We’re full-on into fall, and with it comes October, the start of the three-month holiday season. Before we jump into the month-long celebration of the macabre, let’s take a look back at the fun we had during the month of September.
We met the start of the fall network television season by compiling a list of our favorite TV theme songs. We delved into some of our favorite unexplained mysteries, conspiracy theories, and paranormal phenomena. We revisited Azeroth in a new way with the World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King tabletop game ahead of the release of World of Warcraft Classic: Wrath of the Lich King expansion. Finally, we turned back the clock and revealed the movies we wish we could watch again for the very first time. Throughout the month, we tasted a number of pumpkin spiced foods and drinks and shared our thoughts on each — turns out we enjoy pumpkin spice more than we thought we did.
The big event for the Pop Goes the Culture crew was Arkansas Comic Con in Little Rock. Joey worked the main stage, Kenny held court in Panel Room 1, and the rest of the gang took over Panel Room 2 with Pop Goes the Culture programming all weekend long, in addition to bouncing around wherever they were needed. You can check out our photos from the weekend on the Arkansas Comic Con Facebook Page. We had a blast and can’t wait to join our con family in Arkansas again — Rogers, next time — in January at NWA Comic Con. Little Rock completely sold out the building, so if you’re in the area and considering meeting up with us in Rogers, Arkansas, then get your tickets now while they’re still available. Don’t worry, more guest announcements will be made as we get closer to the event.
This month, we’re changing up the format of the show based on the results of a recent Pop! Quiz poll question. The majority of those who responded indicated that they prefer the old format of one longer podcast episode per week over shorter episodes spread across more days of the week. So, based on your feedback, we’re going back to that format. Beginning in October, you’ll get one longer episode of the Pop Goes the Culture podcast every Friday in the podcast player of your choice.
In addition to our audio podcasts, we’ll continue to publish Taste Test Tuesday videos to the Pop Goes the Culture YouTube Channel every Tuesday. We won’t be producing an audio episode to go along with the video, so if you want to keep up with our Taste Test videos, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel. We’ll also publish our October tabletop gameplay video to our YouTube Channel later this month.
We’re shifting our focus to all things spooky in October. We’re putting together our favorite spooky / Halloween song play list right now. We’ll get creative by fantasy drafting the entertainment we’d take with us for a weekend at a cabin in the woods. In addition to our continuing Funko Friday tabletop game reviews, we’ll be playing one of our favorite spooky season games provided by our friends at Funko Games. We’ll be revealing our favorite Halloween costumes of all time.
In addition to our own Pop Goes the Culture created podcast episodes and YouTube videos, we’re hosting a 24-hour Frankenstein Friday watch party all day on Friday, October 28th. Frankenstein Friday is a national holiday that celebrates the monster on the last Friday of October every year. Join us on the Pop Goes the Culture Discord server where we’ll be streaming classic black and white Frankenstein films from 7am Eastern / 6am Central for 12 hours, with the programming repeating at 7pm Eastern / 6pm Central. I won’t reveal which films we’ll be watching, but I will tell you that there are a few surprises hidden throughout the stream you’ll want to keep an eye out for.
Finally, be sure to check out the Pop Goes the Culture online store. This is your last month to order your very own fall season Pop Goes the Culture merch. These products will go away at the end of the month to make room for our holiday / Christmas catalog, so be sure to order your long sleeved tees, stadium blankets, and more ASAP!
Coming Up This October
Saturday, October 1st: National Pumpkin Spice Day. Celebrate with one of the pumpkin spiced products we reviewed in September on the Pop Goes the Culture YouTube Channel.
Sunday, October 2nd: The Walking Dead final stretch of episodes premieres on AMC.
Monday, October 3rd: Mean Girls Day.
Tuesday, October 4th: National Taco Day (on Taco Tuesday, no less!)
Wednesday, October 5th: Chucky season 2 premiere on SyFy.
Thursday, October 6th: New York Comic Con kicks off and runs through Sunday.
Friday, October 7th: Werewolf By Night premieres on Disney+.
Monday, October 10th: Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Tuesday, October 11th: National Coming Out Day.
Wednesday, October 12th: National Gumbo Day.
Thursday, October 13th: Parks and Recreation‘s Treat Yo Self Day.
Friday, October 14th: Halloween Ends premieres in theaters and on Peacock.
Monday, October 17th: National Pasta Day.
Tuesday, October 18th: Halloween Happy Meals return for a limited time at McDonald’s.
Wednesday, October 19th: Horror Fest International kicks off and runs through Saturday.
Thursday, October 20th: National Chicken and Waffles Day.
Friday, October 21st: The Last Drive-In Halloween Special with Joe Bob Briggs airs on Shudder.
Monday, October 24th: United Nations Day.
Tuesday, October 25th: Nope and The Invitation released on BluRay & DVD.
Wednesday, October 26th: Anniversary of the night Doc Brown demonstrated his DeLorean time machine for Marty McFly in 1985’s Back to the Future.
Thursday, October 27th: National Black Cat Day.
Friday, October 28th: Frankenstein Friday. Join us for a 24-hour Frankenstein watch party on the Pop Goes the Culture Discord server. Pull it up and have it on in the background while you work.
Sunday, October 30th: National Candy Corn Day.
Monday, October 31st: Halloween.
