Events October 2009

San Francisco musical revue Beach Blanket Babylon honors author Armistead Maupin at a recent Litquake

Oct. 1-Nov. 1
Haunted Poe
PHILADELPHIA

Edgar Allan Poe would have turned 200 this year, and his birthday is being celebrated in a spooky 10,000-square-foot haunted warehouse. Move from room to room down dark and twisting hallways to watch scenes acted out (by people and puppets) from some of his most famous hair-raising masterpieces, like The Tell-Tale Heart and The Fall of the House of Usher. www.bratproductions.org

Oct. 9-17
Litquake
SAN FRANCISCO

The West Coast's largest literary festival celebrates its 10th anniversary this year with nine days of quirky programming. There's a roast/tribute to Amy Tan, a Bay Area punk history collaboration with Porchlight Storytelling Series and the closing-night Lit Crawl, which takes attendees through the bohemian Mission District's pubs and bookstores for readings and open mics. www.litquake.org

Oct. 10-11
Taste of Atlanta
ATLANTA

Spend two days gorging yourself on Southern specialties from some of the region's best chefs. Be sure to check out the Farm-to- Festival Village, which will showcase several Atlanta restaurants at the forefront of the local food movement, and catch "Top Chef " Carla Hall's demonstration on the main cooking stage. www.tasteofatlanta.net

Oct. 12-18
AT&T Performing Arts Center Opening Celebration
DALLAS

This grand-opening celebration of the city's new $354 million cultural center-home to an opera house, theater, artist square and performance hall-will feature concerts by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Grammy Award-winning saxophonist David Sanborn. Other highlights include a forum with architect Rem Koolhaas and the world premiere of Legacy by the dance company Morphoses. www.dallasperformingarts.org

Oct. 9-13, 15-18
Solar Decathlon
WASHINGTON, DC

See the results of a competition in which 20 college and university teams from around the world attempted to build the best energy-efficient home. The innovative houses, which are also judged on aesthetic design, will be reassembled at a temporary "Solar Village" on the National Mall. Public tours take place throughout the week. www.solardecathlon.org

Oct. 31-Nov. 2
Día De Los Muertos Exhibit and Altar
SAN ANTONIO

A Mexican holiday with Aztec origins, Day of the Dead is a time to honor and remember the deceased. Learn the history of the celebration at the Mission San José and create your own skeleton puppets, marigold displays, necklaces of skull beads and papel picado (traditional papercutting designs). Don't forget to try a sugar skull. www.sacalaveras.com

Oct. 22-Nov. 1
Chicago International Children's Film Festival
CHICAGO

Budding Spielbergs and Scorseses will show off their latest productions at the largest film festival for and by children in the country- more than 200 films from 40 countries will be screened. And even though the auteurs may be short of stature, the event itself is a big deal: Top prize-winning entries qualify to be seen by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' nomination committee. www.cicff.org

Nov. 4- 8
New York Comedy Festival
NEW YORK CITY

Some of the biggest names in comedy-like Ricky Gervais, Tracy Morgan and Bill Maher-will be at this festival, along with 150 others, performing at more than 10 venues throughout the city. But there's also serious business to take care of: The "Stand Up for Heroes" benefit raises money for service members injured in Afghanistan and Iraq. www.nycomedyfestival.com

Flip Sides

See great artists from another angle this month.

While most major artists are known for one specific style, many defied expectations throughout their careers. These exhibits shine a light on the lesser-known works of big-name artists:

"Andy Warhol: The Last Decade," on view at the Milwaukee Art Museum (www.mam.org) through Jan. 3, off ers a glimpse into the artist's rarely displayed mature period, where he mixed representation and abstraction, and collaborated with other artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat.

"Leonardo da Vinci: Hand of the Genius," showing Oct. 6 through Feb. 21 at the High Museum of Art (www.high.org) in Atlanta, is the first exhibition to explore the artist's significant role in renaissance sculpture. It includes plans for and a creation of what would have been the largest statue of the late 15th century, the Sforza Horse.

Henri Matisse, one of the best-known 20thcentury painters, was also a talented printmaker. At the Baltimore Museum of Art (www.artbma.org), see etchings, monotypes and lithographs as well as illustrated books in the "Matisse as Printmaker" exhibit (Oct. 25-Jan. 3).