Smarty Scoop on Weekend Activities: 10/15-10/17

Happy Wednesday Smarties. I hope you all are out enjoying this wonderful weather. This is the perfect weekend to road trip to the State Fair, volunteer with Hands On Charlotte, catch a play, enjoy a festival, try a corn maze or head over to the Nature Museum. Whatever you decide to do will be a guaranteed good time. Get out and Enjoy!

REMINDER to come join us this Saturday, October 16th for the Lungstrong 5K/15K Run/Walk to support lung cancer awareness. This great event benefits LUNGevity Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to funding lung cancer research. LUNGevity Foundation is the pioneer in lung cancer research and is the leading private provider of research funding for the #1 cancer killer.

Support Autism Speaks at the Bank of America 500 NASCAR Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway!
Smarties, if you plan on attending, consider ordering tickets at 1-800-455-FANS and mentioning Autism Speaks. 50% of the ticket price will go directly to Autism Speaks.
Also, Autism Speaks is offering free ticket vouchers for children to any event at the Speedway Oct. 14-16. People can claim vouchers by emailing Kelli at carolinas@autismspeaks.org or calling her at 704-561-0003.

Britax Fitting Station
Britax North American headquarters, 13501 South Ridge Drive
October 15, 8:00am-noon
A car seat checking station is where certified child passenger safety technicians assist you with car seat installation. There they will teach you the correct way to install your child seat, provide safety recommendations, and answer any questions that you may have. For best results, please bring: your child, your vehicle and vehicle owner’s manual, your child safety seat and all parts, accessories, and instructions, a second adult to assist with watching your child while you learn how to install your car seat. No appointment is needed, and seats from all manufacturers are welcome. Instruction lasts approximately 30 minutes per car seat. Cost is free.

Pet Pals at Charlotte Nature Museum
Charlotte Nature Museum
October 16, 10:00am-1:00pm
Celebrate our favorite animal companions and learn about the ways to enrich their lives. Meet animal and human friends, paws by our entertaining puppet show, join us for story time and much more.

North Carolina State Fair
N.C. State Fairgrounds, Raleigh
October 14-24
The North Carolina State Fair is the largest 11-day event in North Carolina, attracting more than 800,000 attendees. The Fair host many diverse musical acts, numerous food vendors, games booths and carnival rides, commercial and agricultural exhibitors. The Fair is managed and produced by the N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services and is consistently ranked among the top 25 fairs in North America. There are many reasons people from across North Carolina make an annual trip to the N.C. State Fair. Squealing, speed-racing pigs. Giant, blue-ribbon pumpkins. Old-fashioned Ferris wheel rides. And, of course, deep-fried food on a stick.

Hands On Charlotte Day
Location and times vary by project
October 16
Hands On Charlotte Day is HOC’s single biggest fundraising event, and for years has also been the largest single day of grassroots volunteer service in Charlotte. This year, we will have a special emphasis on projects that maintain and beautify our local schools! Participating in HOC Day will be a great way for you to support public education in our area! On HOC Day, your $20 donation ($40 for a family) not only helps cover the costs of the one-day event (t-shirts, tools & materials, food, etc.), but also helps support HOC’s year-round volunteer programs. In return for your donation, you will receive a free HOC Day t-shirt and a ticket for our raffle drawing, which inlcudes a grand prize of a $1,000 US Airways gift card!

Christ Church Fall Festival
Christ Church, 1412 Providence Road
October 16, 10:00am-noon
Fall is in the air which means the Christ Church Nursery Committee’s Fall Festival is right around the corner! Join us Saturday, October 16th from 10:00AM until Noon on the front lawn. Our special entertainment this year will be Launch Your Kid. This group is known for engaging children in some active fun (obstacle courses, yoga, music, etc.) hopefully just enough to get them ready for a long afternoon nap! Other activities will include bounce houses, face painting, cookie and pumpkin decorating, and more! The tickets are $5 in advance ($7 at the door) with free admission for those 12 months and younger. Tickets can be purchased on-line at http://www.christchurchcharlotte.orguntil October 13th. (Look for the Fall Festival information on the home page under the children’s section). Questions or to reserve tickets? Contact Caroline Gallagher 704-714-6947 or gallagherc@christchurchcharlotte.org. We hope to see you there!

