Spooky season is officially in full swing.

The themed festivals started early this month with MIT's Future Fest kicking us off midweek and continuing strong through Sunday. But October isn't just about science. In fact, if you can pick a theme, there's probably a festival for it in either city.

Cat tours, Thai markets, mushroom quests and more prove it every day across thirty-one nights. And it wouldn't be October without Halloween, as the squares pack everything from Monster Mash parades to local bar crawls to celebrate the haunted season.

Enjoy and have a great month, everybody.

P.S. If you're ever curious what this newsletter would look like on video, take a look at The Stoop's first series, Sunday in the Squares, a weekly short series of cinematic scenes across the neighborhoods.

Happenings Of The Month

Story Hour with Grace Lin @ Porter Square Books, Cambridge - The award-winning, New York Times bestselling author-illustrator reads her new picture book about a community coming together to build something beautiful. RSVP required | October 4th

Sunday Scaries @ Remnant Brewing, Somerville - Four Sundays, four horror themes. Remnant's October movie nights run cult classics and horror favorites you probably shouldn't watch alone | October 4th, 11th, 18th & 25th

Pitch-A-Friend @ Aeronaut, Somerville - People pitch their single friends to a room of singles in a 3 to 5 minute slideshow, then everyone mingles | October 5th

Astronomy on Tap: Exoplanets @ Lamplighter CX, Cambridge - Pints and short talks from astronomers, this round on planets beyond our solar system | October 6th

Millennial Speed-Dating @ Aeronaut, Somerville - Ditch Hinge for real conversation. Speed-dating for monogamous millennials 30 to 45, first drink included. STOOP20 at checkout for a surprise | October 12th · Sponsored

Pottery + Shucking @ The Shared Palette, Somerville - Shuck and slurp East Boston Oysters, then press the shells into clay to build your own oyster platter | October 14th

The Big Squash @ First Street Market, Cambridge - Pumpkin carving, a hay bale maze and spiced cider at First Street Market's fall fest | October 17th

Skip the Small Talk Night @ Aeronaut, Somerville - A room of strangers, "big talk" prompts and zero awkward small talk. STOOP20 at checkout for a surprise | October 26th · Sponsored

Cambridge Half Marathon @ CambridgeSide, Cambridge - 13.1 miles on Halloween, based out of CanalSide | October 31st

Halloween Costume Contest @ Bow Market, Somerville - Hosted by Sammi Miammi, with a $500 cash prize for the best adult costume plus group, kid and pet categories | October 31st

Halloween Block Party & Pet Spooktacular @ Chuckie Harris Park, Somerville - Vendors, live music, raffles and a pet costume contest | October 31st

Cambridge Official Halloween Bar Crawl @ 730 Tavern, Cambridge - Costumes on, bar hopping starts at 730 Tavern in Central | October 31st

New Homes On The Block

254 Garden St, Cambridge | 2 bed, 2 bath | 1,100 sq ft | $1,095,000 | single family · open house

8 Hawthorne Park #8, Cambridge | 2 bed, 1 bath | 1,141 sq ft | $879,000 | condo · quiet cul-de-sac off Huron Village

133 Webster Ave #3, Cambridge | 3 bed, 2 bath | 1,128 sq ft | $860,000 | condo · top-floor unit with unobstructed views over Donnelly Field

442 Windsor St #1, Cambridge | 2 bed, 1 bath | 928 sq ft | $825,000 | condo

42 Howard St, Cambridge | 4 bed, 2 bath | 1,834 sq ft | $1,150,000 | multi-family · first time on market in nearly 50 years

77 Sycamore St, Somerville | 5 bed, 3 bath | 2,459 sq ft | $1,275,000 | single family

93 Jaques St, Somerville | 5 bed, 2 bath | 1,967 sq ft | $1,049,000 | single family

60 Franklin St #3, Somerville | 3 bed, 3 bath | 1,700 sq ft | $1,149,000 | condo · brand new 2026 construction, lives like a single family

