by Kristen Bagwell

There are all kinds of community events this weekend - what are your annual favorites? The list below includes some new traditions as well...check it out!

Thanks as always to WRAL's Go Ask Mom and Social Butterflies NC for their fabulous event information!

Friday

Trick or Treat Downtown Fuquay Varina
Friday, October 26, 2-5pm


Durham Monster Dash, Friday at 5:30pm, City Hall Plaza in Durham
Monsters can either run or walk the three-mile course. A special one-mile course will be set up for participating children. After the Monster Dash, everyone is invited to enjoy a meal from the food trucks, listen to live music, participate in the costume contest and dance along to "Thriller" in front of City Hall.

Online registration is $10 in advance and $15 the day of for the three-mile race, and $5 for the one-mile course. Proceeds from the event will benefit Kidznotes, The Scrap Exchange, Keep Durham Beautiful, Inc. and Girls Rock, N.C.


OctoberFest! RTP Community Church, Durham
Friday, October 26th, 6-10pm. FREE ADMISSION! (Wear your costumes)
Trunk or Treat. Mega jumping towers. Hay rides. Free pumpkin patch. Pumpkin carving. Make-your-own candy apples. Bon fire & smores. Carnival games. Spooky American Idol. Face Painting. Bratwursts with sauerkraut. read more


Scare-olina Skies 2012, Morehead Planetarium, Chapel Hill
October 26 and 27, 8pm.  Chapel Hill's newest Halloween tradition is this unique version of the "Carolina Skies" planetarium show. Explore the dark legends behind the constellations!

Saturday

Harvest Festival, University Mall farmer's market, Chapel Hill
Saturday, 8am - 12pm. Kids can wear their Halloween costumes and join a parade at 10 a.m. Enjoy free face painting and games.


Halloween at the Farmer's Market, Western Wake Farmers’ Market, Cary
Special Halloween activities from 8 a.m. to noon, Saturday, in Cary, including a trick-or-treat treasure hunt for kids.


Natural History Halloween, The N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh
Saturday 9am - 4 pm. FREE! Kids 12 and under may participate in an annual costume contest with categories such as “Creepy and Crawly,” “One of a Kind,” “Fantastically Fictional,” “I Belong in a Museum,” and “Creatures of the Night.” Contestants must enter by 3 pm. Purchase pizza, drinks and Halloween-themed home-baked goodies on-site to support the Museum's teenaged volunteers group.


HollyFest, Womble Park, Holly Springs
From 10 am to 4 pm, enjoy food, entertainment, activities for kids, inflatables, a pumpkin carving contest and more. Admission is free.

N.C. Symphony presents Halloween Spooktacular, Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts, Raleigh
Shows are at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., Saturday. Kids can come dressed in their Halloween costume for a parade on stage after the show. The hour before each concert, kids can try out instruments as part of the symphony’s Instrument Zoo. Tickets are $20 and the show is 1 hour long. You can also enjoy ARTSober at this same location, a celebration of arts with lots of free activities on Saturday afternoon.


Trick or Treat at Belk, Southpoint Mall
You are invited-- On Saturday, October 27 customers with children are invited from from 10am-12noon to "Trick or Treat" inside the Belk store at the Streets at Southpoint. 


Downtown Harvest Day, Cary
Ashworth Village, 2 - 5 pm. Live music, carnival games, face painting, kids’ fortune telling, balloon animals and more. There will be food, including a bake sale benefiting a Mothers of Preschoolers program. Wristbands are $3 for kids 3 and older and free for adults.


Trick or treating at Ashworth Village, Cary
From 5 - 7 pm. Free admission with your Harvest Day Wristband, which also gets you a lift on the hayride between Ashworth Village and Cary Elementary School from 5:30 - 7:30pm.


Cary Teen Council’s Tricks & Treats Bash, Cary Elementary
5 - 7 pm. Adults will need a $1 wristband for events after 5 pm, but kids can use their Harvest Day wristbands.


Trick or Treat on Salem Street, Apex
Saturday, October 27, 4-8pm. Salem Street Businesses treat the kids.     


Marbles Kooky Spooky Halloween Party
Saturday, October 27, 6-9pm. Advance tickets-$8 member $10 nonmember and at the door- $10/$12.  All treats, no tricks! Come in costume for a special night of magical mischief.


Raleigh Living Dead Festival, City Plaza, Raleigh
Saturday, 4-11 pm. All ages, family-friendly event that including activities for kids. The Raleigh Jaycees will host a kids carnival with games, face painting, a kids hair color station, popcorn, cotton candy and more. Tickets to the festival cost from $5 to $12. Kids under 3 are free.

Sunday

Thrill of the Nerds, Hill House, Durham
Sunday, 3-6pm. The Communities In Schools of Durham will host live music, crafts for kids, family games, a costume contest, pumpkin hunt and food. Tickets support programs that help increase literacy rates, bring families together and help students reach graduation day. Tickets are $6; $3 for ages 3 and up; and free for kids under 3.

Halloween

Trunks of Treats, Guess Road Baptist Church, Durham, NC
Wednesday, Oct 31 7:00p to 8:00pm. Trunks of Treats is an opportunity to bring the kids to a free, safe trick or treating event. Location is Guess Road Baptist Church, 3102 Guess Rd. Durham, NC.


Trick or Treat, Crossroads Plaza 4-6pm on Halloween
Trick or treating at select stores, face painting in the food court









Saturday
The Contemporary Art Museum in Raleigh is hosting Fright at the Museum: Sideshow Spectacular, a creepy, crazy and fun carnival featuring live music, food trucks, circus performances and a costume contest. You must be 21 to attend. Check out our previous blogpost for more information.

Raleigh will be hosting its first ever Raleigh Living Dead Festival, with live music, circus performances, a kid's zone and an intriguing event called the "Zombie Olympic obstacle course." The festival will be held in City Plaza, but you can stagger down Fayetteville Street with other zombies in the Raleigh Zombie Walk, departing from Moore Square.
Wednesday, Oct. 31

Halloween in Chapel Hill The Halloween Carnival in Carrboro boasts family-friendly fun in a carnival atmosphere. This free event will have games, activities and prizes, along with your favorite fall treats, such as apple cider, hot chocolate and popcorn.

As always, the people of Chapel Hill and nearby areas will be celebrating Halloween on Franklin Street. If you can find a way to get there and don't mind crowds, you'll definitely have a great time and see some die-hard Halloween fans.