Once again, New Orleans proves it celebrates HALLOWEEN like no other city, with a variety of events ranging from the family-oriented to the freaky to the downright frightening. The late Jim Monaghan's annual Halloween parade marches out of Molly's at the Market (1107 Decatur St.) at 6 p.m. Thursday, following behind the Storyville Stompers, the Kazoozie Floozies, the New Orleans Circus School and the Gypsy Caravan Belly Dancers with carriages, throws and goodies before returning to Molly's. On Thursday from noon to 9 p.m. is the annual VoodooFest, "a celebration of New Orleans' unique spiritual heritage" in Armstrong Park with Sunpie and Coco Robicheaux, dancing, food, kids' activities and more. Authentic voodoo rituals will be led by Priestesses Mama Lola and Luisah Teish and the Voodoo Authentica Ritual Troupe, including fire, stilt and snake dances. Free admission. Get tricks and treats at the mysterious Samhain Ball, beginning at 10 p.m. Thursday at the Contemporary Arts Center (900 Camp St., 528-3800). The ball requires Middle Earth-themed costumes of its participants (as well as the age of 18) and promises live music, international DJs and "interactive theatrics." Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door. Visit www.nola.com./samhainball for more information. Several events catering to the gay and lesbian community come with a series of elaborate parties nightly from Thursday through Sunday. The celebrations culminate in the costume-required extravaganza Mythos Saturday night from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. at the Municipal Auditorium (Armstrong Park), swaying to beats spun by DJ Roland Belmares. Admission $60. Visit www.halloweenneworleans.com for more info. Not for the faint of heart, the House of Shock (4951 River Road, Jefferson, 734-7462) presents 17,000 square feet of in-your-face horror, carried out with a distinct punk edge. Multimedia shows, "The Dark Ride" and live music round out the offerings. Admission $12, open 8 p.m. to midnight Oct. 30-31 and Nov. 1-2. For fun the entire family can enjoy, Sheriff Foti's Haunted House (corner of City Park Avenue and Marconi Drive, 827-8501) has a Haunted House with adult-size fright, as well as the more subdued Unhaunted Village, Ghost Train rides and hayrides for kids. It features games, food and music, and is open nightly starting at dusk through Thursday. Admission $7 adults, $3 kids. Audubon Zoo's Boo at the Zoo (6500 Magazine St., 581-4629) is another kid favorite, offering the Zoo's attractions along with trick-or-treating, a variety of entertainers and more. Early admission tickets are $15, regular $10. Open 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday. -- Frank Etheridge

New Orleans Hornets vs. Utah Jazz 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30 New Orleans Arena, 1501 Girod St., 587-3663 For the first time since 1979, NBA basketball is coming home to New Orleans. It's been a long and tortured odyssey -- featuring two near-misses for a new franchise and a frantic 11th-hour push this spring -- but the Charlotte Hornets are now the New Orleans Hornets, and tonight they finally make their regular-season debut. Led by guard Baron Davis and forward Jamal Mashburn, the Hornets have been one of the strongest teams in the NBA in recent years, and reached the Eastern Conference semifinals last year. Barring injuries or an unforeseen meltdown, the New Orleans Hornets look to be a solid playoff contender this year. And it's a nice grudge match to start the season, as the Utah Jazz is the franchise that took the name in 1979 from our beloved New Orleans Jazz. A pregame "Spooktacular" starts at 5:30 p.m. and features Rockin' Dopsie Jr. and the Zydeco Twisters, among other spirited festivities. Tickets range from $7 to $265 and are available by calling 525-HOOP or through Ticketmaster (522-5555). -- Scott Jordan

La Troupe Makandal 10 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30 Maple Leaf Bar, 8316 Oak St., 866-5320 Even in the Afro-European-influenced city of New Orleans, voodoo and Haitian culture are often misunderstood to be spooky and spiked with ill will. A performance by Haitian dance troupe La Troupe Makandal will remedy that misconception and any others lurking about. The troupe interprets the social and spiritual aspects of Haitian culture while removing many of its stereotypes. Named for an 18th century Haitian freedom fighter, La Troupe Makandal originated in a common Port-au-Prince neighborhood in the early '70s. Created as a music and dance company to ease the plague of poverty, the organization eventually moved to New York City and bonded with Brooklyn's vibrant Haitian community. Today, the group carries on its celebration of its native culture under the direction of drummer Frisner Augustin and tours the world to produce workshops, lectures and performances that educate audiences while they entertain. Tickets $10. -- Cristina Diettinger

