October 19th - 25th 2017 Triangle

by Pam & Michael Davison

Fall is in full swing and Halloween is right around the corner! We have lots of family fun here in the Triangle this weekend!

The State Fair runs through Sunday. If you haven't made it there yet, it looks like the weather is going to be fabulous all the way through the weekend!

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There are a few repeating events that kick off the weekend fun every Thursday. Raven Rock State Park invites you to join them to Hike for Your Health Thursday mornings, Marbles Kids Museum stays open late and offers $2 admission, Knightdale Station Park hosts food trucks for both lunch and dinner, and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences stays open late and presents a weekly Science Cafe. This week will explore Tackling Postpartum Depression.

Prairie Prairie Ridge Ecostation, which is free everyday, invites you to bring your little one every Thursday morning for a Nature Storytime or on Tuesday or Saturday afternoons to explore their Nature PlaySpace during a Nature Play Day. You are also find out how you can contribute to Citizen Science research every Saturday. Twice a month on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, they offer a guided Walk Through the Seasons.

In addition to free admission, the North Carolina Museum of Art offers Weekend Family Friendly Tours and Guided Tours of the Museum Park, the amazing outdoor exhibits every weekend.

Getting in the Halloween Spirit

Lake Lynn Park hosts their Spooky Fun Pumpkin Patch Thursday evening. Each child will get their own pumpkin to decorate how they want using a variety of craft supplies. Please pre-register.

Mordecai Historic Park will host their Haunted Mordecai Lantern Tours and Haunted Mordecai Free Festival next weekend, but they invite you to join them on a Haunted Trolley Tour both this Friday and next Friday and Saturday.

Explore the darker side of nature during Saturday's Creepy Crabtree festival at Lake Crabtree County Park. This FREE park-wide event promises lots of fun activities, as well as an opportunity to get out and enjoy Lake Crabtree in its fall splendor.

The North Carolina Museum of Art invites adults to Creepy Babies and Other Spooky Things. The event is free, but limited tickets are available for their grown up ghost stories, spooky walks and sugar.

Whooooo's afraid of the dark? Come get Batty at the Zoo Saturday and they'll shed some light on the mysteries of what goes "bump in the night." as you have a howling good time!

Celebrate Halloween at Marbles daily starting Friday and running through Halloween for phantastic fun with activities like Spooky Art, Monster Science Lab and Frankentoys! Come in costume to show off your Halloween spirit.

Join WakeMed pediatric surgeons on Saturday at Marbles for Operation Pumpkin, some pumpkin carving. Wednesday evening will also be a Family Fun Night - Spooktacular - a special night for special needs. This event is free and exclusively for kids with special needs and their families.

The Carroll Howard Johnson Environmental Education Park will host a Haunted Trail Saturday evening. There will be both a Family Version and a Full Fright Version.

Come to Falls Lake and have a Spooktacular time! Join the Falls Lake Park Rangers at the Holly Point Amphitheater for games, crafts, refreshments, campfire stories, a costume contest and a night hike Saturday evening.

The Pumpkin Patch Express returns to the Museum of Life and Science both Saturday & Sunday. Ride the train, take home a pumpkin and enjoy crafts and games. There is an extra fee for the holiday fun and reservations are recommended.

Dorothea Dix Park will host Movies by Moonlight Halloween Double Feature Saturday after dark. Join them for featured flicks "Hocus Pocus" at 7 pm and "Shaun of the Dead" at 9 pm. There will also be kid and adult costume contests, a themed pre-show video and food trucks Daddy Bob"s BBQ and Captain Cookie and the Milkman.

Walltown Community Center will be encouraging some Spooky Shenanigans Wednesday morning for kids ages 3-5 with story time, music, crafts and refreshments.

Fall Festivals & Fun

The West End Poetry Festival brings over 20 poets, 4 days of readings, workshops, and panels, and a focus on the theme "resistance" to Carrboro Wednesday through Saturday.

