Hey South Shore,
The second week of October is here, and the front steps around town tell the story: pumpkins on the porches, mums at the farm stands, the evenings going dark earlier than they did a few Sundays ago. The weekend crowd has traded the beach for the fairs and the theaters, and the whole neighborhood seems to have shifted into its fall gear all on its own.
This week the Family Picks lean hard into the season, and the Free and Affordable list carries live music every single night from Thursday straight through Sunday. Plenty to work with. Here's the weekend.
Top 5 for the Weekend
Under the Sea Light & Art Festival (Rescheduled) - South Shore Mall (Bay Shore)
The Islip Arts Council's first light and art festival, pushed from late September by the storm, finally gets its night. Glowing art installations, projection art, interactive light displays, an artisan night market, live music, and an under-the-sea immersive gallery fill South Shore Mall and the Arts Council's gallery from 6 to 10. It's built for families, with surprise acts and a parade you're invited to dress up for.
When: Saturday, October 10 | 6:00 PM
Where: South Shore Mall and the IAC Gallery, Bay Shore
Price: Free
🌊 Browse the festival
Annual Fair at Argyle Park - Argyle Park (Babylon)
The Babylon Beautification Society's fair, rained out in September, finally gets its Sunday. More than 325 craft makers set up alongside a specialty food market with 35-plus vendors, live entertainment around the Village Gazebo, and beer and wine for the grown-ups. Over at Bayman Park, the children's section runs bounce houses and face painting throughout the day.
When: Sunday, October 11 | 8:00 AM
Where: Argyle Park, Babylon
Price: Free
🎪 Plan your Sunday
Leslie Jones: I'm Hot Tour - Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts (Patchogue)
The SNL and Ghostbusters star brings her stand-up tour to the Patchogue Theatre and kicks the whole weekend off on Thursday night. Tonight, downtown Patchogue, 8 o'clock.
When: Thursday, October 8 | 8:00 PM
Where: Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts, Patchogue
Price: $$
🎤 Grab your tickets
Carolyn Wonderland w/ Albert Liu & The Wild Hearts - Boulton Center for the Performing Arts (Bay Shore)
Texas guitarist Carolyn Wonderland brings her blues into the Boulton's intimate room on Saturday night. She moves between blues, country and hard-charging rock with a Tex-Mex edge, and she has been playing professionally since she was 15. Albert Liu & The Wild Hearts open the night. A touring guitar player in a room this size makes for a strong Saturday in Bay Shore.
When: Saturday, October 10 | 8:00 PM
Where: Boulton Center for the Performing Arts, Bay Shore
Price: $$
🎸 Book the night
Annual Oktoberfest at the Snapper Inn - Snapper Inn (Oakdale)
The Snapper Inn's annual Oktoberfest sets up right on the Connetquot River, 1 to 5 on Sunday. German food, live music, and a beer garden with the water as the backdrop.
When: Sunday, October 11 | 1:00 PM
Where: Snapper Inn, Oakdale
Price: $$
🍺 See the Oktoberfest guide
Got a tip, a correction, or a show we missed? Hit reply. That back-and-forth is the whole point.
💌 Know someone who would love South Shore Digest?
Grab your personal invite link and send it to a neighbor. Three neighbors and The Regulars is yours, free.
Every neighbor who joins also sends a dollar to a local nonprofit, a different one each season, and this fall it's Long Island Cares.
Family Picks
2nd Annual Fall Fest at Corey Beach - Corey Beach (Blue Point)
The Blue Point PTA and Bodhi's throw a fall fest right on the sand at Corey Beach. Live music from Rum Punch Mafia, a petting zoo, a bounce house, face painting, a fall craft, a pumpkin patch, and an autumn photo op give the kids plenty to run between. A breast cancer awareness fitness class on the beach opens the day at 11.
When: Saturday, October 10 | 12:00 PM
Where: Corey Beach (Bodhi's Beach Shack), Blue Point
Price: $
🎃 See what's happening
Spookley the Square Pumpkin, the Musical - CM Performing Arts Center (Oakdale)
CMPAC opens its children's musical about a square pumpkin who learns that being different is exactly what makes him special. It runs about an hour and 25 minutes with an intermission, rated G, with shows Saturday morning and Sunday morning. Sunday's 11 AM show is a sensory-sensitive performance built for families who need a gentler room.
When: Saturday, October 10 | 10:00 AM; Sunday, October 11 | 11:00 AM
Where: CM Performing Arts Center, Oakdale
Price: $$
🎭 Find showtimes
Fall Fest & Carnegie's 10th Anniversary - Patchogue-Medford Library (Patchogue)
Pumpkin decorating, lawn games, and photos take over the Carnegie Library's front lawn from 12 to 3, marking fall and ten years of the Carnegie Teen Center. From 11:30 to 1:30, the Main Library entrance hosts a Halloween costume swap for kids and teens, while supplies last. No registration.
When: Saturday, October 10 | 12:00 PM
Where: Patchogue-Medford Library, Patchogue
Price: Free
🍁 Check the library page
Date Night / Nightlife
Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue - Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts (Patchogue)
The Miami kitchen table comes back to life on the Patchogue Theatre stage, with Blanche, Dorothy, Rose, and Sophia all in the room. Ages 18 and up, a Friday night out with four old friends on stage.
