Boo-Vie Bash (free)
Put on your Halloween best to compete in the costume contest at this Dallas Park and Recreation Department event. You can also expect bubble soccer, a pumpkin patch, laser tag and a screening of the movie Strange Magic. Take a lawn chair or a blanket if you'd like to kick back and watch.
Oct. 24 with carnival activities from 4 to 7 p.m. and the movie starting at 7 at Dallas City Hall Plaza, 1500 Marilla St., Dallas. Free. dallasparks.org.
Spooky Symphony
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The Plano Symphony Orchestra musicians wear their costumes for this concert, where'll they'll play music from Harry Potter moviesand Star Wars. Magician David Hira will make some illusions happen onstage with the orchestra. Audience members are encouraged to wear Halloween costumes, and pre-concert activities include an instrument petting zoo and craft stations.
Oct. 25, with lobby activities at 2:15 p.m. and the concert at 3 at the Eisemann Center, 2351 Performance Drive, Richardson. $9-$16 in advance, $2 more at the door. planosymphony.org.
Bewitched by the Barn (free)
The tales get scarier as the night goes on at this family-oriented Tarrant Area Guild of Storytellers event. Munch free popcorn, sip hot cider and be captivated by the talented tellers at the charming 5.2-acre Nash Farm. Organizers recommend taking flashlights, chairs and blankets.
Oct. 24 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Nash Farm, 626 Ball St., Grapevine. Free. nashfarm.org.
Family Fun Weekend at the Arboretum
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Adults who feel young at heart can dress up in costumes and get discounted admission at the Dallas Arboretum on Oct. 24 and 25 (adults in costume pay children's prices). On Oct. 23, there'll be an animal presentation with Wild Kingdom host Stephanie Arne at 1:30p.m. All day Oct. 24 and 25, you can sport your Halloween finest to check out trick-or-treating and costumed characters in the Pecan Grove, as well as Sticker Treating in the Rory Meyers Children's Adventure Garden with stations for stickers and adventures. Of course, you'll also want to check out the 75,000 pumpkins, gourds and squash that are splendidly arrayed as part of the arboretum's Autumn at the Arboretum festival.
The arboretum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5p.m. 8525 Garland Road, Dallas. Regular admission is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors 65 and older, $10 for children 3-12, free for children 2 and under. Children's garden admission costs $3 extra. On-site parking is $15; pre-purchased online parking is $8. 214-515-6500. dallasarboretum.org.
Halloween Fun at Watters Creek (free)
Oct. 24 will be a busy day at the Watters Creek development. The fun kicks off with the Trek or Treat 5K and Fun Run at 7:30 a.m. (check carsonscrusadersfoundation.org for registration and pricing info). Bach & Broomsticks features Halloween crafts from noon to 2 p.m., free hayrides from 1 to 4 p.m. and a 3 p.m. performance by children's entertainer Joe McDermott and the Allen Philharmonic Ensemble. You can also pay to adopt a plastic duck in the Duck Derby (ducks float on the water features in the Watters Creek development and the first ones to cross the finish line win). The Bach Suites and Two Feet Beats concert from 7 to 10 p.m. features jazz and classical musicians.
Bach & Broomsticks is Oct. 24 from noon to 10p.m. at Watters Creek, 970 Garden Park Drive, Allen. Free (check the website for duck adoption prices). watterscreek.com.
Slingfest 2015
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What's pumpkin chunkin'? Well, you put a pumpkin on a catapult (a trebuchet, if you want to be specific about the type of catapult) and then let it fly. Competitors at this event square off in categories for accuracy, distance, funky fling, crowd choice and builder choice. Slingfest is put on by DFW Trebuchet and TheLab.ms, a Plano makerspace.
Oct. 25 at 11 a.m. at Oak Point Park, 2801 E. Spring Creek Parkway, Plano. $5 in advance. At the gate, tickets will be $10 for adults, $5 for ages 12-17, free for kids under 12. thelab-ms.github.io/SlingFest.
Edgar Allan Poe Victorian Halloween (free)
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This celebration blends creepy Victorian monsters and steampunk, the science fiction subgenre inspired by 19th-century machinery. Enter a costume contest, see scenes from Poe stories in the haunted dungeon, meet author William Ritter (Jackaby and Beastly Bones) and visit Frankenstein's Lab for interactive activities. The event is part of an ongoing October series inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's works; go to dallaslibrary.org for a complete schedule.
Oct. 24 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (costume contest at 3:45p.m.) at the Children's Center at J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, 1515 Young St., Dallas. Free. dallaslibrary.org.
Boo at the Zoo
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Hear keeper chats about animals such as orangutans, flamingos, meerkats and saltwater crocodiles. Wear your costume to do some trick-or-treating, learn the "Thriller" dance and even be heckled by Dracula.
Oct. 23-25 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Fort Worth Zoo, 1989 Colonial Parkway, Fort Worth. $12 for adults, $9 for ages 3-12 and those 65 and older, free for kids 2 and younger. fortworthzoo.org.
The Ghosts of Sleepy Hollow
Washington Irving's creepy tales go way beyond Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman. Dallas Children's Theater's Teen Scene Players present a world premiere production for ages 11 and up that blends several of Irving's stories for maximum chills and thrills.
Continues through Oct. 30 in the Studio Theater at the Rosewood Center for Family Arts, 5938 Skillman St., Dallas. $14. 214-740-0051. dct.org.
Halloween Nights
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Take your little costumed ghosts and goblins to do some trick-or-treating at the Dallas Zoo. You can also check out animal shows and presentations, meet costumed characters, play carnival games and take a backward spin on the Haunted Carousel.
Oct. 22-25 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Dallas Zoo, 650 S. R.L. Thornton Freeway, Dallas. $10, free for ages 2 and younger. $5 for parking, or you can take the DART red line. 469-554-7500. dallaszoo.com.
