A run of events across the Triangle will carry audiences from Halloween weekend into the first week of November, with offerings that range from theatrical and spooky to family-friendly and musical.
On Friday, October 30, UNC's Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill becomes what organizers describe as a liminal otherworld for BLACK LODGE and BARDO. The immersive experience ends in what is billed as a "dark Lynchian goth-rock opera." Attendees are encouraged to come in costume, and the night's theme is exploring "what it means to reckon with the worst thing you have ever done." Local performers are cast in the two-part production. BLACK LODGE begins at 7 p.m., followed by BARDO at 9 p.m. Tickets start at $25, or $11 for students.
Also on Friday, the Fuzzy Needle in Durham hosts a Halloween eve concert at 8 p.m. The small records and book shop and venue on Main Street has posted a lineup of The Replacements, Pixies, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Silver Jews, though the quotation marks around "bands" suggest some dress-up is involved. The show is co-hosted by local musicians, including the band Weirs and Evan Morgan of the old-time group Magic Tuber Stringband.
On Saturday, October 31, the North Carolina Symphony presents Halloween at Hogwarts at the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh. Two daytime performances, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., will feature "magical music from Harry Potter's world and more." Robes are encouraged, and a costume contest with prizes is planned. The concert is pitched as a way to draw children toward classical music.
On Tuesday, November 3, which is also Election Day, author Max Brallier visits Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill at 5 p.m. to present The Last Kids on Earth and the Zombie Parade. The bestselling graphic novel series follows "normal human kid Jack Sullivan," according to event materials, as he and three friends fend off brain-eating zombies. The event is suggested as an outing for children after their parents have voted.
The week closes on Thursday, November 5, with One Night on Sugar Hill at 7 p.m. at the Carolina Theatre in Durham. The concert honors Sugar Hill, the Durham roots record label led by the late Barry Poss, which was closely tied to Dolly Parton's later career. The label closed in 2007, and Poss died in 2025.
The tribute brings together bluegrass and country musicians including Ricky Skaggs, Jerry Douglas, Sarah Jarosz and Jim Watson. Part of the proceeds will go to a fund intended to make the event recurring.
