WeHo Carnaval: An Eclectic List of Ways to Celebrate, Starting Tonight

If you’re among the estimated half million people who will be trolling West Hollywood’s Santa Monica Boulevard Friday night, you might very well be overwhelmed by your entertainment options.

Certainly there is the City of West Hollywood’s 28th annual Halloween Carnaval, which the city estimates attracts as many as 500,000 people. This year’s Carnaval, which runs from 6 to 11 p.m., features events on five stages along Santa Monica Boulevard:

• The Almont Stage, “the Garden of Evil,” will feature Kyle Nudo, returning ringmaster of the Halloween Hullabaloo, featuring dance, spooky songs, and daring aerialist acts. High-energy band Jessi Jae and The Ruckus will perform as well.

• The La Peer stage will feature DJ Skruffeh, one of the founders of today’s Southern California Hardstyle scene, and DJ Lady Killer and DJ Kitsch.

• “Medusa’s Lair,” the San Vicente stage, will be emceed by Jeffrey Damnit and include performances by the bands The Toledo Show, a seductive, gritty, feast with Femme Fatale Dancers; Ricky Rebel, former lead singer of No Authority, and acid/soul-singer/songwriter Marley Monroe.

• Comedic Latina drag queens Chico’s Angels will emcee the Palm stage, where Michelle Pesce will DJ and mix the flavor of hip hop with rock, funk, and pop while keeping an old school vibe. The Westbourne stage, will be emceed by comedian Ant with DJ Tekki Traxx, who spins tracks like Tiesto and David Guetta.

• Emcee Peter Vogt will host the West Knoll stage, “Potions & Spells”, where Big Band, Indie Rock, and “Nightmare Pop” will converge in a performance by Noah and the MegaFauna. LA-based Dario Black, a recording artist from South America, also will be on stage.

If dressing up and pressing your way through crowds isn’t your thing, this year you can watch the goings-on from home. A live-stream broadcast of the Carnaval can be seen on YouTube.com/WehoTV, on Channel 99 for all AT&T U-verse customers in Southern California and on Channel 10 in West Hollywood for Time Warner Cable customers.

And if you want to share with friends elsewhere your spooky costume, the city will have “Eventstigrammer” stations on the Carnaval route along Santa Monica Boulevard to capture photos for display at instragram.com/wehocarnaval. You can upload photographs of your costumed self to social media sites with the hashtags #wehohalloween and #wehocarnaval.

But there is so much more. Here, in no particular order, is a quick roundup of some other WeHo events and venues that you might want to consider:

All Made Up. If you can’t wait for Halloween to start celebrating, consider “The Day Before Halloween” beginning at 9 p.m. tonight at the Hudson, 1114 N Crescent Heights Blvd. at Santa Monica. The event offers drink specials. Plus there will be a Halloween contest and face painting, as well as a photo booth if you don’t want to take a selfie with your smart phone.

Living Gay. The Abbey, Robertson Boulevard south of Santa Monica, is devoting a full four days to celebrating what some consider the ultimate gay holiday. The celebration gets started tonight at 9 with “Touch,” featuring DJ Derek Monteiro. Friday is the “Night of the Living Gay,” with DJ Grant Smith spinning at 3 p.m. and DJ Dawna Montell at 9 p.m. If you still haven’t finished celebrating with tricks and treats, Saturday is “Confession,” which may be good for your soul. Paulo Ramirez begins DJing at 3 followed by Casey Alva at 9 p.m. Then Sunday recognizes the Mexican influence on L.A.’s culture with a “Day of the Dead” celebration featuring DJ Dawna Montell at 1 p.m. and DJ Derek Monteiro at 9 p.m. Monday? Really? After all that?

Strange & Unusual. That’s how the Mondrian’s Skybar is billing its two-night celebration of Halloween (tonight and Friday), with the spooky subtitle “an interactive experience for the recently deceased.” That interactive experience is a reference to installations by The Bosco against which you and your friends can be photographed. DJs Diallo, Eric Sharp and Whitney Fierce will be spinning at this venue at 8440 Sunset Blvd. at Olive.

Last Night. Come celebrate the last night at Eleven, the nightclub on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Larrabee that Richard Grossi recently sold to a New York couple who hope to turn it into Flaming Saddles, a Country/Western gay bar.

Film Fatales. The LA chapter of this international collective of women writers and directors is having a Halloween party tonight at Bar Lubitsch, 7702 Santa Monica Blvd. near North Stanley and invites you to celebrate with them. It starts at (;30 and the first 25 people at the door get a free drink.

After Hours. Mickys keeps on going after the 2 a.m. liquor cutoff, with dancing until 4 a.m. at its Happy Halloween night that continues on Saturday. And it opens early — at 6 p.m. DJ Michaelis performs on the main floor while hip hop DJ Asha spins upstairs.

Kikis Galore. Who doesn’t like a kiki? Fubar is celebrating Halloween with a “Night of a 1,000 Kikis,” hosted by Shawn Morales. DJ James Cerne spins and Kiki Extravaganza will be part of the fun.

Queens for a Queen. P.U.M.P., on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Robertson, no doubt will be filled with fans hoping to kiss the ring of Lisa Vanderpump, who will be crowned Queen of Carnaval this year by West Hollywood Major John D’Amico.

Exodus. Exodus is what hundreds of thousands of partygoers on Santa Monica Boulevard will be attempting late Friday night and early Saturday morning. For those who want to avoid the traffic, Here Lounge, 96 N. Robertson Blvd. just south of Santa Monica, is offering its own Exodus with DJ Morningstar. And if you want to get an early Friday start, drinks are half price between 6 and 8 p.m.

Into Your Head. Out of the Street. The Riot House Bar at the Andaz, 8401 Santa Monica Blvd. near North Kings is offering the services of Sterling, billed as one of L.A.’s top psychics, if you’re looking for a good tarot car read.

Cinematic Horror. Katana, the sushi bar at 8439 Sunset near Queens Road, will be screening horror films on the patio to celebrate Halloween. There’s also a costume contest. It opens at 5:30 p.m. and the fun goes until 12:30 a.m. Saturday.