Perhaps outside of the Christmas/Hanukah holiday season, is there a better time of year than autumn? Depending on who you ask, some go as far as saying the fall months are even more magical than those that comprise the Christmas holidays – and there are those here on the Woodland Hills Magazine staff who share this sentiment.

Something special occurs when Halloween is just around the corner, and while SoCal doesn’t boast the same cache in this regard compared to, say, the New England region of the country, what with its plethora of cascading orange and red leaves, we still have plenty of activities to engage in that bring the smells, sights and sounds of the majestic autumn season into focus.

Behold…our top two picks for 2022 fall festivities in Woodland Hills!

Haunt O’ Ween, taking place at 6100 Topanga Canyon Boulevard and running from September 30 to October 31, dares you to enjoy Halloween like never before. The 200,000 square-foot space welcomes all ages for an interactive Halloween playground complete with nine expansive thematic environments – indulge yourself in a fun pumpkin patch, trick-or-treating, arts and crafts and even a 40-foot carousel. As the night wears on, take in the incredible sights of 35,000 pumpkins, the town of Haunt O’ Ween, face painting experiences, photo and video ops, immersive Halloween-themed tunnels and much more. Tickets now on sale.

Fundraiser Gala to Benefit the Philippines, representing a collaboration between Health-e-Charity and the Manny Pacquiao Foundation, is gearing up to take place on November 12 in Woodland Hills, with more specific details about the event to be announced. Representatives of the Health-e-Charity say that in their efforts to conduct mobile medical mission clinics in various locations, ultimately growing from four locales by February 2023 to eight to 10 in the first two years, they are looking forward to going to the Philippines to treat human sex-trafficked victims housed by the Cameleon Association while launching Bodhi Connect – the first cloud-based global virtual medical supply specialty platform which connects frontline physicians and nurses with medical specialists all throughout the world. More information will be forthcoming.

Let’s be honest: fall in Los Angeles is something of an elusive thing. There’s no nip to the air – in fact, some of the warmest and wild-fiery days land in this month – and any dramatic color changes take place amongst celebrities’ dress collections rather than on trees. Mostly, we think of fall as that period of time in L.A. after (most of) the tourists typically leave and just before you start to see Christmas lights go up.

But even if you’re still sunning yourself on L.A.’s best beaches come the end of September into October, you’ll still recognize the signs: the impulse to bolster your reading list, buy sweaters you won’t wear for weeks, throw a scarf on over your sundress, order seasonal squash dishes and even seek out the best pie in the city. No matter what you’re into this time of year, carving out some time – a little pun intended – for Haunt O’ Ween or the Fundraiser Gala to Benefit the Philippines will help make it feel like autumn is actually a thing here.