We've bemoaned the shortage of amusement parks in our region, but Wild Waves continues to carry the banner for thrills—and in October the chills don't come from getting out of the water. The Halloween event is divided into family friendly (during the day) and a bit scary (after dark), with haunted houses, a kiddie hay maze, and an adults-only Vampire Bar. Most rides will be running, but not the water slides.

How to put tiny Thurston County town Bucoda on the map? In fall, a monthlong salute to all things spooky does its best, culminating in a mass "Thriller" dance near Halloween. The festival also includes a haunted house, costume contests, cemetery tours, a hearse procession, and signature casket races. Bucoda: dead and loving it.

The rare October festival that doesn't have some sort of Halloween tie—though a good flannel works as a costume if you're going as any member of a bygone Seattle grunge band. Half the fun lies in the names of the cover bands that perform: 21 Guns (singing Green Day), Fighting Foos (saluting Foo Fighters), and Nirvana tribute Nevermind. Held in the Grant County Fairgrounds, the annual concert is a celebration of all things, sounds, and fashions of the 1990s.

Suncadia Resort hosts its 19th annual fall event at the historic Nelson Farm. The free event includes face painting, axe throwing, and a hay pyramid, plus a classic pumpkin patch. Local brews and craft cocktails liven up the country line dancing and wagon rides; food trucks fuel square dancing lessons in quintessential fall fashion.

An event so big it can't fit in one location, the annual tree-to-glass festival pops up at farms and cideries around the Port Townsend area. Aside from requisite tastings, an apple-filled brunch, a cider cooking class, and an afternoon garden dance party fill the rest of the weekend. 

The Tri-Cities' riverside Columbia Park hosts this serene annual tradition. Tickets score a kit to craft a floating lantern, each decorated and illuminated alongside live music before being set out on the Columbia at dusk. The admission fees also fund the cleanup of the artworks after the event.