Fall Fun & Halloween Events
Chapel Hill, Durham, Carrboro, Raleigh NC
2016

October 2016
Chapel Hill - Durham - Raleigh NC
Fall & Halloween Events

Attractions include a night-time Ghost Train ride, Haunted House,  3-D Maze and the Black Hole, Halloween shows and trick-or-treating.  A limited number of guests are admitted each night, so purchase tickets in advance to ensure admittance.  You can order tickets online or call our toll-free number 1-877 TWEETSIE.  Gates Open: 7:30 p.m. Advance Tickets Required Admission Fee; Children 2 & under Free.

www.tweetsie.com
1-877-TWEETSIE 

Chapel Hill FESTIFALL - 42nd Annual Fall Festival
Sun. October 2, 2016, 12-6 pm
W. Franklin St., Downtown Chapel Hill, NC

Chapel Hill's Annual Festifall is an outdoor festival celebrating Chapel Hill's local arts and artisans; featuring great food and live music; kids' activities and fun for everyone!
(919) 968-2829

Shakori Hills Festival of Music and Dance,
Thurs. October 6- Sun. Oct. 9, 2016
1439 Henderson Tanyard Road, Pittsboro, NC, 27312
A family-friendly festival of music, dance, art, and education. 4 days, 4 stages, and over 50 bands in beautiful, green Chatham County!
Spanning four days (you can camp onsite, or come and go), this festival features LOTS of fun activities for kids and the whole family, music and dance workshops, massage and healing arts, and non-stop, fantastic live music.  A wonderful time for all! The Shakori Hills Festival of Music and Dance takes place every Fall and Spring and has become a favorite local bi-annual tradition not to be missed!
(919) 542-8142

23rd Annual Carolina Renaissance Festival  (near Charlotte, NC)
16445 Poplar Tent Road Crafts Program, Huntersville NC 28078.  Located just north of Charlotte between Concord and Huntersville on Highway 73 at Poplar Tent Road (between I-77 and I-85). Exit 25 on I-77 or exits 52 or 55 on I-85.  Saturdays and Sundays, 10am - 5:30pm. Rain or Shine. Children under 5 FREE. Free Parking. No Pets. From the website: "The Carolina Renaissance Festival is a medieval amusement park, a 9-stage theater, a 20-acre circus, an arts and crafts fair, a jousting tournament and a feast -- all rolled into one non-stop, day-long family adventure!" 

Editor's Note:  We look forward to the Carolina Renaissance Festival every year - it is one of our favorite annual family outings, and well worth the drive.  The fair is a renaissance village featuring physical buildings and structures that are permanent year-round, but used just for the Festival during Festival season.  (It's not an empty field, it's a reproduction medieval village with trees, grass, shady areas, buildings, stages, all enclosed, with an area encompassing 20 acres.)  When arriving at the gates, visitors feel as though they are entering a medieval town; everyone is dressed in period clothing and acting various roles from knights to knaves, fairies to jugglers, ladies in waiting to falconers.  Watch knights on horseback jousting; see medieval jugglers and jokesters; experience a falconer show; enjoy minstrels and merriment; try your hand at archery; ride a camel; give the Jacob's Ladder a whirl; enjoy live music and comedy; greet the strange and fascinating walking tree; see the royal procession headed by the reigning King & Queen in full renaissance regalia . . There is so much to do it is impossible to summarize everything in a brief paragraph.  Dress up in period clothing (not required) and join in the fun!  Both children and adults love it. More about the 2016 Carolina Renaissance Festival - with PHOTOS

Carolina.RenFestInfo.com

1-877-896-5544

NC State Fair at the NC State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, NC.
Thursday, October 13 - Sunday, October 23, 2016
2016 NC State Fair Daily Program / Schedule

The largest annual family-fun event in North Carolina!  It's no wonder that North Carolina families look forward to the State Fair as a not-to-be-missed annual family tradition.  The NC State Fair is a great, old-fashioned State Fair featuring livestock exhibits and competitions, concerts, games, rides, food, craft demonstrations, PBS Kids events, and lots of other family-friendly entertainment.  The mission of the fair is to showcase and promote the state's agriculture, agribusiness, arts, crafts and culture, with lots of fun entertainment and activities for the whole family!

www.ncstatefair.org
(919) 821-7400

23rd Annual Carolina Renaissance Festival  (near Charlotte, NC)
16445 Poplar Tent Road Crafts Program, Huntersville NC 28078.  Located just north of Charlotte between Concord and Huntersville on Highway 73 at Poplar Tent Road (between I-77 and I-85). Exit 25 on I-77 or exits 52 or 55 on I-85.  Saturdays and Sundays, 10am - 5:30pm. Rain or Shine. Children under 5 FREE. Free Parking. No Pets. From the website: "The Carolina Renaissance Festival is a medieval amusement park, a 9-stage theater, a 20-acre circus, an arts and crafts fair, a jousting tournament and a feast -- all rolled into one non-stop, day-long family adventure!" 

