🎃😳 Watch out for falling pumpkins!

🧙👻 Think you know about the Salem witch trials? Try acing this witchy quiz from Boston.com. Gia and Emily scored a whopping 2/9 … so the bar is low!

🥳 And happy birthday to B-Sider Leeza Smith! We gotta ask: Does this make Halloween your favorite holiday, or your least favorite? Either way, we hope it’s a great day!

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

Happy Halloween, B-Siders! You know we wouldn’t send you into Halloweekend without a list of spooky things to do.

So whether you’ve had your costume picked since January or you’re skipping it altogether, here’s what’s up this weekend:

🎃 Start with smashing one. Or, like 50. BU’s annual pumpkin drop (which is exactly what it sounds like) is today at 12:30 p.m. at the Metcalf Science Center Plaza. Just show up and stand back!

🏁 Tap into your speedy side. Yes, tickets to tonight’s “Hilloween” party at  F1 Arcade are $35, but they include tons of bites, a drink ticket, and racing on the wild F1 simulators. All the proceeds go to charity. <3

🕹️Head to a spooky summer camp. If there’s one thing we know about Roxy’s Arcade, they LOVE to go big, and their campy Halloween party tonight is no exception. Bonus: There’s no cover!

🔮 Get (airbrush) tats and tarot readings. Time Out’s free Halloween Bash on Nov. 1 has both, plus drag performances, food specials, a DJ, and a costume contest.

🍩 Nab a scary good freebie. Today, you can grab a free doughnut from Union Square Donuts courtesy of Boston Legacy FC, AND a free sub from the North End’s Dietz & Watson from 6 to 10 p.m. You’re welcome!

🍂 Try a Halloween-y hike. This one through Middlesex Fells on Nov. 1 promises peak foliage, raffle prizes, a costume contest (peep the Arc'teryx backpack prize!), and a post-hike hang at Idle Hands Craft Ales.

👻 Watch singles try not to get ghosted. Now this is truly terrifying: Watching singles going on blind dates (literally — they’ll be blindfolded) on stage at It’s A Date: Halloween Edition on Nov. 1

💃 Swing dance, but make it ~spooky~. Swing dancing. A live band. Beginner-friendly lessons. Free popcorn!? It’ll all be at this Halloween Swing Dance on Nov. 1. Wear your costume and bring candy to share!

🏈 Relive homecoming season … minus the high school drama! Nov. 1 is homecoming at Harvard, and for just $15, you can get access to the big game AND a food truck and craft vendor festival. Here’s the lineup!

💀 Celebrate Día de los Muertos. On Nov. 2, Bow Market is going ALL out with shopping, mariachi music, Lotería, and Mexican food and drink specials. Or, head to the Foundry for Day of DeadFest with food, live music, and local vendors.

✨ Alexa, play the 10-minute version of “All Too Well.” Harvard prof Stephanie Burt literally wrote the book on Taylor Swift. And she’ll be talking about it at the Seaport’s East End Books on Nov. 2.

🌃 Boston is entering its 4:30 p.m. sunset era. It’s that time again! *sobs* At 2 a.m. on Nov. 2, daylight saving time will end and our clocks will “fall back.” Your phone and computer should do it automatically, but don’t forget to change that oven clock! The good news: You’ll get an extra hour of sleep on Sunday. The bad news: The sun will set at 4:35 p.m. and will only go downhill until Dec. 21. Wanna see it for yourself? This Globe graphic will show you exactly how much daylight we’ll lose every day. 

🚇 November’s MBTA shutdown victims: Orange, Green, and Red Liners. Orange Liners are first on the chopping block this weekend when service will be replaced by shuttle buses between North Station and Forest Hills from Nov. 1 to 2. But we’d argue Green and Red Liners have it worse, with nine-day shutdowns planned on the GLX starting Nov. 4, and between North Quincy and Braintree starting Nov. 15 (more on both of those later). Here are allll the deets. 

🍎 Losing out on federal food aid? Here’s what to know. ICYMI: Thanks to our government shutdown, more than a million Mass. residents (including over 20% of Bostonians) are set to lose access to SNAP benefits on Nov. 1, which give $212 million in food aid to Mass. every month. To bridge the gap, Gov. Healey doubled the state’s support for local food banks and pantries for November, and Mass. is currently part of a lawsuit attempting to get the benefits back. Here’s a running list of pretty much every local food bank and pantry.

❄️ Don’t get your hopes up for a fall snowstorm. New England is no stranger to the odd fall nor’easter, but this year’s not looking too promising for snowfall. In fact, the last time Boston saw pre-December snow was way back on Oct. 30, 2020, and that’s one of just three falls since 2006 that saw over an inch. Why? You guessed it: Climate change. As temperatures rise, Boston is seeing less snow across the board, including in winter. At just 9.8 inches, 2023-24 marked Boston’s third least snowy season ever.

⭐ This year’s Globe Summit on Nov. 18-19 will be a rather star-studded affair, with speakers like bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand, The Onion CEO Ben Collins, and Governor Maura Healey discussing the future of Boston through their unique lenses (and expect a ton of other influential guests). Time to break out the company credit card — “BSIDE25” gets you 25% off tickets. OR, Get in for free with your B-Side membership. Start a free trial here, and grab your Globe Summit tickets here! 

It’s the biggest candy holiday of the year. But which treats are Massholes actually buying? 

Well, according to this year’s Halloween candy-buying data (yes, it’s a thing), Mass. is … kinda boring! Apparently, we order about 3.5% less Halloween candy compared to the rest of the country, and 12.7% less candy corn. Boooooo!

But what are we buying? Sour Patch Kids. In fact, along with New Hampshire and Rhode Island, Instacart found that Sour Patch Kids are Mass.’ most uniquely beloved sweet treat on Halloween. 

If you’re looking to shake up this year’s candy rotation, Globe food critic Devra First tried and ranked some of the wackiest Halloween candy. (Spoiler: Skip the Shaq-A-Licious XL Gummies and grab the Nerds Candy Corn).

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🍭 Thanks for reading! Not that anyone asked, but in terms of candy corn, Gia LOVES it. Emily claims to hate it, but somehow is on her 10th piece …

😬 The results are in: 57% of B-Siders say that cancelling last minute can be OK depending on the plan. But another 40% say it’s rude no matter what. One reader said: “If I haven't gotten dressed yet it's a blessing, if I already put pants on I'm pissed.” Fair enough! 

💃 Keep up with us @BostonBSide on IG, TikTok, and Twitter. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected] or [email protected].