Dress up to get down for our grown-up's guide to Halloween weekend

This year, leave the candy bowl on the porch with a "help yourself" note, and treat yourself to your own holiday tricks.

There is plenty of adult fun to be had this weekend — from nightclub parties and concerts to sci-fi theater performances and no-kids-allowed haunted houses. Here's a rundown of your best bets on All Hallow's Eve.

Boogie all night long at First Avenue's annual Halloween party and costume contest. This year's dance mixes are provided by (Cloud), creator of the booty-shaking "Twerk Dat" event, veteran DJ Mike 2600 and head-banging Blackbird Bridge, among others. Consider getting crafty with your digs, as the costume contest boasts a first-place prize of $500 and five concert tickets.

8 p.m. Sat. $10 advance/$15 door, 18-plus. www.first-avenue.com

If you want to rock

Spin the throwback tracks with a Halloween Tribute Fest at Bedlam Lowertown for covers of bands such as Type-O-Negative, Danzig/Misfits and Iron Maiden (9 p.m. Sat., $7, bedlamtheatre.org). Watch Jeremy Messersmith perform his 2010 "Reluctant Graveyard" album, along with some more seasonal tunes, at the Cedar Cultural Center, where other acts include Natalie Lovejoy, Chris Koza, Aby Wolf and Lydia Hoglund (8 p.m. Sat., $25, thecedar.org). Or sink into a medley of local music at the Turf Club, where Mark Mallman, the Blind Shake, Pornonono and 26 & The Bats! are performing (8 p.m. Sat., $10 advance, $12 door, www.turfclub.net).

If you want to eat

4 p.m. Fri., 21-plus, www.grumpys-bar.com

If you want to watch

Pause your "Hocus Pocus" reruns for 12 live shows that meld theater, music, storytelling and dance at the Twin Cities Horror Festival. In the spirit of the annual Fringe, the back-to-back schedule at Southern Theater features roughly 90-minute shows. One show ominously titled "The Deep Dark" by Oncoming Productions ties underwater themes with a tragic tale of loss. Another show, billed innocuously by Ghoulish Delights as "The Thermos® Bottle," boasts an ambiguous "it" that causes all sorts of disturbances. Ratings for performances are based on 1-to-5 scales of language, violence — or blood — and include age restrictions.

7-11:30 p.m. Fri.; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sat.; 2:30-7 p.m. Sun. www.tchorrorfestival.com

The pumpkin beer will be flowing for this year's Minneapolis Haunt, which spills through downtown at about half a dozen bars including Cowboy Jack's, the Exchange and the Pourhouse. The annual bash includes a slew of giveaways, drink specials, candy handouts and a costume contest. And for those who want one last dance, there's an after-party at Mason's and the Cowles Center. The Haunt is an indulgent way to give more than just candy, as each ticket sale submits a three-meal donation to Feeding America.

The Haunted Basement has been going strong with its episodic frights at the Soap Factory. The artistic production is known for many things, but most notably: its shock factor, its so-called "Smells of Death" and its safe word ("uncle"). After navigating through a maze of dead animals that would be at home in Norman Bates' bedroom (or a Miley Cyrus video?), you'll have only reached the entry point. If it's sold out, there's always the Trail of Terror, Valleyfair's "ValleyScare" or the Wabasha Street Caves.

Times range, ends Sun., 18-plus, www.soapfactory.org