OCTOBER 4-FRIDAY
It's that time of year again -- the stores are filled with costumes and candy, those creepy billboards for every back woods Haunted House from here to Georgia have started to grace the side of the road, and Carowinds has made its transformation into (insert creepy organ music here) Scarowinds. A few of the park's regular attractions will be open (Top Gun, Jet Coaster, Drop Zone, Scream Weaver) under a thick cloud of smoke and the cover of darkness -- but the big draw is the ever-growing lineup of special hauntings that dot the park from end to end. This year's lineup includes: The Dead End, Alien Crypt in 3-D, Psycho Path, Nightmare Manor, CastlEscape, Scarecrow Cornfield, and Haunted Hollywood. Scarowinds will be open every Friday and Saturday night in October from 7pm-midnight. General admission tickets are $31.99. Ironically, "this event is not recommended for young children or those who do not like being scared." For more information call 1-800-888-4FUN or visit online at www.carowinds.com. (McKinney)
Whether you're strictly a mainstream comic book hero fan (Spidey, Batman, Captain America -- all of which Pope has recently contributed to) or you're more into the indie scene (manga and the like), Paul Pope, who will appear at Heroes Aren't Hard To Find tonight from 7-10pm and tomorrow from 2-5pm, is a rising star in the comic universe. Pope exploded onto the comic scene in the mid-90s with works like Sin Titulo (self-published with back issues that were going for $60-plus almost overnight). He followed up his initial critical success by pulling out the big guns with his Heavy Liquid series, a story set in a futuristic Manhattan and a mysterious drug/art form, called -- you guessed it -- "Heavy Liquid." Heroes Aren't Hard To Find plans to make these gallery shows a regular monthly deal, and with this particular art form being vastly underrepresented in the Charlotte area, more power to them! For more information, call 704-375-7462 or visit online at www.heroesonline.com. (McKinney)
OCTOBER 5-SATURDAY
Emanuel Ax, one of the world's greatest pianists, will perform with the Charlotte Symphony tonight at 8pm. Not only will this "One Night Only" performance highlight this world-class musician, but the program is all-Beethoven! That's right, all the Beethoven you can stand at the hands of a Grammy-winning pianist and Charlotte's own symphony orchestra. Tickets range from $40-$75. For more information call 704-972-2000 or visit online at www.charlottesymphony.org. (McKinney)
Hear ye, Hear ye -- The Renaissance Festival is back in business! See our blurb at the beginning of the Happenings section for all the details.
OCTOBER 6-SUNDAY
It's Electric! Take a scoop of Barishnikov, add a dash (and just a dash, mind you) of J. to the L-O, and tie it all together with a spicy Latin beat and what do you get? Ballet Hispanico -- 12 classically trained dancers swinging their hips to ever more popular Afro-Cuban rhythms. The show runs tonight at 7:30pm. Tickets range from $15-$40 (much less than you'd pay for a Ricky Martin concert -- for much more entertainment). For more information, call 704-372-1000 or visit online at www.blumenthalcenter.org. (McKinney)
If that's not enough Latin to make your "sangre caliente," then visit the Festival Latinoamericano at the Mint Museum of Art today from 12-7pm. Rain or shine -- this 12th installation of a widely popular cultural event will grace the front lawn of the Mint filling the atmosphere with Latin music, the traditional dances of 20 Latin countries (and, of course, Spain), delicious Latin food, and much, much more. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for children ages 9-12, and free for ages 8 and under. For more information, call 704-337-2000 or visit online at www.mintmuseum.org for a complete schedule of events. (McKinney)
Somewhere, Satan makes a snowman. Yes, our very own Carolina Panthers, the laughing stock of the NFL last year, have a winning record... and a chance to extend it even further today at 1pm at Ericsson Stadium against the lackluster Arizona Cardinals, who haven't been entertaining since ex-coach Buddy Ryan was fired. Tickets for the tilt are $24 and up, available by calling 704-522-6500, or online at www.panthers.com. (Davis)
OCTOBER 8-TUESDAY
Tonight the former bad boys of rock & roll, Aerosmith (hey, they needed to sober up sometime), will team up with one of the baddest boys of today's music scene, Kid Rock (and we mean that literally), for a show at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre. Granted, Aerosmith did earn their way into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year, partly due to spawning a new musical genre with the re-release of their hit "Walk This Way" with the rap act Run-DMC in the mid-80s. But thanks in part to them, we also have the likes of the cocky Kid from Detroit as well. Like him or not, his simplistic lyrics and hard-hitting samples do seem to strike a chord with the masses, and if you like going to a show to see a show (i.e., an over-the-top entrance, pyrotechnics, countless strippers doing their thang, etc.) then the Kid is your man. The concert starts at 7pm and tickets cost $30, $65 and $75. For more info, call the venue hotline at 704-549-5555 or visit ww.verizonwirlessamphitheatre.com. (Farris)
OCTOBER 9-WEDNESDAY
The Actor's Theatre of Charlotte will present Moises Kaufman's drama, The Laramie Project, today through October 27 at Spirit Square. Tonight -- opening night -- is followed by a (raise your noses please) wine & cheese reception, and each Thursday show is followed by a "talk-back" session with the cast and director. Showtimes are Wednesday-Thursday at 7:30pm, Friday-Saturday at 8pm, and Sunday, October 27, at 2pm only. Tickets range from $15-$20 (for those of you out there on the tight budgets -- October 15 is "pay what you can" night). For more information, call 704-372-1000 or visit online at www.actorstheatrecharlotte.org. (McKinney)