By BILL KISER
DavidsonNews.net

It’s the last full week of October — know what that means? Here’s a hint: It’s time for the princesses and pirates, cowboys and indians, zombies and werewolves to appear on neighborhood streets. As Halloween approaches, there’s plenty for the kids (big ones, too!)  to do this week, both related to the holiday and not.

For families, the Haunting Hayride will close out with a three-day run Thursday through Saturday night at the Latta Plantation Equestrian Center in Huntersville, the annual downtown Davidson Halloween March is set for Friday, as is the Latta Plantation Ghost Walk. As for the adults, a number of clubs and restaurants have Halloween events planned.

Of course, there’s more than Halloween festivities to plan for.  The Davidson College Theatre Department will conclude its run of the Shakespeare classic Romeo and Juliet with performances on Friday and Saturday night, the Davidson College Jazz Ensemble will perform Friday morning at the college’s Alvarez College Union, and the Davidson College Chorale and Symphony Orchestra performns Friday night at Davidson College Presbyterian Church.

Then there’s the Miss Race City Pageant, scheduled for Saturday night at the Charles Mack Citizen Center in downtown Mooresville, which will crown winners in four divisions, including a representative to the upcoming Miss North Carolina Pageant.

Of course, there’s also the Davidson Farmers Market, with local farmers and produce vendors selling their wares Saturday morning near the Davidson Town Hall.

And let’s not forget several ongoing events — the Amazing Maize Maze continues its run at the Rural Hill Farm in Huntersville on Friday through Sunday, and the Carolina Renaissance Festival is open Saturday and Sunday at the festival grounds off N.C. 73.

These events — and more below — are in our day-by-day calendar at right. Also, at right on this page, see our movie show times listings for Our Town Cinemas.

MONDAY-FRIDAY

Davidson Town Hall Photo Exhibit, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday through Oct. 31, Davidson Town Hall rotunda, 216 S. Main St., Davidson. Group exhibit of photography and digital art by local artists Kevin Childress, Jan Black, Lyndsay Kibiloski, Rachel Goldstein, Steve Marsh and David Boraks on display in the Town Hall rotunda.

MONDAY-SATURDAY

History of Cornelius Exhibit, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Cornelius Arts Center, Oak Street Mill, 19725 Oak St., Unit 1, Cornelius. The Cornelius Historic Preservation Commission and Cornelius Parks and Recreation Department present “The History of Cornelius: The Conard Collection” through Nov. 12.

THURSDAY-SATURDAY

The Haunting Hayride, 7 p.m.-midnight, Oct. 27-29, Latta Equestrian Center at Latta Plantation Nature Preserve, 6201 Sample Road, Huntersville. A Halloween-themed ride through the Equestrian Center’s wooded trails.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY

Romeo and Juliet, Friday, 8:15 p.m., Saturday, 8 p.m., Duke Family Performance Hall, Davidson College, Davidson. Davidson College Theatre Department’s Mainstage Series begins with “Romeo and Juliet.” See Katie Lovett’s Oct. 23 review, “Sword fights, Shakespearean puns and a love story.” Tickets are $15 for general admission, $11 for seniors, $9 for faculty/staff, and $6 for students. For more information please visit: http://www3.davidson.edu/cms/x44256.xml To buy tickets: http://www.davidson.edu/tickets

FRIDAY-SUNDAY

Amazing Maize Maze, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Rural Hill Farm, Neck Road, Huntersville. The Amazing Maize Maze is an outdoor challenge in a 7-acre cornfield. Find your way out by following clues and assembling pieces of a map puzzle. Open Fridays to Sundays through Nov. 13. Friday night flashlight mazes Sept. 30 to Nov. 4 (till 8:30 p.m.).

SATURDAY-SUNDAY

Carolina Renaissance Festival, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Carolina Renaissance Festival grounds, on Poplar Tent Road just south of N.C. 73. The 18th-annual Carolina Renaissance Festival, with food; crafts; music, juggling and other circus entertainments; jousting demonstrations; fun rides and games of skill. Continues Saturdays and Sundays through Nov. 20.

MONDAY, OCT. 24

LKN Chamber Golf Classic, 10:45 a.m., Cowan’s Ford Country Club, Denver, N.C. The 24th-annual Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce Golf Classic will tee off at the Cowan’s Ford Country Club. The four-player teams will tee off at 10:45 a.m. in a shotgun start.

