Weekender: Top Family Events for Seattle and the Eastside

If your ideal fall day is curling up on the couch with a book and a blanket, sorry. With this unbelievable weather, we gotta get outside! I mean, when have there ever been so many sunny weekends for the family trip to the pumpkin patch? Book-and-blanket weather will come soon enough. In the meantime, here are our best picks for weekend family fun. Enjoy!

• Show off your costume and take a hay ride at a family-focused community Halloween Haunt in the park (Friday).
• If zipping through the trees isn't thrilling enough, try it in the spooky darkness of the woods at night (Friday–Saturday).
• Dress in your costume, walk the star-lit paths and ride the tram listening for hoots and howls at fantastic Northwest Trek (Friday–Saturday).
• Around here we don't go bananas, we go apples! Try the apple press, pick out a pumpkin and find more fun at Issaquah's celebration of our finest local fruit (Saturday).
• New baby? New car seat or booster? Rest easy knowing your crew is safe with a free car seat safety check at Seattle Children's (Saturday).
• You have to preregister your kid for this, and it's a hair spendy, but when else will they get to paint with chickens?? (Saturday).
• Engage with the culture of India through performances, kids' activities and tasty food for purchase at Seattle Center's free community Diwali festival (Saturday).
• Go old-school with the kids and stop by iconic local video store Scarecrow Video for International Independent Video Store Day (Saturday).
• Wear your best costume for the costume contest, then dive for pumpkins in the "floating" pumpkin patch (Satuday).
• Head to this hidden gem of a garden to marvel at the amazing fall colors, buy a treat or pumpkin and take a family photo; admission is free (opening Saturday).
• Two local railroads offer seasonal experiences for families: Hop on the Halloween storytelling train or try the Great Pumpkin Patch Express (Saturday–Sunday).
• March through the Market then join a lively kids' dance party with music by the Not-Its! Donations appreciated at this all-welcome fundraiser for Pike Place Market's child care (Sunday).
• Wrestle Petunia into her costume — or just show up to see all the doggies and other pets parade in their Halloween finest (Sunday).
• This terrific neighborhood fall festival features pumpkins, ponies, fire trucks and lots more family fun (Sunday).
• Learn how the forest is a master at recycling and inspect this process in progress on a free family nature program (Sunday).
• Snag a remaining ticket to join a gun safety conversation with Parkland shooting survivors and hear about the new book by March for Our Lives founders (Sunday).

More ideas to get outside: New parks! Fall color hikes for families! Places to spot spawning salmon! Got your fill of sun? Try one of these terrific family-friendly exhibits for fall, or catch a budget screening of a cult-classic movie. And don't forget, our family fun calendar has dozens of great activities for every day of the week.