Weekend Plans: Halloween events, Peter and the Wolf, free family day, more

Happy weekend! Here’s what’s happening on the family fun front. As always, check WRAL.com’s Out & About calendar for more weekend activities.

Also, this is the final weekend before Halloween. Be sure to check our fall fun database too for pumpkin patches, corn mazes, haunted houses and other special events.

Now in its 22nd year, New Hope Valley Railway’s Track or Treat Halloween Express continues this weekend with departures that begin at 2:45 p.m., Saturday, and run until 7:45 p.m. This is fun for all ages - though it gets spookier as the sun goes down so bring young kids or easily spooked kids to the day-time rides. Tickets are $15.

Morehead Planetarium and Science Center’s Scare-olina Skies planetarium show is set for this weekend. A show for teens and adults is 8 p.m., Friday. A family version is at 3 p.m., Sunday.

Fright Nights, a homegrown haunted house created by a Raleigh dad and neighborhood kids, is open 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday. The haunted house at 2517 Toll Mill Court, Raleigh, is free, but donations are encouraged. The event is raising money for the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina and Duke University's Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Family Support Program.

The town of Cary has a slew of Halloween events this weekend, including a pumpkin flotilla, haunted house, zombiepalooza, pumpkin carve, mall crawl and more.

Also, the Heart of Cary Association, along with the town, is hosting the Downtown Cary Harvest Festival. It’s 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, in downtown Cary and includes trick-or-treating, a beer and wine garden, petting zoo, food trucks and more.

Downtown Apex businesses also will host trick-or-treating from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday.

Carolina Ballet’s production of “Sleepy Hollow” at the Duke Energy Center for Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh continues through Sunday.

And the N.C. Symphony will perform “Peter and the Wolf,” part of its youth series, with shows at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., Saturday, at the Duke Energy Center for Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh.

UPDATE: This event is SOLD OUT. A Walk in the Dark is 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Saturday, at the N.C. Museum of History in downtown Raleigh. According to the description, in this immersive live theater experience, audiences will follow pirates, pilots, and pioneers as they twist and turn throughout a lantern-lit tour of the real Story of North Carolina, an exhibit at the museum. Tickets are between $8 and $10. Shows run 45 minutes and are suitable for all ages. Halloween-themed crafts are planned in the lobby.

The Junior Women’s League of Smithfield will host a touch-a-truck event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday. It’s free. Kids can explore all kinds of vehicles and participate in other activities.

Holly Fest is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, at Sugg Farm park in Holly Springs. It’s free and includes a variety of activities for kids, food, entertainment and more.

Goldfish Swim School in Cary, 2980 Kildaire Farm Rd., will host a sneak peek of its new facility from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday. Light refreshments and snacks will be served. It’s slated to open in November and will be the first of two Triangle locations.

Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site in Johnston County will host a Fall Festival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday. The day includes hayrides, carnival games based on 19th century games, corn shucking contest and more.

And the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University will host a free family day from noon to 4 p.m., Sunday. Take a “spooky” tour of the museum’s permanent collection, make your own Halloween and Día de los Muertos-themed art and show off your creativity in our costume fashion show. Join Paperhand Puppet Intervention for a lively parade around the museum.