Project Life FUNdraiser, 12-9 p.m., Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Main Street, Davidson. The Project Life organization at Davidson College has paired up with Ben & Jerry’s for a fundraiser. For every ice cream bought that day, $1 will go towards Project Life, an organization that provides free typing services for potential donors to the National Bone Marrow Registry.

Woodland Discovery Fall Explorers, 4-6 p.m. Mondays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursdays through end of November, Fisher Farm Park, 21215 Shearers Road, Davidson. Observe and explore nature during the fall, including water, sun, earth, air, plant life, bugs and more. Each session covers brand new material. Open to ages 4 to 10 years.

Davidson Planning Board, 7 p.m., Davidson Town Hall, 216 S. Main St., Davidson. Davidson planning board monthly meeting.

TUESDAY, OCT. 25

Books and Bagels Breakfast, 8-9:30 a.m., Davidson-Cornelius Child Development Center, 242 Gamble St., Davidson. The second-annual Books and Bagels Breakfast encourages families to come for breakfast and enjoy some reading time with their children.

Davidson Town Board, 6 p.m., Board Room, Davidson Town Hall, Main Street, Davidson. Dr. Carol Quillen, recently inaugurated as the 18th president of Davidson College, will speak with the mayor and town commissioners about how the town and college can support one another during the work session.

Electric violinist Mark Wood, 7 p.m., Hough High School auditorium, Bailey Road, Cornelius. International recording artist Mark Wood, an original member of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, brings his groundbreaking music education program “Electrify Your Strings” to the Charlotte area. (See our Oct. 20 report, “Attention string players: The revolution is electric.”)

Whiskey Painting, 7 p.m., Mooresville Depot Visual Arts Center, downtown Mooresville – Charlotte Martin, a member of the National Whiskey Painters America, will be the featured artist at the Mooresville Artist Guild’s monthly meeting.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 26

Green E3 Speaker Series, 4 p.m., James H. Barnhardt Student Activity Center, UNC Charlotte, Charlotte. The second panel of the three-part series on the Charlotte regional Green Innovation Eco-System, the subject is “Protection: Optimizing intellectual property to bring new innovations to market.” http://eao.uncc.edu/greene3 (POSTPONED: This presentation has been postponed to Jan. 25, 2012.)

Global Hunger Lecture, 7 p.m., Lilly Family Gallery, Davidson College, Davidson. Raj Patel, a leading author and activist on issues related to the global food supply, will be the guest speaker.

THURSDAY, OCT. 27

Story Time at Main Street Books, 10 a.m., Main Street Books, 126 S. Main St., Davidson. Story Time, with stories, fun, and songs. Children ages 1-5 welcome.

Red Line Task Force Policy Presentation, 10:30 a.m., CPCC North Campus, Criminal Justice Building auditorium, 11930 Verhoeff Drive, Huntersville. Members of the Davidson and Cornelius town boards of commissioners will be on hand at this public meeting of the Red Line Task Force.

Book Clubs Fall Tea, 3 p.m., The Pines at Davidson, 400 Avinger Lane, Davidson. The 15th-annual Book Clubs of Davidson Fall Tea, with guest speaker poet and journalist Dannye Romine Powell.

Pumpkin Carving Contest, 5-8 p.m., Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, downtown Davidson. The local Ben & Jerry’s will hold its annual pumpkin carving contest.

MI-Connection Board of Directors Meeting, 6:30 p.m., Meeting Room, Davidson Town Hall, 216 S. Main St., Davidson. Meeting of the local cable-internet system MI-Connection’s board of directors.

Davidson candidate forum, 7-9 p.m., Davidson Presbyterian Church, Depot Street, Davidson. Davidson Coalition for Fiscal Responsibility hosts a forum with the Town Board and mayoral candidates. Free.

Live music at the Brickhouse, 8:30 p.m., Brickhouse Tavern, 209 Delburg St., Davidson. Live music with Rayen.

FRIDAY, OCT. 28

Cookout and Costumes for Change, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Earth Fare, 14021 Boren St., Huntersville. The inaugural event will follow the Fall Harvest 10K, 5K and fun runs.

Focus Friday, 8-9:30 a.m., Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce, 19900 W. Catawba Ave., Cornelius. Monthly morning gathering of the LNCoC’s Focus Friday will discuss the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Charlotte.

