Smarty Scoop on Weekend Activities: 10/29-10/31

Happy Wednesday Smarties. Time to get your spook on and be ready for the princesses, goblins and ghouls of the Halloween weekend. Our city is in full on Halloween mode – there are festivals, parties, concerts, creepy critters and story times to enjoy with your families. All you have to do is go . Get out and go Boo!

Fall Festival
ImaginOn
October 29, 11:00am-1:00pm
Join us for crafts and games to celebrate Fall! If your favorite holiday is Halloween, feel free to wear a costume. Cost is free.

FUMC Trunk or Treat and Haunted House
First United Methodist Church, Tryon Street
October 29, 7:00pm-9:00pm
Join us for our 2nd Trunk or Treat night of Spooktacular fun, goodies, and fellowship. Kids will have a chance to trick or treat in a fun and safe environment with members of the Charlotte community rain or shine, ghoulish games and various activities in Fellowship Hall (pumpkin decorating, fortune telling, crafts, face painting, and much more!) There will be a costume contest and a haunted house for all ages! This is a free event! We look forward to seeing you for a spooktacular night!

Creepy Crawly Critter Celebration
Reedy Creek Nature Center
October 29, 6:00pm-9:00pm
Celebrate all that’s creepy and crawly on Halloween Eve! Most creatures in our world are not warm and fuzzy, but that doesn’t make them any less lovable. Come see for yourself how these creatures play an important role in our environment. Live animals, costume contest, marshmallow roast, and trick or treating included. FREE hot chocolate! Please call to register. Cost is free.

Phantom of the Organ
Myers Park Presbyterian Church
October 29, 7:30pm
A fabulous program of music will put you and your family in the mood for some spooky Halloween festivities. Two organs, two renowned organists, three vocalists, four brass players and others will perform selections from Phantom of the Opera, Star Wars, Lion King, Les Miserables, Titanic, spooky classical selections and much, much more! Costumes, special effects, and multimedia video will enhance this family-friendly Halloween-theme performance for young and old. Donations to benefit Charlotte Concerts Educational fund would be greatly appreciated.

Fall Festival & Book Tent Sale
Julia’s Coffee & Books
October 30, 9:00am-4:00pm
Come down to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore and Julia’s Coffee. We’ll have over 6,000 books at outrageously low prices. We have EVERYTHING: fiction, nonfiction, cookbooks, and children’s books. There will also be a hay maze, games and contests for the kids throughout the store, and delicious food and beverages. And, as always, every dollar you spend goes toward building more sustainable, affordable housing in your Charlotte community.

Bootanical
Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden
October 30, 9:00am-3:00pm
The Garden kicks off a new fall tradition for children and families! This daytime event will feature plant-based Halloween activities for youngsters who will be encouraged to come in their favorite costume. Plants like ghost ferns, bat-faced cupheas and plenty of colorful gourds will be highlighted during this fun and creative event.

Halloween Party
Joseph-Beth Booksellers
October 30, 11:15am
Join us for Halloween fun. Come dressed in your costumes. Enter the Costume Contest, “bob” for cookies, hear a Halloween story and make Halloween crafts!

The Commedia Princess and the Pea
Wachovia Playhouse, ImaginOn
October 30, 11:00am and 1:00pm
How can you tell if someone is really, truly a princess? In this funny, fast-paced show, the Tarradiddle Players put a slapstick spin on Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale. The lonely Prince wants to find someone to marry, but potential princesses must first get past his mother the Queen and her long list of tests. Will any of them be royal enough to turn a cartwheel, sing “Happy Birthday” while hopping up and down on one leg, and feel a teeny, tiny pea under a big stack of mattresses? With its roots in the humorous, physical acting style of Italian Commedia dell’arte, this production is pure fun. Recommended for ages 5 and up. Cost is $14-$18.

Halloween at the Hall
NASCAR Hall of Fame
October 30-31
Celebrate the howliday weekend with frightfully fun Halloween activities at the Hall. Kids 12 and younger admitted free when dressed in a Halloween costume. Activities include face painting, spooky magic, balloon artists, caricature artists and more! Cost is $12.95-$19.95; free under age 5. 12 and younger are admitted free when dressed in a Halloween costume.

Kidgits Club Halloween Carnival
SouthPark Mall
October 30, 10:00am-noon
SouthPark will offer little ghouls and goblins a safe place to haunt this Halloween as the Simon Kidgits Club presents the annual Kidgits Club Halloween Carnival. Kids can join in all the frightfully fun activities for Halloween in a safe, climate-controlled environment from 10:00am – 12:00pm in the Center Court of the mall. There will be Halloween themed arts & crafts, games and activities, including a bouncehouse.  There will also be a costume contest for the scariest, cutest and most creative costumes.  Guests can enjoy raffle drawings, goody bags with treats and more. To attend, children must be a Kidgits Club Member.  Become a member by visiting www.simon.comor signing up at the event for a $5 annual membership fee. There will be no trick-or-treating at SouthPark.

Lollipops Concert: Chills and Thrills
Blumenthal Performing Arts Center
October 30, 11:00am, pre-concert activities begin at 10:00am
Add some musical mystery to your Halloween weekend! From Michael Jackson’s Thriller and a specially narrated version of Danse Macabre, to a trip on the ghostly Flying Dutchman, this spine-tingling selection of sensational music will leave you giddy with goose bumps. Come in costume! Cost is $12.50-$25.50.

Spooky Stories
ImaginOn
October 30-31, Sat., 2:30pm; and Sun. 3:00pm
Celebrate Halloween with a spooky (not scary) storytime. Ages 3-11.

Halloween Fun Festival
Birkdale Village
October 31, 4:00pm-6:00pm
“Halloween Fun” at Birkdale Village on Sunday, October 31st from 4-6pm! There will be games, arts and crafts, balloons, moon bounce, hay rides and more! Radio Disney will provide the spooky tunes and Zootastic will have their petting zoo and pony rides too! Start getting your costume ready for the contest because you don’t want to miss this fun filled event!

Halloween Party!
Dilworth Neighborhood Grille
October 31, 5:00pm-8:00pm
Dilworth Neighborhood Grille is hosting a family-friendly Halloween Party! Come by with your kids in costume to recover from trick-or-treating the night before! Only $10 per adult, $5 for kids under 12, and free for kids under 5, and that price includes a kid-friendly and healthy dinner buffet (with some nice choices for mom and dad, too), games, a Halloween move or two, games, and a DJ playing great music!

Day of The Dead Festival Of Souls
Levine Museum of the New South
October 31, 12:00pm-4:00pm
FREE admission all day, plus activities, alters, food, story-telling and more. In partnership with the Latin American Coalition. Experience a traditional Dia de Los Muertos / Day of the Dead celebration – a time when Mexican families remember their dead and the continuity of life. Free to attend. Check out the preparations in advance of the festival! On Thursday, Oct. 28 from 7-9pm, stop by and meet the artists as they set up the elaborate ceremonial altars. The altars will also be available to see on Friday and Saturday.

Don’t forget to take advantage of a few Smarty deals this week not to be missed!
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1) Register to win a month of FREE piano lessons plus waived registration fee from our friends at Francis Music Studio – perfect to go under the tree this year! Click here for more details.
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2) Little Otter Swim School is offering a Smarty discount through October 31st, so don’t hesitate! Sign up for an opening in classes Monday through Wednesday mornings that meet between 9:30 and 2:30 and receive 20% off tuition for classes through the end of the year. You must enroll before October 31st and offer is valid for anyone not currently enrolled, including families that took a break and want to return. Click here for more details.

Enjoy the great deals!