Happenings: UnityFest this weekend; Farmfest, Motorcycles for Mammograms, Boo at the Zoo

THIS WEEK

Two-day UnityFest this weekend in Seagrove

SEAGROVE — A massive two-day Christian music festival is coming to Seagrove and organizers are hoping for a big crowd and plenty of volunteers and sponsors.

UnityFest 2025 will be held Friday, Oct. 10, from 6 to 10 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 11, from noon to 10 p.m. at The Luck Farm, 1580 NC 705, Seagrove. It’s an outdoor event and will be held rain or shine. 

Natalie Grant will headline Friday night with Red Rocks Worship wrapping up the Saturday festivities. Other performers on Friday are Karen Peck & New River, and Consumed By Fire. 

The Saturday lineup includes Blessing Offor, The Martins, Madisen Renee, The Sound, Warren Peay and Jason Crabb.

Food and merchandise vendors will be onsite for the free event, which began in 2022. Volunteers are also needed for set-up, break-down, prayer, clean-up, entrance gate, parking, fund-raising and “wherever you need me” teams. Learn more at hannah@unityfestusa.com.

Cox’s Motorcycles for Mammograms is Saturday

ASHEBORO — Cox’s Harley-Davidson of Asheboro will hold its 16th Annual Motorcycles for Mammograms event on Oct. 11 at its place on 2795 NC 134 in Asheboro.

At the heart of the event is a motorcycle ride which begins at 10:30 a.m. with registration beginning at 8 a.m. It will be led by the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office Motor Unit and Iron Saints M.C. Entry fee for the ride is $20 per bike.

But the event includes much more. The band Killing Fiction will be playing from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. At 1 p.m., Ballet Folklorico Guadalupano will put on a performance. There will be food trucks (Sweet Tea & Honey, Popeyes Hand Dipped Ice Cream), a 50-50 raffle and a silent auction.

Money raised from the event will go to  Cone Health’ Cancer Center in Asheboro for its Mammogram fund. 

Annual Farmfest Saturday at Whitaker Farms 

CLIMAX — Whitaker Farms in Climax will be the scene for its annual Farmfest on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Unlimited wagon and train rides, barnyard animals, fiber demonstrations (see yarn spun straight from an angora rabbit), pumpkin patch, inflatables and tasty eats await participants. 

There’s also food from the taco truck or you can stop by the Snack Shack for donuts, apple cider slushies, popcorn and more.

Tickets are $13 in advance or $15 at the gate for ages 3 to 64, $10 for seniors 65+ and free for kids 2 and under.

Whitaker Farms is located at 2991 Providence Church Road, Climax.

UPCOMING

Boo at the NC Zoo set for next 2 weekends

ASHEBORO — As Halloween approaches, it’s time to make plans for Boo at the NC Zoo, 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.

Also, from 9 to 3, there is a Boo Sensory/Quiet Area at Oak Hill Picnic Area with activities and prizes.

Two more fall festivals: Randleman and Ramseur

Thousands will converge on Randleman and Ramseur next weekend for each town’s unique fall festival:

■ RANDLEMAN — The 36th Annual NASCAR Day Festival is 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18. The festival pays homage to its racing heritage with the First Family of NASCAR – The Pettys. On Main Street and in Commerce Square, find  food including BBQ, handmade crafts, home products, racing memorabilia, cars, dinosaurs in the civic center and three stages of entertainment featuring the Entertainers on the Main Stage. Autograph sessions vary with most being in the afternoon. Richard Petty will sign from 10 to 11 a.m. Also, live music on the Summer’s Auto Stage along with a variety of cloggers, dancers and the Little Ms. & Mr. NASCAR Day Pageant. 

■ 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 youngest actors’ historical comedy 

ASHEBORO — The Randolph Youth Theater Company (RYTC) will present the play “The Entire American Revolution (In 40 Minutes Or Less” next weekend at the Sunset Theatre in Asheboro.

Performed by kids 6 to 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 scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 18-19, at 2 p.m. each day. Admission is $10 and tickets are on sale now at rytc.org.

Perfect for the season, hear haunting 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.

Randolph 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 to 13 years old to donate to Randolph Partnership for Children.

The Y is located at 343 NC 42.

Walk Thru the Past  is Sunday, Oct. 19 

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.