Almost every free, all-ages event on Venice's October calendar ends by early evening. Most of the new tables on Abbot Kinney and Rose open at 5 p.m. The month's biggest event spells out the handoff in its rules. Venice Afterburn at Windward Plaza is free until 5:30 p.m. After that it costs $30 at the door and admits only guests 18 and over. Plan the month around that hinge and the calendar sorts itself.
This year the calendar also has more room in it. Organizers canceled the 2026 Abbot Kinney Festival, which had been set for September 27. They said bringing it back properly needs "broader community involvement and a stronger planning structure." This month they begin forming a Community Advisory Board to plan for 2027. Without that one big Sunday, Venice's fall is spread across a plaza, two rec centers, a canal park and a few dining rooms. Each one keeps its own hours.
The Day Side: Fridays at 7 a.m. and a Corner Market on Penmar
The morning end of the clock starts with the Venice Farmers' Market. It runs Friday mornings from 7 to 11 a.m. That fixed weekly window also suits newer bread operations that sell by the drop. English Rose Bakery is Miranda Heath's small-batch organic sourdough cottage bakery. It started online preorders in September, with pickup on Fridays and Saturdays. The pickup address comes only after you order, so it works like a standing appointment, not a shop you walk into.
On the Penmar side, Bodega and Palms has filled the old Mitchell's Market at 1915 Penmar Avenue since it opened July 8. Owners Philip and Kaila Neuville stocked it with coffee, pastries and bread from local vendors, breakfast burritos, and frozen Fiorelli pizzas. On September 1 they added a coconut-vanilla sundae and pizza, which takes the market-cafe past the coffee-and-burrito hours. It's a three-block walk from Penmar Recreation Center, which matters on the last day of the month.
Windward Plaza, Before and After the Gate Changes
Venice Afterburn returns to Windward Plaza on Saturday, October 10, and Sunday, October 11. It runs from noon to 10 p.m. both days, with last entry at 9 p.m. Food trucks and portable restrooms are on site. It's an official Burning Man Regional Event, produced by the Los Angeles nonprofit Dogtown Artists United.
The two halves of the day work like two different events. Organizers say the installations "evolve throughout the day," shifting from a colorful outdoor exhibition into an immersive nighttime setting of light, movement and sound. The afternoon is free and open to everyone, with the art in daylight. In the evening the same pieces are lit, and only adults with a $30 ticket can see them.
The afternoon is when you can actually look at the work up close:
- Mutant vehicles. Returning and new art cars include The People's Banana, Vibeapple, Kuker, Tikivision, Minibago and Daddy Long Wheels, plus several smaller roaming art cars.
- Honoraria artists. This is the first year of Afterburn's Honoraria Art Program, which supports original work that premieres at the event. The first honorees are Shana Koenig and Jenny Liu.
- Returning artists. Gregg Fleishman brings his interlocking wooden structures, built for exploring and climbing. Debi Cable brings her immersive 3D blacklight world.
- Theme camps. Disorient, Pink Dragon and Bubble Lounge are among the camps setting up interactive spaces. DJs from Southern California's Burning Man scene play on several stages both days.
Saturday runs later than the plaza's 10 p.m. close. The Venice West lists a Venice Afterburn Afterparty for October 10 at 10:30 p.m.
Halloween Runs on a Daylight Schedule
Halloween mostly follows the same split. Within Venice, every organized family event on the list is over by 8 p.m., and they're spread across the neighborhood, not concentrated on one street. The exception sits just over the line in Marina del Rey, where the county's Spooktacular runs until 10 p.m.
| Event | Where | Date | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marina Spooktacular | Burton Chace Park, Marina del Rey | Sat.–Sun., Oct. 24–25 | 4–10 p.m. |
| Creepy & Kooky Carnival | Oakwood Recreation Center, 767 California Ave. | Fri., Oct. 30 | 4–8 p.m. |
| Halloween costume contests | Penmar Recreation Center, 1341 Lake St. | Sat., Oct. 31 | 10 a.m.–2 p.m. |
| Canaloween | Linnie Canal Park | Oct. 31 | 5–6 p.m. |
Oakwood's carnival is free, and so is Penmar's event, which groups its costume contests by age. The Marina Spooktacular at Burton Chace Park is free too, and it's the only event on the list that runs well after dark. Together they make a Friday-and-Saturday run. Oakwood's carnival is the evening before Halloween. Penmar's contests take the late morning of the 31st.
Canaloween is the smallest of the four. The Venice Canals Association lists it at Linnie Canal Park on October 31 from 5 to 6 p.m., with costumes, pizza and music. The listing doesn't print a year next to the date, so confirm with the association before building a plan around it. Halloween on the Boardwalk is informal crowd activity, not a scheduled event, and as of late September no Venice Beach Recreation Center events had been announced.
After 5 p.m.: The New Tables
At the dinner hour the calendar gives way to reservations. Three openings since midsummer make up most of the new evening options in Venice.
The Tasting Kitchen, 1633 Abbot Kinney Blvd. The restaurant reopened on July 16, 2026, after a 2023 fire. Chef Casey Lane brought back favorites and added new charcoal-fired dishes. It now serves dinner every night. Hours are 5 to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5 p.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday, according to its OpenTable listing. On Afterburn Saturday, a table that runs to midnight sits close to the plaza's 10 p.m. close and the 10:30 afterparty.
San Damián, 1025 Abbot Kinney Blvd. Enrique Olvera's hospitality group, Casamata, opened this seafood-focused sister to its Arts District restaurant, Damián, in the space that was once Atla. Chef Chuy Cervantes runs a mariscos menu. It includes Kumamoto oysters with turnip salsa, clams with Persian cucumber and salsa macha, and ceviche of Ventura County rockfish and Santa Barbara sea urchin. There's also a Dungeness crab tostada finished with furikake and kanpachi al pastor with pineapple butter. Eater LA put it on its October 2026 heatmap of the best new restaurants in Los Angeles. Reservations and hours are on Damián's website.
Sticky Rice, 523 Rose Ave. Founders David Tewasart and Bryan Sharafkhah opened the Thai street-food restaurant's first Westside location on August 10. The menu includes pad Thai, khao soi, wings and curries. Early coverage called it takeout-only. The restaurant's own Venice page now lists dine-in and takeout, with dinner Tuesday through Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m. It's closed Mondays.
All three keep evening hours. That matches the pattern on the plaza and at the rec centers, where the free all-ages part of the day wraps up by the time most of the new kitchens open.
The Calendar Without the Festival
There was no single Sunday on Abbot Kinney this fall. The month's anchors are a Burning Man regional run by a local nonprofit, two city rec centers, and a canal association's one-hour party. There's also a festival board still being formed, which is collecting ideas for 2027 at [email protected]. Mark the dates that fit your clock: Friday mornings at the market, October 10 and 11 at Windward Plaza, October 30 at Oakwood, and October 31 from Penmar's late morning to the canal at 5 p.m.
When a month in Venice takes shape this way, the details count, from what's open on Rose to which hour fits which plan. The Alligood Group follows the neighborhood at that level of detail, block by block. If you'd like to talk through what this season means for your own corner of Venice, Schedule a Private Consultation.