Masked Band Ball 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31 Mermaid Lounge, 1100 Constance St., 524-4747 Any remotely creative musician will wear a clever costume on Halloween night. In the case of the bands playing at the Annual Mermaid Lounge Masked Band Ball, that means pretending to be another band for the night. While past balls have featured revivalist themes where whole bands masked as one, this year's event is a thrown-together bill of pickup bands featuring members from all corners of the local scene. As usual, there will be strong representation from the indie-rock sector, with members of Mexico 1910, the Supercarters, and Funkruse participating. Bands will perform 30-minute sets from a more-or-less unrelated group of bands from the late '60s to the early '80s. These "costumes" range from the punk rock of the Cramps and Danzig, to electro-performance acts like Neu and Devo, to the good old rock 'n' roll of Rush and Jimi Hendrix. The ball closes out with Amerigo doing Spinal Tap. Admission $5 before 9 p.m., $8 after 9 p.m. -- Diettinger

Widespread Panic Kiefer UNO Lakefront Arena, 6801 Franklin Ave., 280-7222 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 31, Nov. 1-2 For the past five years, Georgia-based rock icons Widespread Panic have made an annual pilgrimage to New Orleans to celebrate Halloween, with multiple-night stands that are a must-see for their devoted fan base. But this year the band comes to town on a different note: guitarist and band co-founder Michael Houser, whose searing leads and abstract, exploratory guitar work was a trademark of Panic's sound, died in August from pancreatic cancer. He left a wife, two children and a legacy that will in part be cemented with the posthumous release of Door Harp. Recorded this spring post-diagnosis, Door Harp is a calm, soothing lullaby of sorts, with Houser's acoustic work giving a sweet, assuring tone to the instrumentals. Former Beanland and Kudzu Kings guitarist George McConnell now assumes lead-guitar duty, but expect the same Panic classics to be mixed in with a number of covers, with Bob Marley tunes possible on Halloween as the Wailers open. All shows are sold out, but a limited number of tickets might be released as the dates approach. -- Etheridge

The Ritz 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Nov. 1-2; 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3; through Nov. 24 Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carré, 616 St. Peter St., 522-9958 It's easy to find the laughs in a play that incorporates characters ranging from a Puerto Rican lounge singer to a mobster, all falling somewhere between absurd and foolish. Compound this with the notion that the play takes place in one night in the intimate, not-so-cozy confines of a men's bathhouse, and you've got Terrence McNally's farce, The Ritz. Director Ricky Graham has put together a solid cast of theater veterans to pull it all off, including the versatile Lara Grice as Googie Gomez, the lounge singer around whom the free-wheeling plot swirls. The rest of the cast includes Rene Piazza, Dane Rhodes, Renee Maxwell, Patrick Mendelson, Kyle Daigrepont, Rusty Tennant, Michael Salinas and Matthew Mickal. Harry Mayronne Jr. leads the musical arrangements, with choreography by Heidi Junius. Tickets $21 adults, $16 students. -- Etheridge

Trust Fund Babies 8 p.m. Friday-Sunday, Nov. 1-3; through Nov. 17 The Pickery, 433 Orange St., 263-5542 In just a couple years, playwright R.J. Tsarov has become the master of absurdist comedy in New Orleans. To watch an audience exit a Tsarov play, whether it's Hellhounds, Love Sauce or Sketches for the Midnight Hour is to watch a delightful ball of confusion; lots of head-scratching on top of the laughs. Tsarov is fascinated with the dysfunction of the human psyche; he's the guy who stays up late and asks himself, "What if this screwed-up dude had to deal with that situation?" and then rubs in some of the freshest dialogue around. He may well be the playwright to watch this season, starting with this weekend's debut of Trust Fund Babies, about dead cell-phone mourners, pet seagull owners and nymphomaniacs, among others. Stars Raphaelle, Diana Shortes, Gary Rucker, Veronica Russell, Wild Bill Dykes, Travis Acosta and Jonathan Frick. This also may be the swan song for The Pickery. Tickets $12. -- David Lee Simmons