Editor's Note:  We look forward to the Carolina Renaissance Festival every year - it is one of our favorite annual family outings, and well worth the drive.  More About the Carolina Renaissance Festival

and www.Carolina.RenFestInfo.com

1-877-896-5544

Boo at the Zoo at the North Carolina Zoological Park
4401 Zoo Parkway, Asheboro, NC 27205.
Saturday & Sunday, October 22- 23, 2016 - BOO at the ZOO - A magical weekend featuring, games, music, trick-or-treats, magic and story telling, children's costume contest and plenty of Halloween fun.  One of the zoo's most popular events!  This safe daytime addition to nighttime trick-or-treating will be presented in the plaza areas of the zoo. Live entertainment throughout the park.

(800) 488-0444.

Track or Treat Halloween Express Train Rides at the New Hope Valley Railway, Bonsal, NC (25 miles south of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill)
Saturday, October 15, 2016 (Times: 4 pm, 5:15 pm, 6:30 pm)
Saturday, October 22, 2016 (Times: 4 pm, 5:15 pm, 6:30 pm, and 7:45 pm)
& Saturday October 29, 2016 (Times: 4 pm, 5:15 pm, 6:30 pm, and 7:45 pm)
(Check website to confirm times).
Hour-long train rides through the spooky woods in Chatham County.
Tickets must be purchased in advance - click here for online tickets. (Click on the calendar date for the event to purchase tickets.)

Click here to see photos of PRIOR years' New Hope Valley Railway Halloween Express Train  (Editor's note: The two guys at the front of the steam engine in the photo at bottom right (linked above) really look like ghosts, don't they?!  You can see right through them ... great effect.)

In 2016 you can now buy the Halloween Express Train Tickets in advance ONLINE at the New Hope Valley Railway website (Click on the calendar date for the event to purchase tickets.)

www.nhvry.org
(919) 362-5416. 

3^rd Annual Halloween Spooktacular at Northgate Mall featuring the Durham Symphony Orchestra and Paperhand Puppets Intervention


Sunday, October 23, 2016
4pm - 7pm
Durham Symphony Orchestra and Paperhand Puppets Intervention return to Northgate Mall Sunday, October 23, from 4-7pm for the 3^rd Annual Halloween Spooktacular. This free event offers fun for the whole family such as live symphonic music from Maestro William Curry and the Durham Symphony Orchestra, Paperhand Puppets Intervention puppet show, costume contest, local food trucks, wine and beer, children's activities and much more.
Join us for a spooky good time at Northgate!

23rd Annual Carolina Renaissance Festival  (near Charlotte, NC)
16445 Poplar Tent Road Crafts Program, Huntersville NC 28078.  Located just north of Charlotte between Concord and Huntersville on Highway 73 at Poplar Tent Road (between I-77 and I-85). Exit 25 on I-77 or exits 52 or 55 on I-85.  Saturdays and Sundays, 10am - 5:30pm. Rain or Shine. Children under 5 FREE. Free Parking. No Pets. From the website: "The Carolina Renaissance Festival is a medieval amusement park, a 9-stage theater, a 20-acre circus, an arts and crafts fair, a jousting tournament and a feast -- all rolled into one non-stop, day-long family adventure!" 

Editor's Note:  We look forward to the Carolina Renaissance Festival every year - it is one of our favorite annual family outings, and well worth the drive.  More About the Carolina Renaissance Festival

www.Carolina.RenFestInfo.com

1-877-896-5544

The Pumpkin Run 4K race will begin at 5:00 PM at Carolina North Forest - Parking will begin at 3:45 PM at the Chapel Hill Carrboro YMCA and shuttles will start taking participants to the race site at 4:00 PM. Shuttles will return participants to the Chapel Hill Carrboro YMCA as soon as participants finish the event. Participants and spectators may also choose to walk to and from the YMCA and the race site. The post event party and awards will begin roughly around 5:45 PM, or as soon as participants are back at the YMCA.

http://www.fleetfeetcarrboro.com/racing/premier-events/2016-pumpkin-run

Join Trader Joe's CHAPEL HILL for a fun Halloween celebration;
Tuesday October 25, 2016 (afternoon) - check with Trader Joe's to confirm date/time.

Durham Symphony Orchestra 3rd Annual Halloween Spooktacular
ft. Paperhand Puppets Intervention
at Northgate Mall

Durham Symphony Orchestra and Paperhand Puppets Intervention return to Northgate Mall Sunday, October 23, from 4-7pm for the 3rd Annual Halloween Spooktacular. This free event offers fun for the whole family such as live symphonic music from Maestro William Curry and the Durham Symphony Orchestra, Paperhand Puppets Intervention puppet show, costume contest, local food trucks, wine and beer, children’s activities and much more.
Join us for a spooky good time at Northgate!

