Expect families of college students roaming about the Davidson College campus for “family weekend,” shoppers on main street for the Downtown Davidson Sidewalk Saturday Sale, and cool mountain bikers (including two-time Olympian David “Tinker” Juarez) zooming the trails at Fisher Farm Park.

That’s just a sample of a weekend that includes a visit by author Ron Rash, a reading by local author Alan Michael Parker, a diabetes fundraising event led by Stacey Simms, town meetings about school matters, a talk on Japanese healing arts, an election forum, and even a Hindu festival. This is also the only weekend to catch the college student production of “Communicating Doors” and the second-to-last weekend of the farmer’s market.

Don’t forget our regional calendar, which lists the Renaissance Festival, the Amazing Maize Maze and Saturday’s Spooktacular at North Meck Park.

Weekend of Oct.23-26

The Great Pumpkin Patch for Missions has just received a fresh delivery of pumpkins, including “warty” and “carving” varieties.  The patch continues through Oct. 31.  Davidson United Methodist Church members are selling pumpkins at the McKay Youth House on South Main Street to raise money for church missions. Pumpkins will be available for sale Sundays to Fridays, noon to 8 p.m., Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Volunteers needed to man the patch. Call 704-987-9949.

The Davidson College student production of “Communicating Doors” – a comedy about family ties, marriages, and time travel –will be on stage this weekend at the Duke Family Performance Hall. Directed by Steve Umberger, former artistic director of the Charlotte Repertory Theatre. Oct. 23, 7:30 p.m.; Oct. 24-25, 8:15 p.m.; Oct. 26 at 2 p.m. Details on the college theater department website.

Davidson resident and WBT radio host Stacey Simms will lead a fund-raising night of cooking and fun for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Thursday, 6-8 p.m. at the River Run Country Club ballroom. She’ll sign copies of her new book “I Can’t Cook, But I Know Someone Who Can.” There will be demonstrations by chefs including River Run Executive Chef Kris Dietrick and Johnson & Wales Chef Instructor Mark Allison, a wine tasting, prizes and more. Free, but seating limited. Sign up online at www.wbt.com

The Town of Davidson will be hosting two meetings about local schools Thursday, both of which start at 7 p.m., though at different locations.  Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools and Mayor John Woods host a community meeting at Town Hall, with information about local schools and issues affecting students in Davidson. Dr. Monique Gardner-Witherspoon, the new area superintendent for CMS’s North Learning Community, will talk about the schools and introduce new technology the district offers for communicating student achievement. More in our Oct. 17 preview and report on appointment of the new superintendent.  Meanwhile, town planners will be at Davidson United Methodist Church for a followup community planning workshop for the proposed Davidson IB Middle School renovations and recreation center project. See Sept. 24, 2008, “Town Board votes to build IB school rec center”

Meredith DeSopo, a master teacher of Usui Reiki, will talk and answer questions about reiki, a healing art from Japan at the Davidson Public Library. This free event will start at 7 p.m. and is open to the public. Register by calling 704-416-4000.

The Lake Norman Chamber will host an election forum with candidates for Mecklenburg County Commission and N.C. House District 99. The event will be held at the north campus of Central Piedmont Community College, from 7 to 9 p.m. according to the following schedule: 7 p.m. – county District 1 candidates forum (this district includes Davidson and has as candidates the Republican incumbent Karen Bentley and the Democrat challenger S. Rao Kommareddi); 7:35 p.m. – at-large seat candidates forum (including Harold Cogdell Jr., Dan Murray, Jennifer Roberts, Hal Jordan, Dan Ramirez and Susan Walker); 8:35 – House District 99 candidates forum (this district does not include Davidson, centering instead on Huntersville and has as candidates Nick Mackey and Dempsey Miller).  There also will be a candidate reception the following morning, Friday, Oct. 24, 8 to 9:30 a.m., at the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce, 19900 W. Catawba Ave., Cornelius. Information about the events and candidates can be found on the Chamber’s Advocacy website at www.VoteLakeNorman.com.

Writers Alan Michael Parker and Brooke Parkhurst will read from their works at the 11th annual Davidson Reads, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the college’s Sloan Music Center.  (This Davidson College event is separate from the Town of Davidson’s DavidsonReads program, which also has events this weekend.) A book signing follows.  Dr. Parker, a writer and poet, directs the creative writing program at Davidson College.  Ms. Parkhurst is a food writer ABCNews.com.

Live music at Summit Coffee this weekend features Matt Walsh Thursday, the Near Misses Friday and the Rick Spreitzer Trio Saturday.  Bands play from 8-11 on the back patio or on the upstairs stage in case of bad weather.

The Davidson College Family Weekend 2008 runs Friday through Sunday, and features special meals, the Fall Convocation, musical performances by campus ensembles, a chemistry magic show, sporting events, a Saturday picnic on the Chambers Hall lawn, and an International Festival. Full schedule on the college Website.

