic to insects and animals, including humans. Yet these same plants have also provided the source for 70% to 80% of health-aiding medicines. This tour will explore the many examples of plants in Balboa Park that you should treat with caution. Led by park volunteer and horticultural enthusiast Bill Edwards, this free tour leaves from the Visitors’ Center.
When: Saturday, October 4, 10 am to 11:30 am
Where: Balboa Park Visitors’ Center, 1549 El Prado, Balboa Park. balboapark.org
Sunday | 5
La Mesa Oktoberfest returns, transforming the La Mesa Village into a Bavarian-style celebration with three biergartens, over 20 live bands, musical chairs, stein-holding contests, Dachshund races, and a new Prost + Play Garten for families. Enjoy traditional German beer, local craft beer, pretzles, amd bratwurst.
When: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, October 5, 6, and 7, 12 pm to 8 pm
Where: La Mesa Village, Spring Street at La Mesa Boulevard, La Mesa. lamesaoktoberfest.org
Here's something you might be interested in.
Your Week: Haunted Trail, Dandy Warhols and Kula Shaker, French Lit Fair, Toxic flora tour, Oktoberfest
Events October 2-5, 2025
Your Week: Haunted Trail, Dandy Warhols and Kula Shaker, French Lit Fair, Toxic flora tour, Oktoberfest
Events October 2-5, 2025
Thursday | 2
Take an evening stroll through a mile-long trail that winds through Balboa Park’s twisted pines and gnarled oaks. Each year features a different horror-themed scene. The “experiment maze” is a separate, 3500-square-foot maze offering additional scares with its own collection of characters and special effects. Timed general admission tickets and passes for faster entry are available. Not recommended for children under 10.
When: Through Saturday, November 1.
Where: Balboa Drive & Juniper, Balboa Park. hauntedtrail.net
Friday | 3
The Dandy Warhols and Kula Shaker
The Dandy Warhols is an alternative rock band from Portland. Their breakout album: Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia (2000), featured the hit single “Bohemian Like You”. The band released their album Rockmaker in 2024, featuring collaborations with Debbie Harry, Frank Black, and Slash. They are touring with UK band Kula Shaker for a co-headlining North American tour. Dandy Warhols singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor has stated that this will be the band’s last tour for “a few years”.
When: Friday, October 3, 7:30 pm
Where: House of Blues, 2241 Shelter Island Drive, Shelter Island
Saturday | 4
San Diego French Literature & Arts Festival Book Fair
Come peruse a large selection of French books for adults and youth, offered through Clotilde French Bookstore. Meet Francophone authors and discover new works. Éric Fottorino, the “Literary Guest of Honor” is a French journalist, novelist, former reporter, editor-in-chief, and publisher at Le Monde. He is the author of over forty books, including sixteen novels published by Gallimard. The book fair is an event within the three-day French Literature & Arts Festival. Other events include a theater performance, a film screening, and concert.
When: Saturday, October 4, 10 am to 4 pm
Where: Athenaeum Music and Arts Library, 1008 Wall Street, La Jolla. ljathenaeum.org
Horticultural Tours: Toxic Flora of Balboa Park
Plants that live their lives rooted to a single spot must develop a broad range of defenses to survive. These defenses can be toxic to insects and animals, including humans. Yet these same plants have also provided the source for 70% to 80% of health-aiding medicines. This tour will explore the many examples of plants in Balboa Park that you should treat with caution. Led by park volunteer and horticultural enthusiast Bill Edwards, this free tour leaves from the Visitors’ Center.
When: Saturday, October 4, 10 am to 11:30 am
Where: Balboa Park Visitors’ Center, 1549 El Prado, Balboa Park. balboapark.org
Sunday | 5
La Mesa Oktoberfest returns, transforming the La Mesa Village into a Bavarian-style celebration with three biergartens, over 20 live bands, musical chairs, stein-holding contests, Dachshund races, and a new Prost + Play Garten for families. Enjoy traditional German beer, local craft beer, pretzles, amd bratwurst.
When: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, October 5, 6, and 7, 12 pm to 8 pm
Where: La Mesa Village, Spring Street at La Mesa Boulevard, La Mesa. lamesaoktoberfest.org