The American Tobacco Campus Lawn & Amphitheater will host the Bull City Race Fest and Food Truck Rodeo Sunday. There are a variety of runs for everyone from serious runners to recreational families followed by a post-race festival on the lawn at the Durham Performing Arts Center with food trucks, a beer garden, a kids" zone and entertainment.

Pinecone will bring a Kid Jam to Marbles Kids Museum Sunday afternoon. Join musicians Jef Walter and Julie Elkins to join the Jam!

Eat, Drink & Teach Tuesday at the North Carolina Museum of History. Educators are encouraged to come learn about field trips, workshops, lesson plans and other free resources while you enjoy tours, crafts, prizes and a mimosa bar.

History, Art, Music & Movies

Dead Again will be the featured flick for Friday's Fall Film at the North Carolina Museum of Art

Its time for the monthly Family Movie Night Friday at Hill Street Community Center. Join them for popcorn and a drink as you enjoy Captain Underpants.

This week features the Third Friday Gallery Crawl in Downtown Durham with live music and more.

Come back to Downtown Durham Saturday morning for a Civil Rights Heritage Walking Tour to explore Durham's Civil Rights Legacy during the 1950s and 60s Civil Rights movement.

Sunday is the last day to see the special, interactive exhibit Race: Are We So Different? at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Admission is free, but tickets are required either online or at the box office.

North Carolina and World War I, the 6,500-square-foot exhibition that highlights approximately 500 artifacts, period photography, a trench diorama, historical film footage, educational interactive components, and video re-enactments will be on display at the North Carolina Museum of History through January 6th It is also free.

Join them at Pullen Park every Saturday evening in October for a great family Dinner and a Movie. This week's movie clue is "just keep digging and digging and digging." Games and activities will occur before the movie each night.

Explore the historic nature of Leigh Farm Park with a Historic Tour every Saturday through December. Venture inside the historic farmhouse while being captivated by tales about life at Leigh Farm throughout the years.

Historic Yates Mill Pond County Park will offer Costumed Corn Milling Demonstrations this weekend. Step back in time and take a tour with 19th century costumed interpreters as you watch the millstones at work grinding corn into meal.

The Town of Wake Forest will offer several free walking tours of the local Wake Forest Historic District over the next several Wednesdays and Thursdays. The next tour will be offered next Wednesday morning.

Historic Yates Mill County Park invites kids ages 4-6 to come to the park Monday for a Field School about Milling Around with the Little Red Hen.

Casper will be the Monday Morning Movie at the Holly Springs Cultural Center.

Enjoy Fall at the Parks

Crowder by Night will be Going Batty Friday. Learn how bats live and go on a night hike as you look for bats.

Family Nature Night returns to Sertoma Arts Center on the Third Thursday of every month. This month's theme will be Webs and their Weavers!

Explore the treasures of plant life at Kids Together Park Saturday! Little & Little Landscape Architects will lead a guided tour of the trees, shrubs and flowers that adorn the park, followed by a fun art activity using plant materials collected during the tour.

Come and learn about Occoneechee Mountain's Geologic Wonders as you eplore the pyrophyllite quarry with a real geologist Saturday afternoon!

Come out to Yates Mill Pond Saturday to enjoy some Country Dancing and an exhibit on Historic Trades that will teach you about the Trade of Candy Making.

Blue Jay Point County Park invites the whole family to join them to explore their Fall Colors. Learn about fall tree identification as you create leaf "windows" to take home.

You can help the Stormwater Management Division keep the stream at Biltmore Hills Community Center clean on Saturday when they host a Stream Clean Up.

Enjoy Miss Spider"s Tea Party by David Kirk and make a craft Tuesday morning at Horseshoe Farm Nature Preserve.

Join an Eno River Park Ranger Wednesday morning and learn why the trees change color on a Changing leaves Tree ID Hike.

Enjoy a guided Wildside Walk with a Wildlife Educator at Anderson Point Park Wednesday morning.