Parade of Lost Souls and other spooky events to check out in Vancouver this weekend

A scene from a past Parade of Lost Souls is seen in this image from the event's website. (dustyflowerpotcabaret.com)

Halloween is on a Tuesday this year, so some of the season's spookiest celebrations are happening this weekend instead. Here are some scary and not-so-scary events to check out in Vancouver on the last weekend of October.

PARADE OF LOST SOULS

An East Vancouver tradition returns Saturday at Britannia Library on Commercial Drive. The Parade of Lost Souls is a free, grassroots festival organized by The Dusty Flowerpot Cabaret.

Festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. with the Parade of Little Souls, a family friendly procession that welcomes costumed children of all ages.

At 7:30 p.m., the main event begins, with parades led at 7:30 and 8:30. An afterparty will take place from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Wise Hall, 1882 Adanac St.

Organizers have shared lots of details on their website, including a call to action reminding participants that the Parade of Lost Souls "is NOT a spectator sport."

"You are absolutely welcome to bring your band, your experimental clown show, your dance routine with 12 other people that you've been working on, a game that you can play with the crowd," the call reads. "In fact, you don't even have to ask us … We love to be surprised."

NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS IN CONCERT

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra will perform live music to accompany Tim Burton's classic film The Nightmare Before Christmas on Friday and Saturday nights this weekend. 

Guests are encouraged to come in costume and share photos on social media for a chance to win tickets to upcoming VSO movie nights.

Each show begins at 8 p.m. at The Orpheum, 601 Smithe St. The program runs for approximately two hours and includes an intermission.

HAUNTED BREWHOUSE

Starting Friday night and continuing nightly through Halloween, Strange Fellows Brewhouse in East Vancouver will transform into Dead Fellows Haunted Brewhouse.

"Do you and yours dare enter this swamp of horrors teeming with the terrifying creatures from the Land of the Dead, and can you make it through without becoming the body in their brew?" the brewery's website reads.

"A glass of revitalizing beer and an otherworldly party with the undead await those who survive."

Tickets are available on the brewery's website and guests are asked to book a 30-minute time slot with their purchase. 

The haunted brewhouse is open nightly starting at 5 p.m., with family friendly haunts earlier in the day on Saturday and Sunday. General admission can be booked with or without beer.

ORGAN MUSIC 'SPOOKTACULAR'

For the 18th year, a Vancouver chapter of the Royal Canadian College of Organists will be celebrating Halloween with a concert featuring "the spookiest and scariest music written for the King of Instruments." 

That includes classical pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach and others, as well as contemporary works from Star Wars, Jurassic Park and The Phantom of the Opera.

This year's event begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday at St. John's Shaughnessy Anglican Church, 1490 Nanton Ave.

Admission is by donation, and there will be treats available after the concert, according to organizers.

PUMPKIN PAINTING AT TURQUOISE GOAT

For an arts-and-crafts angle on the upcoming holiday, consider the pumpkin-painting event scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Turquoise Goat board game cafe.

Admission is $25 and includes "a surprise Halloween treat," a mini-pumpkin and access to paints and supplies. Prizes will be awarded in a pumpkin-painting contest.

Doors open at 12:15 p.m. and pumpkin painting begins at 12:30. Admission also includes a stay at the cafe – which has a library of more than 800 board and card games – until 3:30 p.m.

THE CATERING QUEEN

For those who'd prefer to skip Halloween and start the Christmas season early, Metro Theatre's newest offering might be a better option this weekend.

"The Catering Queen" by Canadian playwright Alison Lawrence is a comedy that takes place behind the scenes of a catered company Christmas party at an upscale Vancouver home.

The theatre describes the play as "a funny and heart-warming look" at a catering crew's workplace bonding "as they struggle to find a true vocation. (Other than serving food to rich people.)"

The show opens Friday and runs through Nov. 18 at Metro Theatre, 1370 Marine Dr. SW. Tickets are available on the theatre's website.