bergenPAC's Fall Is Really a Movie Season, and Downtown Englewood Is the Lobby

"A Live Conversation with David Arquette Following a 30th Anniversary Screening of SCREAM." That's the full billing for October 9 at bergenPAC, 30 North Van Brunt Street. The doors-to-dinner math of the whole season follows from that one line. The film comes first, then the talk, and the event starts at 7:00 PM. That's an hour earlier than most of the concerts on the same calendar.

Scan bergenPAC's schedule through mid-November and the pattern repeats. A film starts the evening and people connected to it stay on stage after the credits. On October 30, The Blair Witch Project runs as a "Film Screening and Q&A with Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael C. Williams." On November 14, An Evening with Peter Billingsley and A Christmas Story closes the run heading into the holidays. All three start at 7:00 PM.

The Calendar, Sorted by Start Time

Sort the October and November listings by start time and the season splits into two groups. Tribute acts and touring headliners mostly start at 8:00. Screenings, conversations, and a few spectacle nights start at 7:00. The Marquee Club Series sits between them at 7:30, except for Joe D'Urso's Acoustic Excursion, which starts at 7:00.

One hour doesn't sound like much until it lands on a Friday. The Scream night and the Blair Witch night are both Fridays. A 7:00 curtain means you're in your seat around the time an 8:00 crowd is still ordering a second round on Palisade Avenue. Leave time to park and pick up tickets, and dinner before a film night starts at about 5:00 PM, not 6:30.

Dinner Has to Start Earlier, and One Menu Is Already Timed for It

bergenPAC keeps its own Preferred Restaurants list, and three names on it can be confirmed as operating this year.

The closest is CZEN at 36 North Van Brunt Street, a few doors up the same block as the theater at 30 North Van Brunt. Its own events page lists a brunch today, October 4, alongside other dated food and drink nights.

Sofia, at 36 Engle Street, is the one restaurant whose schedule lines up with a 7:00 start. Its "Theater Prefix" menu runs from 4 to 7 p.m. The page doesn't name bergenPAC or promise a discount, so treat it as a set early menu, not a ticket-holder deal. The dinner menu linked from Sofia's site is dated May 2026, so it's current. On a 7:00 night, sitting down at 5:00 leaves room for the full prix fixe and the walk over.

Blue Akai, at 23 East Palisade Avenue, completes the trio. Its site posts weekly hours and carries a 2026 copyright.

The list has a few gaps worth knowing about before you book. It still includes Lulu Mediterranean Grill at 63 Nathaniel Place, Antioch Mediterranean Restaurant at 35 West Palisade Avenue, and Mexcal at 24 North Van Brunt Street. None of the three could be confirmed as operating in 2026, and the website linked for Mexcal now shows an expired account. That doesn't mean any of them has closed. Call first.

The Newer Tables Off the List

Several places that aren't on bergenPAC's list are within a short walk, and two are new this year.

• La Cuchara, 21 East Palisade Avenue. Boozy Burbs reported it officially open on January 21, 2026, at that point running six days a week. It sits next door to Blue Akai.
• Kebabé Mediterranean Cuisine, 548 Grand Avenue. It was reported open by September 15 as the concept's first Bergen County location and its second overall, after the original in Madison, Wisconsin. The menu is halal Mediterranean and Turkish, built around grilled meats and kebabs, and it's open seven days a week. That makes it one of the few options for a Monday night like Andy Cohen on October 19.
• Thaiway, 24 North Dean Street. It takes table reservations and online orders and shows a 2026 Bergen Magazine Readers' Choice award on its site. On a busy Friday, booking ahead matters more than usual.
• Noches de Colombia, 90 West Palisade Avenue. Its Englewood page lists daily takeout and delivery hours. That works best on a night when you'd rather eat at home first and walk in at 6:45.

The Library Is Running Its Own Film Track, Mostly Free

Two blocks over, the Englewood Public Library at 31 Engle Street is running a smaller version of the same idea: screenings, costumes, and a Halloween-week finale. It starts today. The Manhattan Short Film Festival's final local screening is Sunday, October 4, at 2 p.m. at the library, and Patch reported the screenings are free.

The children's calendar continues the theme. The Great Science Spooktacular is Thursday, October 15, at 4 p.m., and Haunted Library runs Thursday, October 29, from 3 to 8 p.m. On November 5 at 11 a.m., Popcorn and a Movie screens Toy Story 5. Preschool Drive-In follows on Thursday, November 12, at 4 p.m. Most children's programs need advance registration, and the library notes that programs may change during its ongoing renovations.

The adult calendar fills in the live music. Pianist Carolyn Enger plays American Ethos on October 11 at 7 p.m., and the Bergen Ukulele Group plays October 24 at 2 p.m. Music of the West African Kora with Sean Gaskell is October 31 at 7 p.m., and guitarist Tony Aglione plays November 7 at 3 p.m. The library's events page carries older publication metadata, so check its live calendar before you go.

Halloween Week Runs Three Nights in a Row

Put the two calendars together and the end of October lines up across three nights. Haunted Library runs until 8 p.m. on Thursday, October 29, the same hour Get the Led Out starts at bergenPAC. Friday, October 30, is the Blair Witch screening with three of its stars on stage at 7:00. Saturday, October 31, ends at the library with Sean Gaskell's kora performance at 7 p.m.

No citywide Halloween parade or trick-or-treat event on Palisade Avenue showed up on the city's October calendar or the Englewood SID calendar as of this writing. The SID calendar looks like it hasn't been updated since spring, so something could still be announced. For now, the downtown Halloween program comes from the theater and the library.

Where the Season Lands in November

The film run moves from horror to holiday on Saturday, November 14, when Peter Billingsley takes the stage with A Christmas Story at 7:00. The night before, Vanessa Williams plays at 8:00, and CoComelon: Sing-A-Long LIVE fills the house at 1:00 the next afternoon. That weekend has three different start times in under 48 hours. If you plan to make two of them, book the Saturday dinner for the 4-to-7 window, not the later Friday slot. bergenPAC's schedule changes as shows are added, so check its live events page before you commit to a table.

The Team Francesco team keeps a running file on downtown Englewood: which restaurants are open, which blocks are filling in, and how a night out actually comes together around Van Brunt Street. If you want that kind of street-level read on Englewood or anywhere else in North Jersey, Let's Connect.