Hey South Shore,

This weekend, the outdoor season starts saying its goodbyes around here. The open-air markets and the beer-garden concert nights are closing out their final weekends. It's the quiet handoff that happens every year about now.

But downtown Patchogue isn't letting the dark have the last word. From Thursday clear through Monday, the Patchogue Arts Council turns fifteen sites into the art itself with MoCA L.I.ghts, projections climbing the walls after sundown. And Saturday out in Sayville, the Apple Festival opens its gates, running now for its forty-sixth year.

Forty-six years is a long time for a town to keep turning out for the same fall Saturday. Pick your evening and go.

For five nights, downtown Patchogue stops being a place you walk through and becomes the art itself. The Patchogue Arts Council lights up 15 numbered sites, with the building projections running 6 to 11 each night, with the Night Visions gallery set up on the Roe Walkway Piazza. Thursday opens with LUCIDITY Opera & Dance at 6:30, and Saturday stacks the Night Market on Roe Walkway, official tours leaving from 20 Terry Street, and Saturn through a telescope if the sky stays clear. A free trolley loops seven stops with the last pickup at 9:45, so you can cover the whole thing without moving your car.

When: Thursday-Monday, October 22-26 | 6:00 PM
Where: Downtown Patchogue, Patchogue
Price: Free
🎨 See the full festival

The Town of Islip's fall festival spreads across the Islip Grange from 10 to 4:30, and it has been doing this long enough to know exactly how a fall Saturday should feel. Craft vendors line the paths, the Family Fun Zone runs amusement rides and pony rides and a petting zoo, and the apple desserts carry the whole thing. There's live music all day, a Scarecrow Contest, and an Apple Culinary Contest for anyone who thinks their pie can take it. A free shuttle runs from the Sayville train station straight to the Grange.

When: Saturday, October 24 | 10:00 AM
Where: Islip Grange, Sayville
Price: Free
🍎 Browse the festival

Decorated boats float down the Connetquot River at 5:30, and then Grucci lights the sky at 7:30. Watching from the Snapper Inn's waterfront is the move, with a prepaid reservation per car that covers your parking and a food and drink voucher. Seating is first come, first served, so get there with time to settle in before the first boat rounds the bend.

When: Saturday, October 24 | 5:30 PM
Where: Snapper Inn, Oakdale
Price: $$+
🎆 Plan your night

The band behind "Walk on the Ocean" and "All I Want" brings Rings: The Acoustic Tour to the Patchogue Theatre on Saturday night, with special guest Willy Porter. An acoustic room is where these songs breathe, every harmony and every lyric sitting right out front with nothing to hide behind. It's a short walk from the lights.

When: Saturday, October 24 | 8:00 PM
Where: Patchogue Theatre, Patchogue
Price: $$+
🎸 Grab your tickets

Night of the Living Drag: Camp Never Dies takes over the Patchogue Theatre on Thursday night, a Halloween drag show with a meet and greet package for anyone who wants to get close to the cast. A loud, theatrical way to kick the weekend off early.

When: Thursday, October 22 | 8:00 PM
Where: Patchogue Theatre, Patchogue
Price: $$
👻 Catch the show

The Chamber of Commerce of Greater Bay Shore throws its Halloween evening for families from 4 to 9, built around a trunk-or-treat. The Chamber hasn't posted the exact spot yet, so check its events page before you load the kids in the car. A simple costumed night out.

When: Saturday, October 24 | 4:00 PM
Where: Bay Shore (spot to be posted by the Chamber)
Price: Free
🎃 See the details

The Babylon Village Chamber of Commerce turns the shops into a trick-or-treat route from 12 to 3, with Northwell's South Shore University Hospital along for the day. Register at La La Land on East Main Street, and the first 300 trick-or-treaters walk away with a tote bag. The whole thing ends at the Babylon Public Library's Monster Mash Dance Party, running 1 to 4 with no registration needed. Parents can plan the afternoon around this one.

When: Sunday, October 25 | 12:00 PM
Where: Babylon Village, Babylon
Price: Free
🍬 Learn more

The Country Village Beautification Society marches its costume parade from Marilynn Circle down Manistee from 12 to 3, with crafts, a costume contest, raffles, face painting, and food and drinks waiting at the end. The organizers ask each family to register ahead on Eventbrite, and donations are welcome. A neighborhood parade the kids will talk about through dinner.

When: Sunday, October 25 | 12:00 PM
Where: Marilynn Circle, East Islip
Price: Free
🎉 Get the details

Two tributes share the Boulton stage for one Friday: Manticore channeling Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and Tuesday Afternoon carrying the Moody Blues. The Boulton's seated room is made for this kind of double bill, where the playing stretches out and you settle in for the long haul. A night for anyone who grew up on the records.

When: Friday, October 23 | 7:30 PM
Where: Boulton Center, Bay Shore
Price: $$
🎹 Book your seats

Paul Anthony hosts a full stand-up night at CMPAC, with Tugboat Manny, John LaRocchia, Maria Walsh, and Mick Thomas running the mic. A room full of laughter is a good Friday out, the kind where you leave quoting the best bits all the way home. Tickets are through the CMPAC page.

When: Friday, October 23 | 8:00 PM
Where: CM Performing Arts Center, Oakdale
Price: $$
🎤 Find ticket details

The Cull House throws its fall oyster party from 4 to 9, with live music and a buffet rolling out at 5. Tickets come in advance tiers, from beer and wine to oysters to the full buffet to all in, and the first two years both sold out. Oysters and a band make a solid Saturday for two.

When: Saturday, October 24 | 4:00 PM
Where: The Cull House, Sayville
Price: $$
🦪 Get your tickets

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