What's On in Manila: October 2026

Free film, three ways

Pelicula Pelikula, the Manila Spanish Film Festival from Instituto Cervantes, turns 25 this year. The main programme runs 5 to 11 October at Power Plant Cinema 2 in Rockwell, after a four-film opening marathon on Sunday 4 October at the Instituto Cervantes branch in Intramuros. All screenings are free, and films show in their original language with English subtitles. The short films, including Filipino work, screen on 11 October at 5pm.

The Japanese Film Festival from The Japan Foundation, Manila runs 1 October to 29 November with 16 films, from Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood to Studio Ghibli's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. In Metro Manila it screens at SM Cinema branches including Megamall and North EDSA, and admission is free.

Then KinoFest, the German film festival, runs 15 to 18 October at GH Ortigas Cinema in Greenhills Mall, San Juan. Admission is free. On 17 October it screens three Filipino films with a talk from the filmmakers afterwards.

• Getting there: Power Plant is the easy one from Makati and BGC. Greenhills and Megamall sit on the Ortigas side, so on a weeknight allow an hour from Makati.

Theatre and concerts

About Us But Not About Us is back at the Power Mac Center Spotlight Blackbox Theater in Circuit Makati from 2 to 25 October. Romnick Sarmenta and Elijah Canlas return as a literature professor and his student whose conversation turns into a tense psychological fight. It runs 1 hour 45 minutes with no interval and no one under 18 is admitted.

• When: Fridays 8pm, Saturdays and Sundays 3pm and 8pm
• Tickets: ₱2,800 to ₱3,920 on Ticket2Me

If you have children with you, Tanghalang Pilipino's Sayaw ng mga Ilaw closes on 11 October at the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez in the CCP (Cultural Center of the Philippines) Complex. It is a movement-based play about a girl learning the Pandanggo folk dance, with themes of grief underneath. Tickets are ₱1,800 to ₱2,000.

Two big nights land at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay. Regine Velasquez: Finale on 17 October marks her 40 years in the industry. The 18 October night was offered free to fans who pre-registered on SM Tickets, with tickets to be redeemed at SM Tickets outlets by 13 October. On Saturday 24 October, Silent Sanctuary: Gabi ng Lambing starts at 8pm. It is the second date, added after the 25 October show sold out, and tickets are on SM Tickets.

For something quieter, the Manila Symphony Orchestra's Centennial Concert V on 24 October at Hyundai Hall, Areté, in Ateneo is a night of Philippine composers, with a world premiere by Ryan Cayabyab. The start time has not been announced yet.

Art and design

Finale Art File on Chino Roces opens new shows by Linds Lee, Zoe Policarpio and Dwight Ong on 8 October, on until 31 October. At the Ayala Museum in Greenbelt, Turning Tides looks at the sea encounters and trade that shaped the islands.

Design Week Philippines, from the Design Center of the Philippines, runs 10 to 18 October with things to see, make and try. Venues are spread across the city, so check the Design Center's listings.

On weekends in BGC, BGC Art Mart sets up at Alveo Central Plaza at the BGC Arts Center on 26th Street, on 17 to 18 and 24 to 25 October.

Markets, food and drink

The Likhang HABI Market Fair is the one to plan a Saturday around. More than 80 exhibitors of Philippine textiles, weaving and design fill SPACE on Level 5 of One Ayala, Makati, from 9 to 11 October, 10am to 9pm.

The same weekend, KapeCon brings coffee brands and home brewers to Paseo de Roxas, Makati, on 10 to 11 October, 8am to 10pm.

Whisky Live Manila and Bar Show is at Shangri-La The Fort in BGC on 16 and 17 October.

• When: 7pm to midnight, each ticket is for one night
• Tickets: General Admission ₱2,799, Premium ₱3,999, VIP ₱8,799
• Good to know: 18 and over with ID, smart casual, no sandals or shorts

For long communal tables and a Bavarian band, the German Club's 86th Oktoberfest fills the Grand Ballroom at Solaire from Thursday 8 to Saturday 10 October, doors at 6pm.

Sport

Season 89 of the UAAP (University Athletic Association of the Philippines) men's basketball tournament is under way. On Sunday 4 October, La Salle play the University of the East at 3pm and Far Eastern University play the University of the Philippines at 5:30pm at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig. Venues change, so check the UAAP schedule before you go.

Runners have two early Sunday starts at the Mall of Asia Complex: the PUMA Philippine Half Marathon on 11 October (5K, 10K and 21K) and the Yakult 10 Miler on 18 October, where the 3K and 5K have already closed.

Halloween weekend

Halloween falls on a Saturday this year. For families, the Okada Kids Club's Halloween Spooky Carnival at Okada Manila in Parañaque runs 24 and 25 October, with morning (9am to 12pm) and afternoon (3pm to 6pm) sessions of games and activities for children in the Golden Ballroom. A child pass is ₱2,388 and an accompanying adult pass ₱888.

On 31 October, two very different nights:

• Madness Manor in Poblacion is a Halloween rave with haunted-mansion staging at Stratosphere Events Place, 4th floor of Century City Mall on Kalayaan Avenue. Tickets on Ticket2Me.
• INTRAMUMU takes over Magallanes Drive in Intramuros on 31 October and 1 November, 4pm to 2am each night. A one-day pass is ₱465, a two-day pass ₱930.

The next day begins Undas, All Saints' and All Souls' Days, when families visit cemeteries on 1 and 2 November. Expect heavy traffic on routes out of the city that weekend, and leave extra time for Intramuros.

How we chose: things that are confirmed by the organiser, close to Makati and BGC where we could, and worth leaving the house for.