The final weekend before Halloween features loads of live music, celebration, and horror. Here are some events to enjoy in advance of the Portsmouth Halloween Parade, which overtakes the city next Thursday, Oct. 31.
Ghosts on the Banke
Though Portsmouth’s official trick-or-treating takes place Wednesday, Oct. 30, families can get a head start on their candy collection during a Halloween celebration at Strawbery Banke Museum this weekend. The annual Ghosts on the Banke event features trick-or-treating at historic houses, walking paths illuminated by jack-o-lanterns, the ghosts of 17th-century inhabitants, a gypsy fortune teller, spooky skits and stories, and more. It all takes place Friday and Saturday, Oct. 25-26, from 5:30-8 p.m. Tickets are $8. Learn more here.
Soggy Po’ Boys Album Release
New Orleans-inspired septet Soggy Po’ Boys has been consistently satisfying Seacoast audiences with their blend of messy jazz, old-school funk, and exuberant spirituals for more than seven years now. The Dover-based band will unveil its latest album, “All In Favor,” with a concert at The Press Room in Portsmouth on Friday, Oct. 25, at 9 p.m. Regional roots-rock group Say Darling opens the show. Tickets are $10-$15. For more information, click here.
Foreigners Journey
Foreigners Journey is a tribute to two of the biggest arena rock bands of the 1980s. They’ll replicate many of the top hits by Foreigner and Journey live on stage at the Sanborn Performing Arts Center in Kingston on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. A portion of proceeds from the concert benefits Sanborn High School’s varsity hockey program and Unity on the River in Amesbury, Mass. Lynne Taylor opens. Tickets are $25. For more information, click here.
Elvis Room 20: Say ZuZu
Elvis Room 20 has brought many local legends to Seacoast stages, including Thanks to Gravity, The Queers, Jupiter 2, Heavens to Murgatroid, and Fly Spinach Fly. Say Zuzu joins the list with a pair of shows at The Press Room in Portsmouth on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 8 p.m. (with Guy Capecelatro) and Sunday, Oct. 27, at 2 p.m. (all ages). Tickets are $20-$25. (Elvis Room 20 concludes with Scissorfight and Humpmuscle at the Dover Brickhouse on Wednesday, Oct. 30.)
The Cult of Horror Halloween Show
Before Knate Higgins dons the sash as grand marshal of this year’s Portsmouth Halloween Parade, his alter ego, Bunny Wonderland, will again join forces with fellow queen Joslyn Fox for a wild drag show at the Seacoast Repertory Theatre in Portsmouth. Area drag artists will pay homage to their favorite horror films during Bunny and the Fox’s second annual Cult of Horror Halloween Show on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25. Learn more here.
For a complete calendar of local events, click here.