Food, theater, music, lectures and public meetings fill our schedule this week. It’s the final weekend for the Carolina Renaissance Festival in Huntersville, and New York Times columnist David Brooks speaks Monday night at Davidson College. Food events include “United We Dine,” a daylong fundraiser at Cornelius restaurants Friday to benefit the United Way, while Community School of Davidson’s Friday night Food Truck Rally will help mark the groundbreaking for a high school addition. Davidson Community Players Connie Co. youth theater continues its performances of the fairy-tale-themed “Into the Woods Jr.,” while Davidson College’s theater department produces “The Pride.” Summit Coffee hosts its second annual Twilight 5K race on Saturday night, followed by a post-race festival in downtown Davidson. And the Carolina Thread Trail celebrates its fifth anniversary and its 100th mile of developed trail with an event Saturday off Shearers Road in Davidson. Read on for more about those and other events this week. Read the full story

Looking for a few laughs after a long Election season? Check out Saturday night’s improv comedy battle at the Warehouse PAC between two troupes of comedians: The Chuckleheads of Charlotte and Check!, an improv group from Marvin Ridge High School. Davidson College’s men’s basketball team tips off for a new season Friday night against Emory at Belk Arena. Kadi Fit in Cornelius plans a “Marketplace Day” at the Oak Street Mill in Cornelius. And there’s a Fall Festival at Jetton Village, also in Cornelius. This weekend also brings the annual Rural Sheepdog Trials and Dog Festival. Sunday brings the annual meeting and nature festival of the Davidson Lands Conservancy at Abersham Park Sunday, followed by a hike to an old mill and the Whale Rock site. Read on for the details about those and other events.

Our Town Cinemas in Davidson is showing “Wreck-It Ralph” on two screens, along with “Chasing Mavericks,” “Fun Size,” and “Argo.” Opening Friday is “Skyfall,” and here’s a reminder: Coming up next Thursday, it’s “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2.” They’ll also have a “Twilight” marathon. See showtimes on the right side of this page.
Read the full story

Davidson Community Players Connie Co. youth theater will present “Into the Woods Jr.,” a youth version of Stephen Sondheim’s fairy-tale themed musical, beginning this weekend at the Armour Street Theatre in Davidson. Meanwhile, Davidson College’s theater department is in rehearsals for “The Pride,” a drama about the gay experience in two eras, running Nov. 14-18. Also this weekend, an improv comedy battle Saturday night between The Chuckleheads of Charlotte and Check! from Marvin Ridge High School. Read the full story

Our week is filled with civic events, including Monday’s Cornelius Town Board meeting and Tuesday’s election; symphony concerts at Davidson College, Bailey Middle School and the Charlotte Symphony Lollipops series; and the annual meeting and nature festival of the Davidson Lands Conservancy at Abersham Park Sunday. Davidson College’s men’s basketball team opens the 2012-13 season Friday at home against Emory. A Marketplace day is planned Saturday at Kadi Fit in Cornelius, and there’s a Fall Festival at Jetton Village in Cornelius. This weekend also brings the annual Rural Sheepdog Trials and Dog Festival. Read on the details about those and other events. Read the full story

Davidson College will host public events in November that range from a lecture by New York Times columnist David Brooks to a program on John Lennon by NPR music critic Tim Riley to an event called “Fun with Mathematics” by Davidson’s math department.  The Davidson College Symphony performs a concert that includes Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade” and the art department hosts an opening reception for an exhibit recalling the Davidson National Print and Drawing Competition (1972-1976). Read on for the full schedule. Read the full story

It’s Halloween weekend, with the  Downtown Davidson Halloween March, a Ghost Walk at Latta Plantation, and the Davidson Historical Society’s Ghost Stories at Beaver Dam, with storyteller Sauni Wood.  Downtown Charlotte has a Halloween bar crawl and the Gravediggers Ball. The high school football regular season wraps up  this week with a game between Hough and Mallard Creek for the I-Meck 4A title. Lake Norman Christian School’s Autumn Blast is Saturday in Davidson, and several local middle-schoolers have organized their annual Think Pink Dog Show on the Davidson Green Saturday as well. The Cornelius Concert Series at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church hosts the Huntersville Brass Saturday. It’s Family Weekend at Davidson College, where events include the opening of the theater department’s production of “A Month in the Country,” free concerts by the Symphony and Chorale, and the Jazz Ensemble, and a Saturday football game vs. Butler. Read on for details about those events and more.

Our Town Cinemas in Davidson is showing “Argo,” “Paranormal Activity 4,” “Taken 2,” and “Hotel Transylvania.” Beginning Friday, “Chasing Mavericks” and “Fun Size” join the rotation. See showtimes on the right side of this page.

Read the full story