Haunts & Happenings: Costume contests, festivals abound

Here's a look at the local haunts and happenings on tap throughout the region in coming weeks. Before venturing out, we recommend checking in with hosting organizations for any updates or schedule changes:• The National Storytelling Festival (Jonesborough) will continue through Oct. 9 at the International Storytelling Center. Visit storytellingcenter.net.• NCG Cinema (Kingsport) will host "Cinema Week" activities through Oct. 13, including the big screen showing of "Halloween" (1978) for a limited run. Advance tickets are available online.• Fall Harvest Festival (Piney Flats) will continue Oct. 9 at Rocky Mount State Historic Site. Celebrate the fall season of 1791 with living history tours, demonstrations, toys and games, crafts and more. Bring a picnic to enjoy on the grounds or visit the food trucks on site. Live Music by Chris Long and Jakob Jovet on Saturday and the Dimestore Cowboys and YeeHaw String Band on Sunday. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $6 for children ages 5-7. Children under 5 and RMHA members are admitted free. Purchase tickets online at www.rockymountmuseum.com/harvestfestival.• Wise Fall Fling (Wise) will continue Oct. 9 and will feature a 5K race, a pancake breakfast, craftsmen and artisans on Main Street, live music, contests and more. Several pre-festival events will also be held in the week leading up to the event. Visit wisefallfling.com for a full schedule.• William King Museum of Art (Abingdon) will offer family- friendly ghost tours and free pumpkin painting on Oct. 13 at 6:30 p.m. Visit williamkingmuseum.org or call (276) 628-5005 (ext. 114).• "A Spot on the Hill" (Jonesborough), the original, research-based play, will return to the Old Jonesborough Cemetery, Oct. 14-15 and Oct. 21-22 at 6:30 p.m. A matinee performance will be held Oct. 15 at 2 p.m. at the Jonesborough Visitors Center. Tickets are $10 and benefit the Heritage Alliance's educational programs and initiatives. Visit jonesborough.com/tickets or call (423) 753-1010 for tickets.• Heritage Days (Rogersville) will be held Oct. 14-16 with more than 100 arts and crafts vendors, live music, food, living history demonstrations, children's activities and more. Visit www.rogersvilleheritage.org or call (423) 272-1961.• The Pumpkin Patch at Colonial Heights Presbyterian Church (Kingsport) is open through Oct. 31 (or until all pumpkins have found a home) from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Proceeds from the sale benefit the youth and children of the church and the education of the Navajo Indian Reservation it supports. Other special events include: a fall festival on Oct. 15 from noon to 4 p.m. with a free BBQ meal at 1 p.m. (while supplies last), and a trunk or treat on Oct. 31 from 5-6 p.m. (while supplies last).• Stories from the Pumpkin Patch (Johnson City) will be held Oct. 15 from 3-8 p.m. at Tipton-Haynes Historic Site. The event will feature storytelling, hayrides, food, crafts, a haunted trail and more.• The On Foot Stick Horse Rodeo (Kingsport) will be held Oct. 16 from 1-3 p.m. at Small Miracles Therapeutic Equestrian Center, 1026 Rock Springs Road. Led by Circle J Cowboy Church, the event will feature rodeo events like dummy roping, stick horse barrel racing and mechanical bull riding, plus live music, food and face painting. The event is free.• Howl-O-Ween Celebration (Johnson City), a pet-themed family event featuring vendors, a costume contest, photo booth and dog-friendly craft, will be held Oct. 20 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at Memorial Park Community Center, 510 Bert St. Admission is free. Call 423-434-5749.• The True and Chilling Tales Tour (Jonesborough) will take place Oct. 17-19, Oct. 25-26, Oct. 31, and Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. in downtown Jonesborough. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at jonesborough.com/tickets. The tour will last an hour. Groups are limited to 16 people; advance tickets recommended. The tours will depart (rain or shine) from the Chester Inn State Historic Site and Museum on Main Street. The tour is rated PG-13 for content and is not recommended for children under 13 years of age. Call (423) 753-9580 or visit www. heritageall.org for more details.• Witches Wynd (Kingsport) returns to Exchange Place Oct. 21-22 with macabre tales and traditional songs shared by some of the region's finest storytellers. Tickets are $10 per person and must be purchased in advance. Call (423) 288-6071.• Howl-O-Ween 5 (Kingsport) will be held Oct. 22 fro 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Petworks Animal Services. Enjoy a costume contest for pets, adults and kids, food trucks, music, vendors, a vaccine clinic, and a kids' fun zone with games, face painting, ring toss and more.• A Halloween Splash Bash (Kingsport) will be held Oct. 22 from 1-4 p.m. at the Kingsport Aquatic Center. Admission is $5 in advance and $7 at the door. There'll be a variety of games for the whole family and a costume contest. The costume contest is free to enter and begins at 2:30 p.m. in the lobby. One winner from each category will be selected; prizes will be awarded. Tickets are available online at www.swimkingsport.com/ special-events.• William King Museum of Art (Abingdon) will present its Haunted Hill: Drive-Thru Trick or Treat on Oct. 22 from 5-8 p.m. Cruise the loop around the museum to stop at multiple candy stations. Visit williamkingmuseum.org or call (276) 628-5005, ext. 114.