Power to the Pedestrian at Walktober Fest

Pumpkin spice lattes, sweater weather, and Halloween festivities excite the masses when October rolls around, but make room for Walktober Fest in your autumn-themed fun.

Walktober Fest is a series of four separate walking events hosted by Los Angeles Walks to take place at various locations throughout Los Angeles in the hope of raising the profile of pedestrians in a city where car is king.

Pedestrian Advisory Committee on Which Way, LA? last year.

Robert Greene of the Los Angeles Times wrote that Walktober, like cycling, is “part of citywide discussion about the use of Los Angeles streets… it’s a conversation about the use of urban space, making streets livable, winning attention from government, organizing and seeing projects through.”

These walks range in length of 1 to 3 miles, include strategic beer stops along the way, and each takes place in a unique area of L.A. Some of the walks are even themed– on Oct. 19th’s walk, they encourage attendees to sport zombie attire.

These events represent a growing trend of activism through walking, typified by the group’s Walking Day of Action that took place this past Tuesday where participants (one of which, pictured above) took to LA’s streets to defend and raise awareness of the rights of walkers.

Walktober Events:

Heart of LA WalkLAvia with Los Angeles Walks

Meet: 10:00 a.m. at Mariachi Plaza, corner of East First and Boyle Streets in Boyle Heights

Walk: Three miles along the CicLAvia route from Boyle Heights to Chinatown led by Los Angeles Walks steering committee (ride the Gold Line back to the start, or vice versa)

Beers: 12:00 p.m. at the Chinatown Hub beer garden

See who’s coming and invite friends on Facebook

Beverly Hills Architecture, Art and Alleys with Walk Beverly Hills

Monday, October 14 (It’s Columbus Day, so you might have the day off!)

Meet: 5:30 p.m. at Nic’s Beverly Hills, 453 N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills 90210

Walk: Two mile loop of great architecture, public artworks and secret alleys in Beverly Hills led by Ellen Lutwak

Beers (and “These Boots Are Made for Walk-Ka” martinis!): 7:00 p.m. at Nic’s Beverly Hills, 453 N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills 90210 (plus happy hour specials all Monday evening for walkers!)

See who’s coming and invite friends on Facebook

2nd Annual Zombie Walk with Walk Bike Glendale

Saturday, October 19

Meet: 6:30 p.m. at Glendale Central Park, 201 E. Colorado Street, Glendale, CA 91205

Walk: One-mile walk down Brand Blvd (but at a very slow, zombie pace) with a large group of fellow undead pedestrian advocates. ZOMBIE ATTIRE ENCOURAGED!!!

Beers: 7:45 p.m. at Far Niente, 204 1/2 N Brand Blvd, Glendale, CA 91203 (The walk ends nearby at the Alex Theater on Brand Blvd.)

See who’s coming and invite friends on Facebook

Santa Monica Walking Train with SantaMonicaWalks! and Santa Monica Next

Saturday, October 26

Meet: 3:30 p.m in front of the new library in Virginia Avenue Park, 2200 Virginia Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90404

Walk: Three miles, checking out Expo Line construction and the brand-new Tongva Park led by Gary Kavanagh (you can take the Big Blue Bus #7 back to the start, or vice versa)

Beers: 6:30 p.m. at Chez Jay, 1657 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90401