Halloween is not just for kids. Area adults will have their share of opportunities this weekend to celebrate the unofficial fall holiday.
Saturday night’s fun at Grape & Grain, 18031 Dixie Highway, will start at 8 p.m. The Halloween Bash will feature live music provided by local rock band mainstay Not My Dad (NMD).
Costumes are not required, but patrons who dress creatively have a chance to win a basket of beverages provided by Grape & Grain owner Bill Frank.
NMD founder Jon Elfner said the band will make the evening a memorable one. The band formed four years ago by a group of Homewood and Flossmoor residents looking to entertain local crowds.
The band is built around putting on events, he said, and twice hosted an event called Prom for Parents, the first with a 1980s theme and another a Toga Party. The band performed at Grape & Grain’s “Sham-ROCK, 2018” St. Patrick’s Day festivities earlier this year.
“We founded this band with the idea of throwing parties for the many people we know around town,” he said. “We pick a theme, often with costumes. The band dresses up and plays music. Everyone loves it. The Halloween Bash 2018 will continue that tradition.”
Elfner, who has led several local bands, founded NMD by drawing on several musicians who were longtime friends.
“We were a band before we were a band,” he said. “Our kids went to school together, and the time was finally right to build a rock band around this group of friends.”
The band is made up of married couples guitarist Elfner and his wife, bassist Lara, and singers Ted and Krista Venegas; drummer Terence Smith and guitarists Matt Epperson and Billy Villarreal.
“Everyone in the band lives and works in Homewood or Flossmoor,” Elfner said. “Our connection to the community is strong.”
Vice District and Copper Still Martini Bar & Lounge will host Halloween parties tonight, Friday, Oct. 26.
The celebration starts at 7:30 p.m. at Copper Still, 1961 Ridge Road. Patrons will need to be in costume to get into the downtairs speakeasy, the Blind Tiger. There will be a costume contest with prizes, and a DJ from 8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
The Vice District,18027 Dixie Highway, is hosting an event tonight starting at 9 p.m. The craft brewery will host a costume contest at 10 p.m. There will be a limited seasonal beer release, and music will be provided by DJ Preach.
There will be more adult Halloween fun in downtown Homewood at The Fifth Quarter, 18105 Dixie Highway, when the Deb Seitz Band entertains starting at 8 p.m. on Saturday. There will be costume prizes and food and drink specials. The band includes local rockers Frank Anaastos, John Falstrom and Geoff Amann.