Happenings: Full day planned for NASCAR Day

RANDLEMAN — On Saturday, Oct. 18, thousands of visitors will gather in downtown Randleman for the Annual NASCAR Day Festival. The rain-or-shine event runs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Main Street and Commerce Square will be transformed into a lively hub featuring delicious food, handmade crafts, home products, racing memorabilia, cars and activities for kids. 

There will be three stages providing entertainment, with the BRITISH INVADERS performing on the Main Stage from 1 to 4 p.m. Summer’s Auto Stage will offer diverse musical acts, dancers and the Little Ms & Mr NASCAR Day Pageant. A gospel stage will be beside Movement Bank.

Autograph sessions with NASCAR legend Richard Petty will take place from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Attendees are limited to one item and one photograph per person during Richard Petty’s session. 

Ed’s Dinosaurs Live will take over the civic center and bounce houses and other amusements are for the kids. 

Artisan offers include custom creations, designer knives, crafted furniture, custom jewelry, quilts, clothing, accessories and much more. Food options include turkey legs, chicken, burgers, shrimp, Philly cheesesteaks, funnel cakes, cotton candy, churros, flavored teas, coffee, and ice cream. 

Car enthusiasts will find race cars, drag cars, classic cars and hot rods on display throughout the festival area.

THIS WEEK

‘A Day On Main Street’ in Ramseur Saturday

RAMSEUR — In Ramseur, the 37th Annual “A Day On Main Street” from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. features local arts and crafts, food vendors, live music and games for kids while taking you back in time to a day on Main Street in a small town lined with Victorian homes and historic business buildings. Even evidence of a once-vibrant textile industry by the river can still be viewed.

RYTC presents historical comedy 

ASHEBORO — The Randolph Youth Theater Company (RYTC) will present the play 

“The Entire American Revolution (In 40 Minutes Or Less) this weekend at the Sunset Theatre in Asheboro. Performed by kids 6-11 in age, the laugh-out-loud comedy offers an entertaining look at America’s journey to independence, including the Boston Tea Party and much more.

Shows are set for Thursday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 18 and 19, at 2 p.m. each day. Admission is $10 and tickets are on sale now at rytc.org.

Boo at the NC Zoo starts this weekend

ASHEBORO — Boo at the NC Zoo is a popular family event designed for a safe trick-or-treat experience and overall Halloween at the nation’s largest natural habitat zoo.

The dates for this year’s event — which always covers two weekends — are Friday and Saturdays, Oct. 18-19 and Oct. 25-26, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each of those four days.

Admission is $8 for Zoo members and $10 for guests and Zoo members guests, in addition to regular zoo admission.

Features include, from 9 to 3, trick or treating in a loop through Africa, games, face painting, crafts and entertainment. Costume contests are at noon and at 3 p.m. for various age groups and categories. Various rules are in place for costumes; check https://www.nczoo.org/events/boo-nc-zoo for more details.

Couple play haunting 7piano works in Troy

TROY — If you want to get into the “spirits” of the season, there’s the Oct. 18 “Fall Spectacular” concert being performed by Sophia and Paul Chandley, the famous pair of national touring pianists who teach at Trinity Music Academy in nearby Troy. 

You may not know these pieces by name, but as soon as you hear the familiar melodies of Liszt’s “Mephisto Waltz” or Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King” or “Mussorgsky’s “The Hut of Baba Yaga (The Witch of the Great Forest)” from “Pictures at an Exhibition,” you will be immediately intrigued.

The concert takes place at 7 p.m. in the Trinity United Methodist Church, 239 N. Russell St., Troy,  for this 7 p.m. concert. Tickets are available at the door: $20 for adults, free for students. For more info, visit the trinitymusicacademy.org website.

Girl Scouts present Daisy Day at YMCA

ASHEBORO — On Saturday, Oct. 18, the Randolph County Girl Scouts will host an event called Daisy Day at the Randolph/Asheboro YMCA from 4 to 6 p.m.

Girls Scout Service Unit 146 describes it as “not all informational ... we have funs things planned, too!” Activities include Girl Scout History & Famous Ladies, Meet Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Law, a scavenger hunt, camp fun and paper pumpkins.

The event is free but attendees are encouraged to bring a new or lightly used book for ages 0-13 years old to donate to Randolph Partnership for Children.

The Y is located at 343 NC 42.

Walk Thru the Past returns this Sunday

ASHEBORO — Ricky Allred’s Walk Thru the Past for October is set for Sunday, Oct. 19, at 2 p.m. in the Old Asheboro Cemetery at 180 West Salisbury St.

Visitors can join a stroll through the Old Asheboro Cemetery to hear about the residents there. Allred will offer up a variety of researched stories, including a few with ties to the season. 

UPCOMING

RSVP presents ‘The Mousetrap’ 

ASHEBORO — RSVP will offer up its presentation of the Agatha Christie murder mystery “The Mousetrap” at Sunset Theatre beginning Friday, Oct. 24.

The setting is a group of strangers trapped by a blizzard who find themselves embroiled in a web of suspicion after a murder occurs nearby. Who is the killer among them?

Tickets are $17 for adults, 

$12 for age 60+, any student and military past or present. Play dates are Oct. 24-25 and Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. and at 2 p.m. on Oct. 26 and Nov. 2. Get tickets online at sunsettheatre.org or at Brightside Gallery, 170 Worth St., Asheboro, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Sat.