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What’s on this week: 28 October to 3 November

13:17 27/10/2022
Thrills and ghouls with Halloween fun as the school holidays roll on, plus a sprinkling of performing arts in our weekly cultural agenda

Cinematek and Flagey are collaborating on a mega Halloween film feast. While Cinematek screens horror classics like the original Nosferatu and Hideo Nakata’s malevolent child heart-stoppers Ring and Dark Water, Flagey offers American quintessential viewing like Ghostbusters, A Nightmare on Elm Street and John Carpenter’s The Thing. Go ahead, walk home alone afterwards on a foggy night, we dare you. 28 October to 6 November

Georgio

Brussels residents, rejoice: Georgio “the Dove” Valentino (pictured right with Blaine) is back in town. For one night anyway … the experimental rock musician who traded in Brussels for Greece a few years ago is playing the Archiduc this week with his old buddy Blaine L Reininger of Tuxedomoon fame. Prepare for a mix of vibrant post-punk guitar, industrial rock, gnarly vocals and – if we’re lucky – violin and ukulele. 28 October 20.00, Rue Antoine Dansaert 6

Jazz Café

Full Circle’s Jazz Café welcomes a talented harmonica-guitar duo performing an original repertoire fusing jazz, Brazilian music and rock classics. Experience Kenzo Néra & Joël Rabesolo’s joyful creativity, spontaneous musicality and virtuoso flights of imagination. Dinner option also available. 28 October 20.00-22.00, Full Circle House, Chaussée de Vleurgat (Ixelles)

Comic Con

Comic Con Brussels is a popular event covering every aspect of pop culture, including manga, comics, TV shows and gaming. Christopher Lloyd, Stephen Gogg and Ryan Hursts are among the many talented actors and artists present to sign autographs and answer questions. Horror fans can also purchase tickets now on discount for the Horror and Pop Culture exhibition Helltopia: Brussels Halloweeks. 29 & 30 October, Tour & Taxis, Avenue du Port 86C

Dia de muertos

You don’t need a lot of pesky plans to get your Halloween vibe on in Brussels; you just have to stroll through the Marolles. Día de Muertos sees grinning skulls, colourful costumes, jam sessions and Mexican hot chocolate warming up the famous neighbourhood in central Brussels. Bring a souvenir of a loved one who has passed for the Altar of the Dead and sign up for one of many workshops. Don’t miss the final evening, when the dead come back to parade in the streets, leading you to a concert at Porte de Hal. 30 October to 5 November, across the Marolles

Viage Halloween partyDon your scariest costume and rock up to this Halloween Party at Viage, the city’s grand casino. The programme is full of thrills with a horror boudoir and photo corner, burlesque shows and electro DJ set and best costume contest for the spookiest get-up! Entrance is free for casino members; €10 for non-members, which includes a free drink and €5 worth of chips! 31 October 21.00 to 1.00, Boulevard Anspach

Bruxelles sur scène

Find out why café culture is one of the best bits of living in the capital during the month-long Bruxelles sur Scènes 2022. Some 13 of the city’s best-loved venues stage an eclectic and original programme of around 100 concerts, live comedy and performances, including A tribute to Aretha Franklin at The Music Village and The Sassy Cabaret at L’Os à Moelle. For the sixth edition, a subsidised Pass, priced at €20, enables you to enjoy a show in each one of the 13 participating venues. 1 to 30 November, café theatres across Brussels

Mois du doc

Screens will be flickering with a huge range of documentaries in cinemas and exhibitions spaces during Mois du doc. Taking place across Brussels and Wallonia, it’s a month-long exploration of French-language Belgian documentary filmmaking. From experimental to narrative, long to short, dramatic to bemusing, you’ll find it all here. Most screenings include a talk by the director or subject from the film. 1 to 30 November, across Brussels and Wallonia

