A lion dance in Chelsea Square, outdoor movies every week, early voting, a fire department open house and a Día de los Muertos festival: here is what is happening in Chelsea from Monday, October 12, through Sunday, November 1. All events in Chelsea Square are free.
Monday, October 12
- Indigenous Peoples’ Day. City Hall, the library, the Senior Center and the City Yard are closed. No trash or recycling pickup, so collection runs a day late all week. Resident permit parking and street sweeping rules are not enforced.
Tuesday, October 13
- Chelsea Farmers Market, 3 to 7 p.m., Chelsea Square. The market’s last day is October 20.
- Board of Health, 5:45 p.m., Williams School Building, 180 Walnut Street (Arlington Street entrance). On the agenda: a tobacco sales permit transfer at Vega Market.
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 6 p.m., City Council Chambers. A Broadway project’s request to cut its affordable units, 60 units on Revere Beach Parkway, and Walmart’s depot. Our preview.
- Tree Board, 6 p.m., library auditorium, 569 Broadway. Tree planting at Malone Park and the city’s Tree City USA application.
Wednesday, October 14
- Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, 3 to 6 p.m., Chelsea Square. Lion dancing, traditional music and dance, lantern making, face painting, an author reading and food, celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander traditions. This is the festival’s new date.
- Affordable Housing Trust Fund board, 6 p.m., City Hall Room 102 or Zoom. Updates on the first-time homebuyer program and on projects at 150 Williams Street, 440 Broadway and 375 Broadway.
Thursday, October 15
- Chelsea Cultural Council grant deadline, 11:59 p.m. Grants are for community arts and culture projects in 2027. Apply at massculturalcouncil.smartsimple.com. No late applications.
- Movie in the Square: The Corpse Bride, 7 p.m.
Saturday, October 17
- Early voting begins for the November 3 election, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Our voting guide.
- Community flu clinic, 8 to 11 a.m., St. Luke’s Church, 201 Washington Avenue. Free, with or without insurance.
- Regional walk-in vaccine clinic, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Chelsea Senior Center, 10 Riley Way. Flu shots for ages 5 and up and COVID for ages 12 and up, with or without insurance. RSV, shingles and pneumococcal vaccines for eligible adults 50 and older require insurance.
- Fire Department open house, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Central Fire Station, 307 Chestnut Street. Details.
- Teatro Chelsea’s “La Mancha,” 2 to 5 p.m., Chelsea Square. A bilingual adaptation of Don Quixote by the city’s Latino theater company.
Sunday, October 18
- ALS and MS Walk for Living, 10 a.m., Leonard Florence Center for Living, 165 Captains Row. Registration is $20, at walkforliving.org.
Later in October
- Tuesday, October 20: last Farmers Market of the season, 3 to 7 p.m., and the last community meeting on dropping parking minimums, 6 to 8 p.m., Chelsea Senior Center.
- Thursday, October 22: Movie in the Square, Warm Bodies, 7 p.m.
- Saturday, October 24: last day to register to vote, City Clerk’s Office, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; early voting 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Sunday, October 25: the Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department’s annual Halloween celebration, 4 p.m., Williams School Building.
- Tuesday, October 27: Movie in the Square, Minions & Monsters, 7 p.m.; deadline to apply to vote by mail, 5 p.m.; Planning Board takes up the 60-unit building at 320 Revere Beach Parkway, 6 p.m.
- Thursday, October 29: Movie in the Square, Coco, time to be announced; Licensing Commission special meeting, 6 p.m.
- Friday, October 30: Trunk or Treat, 4:30 to 7 p.m., Chelsea Square, with trick-or-treating, inflatables, face painting and a pumpkin patch, followed by Hocus Pocus on the big screen at 6:15 p.m. Businesses and groups can sign up to decorate a trunk or table through the QR code on the city’s flyer. Early voting ends at noon.
- Saturday, October 31: Household Hazardous Waste Day, 9 a.m. to noon, Mary C. Burke School teachers’ lot, 300 Crescent Avenue. Free for residents.
- October 30 to November 1: a community Día de los Muertos ofrenda (altar) on display in Chelsea Square.
- Sunday, November 1: Día de los Muertos Festival, 1 to 5 p.m., Chelsea Square, put on by the Veronica Robles Cultural Center with the Mexican Consulate in Boston, the City of Boston, the City of Chelsea and the ICA Watershed. Free tickets at givebutter.com/DiademuertosVROCC2026.
Also
- Voting questions: Election Administrator Phillip Dragone can help with accessible voting, absentee ballots and other election questions, at [email protected] or 617-466-4056.
- Adopt a storm drain: residents can sign up to keep a drain near home clear of leaves and litter through the Mystic River Watershed Association, at mysticriver.org/adopt-a-drain.
Photo: Chelsea City Hall. Daderot, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.