The National Mountain Bike Oktoberfest will run Friday through Sunday at Fisher Farm Park.  This three-day, family-oriented festival features short track, time trials and kids races as well as the season’s final USA Cycling National Ultra Endurance race. Proceeds benefit the Davidson Parks & Recreation Youth Scholarship Fund. Featuring national champion and two-time Olympian David “Tinker” Juarez, and co-sponsored by Cowbell Challenge Inc. Details: www.nationalmtboktoberfest.org

Author Ron Rash will be at two events in Davidson this weekend.

Ron Rash, author of “One Foot in Eden,” will be at two events in Davidson this weekend as part of the DavidsonReads program.  Rash’s “Eden” is the featured book in this fall’s community reading program. Details in our August Davidson Reads preview, “Ready, set, read: Events surround ‘One Foot in Eden.’” Friday, he will speak at the Davidson Public Library, starting at 7 p.m.  Saturday, he’ll be at Main Street Books from 10 – 11:30 a.m. to autograph his books.

The second-to-last Davidson Farmers Market of the season will be held Saturday, 8 a.m. – noon, offering shoppers fresh local produce and meats, baked items, flowers and more. This weekend features a chef demo by Maddi’s Southern Bistro restaurant.  The market will continue through Nov. 1 (with special holiday events scheduled for Nov. 22 and Dec. 20) and is located next to Town Hall and behind Summit Coffee.

Downtown Davidson Merchants are hosting the “Davidson Sidewalk Saturday Sale” on, you guessed it, Saturday, 10 a.m. – the end of the business day. The event will feature discounts, refreshments and activities at all participating merchants at all three business districts: the new businesses at Exit 30, stores along Main Street and and arts district stores along South Main.

Kal Penn – the actor who plays Kumar in the “Harold & Kumar” movies and Dr. Lawrence Kutner on the TV series “House” – speaks Saturday afternoon at 5:30 at Davidson College on behalf of presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama. He’ll be in the 900 Room of the Alvarez College Union. His appearance is sponsored by Young Democrats, a student organization, and is open to the public at no charge.

Student clubs at Davidson College will sponsor a celebration of Diwali, a major Indian festival Sunday, 5-7 p.m. at the 900 room of the college union.  There will be Hindu dance, songs and performances, a narration of the story of Diwali, Indian food and more.  Diwali, or “Festival of Light,” is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains all across the globe.

Davidson piano students from the studios of Ruskin Cooper and Cynthia Lawing will perform a variety of selections Sunday, starting at 7:30 p.m. in the college’s Sloan Music Center.

Wildcat Sports

Wildcats Sports this weekend features men’s soccer playing Presbyterian Friday, starting at 7 p.m.; men’s and women’s diving taking on the College of Charleston at the Baker Sports Complex Saturday, and women’s field hockey playing Radford starting at 2 p.m. Saturday.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

• MONDAY, OCT 27, noon to 9 p.m., Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, 202 S. Main St. – Project Life Day: Project Life is a bone-marrow typing and fund-raising club on the Davidson College campus. Ben & Jerry’s will donate $1 from every ice cream purchase to help pay for a bone marrow typing drive on campus in November.  For more information, contact Karen Toney, 704-892-0604.
• TUESDAY, OCT. 28, 6:30 p.m., Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream parking lot, 202 S. Main St. – Ben & Jerry’s free movie series presents another free outdoor movie: “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.” Trivia begins at 6:30, with the movie following at dark. Bring a lawn chair and a canned food donation for Loaves & Fishes pantry. After the movie, stay and play “Rockband” on the big screen wall.
• FRIDAY, OCT. 31, 7:30 and 11 p.m., Davidson College Presbyterian Church, Main Street and Concord Road – A Halloween night tradition continues as Organ at Davidson presents screenings of the 1925 classic horror film “Phantom of the Opera.” It features Lon Chaney with spine-tingling organ improvisations by St. Alban’s Episcopal Church music director Henry Lebedinsky. Free, donations encouraged. See www.dcpc.org or call 704-892-5641.


