It’s my favorite time of year and not because I like to watch the leaves change from green to varying shades of orange—I just go weak in the knees for a good mustache. The Movember Shave-Off is at the Caxton tonight, making sure your lip ferret is on fleek for a cause. Later this week there'll be talks from Vegans of Shanghai, Young China Watchers, and Learning2 for you teachers. There's also Ladyfest's Dating Monologues to look forward to and the last IPWS mentor walk of the season.

*** Movember mustaches, not just cause the ladies love it but also to raise awareness for men’s health issues like prostate cancer. Kick the month off with a shave at the Caxton with the Shanghai Dolphins and other Shanghai celebs. There’ll be a raffle with prizes and donations to the Movember foundation are welcome. Starts at 6pm, free entry. GoEast is offering a small-group lesson on Chinese ink wash painting. All materials and a frame to hang your work will be provided. Costs 400rmb a person. Runs from 7-9pm. Young China Watchers Shanghai welcomes Danit Gal, Yenching Scholar at Peking University and International Strategic Advisor to the iCenter at Tsinghua University. It’ll be 40-minute moderated discussion followed by an audience Q&A. 50rmb to get in, talk starts at 7.30pm. 'Learning2' Annual Conference will bring between 400–500 teachers from around the world to Shanghai American School for some professional development through talks, conferences, and workshops. Runs from Thursday to Saturday. TEDxPuxi presents talks on the improv bedrock: 'Yes! And...'. There’ll be a line up of 8 speakers ready to share their best collaboration stories. Costs 400rmb, starts at 1pm. Vegans of Shanghai will host an event at Tribe, focused around spreading the word about animal compassion. There’ll also be some vegan eats for dinner, costs 100rmb. Talks from 4–6.15pm, dinner at 6.30pm.

Stuff to Look Forward to…

Ladyfest Shanghai, the women's nonprofit, brings their annual Dating Monologues to Daliah, where you'll hear real dating stories of Shanghai (as if you don't have enough of your own horror stories). The stories are presented in Vagina Monologue style, with members of the improv group Zmack acting out stories that were submitted. Doors open at 7pm, show starts at 8pm, party goes till late. Free entry. The International Professional Women's Society (IPWS) along with M on the Bund, AmCham, Austcham, and BritCham are organizing the final mentor walk of the season for Saturday, November 11. Mentor walks are meant to bring together established women leaders and emerging women leaders for a casual morning walk with a side of networking and guidance. Runs from 9.30-11.30am at 7/F, No. 5 The Bund (corner of Guangdong). Costs 100rmb to participate, this fee is donated to Educating Girls of Rural China (EGRC).