Five Reasons to Leave the House This Weekend, Halloween Edition

This bunch of grapes was last year’s winner for best costume at the Canine Promenade. (Photo via The Esplanade Association/Facebook)

For the 21+ Crowd
Halloween on the Harbor

Think trick-or-treating is only for seven-year-olds with parent chaperones? Think again. Thirteen Seaport District restaurants and bars will host Halloween parties Friday night, offering grown-up tricks and treats for the 21+ crowd. Check out all of the ghoulish locations around the harbor, including the Barking Crab and Atlantic Beer Garden. Your ticket also gets you a ride on a “haunted” Duck Boat. Proceeds benefit the Friends of Fort Point Channel.

$5 for rides to each location via Duck Boat; Friday, Oct. 26, 7-10 p.m.; event begins at TAMO Bar at the Seaport Hotel, 1 Seaport Lane; seaportboston.com

For Arts & Crafts Enthusiasts
SOWA Market of the Living Dead

Say a fond farewell to SOWA’s outdoor market for the 2012 season by donning your creepiest costume. Drag your sluggish zombie feet to the South End for food trucks serving Halloween specials, handmade goods, and the chance to win $250 for  best costume of the day. With more than 130 vendors, pumpkin carving stations, and live music, you’d be silly not to miss SOWA’s last outdoor market of the season.

Free; Sunday, Oct. 28, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; 460 Harrison Ave.; 800-403-8305; sowaopenmarket.com

For Dog Lovers
Canine Promenade

There’s only one thing cuter than babies dressed up as pumpkins on Halloween, and that’s dachshunds dressed up as hot dogs … or golden retrievers as bumblebees … or a group of dogs and their owners dressed up as the cast of The Wizard of Oz. Now, imagine an entire parade of these dolled up dogs walking along the Esplanade and you have the annual Canine Promenade, a half-mile Halloween puppy parade. This year’s event will include disc throw and doggie massage demos, pet photography, and prizes for best costumes. Participating pups also receive treats from Pawsh.

$10 registration donation, Saturday, Oct. 27, 10:45 a.m. registration, parade at 11 a.m.; Fiedler Field near the DCR Hatch Shell, the Esplanade; esplanadeassociation.org

For Movie Buffs
Coolidge Corner Theatre’s 12th Annual Halloween Horror Movie Marathon

Get the popcorn and Junior Mints ready, because you’re in for a cinematic treat. Brookline’s Coolidge Corner Theatre will play a slew of some of the kookiest and scariest horror films of all time. A costume contest, a preview of horror trailers and shorts, and more will round out this ghoulish night of terror and gore. Does the thought of watching seven horror movies have your palms sweating? Don’t fret, consider the option to only watch the double feature of The Exorcist and The Thing. We’d say that The Exorcist alone is enough to give us nightmares for weeks, but we’re up for the challenge.

$15 for double-feature. $20 for entire movie marathon; Saturday, Oct. 27, 11:59 p.m. to Sunday, Oct. 28, noon; Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard Street, Brookline; 617–734–2501; coolidge.org

For Anyone Who Eats Too Much Halloween Candy Friday Night
Trick-or-Treat Halloween Workout

Want to burn off those snack-sized Snickers you know you will eat Friday night? Get fitness tricks, treats, and a 90-minute boot camp workout with Ultimate Bootcamp this weekend. The first 100 participants will receive goody bags, and the winners will get prizes from Popchips, Vita Coco, Boston Ski & Sports Club membership, and even tickets for Boston Wine Tours. Participants in the Trick-or-Treat Workout get $5 off the BeWicked Pub Crawl that follows. OK, so a pub crawl might be a little counterproductive. Think of it this way: You earned it! We’d say that’s worth the early morning crunches and push-ups.

$25 (advance registration required); Saturday, Oct. 27, 9-10:30 a.m.; Filippello Park, 109 Arlington St., Watertown; ultimatebootcamp.com

Check out all of our Halloween 2012 guides.