Max & Ruby Bedtime Party
Joseph-Beth Booksellers
October 16, 6:00pm
Children of all age! You are invited to a Max & Ruby Bedtime Party on Saturday, October 16 at 6:00 PM. Join us as we read Max & Ruby’s Bedtime Book. We will have a bedtime snack and other activities to get you ready for bed. Don’t for get to wear your jammies! Cost is free.

Trick ‘R Treat
Knight Theater
October 16-17, 2:00pm
From picking the perfect costume to amusing Halloween pranks, the spooky and silly Trick ‘R Treat takes kids on a Halloween adventure. Come along on this Halloween escapade, choreographed by Mark Diamond, and find out what happens when you dare to trick or treat at the old, creepy mansion in town! Young patrons are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes! Cost is $25-$67.

Nature Nook
Latta Plantation Nature Center
October 16, 1:00pm-2:00pm
Listen to the story, make a craft and learn all about nature in this monthly offering. Cost is $2.

Disney’s Aladdin
Children’s Theatre of Charlotte
October 15-17, Fri., 7:30pm; Sat., 11:00am, 2:00pm; Sun., 2:00pm
Join us for a theatrical magic carpet ride, as we kick off our 63rd season with this exuberant family musical. In the heart of an enchanted city, poor but charming Aladdin meets free-spirited Princess Jasmine, whose royal status places her beyond his reach. His whole life changes with one rub of a lamp, as a fun-loving, fast-talking Genie appears and grants him three wishes. Beloved characters and Academy Award-winning songs like “A Whole New World” and “Friend Like Me” make Disney’s Aladdin an incredible journey of discovery and adventure. Cost is $18-$24.

Carolina Renaissance Festival
Carolina Renaissance Festival and Artisan Marketplace, Huntersville
Weekends, October 9-November 21, Sat.-Sun., 10:00am-5:30pm
The Renaissance Festival is a 16th century European style art and entertainment festival combining outdoor theater, circus entertainment, arts and crafts marketplace, a jousting tournament, a feast fit for royalty, and much much more. The 17th annual season opens this fall for seven festive weekends, Saturdays and Sundays, from October 9th to November 21st, 2010. This is one of the most interactive entertainment shows ever created with wonderful amusements and antics ongoing all around you! You can sit back and watch, or you can become a part of the action, surrounded by over 500 costumed characters roaming the festival village. The village lanes are full of peasants singing sea-faring songs and street entertainers surprising you with tall tales and tricks, each with a role to play. Cost is $7-$19; free under age 5.

Rural Hill Amazing Maize Maze 2010
Rural Hill, Huntersville
October 15-17, Fri., 10:00am-5:00pm; Sat.-Sun., 10:00am-6:30pm
See how fast you can find your way out of the seven-acre corn maze while searching for the 12 map pieces. Music and food will also be available. Visit the website for advance tickets, times and special activities.

Country Days Corn Maze
Country Time Farms, Hwy. 218 and Clontz Road, Indian Trail
October 15-17, Fri., 5:00pm-10:00pm; Sat. 10:00am-10:00pm; Sun., 1:00pm-8:00pm
From the parking lot take a one mile hayride to the maze. There are farm animals, corn box, playground and pig races and much more. Cost is $7-$10, under 3 is free.

Yo Gabba Gabba! Live!: There’s A Party In My City!
Ovens Auditorium
October 17, 2:00pm, 5:00pm
Get ready for the party in your city! Yo Gabba Gabba! announces a 60-city tour for Yo Gabba Gabba! Live!: There’s a Party in My City! The tour bus is making its first stop on August 27th in Bethel, NY and makes its way to cities and towns across the U.S. and Canada, pulling up to its final stop on December 12th in Dallas, TX. Joining DJ Lance Rock and his friends will be Biz Markie with “Biz’s Beat of the Day,” and surprise Super Music Friends Show and Dancey Dance guests at every stop. Cost is $29 – 39.