Event Calendar

The purpose of Child Health Day is to help raise an awareness and a commitment to teaching children and parents the benefits of good health. This event is annually celebrated on the first Monday of October. The day was proclaimed in 1928 by Calvin Coolidge to increase awareness of health issues facing the children in the U.S. including health issues, healthy eating, fitness, child's development, immunizations, preventing injuries, and more.

Browse a monthly selection of used books and media at the Sherman Oaks Friends of the Library Used Book Sale. Held at the Sherman Oaks Martin Pollard Branch Library, the sale features books, movies, LPs, and DVDs for all ages. Entry is free, while used books and media are available for purchase; individual item prices have not been verified. The sale takes place October 10 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Visit the organizer's website for current event and admission information.

Global Handwashing Day is a campaign to motivate and mobilize millions around the world to wash their hands with soap. The campaign is dedicated to raising awareness of handwashing with soap as a key approach to disease prevention. It was invented at the annual World Water Week 2008, which was held in Stockholm from August 17 to 23 and initiated the Public Private Partnership for Handwashing (PPPHW). Global Handwashing Day took place for the first time on October 15, 2008, the date appointed by UN General Assembly in accordance with year 2008 as the International Year of Sanitation. The theme for Global Handwashing Day's inaugural year was Focus on School Children. The members pledged to get the maximum number of school children handwashing with soap in more than 70 countries. The tradition goes on today to help children around the world prevent infection and the spread of disease by learning to wash their hands.

National Boss Day is celebrated on October 16 in the United States. The day is meant to celebrate bosses who have been fair and kind throughout the year. The origin of Boss's Day can be traced back to 1958 when Patricia Bays Haroski registered "National Boss' Day" with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 1958. Patricia was working as a secretary for State Farm Insurance Company in Deerfield, Illinois. While working, she became aware of the challenges her boss (who also happened to be her father) had to face. In order to show her admiration and respect for her boss, she invented Boss Day. She chose her dad's birthday on the 16th of October as the date. If it falls on a weekend, it is celebrated on the work day closest to the 16th.

Sweetest Day is a day similar to Valentine's when people share romance or appreciation for one another. It occurs in October on the third Saturday of the month. The holiday is said to have begun in the city of Cleveland, Ohio in 1922. Candy store employee Herbert Birch Kingston put together a group of citizens to provide small gifts to homeless people, orphans, and others who had fallen on hard times. This tradition now seems to largely involve giving small presents, such as cards, candy and flowers, to family, friends, and sweethearts.

The 34th Annual Sherman Oaks Street Fair brings an all-ages street fair to Ventura Boulevard on October 18. This annual community event offers a chance to spend time along one of Sherman Oaks’ central boulevards and take part in a longstanding local tradition. Admission is free, making it an accessible option for anyone interested in the fair. No public start or end time has been listed. Visit the official event website for current schedule and admission information.

Boo at the L.A. Zoo is a Halloween event held at the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens on October 24 and 25. The program features trick-or-treat stations, keeper talks, pumpkin animal enrichment, photo opportunities, and live performances. Visitors can experience these seasonal offerings during regular event hours, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is included with paid Zoo admission or an active L.A. Zoo membership. Check the official event page for current admission information and the latest updates.

The first moon after the Harvest Moon is the Hunters Moon, so named as the preferred month to hunt summer-fattened deer and fox unable to hide in now bare fields. Like the Harvest Moon, the Hunters Moon is also particularly bright and long in the sky, giving hunters the opportunity to stalk prey at night. Probably because of the threat of winter looming close, the Hunters Moon is generally accorded with special honor, historically serving as an important feast day in both Western Europe and among many Native American tribes. Note that some years the Harvest Moon falls in October instead of September. The Hunters Moon of October is sometimes referred to as the Blood Moon or Sanguine Moon, as the Native Americans named this bright moon for obvious reasons. Other names for this full moon include the Travel Moon and the Dying Grass Moon. A full moon is a lunar phase that occurs when the geocentric apparent longitudes of the sun and moon differ by 180 degrees; the moon is then in opposition with the sun. At this time, as seen by viewers on earth, the hemisphere of the moon that is facing the earth (the near side) is fully illuminated by the sun and appears round. Only during a full moon is the opposite hemisphere of the moon, which is not visible from earth (the far side), completely unilluminated. As a lunar month is about 29.531, the period between full moons can be either 29 or 30 days.

Mother-In-Law Day is always the fourth Sunday in October. Its observance was started in 2002 to celebrate those special (and not so special) In-Laws! The source of many jokes, a mother-in-law doesn't usually get the praise and appreciation she deserves. According to a poll by iVillage, 72 percent of people rated their relationship with their mothers-in-law as fair to excellent, with only 28 saying it was "bad" or "terrible." Whether you are in the like or dislike your mother-in-law, it is a chance to honor the woman who is your spouse's mother.

Halloween is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31. Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, ghost tours, bonfires, costume parties, visiting "haunted houses" and carving jack-o-lanterns. Irish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century. Other western countries embraced the holiday in the late twentieth century. Halloween is celebrated in several parts of the Western world, most commonly in Ireland, the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom and occasionally in parts of Australia and New Zealand.