Weekend Plans: Halloween, Phantoms of the Orchestra, Cary Band Day

Happy Halloween weekend! Check our Halloween and fall fun database for information on Friday evening activities, including trick-or-treating hours at Crabtree Valley Mall, Cary Towne Center, Crossroads in Cary and Carolina Premium Outlets in Smithfield. Some businesses also are offering special deals on Friday. Local museum have some special seasonal fun too.

Also go to WRAL.com’s Out & About calendar for fall festivals at schools and churches, which also provide alternatives to traditional neighborhood trick-or-treating.

The Raleigh Little Theatre opens “Mirandy and Brother Wind,” Friday, as part of its youth series. The show, based on a children’s book, runs on select days through Nov. 16. I featured Maya Hamer and her mom Michelle on the site on Monday. Maya, a senior at Enloe High School, plays the role of Orlinda in the musical. Read my earlier post for more about the show and Raleigh Little Theatre’s youth programs. Tickets are $14 for adults and $10 for kids 12 and under.

The N.C. Symphony’s Young People’s Series kicks off its season with Phantoms of the Orchestra at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., Saturday, at the Duke Energy Center for Performing Arts in downtown Raleigh. Kids are invited to wear their Halloween costume for a costume contest. The concert features performers from the Magic Circle Mime Co. Tickets are $31.

The 56th annual Cary Band Day is Saturday at Cary High School. The day features 40 marching bands, who compete and perform. It begins at 9:30 a.m. and continues until 11:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 for ages 11 to 64; $3 for ages 65 and up; and free for ages 10 and under. N.C. State’s marching band will be a guest. This is a lot of fun to watch!

The Junior League of Raleigh’s A Shopping Spree runs this Thursday to Sunday at the downtown Raleigh Convention Center and features a host of great gift items for all of the upcoming holidays. Tickets for four-day admission are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Be sure to check the website for details about special events, including a special stroller-free morning on Saturday. New this year is a Family Day, which is 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday. Tickets are $12. There will be special entertainment for kids, including visits from team mascots and Santa Claus. Admission is free for kids 12 and under.

The N.C. Museum of Art in west Raleigh hosts a free Fall Family Day from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday. Explore portraits big and small during an afternoon of art making, dance performances, and family tours. Activities include a photo booth with props and costumes, miniature self-portrait art stations, tours in the galleries, and performances by the Cary Ballet Company. The event is an opportunity to visit the exhibition Making Faces and meet the artists in it.

Wake County Public School System's magnet fair is 9 a.m. to noon, Nov. 1, at Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School, 2600 Rock Quarry Rd., just south of downtown Raleigh. Staff from more than 40 magnet and early college schools, where high school students can take college-level courses or get hands-on skills training, will be at the fair to answer questions and distribute information.

The Cary, the downtown movie theater in Cary, will offer several movies this weekend. They include the unrated “Bride of Frankenstein,” from 1935 and starring Boris Karloff at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., Friday. It’s the G-rated “Babe: The Gallant Pig” at 10 a.m., Saturday. And “Gone With the Wind” will be screened at 2 p.m., Sunday. Tickets are $5. Concessions are available for purchase.

(UPDATE: This event has been canceled because of the weather). Pullen Arts Center, 105 Pullen Rd., in Raleigh will hold its annual Scarecrow Festival from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday. Participants will be decorating scarecrows during the festival. (Those slots to take part in that portion of the event are filled up. You can call 919-996-6126 to get on the waiting list). But the scarecrow building is fun to watch and there will be other family activities and music. It’s free.

And Durham’s Central Park will host a Halloween Food Truck Rodeo from noon to 4 p.m., Sunday,