• The Downtown Kingsport Wine & Whiskey Festival (Kingsport) will be held Oct. 22 from 5-8 p.m. at the Kingsport Farmers Market. Tickets are $65 in advance and $85 at the door. Visit downtownkingsport.org for details.• PEAK Kingsport Young Professionals (Kingsport) will host a trunk-or-treat on Oct. 23 from 4-6 p.m. in the Kingsport Chamber parking lot.• The University of Tennessee Gardens (Knoxville) will present "Howl-O-Ween Pooch Parade and Pet Expo" on Oct. 23 from 1-5 p.m. at the UT Gardens. Enjoy a costumed pet parade, educational booths, various food trucks and more. Admission is free. Parade registration is $10 per costume entry in advance or $15 on day of the event. The parade begins at 2:30 p.m. Learn more at tiny.utk.edu/howloween.• Jack-o-lantern Drive Thru (Jonesborough) featuring decorated pumpkins on display along Main Street will be held Oct. 27-Oct. 31. Pumpkins can be picked up Oct. 24 from 4-7 p.m. and dropped off Oct. 26 from 4-7 p.m. or Oct. 27 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Jonesborough Visitors Center, 117 Boone St. There will be three categories: kids, family, and adults. Learn more at jbohalloween.com.• Scary Stories at Fort Watauga (Elizabethton) will be held Oct. 27 from 7:30-9:30 p.m. at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park.• Spooktacular Pumpkin Glow Stick Swim (Johnson City) will be held Oct. 28 from 5-7:30 p.m. at Memorial Park Community Center's Teaching Pool, 510 Bert St. Wear your best Halloween costume, go for a glow stick swim and bob for pumpkins. Cost is $5 per person.• Halloween Haunts & Happenings (Jonesborough) will be held Oct. 28 from 6-9 p.m. in downtown Jonesborough. Trick-or-treating takes place throughout town with games, activities, and contests for all ages. The costume contest begins at 7:30 p.m. in front of the courthouse.• Trick or Treat On the Street (Kingsport) will be held Oct. 29 from noon to 2 p.m. in downtown Kingsport. There'll be crafts and treats with the Kingsport Public Library at Glen Bruce Park, trick-or-treating in downtown businesses, and a fall frenzy featuring inflatables, a DJ and more at TNT Sportsplex.• The Howl-O-Ween Dog Costume Contest with PEAK (Kingsport) will be held Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. at Centennial Park. Registration starts at 12:30 p.m.• The Porsche Club Trunk or Treat (Kingsport), sponsored by Red Door Agency, will be held Oct. 29 from 1-3 p.m. in the parking lot between Cherokee and Cumberland streets (beside Bellafina Chocolates).• Super Spooky Saturday (Johnson City) will be held Oct. 29 from 4-7 p.m. at Memorial Park Community Center, 510 Bert St. All ages are welcome; admission is free. There'll be games, arts, crafts, a cake walk, face painting, a selfie booth, inflatables, a pumpkin patch and costume contest. Concessions will be available. Local businesses partnering with MPCC will have tables full of candy to hand out as attendees walk through the "Treat Trail." The haunted walk, Return to Redrum Asylum, is $2 per person. The costume contest begins at 4:30 p.m. at the amphitheater. A prize will be awarded to the top contestant in each age group (0-3, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12). Limited spots are available in each group. Participants must have a registration card at the time of the contest to compete. The card, start times and instructions will be available at a registration table. Call 423-434-5749.• Theatre Bristol (Bristol, Tennessee) will present a Halloween radio drama production of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" on Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. at Anderson Park in Bristol, Tennessee. Theatre Bristol On Air is a radio drama throwback to Theatre Bristol's days of "Don't Touch That Dial." The live performance will also be recorded and available on various podcast services and the Theatre Bristol website.• Johnson City Parks and Rec's Annual Halloween Festival (Johnson City) will be held Oct. 31 from 6-9 p.m. at Carver Recreation Center, 322 W. Watauga Ave. Wear your costume and enjoy games, prizes and a costume contest. Free for kids in costume; $1 without costume. Call 423-461-8830.Ongoing Events• Forbidden Fairgrounds — Toxic Terror (Wise, Va.) at the Wise County Fairgrounds runs each Friday and Saturday from Oct. 14 until Halloween weekend, when it will be open Oct. 28-31. The entry fee is $15 per person, and the box office opens at 7:30 p.m. For details and schedule updates, visit www.facebook.com/forbiddenfairgroundswise.• The Animal Shelter of Sullivan County (Bristol) will host Fall Pumpkin-Fest with pumpkins, gourds, straw and fall flowers and fodder available for purchase at 1200 Volunteer Parkway in Bristol, Tennessee, Oct. 9 from 4-7 p.m., Thursdays; 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays; and 1-6 p.m., Sundays. It will be open Oct. 13-31 Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 1-6 p.m. Proceeds from the sale benefit the shelter.• The Stickley Farm (Bluff City) offers a corn maze, hayride, jump pillow, inflatables, haunted attractions and more through Oct. 31. The Escape Room must be booked online prior to your visit. Hours are Wednesdays and Thursdays from 6-9 p.m., Fridays from 6-11 p.m., Saturdays from noon to 11 p.m. and Sundays, 1-6 p.m.• The Harvest Festival at Dollywood sponsored by Humana (Pigeon Forge) will continue through Oct. 29. Visit Dollywood.com.• Tweetsie Railroad's Ghost Train Halloween Celebration (Blowing Rock, N.C.) will be held Friday and Saturday nights through Oct. 29. Visit tweetsie.com.To share an event in our list, email the details to cmusick@timesnews.net.