October 12th - 18th Triangle 2017

by Pam & Michael Davison

It was wonderful meeting new ParkGeeks and hearing feedback from some of you regulars at Heritage Days last Saturday at Historic Oak View Park.

This weekend's events are all about Halloween and Fall! One more great weekend where there is something fun to do for just about every age and interest. The State Fair kicks off Thursday and runs through next Sunday. Click through for all the information you need including the five special days.

Getting in the Halloween Spirit

Calling all of Durham's ghost and ghouls to Forest Hills Park Friday evening. Fright Night will be a Fall Festival and Haunted House for the whole family with classic carnival games for all ages to enjoy, and a costume contest for kids and adults. Admission is a canned food donation.

Ride the train, take home a pumpkin and enjoy crafts and games as the Pumpkin Patch Express travels through the Museum of Life and Science weekends through October. There is an additional fee and reservations are recommended.

Pullen Park is hosting a Scarecrow Festival & Pumpkin Patch Bash Saturday afternoon. First, bring clothing and decorations to decorate a scarecrow and then join them for an awesome afternoon of fun, games, and pumpkins!

Come out and enjoy a Halloween Spook-Tacular Saturday evening at Bass Lake with all kinds of amazing interactive exhibits. Feel monster snot, eyeballs, and brains! Learn about creepy creatures that inhabit the earth. There will be a Costume contest plus a kids haunted trail.

Don't miss the 14th annual Haunting at Harris: Rise of the Legends! Get there early to get your wagon tickets and enjoy lots of games and crafts while you wait.

Join them at Hill Street Community Center Saturday afternoon for a Pumpkin Patch Party! Bring a small pumpkin and have fun decorating your own pumpkin while enjoying donuts and cider.

A little outside the Triangle, Fort Macon State Park will be hosting a Howling Hayride Saturday evening. The hay ride will transport you to the starting point of the night hike, a 1.5 mile self-guided flashlight hike. Make sure you call to reserve a spot.

Sunday's Family Feature at Crowder District Park will be all about Creepy Crawlies. Come learn all about snakes, spiders bugs and beetles!

Lake Lynn will host a Spooky Fun Pumpkin Patch next Wednesday and Thursday. Each child will get their own pumpkin to decorate how they want using a variety of craft supplies.

Fall Festivals & Fun

The Annual Cary Diwali Celebration returns to Regency Park Saturday. Enjoy Indian music, art, cultural dance, food, music, and theater, along with a bazaar of ethnic Indian handicrafts. The evening will even end with a fireworks show!

Art It Up! is a collection of 18 different events at 16 different locations in the Hillsborough Street district. Arts, culture, and recreation organizations in the vibrant district will host events focused on: Local Art, Music, Comedy, Yoga, Dance, Theater, Food, Community Art, Education, and Tours. Click through for the varied line up.

The Fall Harvest Festival marks the last Saturday morning Farmers Market in Downtown Apex. There will be live music, a pumpkin carving contest, kids activities, plus a whole bunch or awesome farmers and vendors.

The Holly Springs Farmers Market also comes to a close this Saturday with their famous Chili Cook-Off! Come help them judge the professional and amateur entries.

Students from the Pi Alpha Xi (PAX) Horticulture Honors Society at North Carolina State University are holding their Fall Plant Sale in partnership with the North Carolina Museum of Art both Satrday and Sunday. The selections include vegetables and other edible plants, pumpkins and decorative gourds, fall flowers, groundcovers, shrubs, and trees.

Outside the Triangle, New Bern and Tryon Place Historic Site will host Mumfest 2017, a combination of family fun, entertainment, attractions, exhibitors and great food in the beautifully restored setting of historic downtown New Bern and its waterfront. The garden admission at Tryon Palace is free, but interior tours will still require the purchase of a ticket.

The annual West End Poetry Festival in Carrboro will feature some of the southeast's most talented poets while celebrating the many exciting and varied poetic styles starting next Wednesday and running through Saturday.

Art, Music & Movies

This week's Science Thursday at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences will explore autonomous cars and the moral and social issues surrounding their development.

The Embers will take the stage for Thursday's Follow Me 2 Fuquay-Varina Concert. There will also be local craft breweries, vineyards and eateries for you to enjoy.

The second Friday of the month brings gallery walks, live music, extended hours and special events to the downtowns of Wake Forest and Carborro/Chapel Hill.

Fridays on the Front Porch of the Carolina Inn close out the season this Friday with the band Acoustic Manner and the Food Trucks Bo's Kitchen and The Humble Pig.

Come to Bass lake Friday night for a little friendly competition as they play Family Bingo.

Start your weekend at the North Carolina Museum of Art Friday night withwhen the popular Durham-based Mallarmé Chamber Players accompany a special screening the classic film, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

Join them at Pullen Park for a great family Dinner and a Movie every Saturday evening in October. This week's movie clue is "Not an ordinary Friday."

The Holly Springs Band will present a European Vacation concert Saturday evening at the Holly Springs Cultural Center. Come back Monday morning for the movie Chicken Run

Honey Magpie will be the featured music at next Wednesday's Music on Market in Downtown Raleigh.

Enjoy Fall at the Parks

Take a Walk in the Woods Saturday morning and discover the animals and plants that call Crowder District County Park home. Saturday afternoon, they will have a Discovery Table set up to learn all about the trees of the park.

Historic Yates Mill Pond County Park will be running Saturday and Sunday tours of the fully restored Mill.

Yates Mill will also have a Discovery Table all about Fossil Finds set up daily through Sunday so you can celebrate National Fossil Day with them.

Durham's tobacco heritage is explored through the stories and experiences of Durham residents on the second Saturday of every month on a Tobacco Heritage Walking Tour.

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

Want to take a tour of Dorothea Dix Park, but walking the 3.5 miles doesn't sound fun? Jump aboard the Raleigh Trolley for a guided tour of the park and delve into the history of the land, the current use of the property and the future plans for the park next Wednesday morning.

Various Wednesdays and Thurdays in October and November, you are invited to take a free Walking Tour of the Wake Forest Historic District.