When: Friday, October 9 | 7:00 PM
Where: Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts, Patchogue
Price: $$
🍸 Reserve your seats
Completely Unchained & Super Duper Cooper - 89 North Music Venue (Patchogue)
Completely Unchained brings its Van Halen tribute to 89 North on Saturday night, with Super Duper Cooper sharing the bill. Doors open at 7 on North Ocean Avenue for a loud one in downtown Patchogue. Ages 21 and up.
When: Saturday, October 10 | 7:00 PM
Where: 89 North Music Venue, Patchogue
Price: $$
🤘 Get loud at 89 North
Noche De Salsa - Stereo Garden (Patchogue)
La Sonora 495 plays Colombian and Puerto Rican salsa classics live at 9, with a guest DJ spinning before and after and doors at 8. Ages 21 and up, a late Saturday night in downtown Patchogue.
When: Saturday, October 10 | 9:00 PM
Where: Stereo Garden, Patchogue
Price: $$
💃 Get tickets
Free & Affordable
Danny Kean (Sayville): Danny Kean plays the Cull House's waterfront room tonight, 5 to 8, an easy way to open the weekend on the water. Thursday, October 8 | 5:00 PM | Free | 🎶 Catch the set
Live Music by Dudes Acoustic (Oakdale): Dudes Acoustic plays the Oakdale Brew House on Friday, 7 to 10. Friday, October 9 | 7:00 PM | Free | 🎸 Plug into Friday
Brass Roots Band (Patchogue): Brass Roots Band plays Bobbique on Friday night, 8 to 11. Friday, October 9 | 8:00 PM | Free | 🎺 Hear the horns
Sayville Falls Fall Concert Series: Patrick McHale (Sayville): The beer garden's fall series runs all weekend long. Patrick McHale takes Friday and David Moriarty takes Saturday, both 5:30 to 8:30, with a steel drum set closing it out Sunday from 1 to 4. Friday, October 9 | 5:30 PM | Free | 🍻 Follow the series
Music by Nate Charlie (Bay Shore): Nate Charlie plays a Saturday-afternoon set at Great South Bay Brewery, 2 to 5. Saturday, October 10 | 2:00 PM | Free | 🎵 Find a seat
Saturday Band: Calm Coast (Babylon): Calm Coast takes the Saturday band slot at Lily's on Deer Park Avenue, 6 to 10, a reliable Babylon Village night with a full bar. Saturday, October 10 | 6:00 PM | Free | 🍺 Stop by Lily's
The 1984 Band at Eleanor's Lounge (Bohemia): The 1984 Band brings an '80s dance-floor night to the New Eleanor's Lounge on Sunrise Highway, 8 to 11, with the hits you already know every word to. Saturday, October 10 | 8:00 PM | $ | 🎤 Join the night
Gissel Garcia (Patchogue): Sunday by the river with Gissel Garcia at Drift 82, 5 to 8, an easy way to close out the weekend. Sunday, October 11 | 5:00 PM | Free | 🎶 Explore the evening
📌 Community Board (Quick Hits)
Neighbors helping neighbors: a fundraiser, a free meal, a cleanup day, and ways to lend a hand.
Bayport-Blue Point SEED Welcome Back Fundraiser (Bayport). SEED's welcome-back night runs at People's Pub on Thursday, October 8, from 6:30 to 8:30, with food and drinks raising money for educational programs in the Bayport-Blue Point schools. A night out that puts money back into local classrooms. Thursday, October 8 | 6:30 PM | People's Pub, Bayport | Tickets through SEED
Bay Shore UMC Soup Kitchen (Bay Shore). Bay Shore United Methodist Church serves a free community meal on Thursday, October 8, from 4:30 to 5:30, open to any neighbor who needs it. Thursday, October 8 | 4:30 PM | Bay Shore United Methodist Church, Bay Shore | Free
Fall S.T.O.P. Collection Day (West Babylon). Town of Babylon residents can drop off household hazardous waste, furniture, appliances, and wood products on Saturday, October 10, from 8 AM to 2:30 PM, at the Residential Recycling Center, 57 Field Street. Free with proof of residency, a good one to pair with the weekend's fall cleanup. Saturday, October 10 | 8:00 AM | Residential Recycling Center, 57 Field Street, West Babylon
South Shore University Hospital Community Relations: October Volunteers (Bay Shore). Northwell's South Shore University Hospital is looking for volunteers to help at its October community events. Sign up through the QR code on their September 29 post. Ongoing | Bay Shore
Pronto Long Island (Bay Shore). This Bay Shore nonprofit provides food, clothing, and family support to neighbors in need year-round, and it welcomes both donations and volunteers. A steady place to point a little extra toward if you have it to give. Ongoing | Bay Shore
📣 Know a neighbor or local crew who did something good this month? One line, hit reply, and we'd love to give them a shoutout.
It's a fair-and-festival kind of weekend, the sort that pulls the whole neighborhood out to the park lawns and the beach before the calendar turns colder. Wherever you land, make a day of it.
See you out there.