Tenor Stephen Oosting

• SUNDAY, NOV. 2, 3 p.m., St. Alban’s Church, 301 Caldwell Lane (off Concord Road) – St. Alban’s Concert Series presents tenor Stephen Oosting, with pianist Mark Pakman, performing “Beethoven to Broadway,” a selection of music including art songs and arias from stage and concert hall. Admission $15 general, $10 students and seniors (65+). Children under 10 free. Info: 704-941-0650.
• SUNDAY, NOV. 2, 7:30 p.m., Davidson College Sloan Music Center, Tyler-Tallman Hall – “An Appalachian Songbook: North Carolina in Word Music and Song.” With North Carolina’s Poet Laureate, Kathryn Stripling Beyer, and featuring Appalachian songs set and arranged by N.C. composer Kenneth Frazelle and sung by soprano and  Davidson College Artist Associate Jacquelyn Culpepper. Free, but tickets required.
• TUESDAY, NOV. 4 – Election Day. If you haven’t voted already during early voting, polls are open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall (Precinct 206) and Hopewell Baptist Church, 18841 Davidson-Concord Road (Precinct 127). Voting information at meckboe.org.
• TUESDAY, NOV. 4, 8 p.m., Davidson College Alvarez College Union 900 Room – College Republicans and Young Democrats sponsor an election results viewing party with professors from the political science department. (It’s open to college students, faculty and staff.) They’ll have refreshments and games as election results come in on big-screen TVs. Free. For more information, call 704-894-2542.
• THURSDAY, NOV. 6, 7 p.m., So Alive Gallery, 108 S. Main St. – Charlotte Writers’ Club North presents award-winning poet and novelist Al Young. Mr. Young returns to Davidson, where he was Davidson College’s McGee Professor of Writing in 2003. He is also a screenwriter and was appointed Poet Laureate of California in 2005. Details: www.charlottewritersclub.org
• FRIDAY, NOV. 7, 10 a.m., Davidson Public Library, on the Village Green – Lecture by naturopathic doctor Amy Naylor, as part of DavidsonReads.
• SUNDAY, NOV. 9, 5-9 p.m., Charles Mack Citizens Center, Mooresville – Lake Norman Jewish Congregation hosts a screening of “Paper Clips,” a documentary about a Tennessee school’s project to collect paper clips representing each person who died in the Holocaust. The project offered a lesson in tolerance. The screening marks the Jewish congregation’s second annual Holocaust remembrance. Hosted by Rabbi Michael Shields, Davidson College Chaplain Rev. Robert Spach and other guests. Tickets: $36 for adults, $18 for students. Includes dinner and prizes, with proceeds to benefit the Lake Norman Jewish Congregation.
• WEDNESDAY, NOV. 12, 2-3:30 p.m., Davidson Parks & Recreation, 416 Armour St. – Davidson Senior Scholars program on “Back Pain and Treatment Options” with Dr. Jeffrey Yablon, board-certified neurosurgeon. He’ll discuss the latest and most effective treatments for degenerative disc disease, which affects more than 12 million people. Register online at www.d-Recs.org or call at 704-892-3349.
• SATURDAY, NOV. 15, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Homewood Suites, Griffith Street and Harbour Place Drive, off Exit 30 – Men in Balance, a faith-based non-profit organization that helps men with spiritual growth, presents a “Couples Communication Class.” It’s a hands-on workshop where couples can learn to improve communication. Limited to 10 couples. Registration $100 per couple. Details at meninbalance.org or by calling 704-895-8976.
• SUNDAY, NOV. 16, 4-5 p.m., Town Hall, 216 S. Main St. – Davidson Historical Society presentation about the history of Lake Norman, in the final event of the 2008 Davidson Reads series. Free.
• DEC. 4-6, 6-9 p.m. nightly, downtown Davidson – Annual Christmas in Davidson festival, with food, music and other entertainment, more than 50 vendors, shopping at local stores, visits with Santa at the public library, a live nativity scene, carriage rides, strolling carolers and more. Sponsors still invited to participate. If you’re interested in sponsoring, please contact Sandy Lemons at sandy@downtowndavidson.org or 704-892-2118 or Margaret Martens at margaretmartens@gmail.com or 704-658-8730.

OF REGIONAL INTEREST:

• SEPT. 11 – NOV. 2, Rural Hill Center of Scottish Heritage, Huntersville – 7th Annual Amazing Maize Maze features flashlight mazes, group fun and a chance to get lost in a huge field of corn.  The maze is open Thursdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for children ages 5-17.  For directions and more, see the maze website.
• WEEKENDS, OCT. 4 – NOV. 16 - The Carolina Renaissance Festival will return for a 15th year at its home off N.C. 73 and Poplar Tent Road in Huntersville.
• SATURDAY, OCT. 25 – Spooktacular 2008 at North Mecklenburg Park (16131 Old Statesville Road) will feature a flashlight egg hung arts and crafts, hayrides, haunted trials andmore.  A costume contest starts at 6:30 p.m. for ages preschool through adult.  The rest of the activities run from 6-9 p.m.
• SATURDAY, NOV. 1, 7 p.m., Crave the Experience, 19930 W. Catawba Ave., No. 130, Cornelius – Fund-raising food and music event to benefit the Cornelius Animal Shelter, which is planned at the end of Meridian Street in Cornelius. Featured performers include former Beach Boys member David Marks and Nelson Bragg, of the Brian Wilson band. Details: www.corneliusanimalshelter.com.

SUBMIT YOUR EVENT

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