Batard (c)Nacho G Riaza

Things get jiggy at Beursschouwburg this week, with the second edition of the Batard Festival. It’s a kind of ongoing set of activities, installations and video works that are staged to support the new and emerging artists as much as to entertain the audience. There is an opening DJ set and an after-party, and a lot of it is free because this is Beursschouwburg (photo (c) Nacho G Riaza). 2 to 5 November, Rue Auguste Orts 20

OUTSIDE BRUSSELS

Hangar Halloween

Brussels Gate event space (formerly Brussels Kart) hosts the first ever Hangar Halloween two-day indoor rave, kicking off the ghoulish festivity with an incredible line-up of 20 DJs. Inspired by popular Halloween raves in London, New York and Barcelona, Hangar is inviting everyone to dress up in their favourite spooky garbs and create an experience to remember. DJs, including Kolsch, DJ Tennis, Ka:st, Motor City Drum Ensemble and Antal, will provide electrifying performances while other forms of entertainment such as secret rooms, haunted houses and more will create a terrifying atmosphere. Last tickets available (between €15 and €40), with around 8,000 people are expected to fill the venue. 28 & 29 October, Brussel’s Gate, Alfons Gossetlaan 9, 1702 Groot-Bijgaarden

Crown gallery

ART Knokke-Heist is an open gallery weekend that attracts not only an army of serious art collectors, but everyone passionate about discovering the best visual art around. Some 49 galleries open their doors to share their passion for cutting-edge visual arts in a series of special shows (Crown Gallery, work by Caeiro Manuel pictured). 29 & 30 October, art galleries across the municipality

indiscipline-13_2

Get ready for a feast of contemporary art, dance and musical performance at INDISCIPLINE, an evening dedicated to experimental visual expression. A collaboration between Knokke-Heist and Brussels’ WIELS contemporary art center, it’s staged in the coastal resort’s seafront casino. An exciting programme features work and performances by Nan Goldin, Annie-Mie Van Kerckhoven & Crayon Moon, Anna Franziska Jäger & Nathan Ooms, Xavier Garcia Bardon/Exprmntl, Jack Smith, Marijke de Roover, Benjamin Kahn and Jean Lurçat. 29 October, 16.00-22.30 (DJ until 1.00), Grand Casino Knokke, Zeedijk-Albertstrand 509

(c)Koen Vanmechelen

Get to know Belgian artist Koen Van Mechelen during the Cosmopolitan Renaissance, a major exhibition of drawings, paintings, sculpture, video and live installations. ‘Live’ meaning living things; this is the artist famed the world over for the Cosmopolitan Chicken Project, in which he cross-bread chickens to create a global breed representing the world’s inherently beautiful diversity. There is also a reading, a film screening and Riders on the Storm, an hours-long multi-media performance at the Grand Casino, where visitors can wander in and out and enjoy a three-course lunch. Exhibition: 29 October to 15 January, CC Scharpoord, Maxim Willemspad 1, Knokke-Heist

Arboretum-Tervuren-7439-scaled

Experience the enchantment of Tervuren’s Arboretum in a Howeward Bound Forest Therapy session. George Biesmans, a trained guide, leads regular groups in the woodlands to help people reconnect with the natural world. Forest therapy is the practice of slowing down, awakening the senses and listening to your body. 28 October 9.00-12.00

Château de Trazgnies

The Château de la Trazegnies in Hainaut transforms into a haunted manor in La Magie d’Halloween. All the family is invited to dress up in their scariest costume and visit the castle’s whacky cast of witches, trolls, giants, monsters, jugglers and magicians (Covid safe ticket necessary; quick tests available at site). 30 & 31 October 14.00-midnight, Place Albert 1er 32, Trazegnies (Courcelles)

Lanterna Magica - 1

The illuminated nature walk Lanterna Magica returns to the domain of Château de la Hulpe for the annual family activity that comes alive as night falls. Entitled The Enchanted Forest, the new fairytale trail is filled with fantastic creatures. As the forces of evil prepare to take over the forest, nature and the castle are to defend the site. Until 11 December Château de la Hulpe, La Hulpe (Brabant Walloon)

Written by Sarah Crew, Lisa Bradshaw, Louis Kernoa-Pascoe