Other fun activities to do in October
Every year when fall comes around I get excited. I make plans with my family and friends and do everything in my power to make sure that one particular day in October is the best day of the year.
That day is my birthday.
However, something always gets in the way: Halloween. Lots of people year after year have to deal with holiday birthdays, whether it is Jesus’ birthday taking the place of another’s or Valentine’s Day hogging all the love. Halloween is no different.
As soon as October seems even remotely close to approaching, stores start filling their aisles with horrendous orange and black streamers and spooky skull masks. I often find myself unsure of stores’ motives—are they inviting customers in or warding them off? There are even stores solely dedicated to the celebration of this shindig of barbarity and dressing up as what are supposed to look like various cartoon & reality-show characters. Tiny witches and Disney princesses are interspersed in a sea of creepy ghouls, each of whose age and creeper status is hidden behind a hideous mask.
I’m constantly searching for ways to celebrate my birthday that don’t include gluttonous binges paired with excursions through dark haunted hallways surrounded by the possibility of being scared out of my skin, becoming one of the very skeletons that I am so childishly afraid of. So, because of this thirst for a deeper meaning in the month of October, I set out on a quest through various credible websites, and what I found was beyond my wildest dreams.
There are more holidays in October than there are days. Among them are Plush Animal Lovers’ Day on October 28, No Beard Day on October 18, National Dessert Day on October 14, Take your Teddy Bear to Work Day on October 11, Come and Take It Day on October 6 (established to embrace carpe diem), and my personal favorite World Smile Day on October 4.
Even when there isn’t a particularly likeable holiday going on, there are tons of fun things to do in October that don’t involve Halloween. On October 3 through 9, MAMMA MIA! will be playing at the Bob Carr. City & Colour is performing at the House of Blues on October 5. Austin Mahone is coming to the Hard Rock on October 18, and Michael Buble will be at the Amway on October 30.
Honestly, Halloween is just one day, and it doesn’t need to be the biggest day of the month. October is very important for a lot of other reasons. First of all, it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month. There are walks all over the country for the entire month to raise money for this crucial cause, including Orlando’s own Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on October 6 at UCF. It’s imperative that we all take advantage of the opportunity to give back and support breast cancer research. On a lighter note, October is also National Pizza Month, Cookie Month and Sarcasm Month. Those three things together pretty much make for the perfect party all month long.
So, whether you’re like me and have priorities other than candy corn and jack-o-lanterns, or if you just want a few supplementary options to spread out the month, there’s plenty in store to make this year’s October a little more unique than the rest. It’s the season to whip out those smiley-face stickers, pink ribbons, witty movies, and stuffed toys, and maybe tuck away the grim-reaper mask for an April Fools’ prank.