15th Annual Mirliton Festival 10 a.m. to sundown Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 2-3 Mickey Markey Park, Dauphine and Royal at Piety streets Davis Rogan's latest project, Elvis Marsalis, will provide a spankin' good time at this weekend's Mirliton Festival in Bywater's Mickey Markey Park. In the Caribbean, they call it "christophene." In Madagascar, it's "chouchoute." In Mexico, it's "chayote." But way down in the South, it's known as the mirliton, a subtropical member of the squash family that has a ring of zucchini in its flavor. The residents of Bywater pay homage to this elusive cooking variable with an annual festival loaded down with even more flavors, including live music from Davis Rogan's latest project, Elvis Marsalis, at 1 p.m. Saturday, and Anders Osborne playing from his latest CD with Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Bury the Hatchet, at 3 p.m. Sunday. Food will be provided from local-yokel restaurants Elizabeth's and Bywater BBQ as well as Jazz Fest's Betty Davis, while Kevin Belton of the New Orleans School of Cooking will be on hand for his trademark entertaining cooking demonstration. There will be vendors and games, arts and crafts, a beauty pageant at 2 p.m. Sunday and a grand prize drawing for a Saab. Admission $5. -- Simmons

Mark Morris Dance Group 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2 Mahalia Jackson Theatre of the Performing Arts (Armstrong Park), 522-5555 or 522-0996 The frisky Mark Morris Dance Group gets funky at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre of the Performing Arts on Saturday. Ya gotta love it when the bad boy becomes a legend. No, we're not talking about Jesse James, but Mark Morris, who transcended his wild-child rep in the modern-dance world to the point where Mikhail Baryshnikov called him "one of the great choreographers of our time." That's because the Mark Morris Dance Group brings a vibrant musicality to its performances, taking on everything from baroque to rock 'n' roll. This respect for the music becomes manifest in his dancers' movement, which despite Morris' classical roots can attain a funky essence. In this, its New Orleans debut, the Group will perform four pieces: "Resurrection," an homage to the American gangster movie; "Going Away Party," a Texas swing thing in the vein of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys; "Foursome," a suite of short dances to the music of Eric Satie; and "V," a nod to New York City. Tickets range from $26 to $52. -- Simmons

Linnzi Zaorski & Night Blooming Jazzmen 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3 El Matador, 504 Esplanade Ave., 569-8361 Walk into El Matador's smoky room on a Sunday evening to listen to Linnzi Zaorski & Night Blooming Jazzmen, and instantly you are overtaken by the romantic ambience of a Prohibition-era speakeasy. Singer Linnzi and her men possess the character, looks and sound of the 1930s (even sporting one of those big vintage microphones), bringing the nostalgia full circle. Ms. Zaorski delivers with accuracy and assurance, in a cool and well-calculated, half-spoken yet subtly melodic singing style, resembling a peculiar combination of Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee, Patsy Cline and Anita O'Day. The Night Blooming Jazzmen's instrumentation consists of drums, guitar and upright bass, a setting that makes for the perfect non-intrusive backup band. Their repertoire consists of classic period songs by composers such as Irving Berlin and George Gershwin. No cover. -- Manny Lander

Amon Tobin 9 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3 The Parish at House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 529-BLUE Unlike most drum 'n' bass DJs who merely speed along in pulsating monotony, Brazilian-born, Brighton, England-bred DJ Amon Tobin separates himself from the pack by infusing relentless jungle beats with the more challenging elements of jazz and large-scale orchestral music. Tobin's style exploits the extremes of noise and texture in a complex combination of disparate elements that don't really go together in theory. But, somehow, on his turntable they mesh into something great. In addition to production and remix work for fellow Brazilian nationals Airto Moreira and Bebel Gilberto, Tobin has produced a canon of full-length solo albums, each one to rave reviews and popular acclaim. His latest, Out From Where, displays further improvement over the near-perfect 2000 release, Supermodified. DJ Food, Bonobo, and DJ P-Love are also on the bill, so prepare for an unflinching dance party. Tickets $15. -- Diettinger

Dismantling Authorities Through Oct. 31 Carroll Gallery, Newcomb Art School, Tulane Campus, 314-2205 "This show is about permission. Permission to examine and challenge cultural constraints. Through a practice of thoughtful disobedience, we dismantle controlling authorities in our lives." So said the artists' statement of the six women participating in this Dismantling Authorities show at Newcomb. All are recent MFA graduates of Vermont College from the Gulf South and all approach their theme from various perspectives and media ranging from painting and drawings to video installations. For instance, unlike traditional "passive and beautiful" female nudes, Lory Lockwood's nude self-portraits "seek to subvert tradition by depicting the female body as asexual, confrontational -- causing discomfort and challenging desire," and in this she certainly succeeds in a series of big, scary, psychological and rather Francis Bacon-esque drawings. The others are no less formidable, making for a show that's a far cry from Grandma Moses or your maiden aunt's floral watercolors. -- D. Eric Bookhardt