68 Sydney St, Somerville | 4 bed, 2 bath | 1,877 sq ft | $969,300 | single family

City Hall Highlights

Cambridge

The council unanimously approved a 6.9 percent property tax increase on September 28th, with the residential rate up 6 percent to $6.95 per thousand and the commercial rate up 21 percent to $16.99. Officials warned next year will be tighter, since the commercial rate is nearing the state's cap of 175 percent of the residential one. On housing, city staff recommended temporarily easing the 20 percent affordable requirement for large projects, through a lower percentage, tax breaks or payments into the Affordable Housing Trust, after two developer lawsuits challenged the rule. Councillors take it up October 5th, the same night two held-over orders return: a five-year pause on the Huron Ave bike lanes near Fresh Pond and a push to decriminalize sex work. Staff will also bring options for adjusting the multifamily zoning law within six to eight weeks. Up in the Cambridge Highlands, Healthpeak's 42-acre neighborhood plan won Planning Board approval along with an MBTA commitment to a long-wanted pedestrian and bike bridge. And Cambridge Arts director Jason Weeks retires at the end of October after 25 years.

Somerville

Somerville and Everett are getting a direct link across the Mystic. MassDOT's board approved a $78.7 million contract for a car-free pedestrian and bike bridge connecting Draw Seven Park to Everett's Gateway Park trail, with construction expected to take about three years. On September 24th the council voted unanimously to formally recognize the 642-member Davis Square Neighborhood Council and backed state "Yes in God's Backyard" legislation letting religious institutions build multifamily housing on their land by right. Renters, take note: starting October 14th, owners must tell tenants in writing within 48 hours that they're selling. And after a five-alarm fire in Teele Square on September 30th displaced 43 residents, the city activated its emergency fund, which is taking financial donations only.

Small Business Section

Bragging rights: seven local spots made the New York Times' updated Where to Eat Right Now guide to Boston: Celeste, Field & Vine, Sarma, Giulia, Pammy's, Sumiao Hunan Kitchen and Yume Ga Arukara

Pagu's Tracy Chang opened Café+ by Pagu inside the new home of MIT's School of Architecture and Planning, and the twice-fried Taiwanese doughnut is already the runaway order

Award-winning Yafa Bakery & Café is planning a second location in Davis Square at 187 Elm St., the old Posto space that's sat empty for nearly two years

Lamplighter Brewing is moving to 100% employee ownership as its co-founders step back after 10 years. Approvals are expected this month, with the first profit-sharing payout planned for March 2027

Davis Square is getting a gallery. The Diamond Factory, a pop-up in the former Starbucks space that's been empty for a year, opens this month

Clover's old kitchen near Inman Square could get a second life as Cambridge's first commercial kitchen open to all, under a Cambridge Redevelopment Authority plan to spark economic opportunity

Charlie's Kitchen is selling off its furniture, signs and plates October 3rd and 4th, but it isn't a goodbye. Closed since January's water damage, the Harvard Square burger spot needs a full gut renovation, and the owner hopes to bring it back

End of an era on Mass Ave: The Half Shell closed September 17th after 28 years with the Lagoudakis family. The Sub Shop, a Boston sandwich shop, is taking over the space

Second Chance Spotlight

Carrot | Female | Poodle Mix - Carrot was found injured in Cambridge a couple of weeks ago in a store parking lot at the Fresh Pond Mall in Alewife. She was underweight, her front right leg was badly broken, and the wounds on her muzzle were consistent with her mouth having been taped shut. She had no tags and no microchip, and MSPCA-Angell's Law Enforcement team is still working with Cambridge Animal Control to find out how she ended up there. The break was too severe to save the leg, so vets amputated it the next day.

She's roughly six years old, already getting around on three legs, and went up for adoption just yesterday. She's still a little wary of new people, so a quiet home and a patient adopter will probably suit her best.

Carrot is with the MSPCA-Angell Boston Adoption Center. Anyone who knows where she came from can submit a tip or call 617-522-6008, and donations toward her care go through mspca.org/carrot.