NINE THINGS TO DO OCTOBER

1 Sing it loud

at the Staples Center, in L.A. Perennial favorite Neil Diamond is back on tour (in L.A., September 29 to October 2). His new album, produced with Rick Rubin, debuts this fall.

8 Tour.

Open House New York showcases the city's historic and contemporary architecture and design sites-among which are private residences, art galleries, design studios, and landmarks throughout all five boroughs (ohny.org, October 8 and 9).

20 Buy the set.

Palm Pictures Directors Label DVD series, featuring music videos and work by Anton Corbijn, Jonathan Glazer, Mark Romanek, and Stephane Sedanoui, is out.

22 Row.

Head of the aries the annual competition in Cambridge, Massach etts is this weekend (October 22 and 23).

27 Get cracking

at the 16th Annual Stone Crab, Seafood & Wine Festival. The nation's top chefs and vintners gather at the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort, in Longboat Key, Florida, for cooking demonstrations, wine tasting, and a chefs' gala seven-course dinner (October 27 to 30).

5 Try it again.

The new N.H.L. season begins.

16 L.A. Fashion Week

The movie capital is determined to also be taken seriously as a fashion mecca. On the heels of 7th on Sixth, in N.Y.C., Smashbox Studios, in Culver City, hosts Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week (October 16 to 20).

26 Plié.

Ballets Russes, a documentary celebrating choreographers, designers, and composers such as Diaghilev, Balanchine, de Mille, and Picasso, who transformed ballet into a "true" art form, opens in N.Y.C. at the Film Forum.

31 Trick-or-treat. Happy Halloween.