Davidson College Jazz Ensemble, 10 a.m., C. Shaw Smith 900 Room, Alvarez College Union, Davidson College, Davidson. Performance as part of the Family Weekend Concert Series.

Downtown Halloween March, 5 p.m., Main Street Davidson (lineup at Town Hall). The town’s nnual downtown Davidson Halloween March.

Reformation/Fall Festival Celebration, 6-8 p.m., Prosperity Presbyterian Church, 5533 Prosperity Church Road, Charlotte. Wear your favorite costume and come to the church’s family-friendly Fall Festival.

Ghost Walk, 7-10 p.m., Latta Plantation, 5225 Sample Road, Huntersville. Come explore the plantation in the dark. Experience the candlelit tour with an explosive Civil War Battlefield, the haunted plantation house, a cemetery, the old kitchen, an insane asylum and more.

Davidson College Chorale and Symphony Orchestra, 7 p.m., Davidson College Presbyterian Church, corner of Main Street and Concord Road, Davidson. Performances as part of the Family Weekend Concert Series.

Live music at the Brickhouse, 8:30 p.m., Brickhouse Tavern, 209 Delburg St., Davidson. Live music with Golden Eagles (blues).

Hickory Tavern’s Halloween Bash, 9 p.m., Hickory Tavern, 9526 Birkdale Crossings Drive, Huntersville. Come check out the “Criminals and Protectors” Halloween party.

SATURDAY, OCT. 29

Davidson Farmers Market, 8 a.m.-12 p.m., downtown Davidson next to Town Hall. Local farmers and vendors selling meats, produce, dairy products, baked goods, and other items every Saturday through November.

RuffNeck Challenge, 8 a.m., 11530 Beatties Ford Road, Huntersville. A 24-station, five-kilometer obstacle course.

Hoops for Hope, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., ICEHOUSE South End, 2100 South Boulevard, Charlotte. A 3-on-3 basketball tournament.

Recon Patrol Rally, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Richard’s Coffee Shop, 128 S. Main St., Mooresville. Participants can use any legal motorized vehicle.

Operation Medicine Drop, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Rite Aid, 21500 Catawba Ave., Cornelius. The Cornelius Police Department and Rite Aid are partnering to give the public a safe and secure way to dispose of expired, unused prescription drugs or over-the-counter medications.

Autumn Blast, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Lake Norman Christian School, 251 South St., Davidson. The school will hold its first event at its new facility in the former Davidson IB School building with its Autumn Blast fall festival.

NoDaWEEN, 2 p.m.-until, NoDa Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36th St., Charlotte. Come to the Halloween fundraiser for the NoDa Neighborhood Association.

Open House, 4-7 p.m., Point Blank Range, 743 River Highway, Mooresville. Live concert with Early Ray and Damon Hill, tactical demonstrations, a barbeque, raffle and live auction to benefit the Welcome Home Veterans Living Military Museum at Richard’s Coffee Shop.

Miss Race City Pageant, 7 p.m., Charles Mack Citizen Center, 215 N. Main St., Mooresville. The Miss Race City pageant, an official preliminary pageant by the Miss America Organization, will crown winners in four divisions.

Evil Never Dies, 8 p.m., The Warehouse Performing Arts Center, 9216-A Westmoreland Rd., Cornelius. About Town Tours will hold its second-annual murder mystery show at The Warehouse PAC.

The Dirty’s Halloween Party, 8 p.m., The Dirty Martini, 17036 Kenton Drive, Cornelius. Drink specials and a costume contest.

Live music at the Brickhouse, 8:30 p.m., Brickhouse Tavern, 209 Delburg St., Davidson. Live music with Matt Stradford.

Rusty Rudder Halloween Party, 10 p.m., The Rusty Rudder, 20210 Henderson Road, Cornelius. Tenth-annual Halloween Party.

Halloween at the GHOULway Hooker, 10 p.m., Galway Hooker, 17044 Kenton Drive, Cornelius. “Woodland Fairies, Gnomes, and Leprechauns” party with live music and $100 bar tab to best dressed leprechaun.

HAVE NEWS?

To have your event listed in our calendars, please send to listings@davidsonnews.net. Our events calendars appear on both DavidsonNews.net and CorneliusNews.net.