Spence's Farm Annual Fall Harvest Fest Celebration Saturday
 (usually held the last Saturday of October; TBA as of 9/8/2016 -
We don't yet have an update as to whether this annual festival at Spence's Farm will be held in October 2016.
Check with Spence's Farm for 2016 date/time).

Food, Hay Rides, Bouncy Structure, Face Painting, Horse Rides, Bonfire,
Fun for the whole family.

[The following is our description from prior years.  Please check the Spence's Farm website for more information regarding prior Fall Harvest Festivals.]
Enjoy a great afternoon and evening of fun featuring hayrides, face painting, pony rides, food, live music, hay maze in the barn, barnyard animal feeding/play, arts & crafts vendors, bonfire, and much more fun for the entire family!   The Spence's Farm annual Harvest Festival is a fundraiser to help bring more children out to enjoy and experience the farm.  Feel free to wear your Halloween costume (no scary costumes please).  Admission fee.
Located near NC86 & I-40 at 6407 Mill House Road, Chapel Hill, 27516.
(919) 968-8581.

Fearrington Pumpkinfest &
Halloween Pumpkin Carving Display and PumpkinFest at Fearrington
Dozens of elaborately carved jack-o-lanterns will be on display throughout Fearrington Village on Sunday, October 30th, 2016 (5-8pm).
The jack-o-lanterns, intricately carved by the Fearrington gardening staff and The Fearrington House chefs, will be lit from sundown until 8pm.

Fearrington Halloween Pumpkin Fest!
The Fearrington Village Center  will host its FUN annual Halloween Pumpkin Fest on Sunday, October 30, 2016. Fearrington’s gardeners and chefs will put their creative skills to work on over 50 beautiful, silly, and sometimes even spooky jack o’ lanterns. Enjoy a low-key stroll through the pumpkins that will be tucked into the gardens all around the Village Center.

The Fearrington Granary will be open for dinner from 5-8pm,
The Goat will be serving ghoulish goodies.
McIntyre’s Books will also host spooky story time at 6, 6:30 and 7pm.

Stay tuned to see who our musical guest will be for the evening!

Parking will be available in the Farmer’s Market area and surrounding neighborhood streets near Camden Park. Please note that Silo Road will be blocked off. For safety, Fearrington event organizers ask that you do not park on 15-501. This event is free and open to the public. Call (919) 542-2121 for more details or visit http://www.fearrington.com/pumpkinfest/.

Call (919) 542-2121 for more details, or visit www.fearrington.com.

Carrboro Halloween Carnival
Monday, October 31, 2016
6pm - 8:30pm

Carrboro's Halloween Carnival is held each year at the Carrboro Town Commons; this year it will be held on Monday October 31st from 6pm to 8:30pm. Ghosts and goblins of all ages come out for lots of free games and fun!  Best costumes are awarded with prize ribbons, and activities include a variety of carnival games. Popcorn, Cider, Hot Chocolate will be available to purchase at the concession booth. The whole family can enjoy this annual event.

Carrboro Pumpkin Carving Contest
On Monday, October 31st a Pumpkin Carving Contest will be held at Carrboro Town Commons. Participants should bring their pre-carved pumpkin to Carrboro Town Commons (visit Carrboro NC website for drop-off times and details). Pumpkins will be on display at the Annual Halloween Carnival. Citizens will have a chance to vote from 6:00-8:00pm on which pumpkin they like best. The winner will be announced at 8:15pm.
(919) 918-7364.
Carrboro, NC official website

Trick or Treating in Chapel Hill (The official day for trick-or-treating in Chapel Hill this year is Mon., October 31, 2016.)

Halloween Festival 2016 on Franklin St., Downtown Chapel Hill - Traditionally has not been for children/families,
but Chapel Hill is working on creating a more family-friendly version
for the earlier hours of the evening.
On Halloween, Franklin Street is blocked off and becomes the site of Halloween reveling, drinking and HUGE crowds.  Not for children, and not for those who dislike crowds.  (The streets of downtown Chapel Hill will be closed to traffic at 9 pm.  Residential streets near downtown will also be closed except to residents of those streets and their guests.)  Alcohol is not permitted in the festival area.

Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh NC
Farms & Pumpkin Patches

See our Guide to Halloween Events at 
Local Museums, Zoos and Amusement Parks

Children's Halloween Costumes

Find natural, silk, high-quality costumes for young children? Beautiful 100% silk costumes, dragonfly wings, butterfly wings, fairy wings, mermaid costumes, wizard costumes, wizard hats, capes, knight costumes, and more!