It is now a year since the last issue of the Daddy Weekly occurred. To my surprise and delight, I’m still getting a lot of visitors to the website – many of them just a regular mom or dad thinking about how to bring some joy to their kids and themselves.

While the Daddy Weekly has ceased publication in a weekly format, I still carry the thought to invest some time and make it useful for a few more years – many of the topics and events featured happen every year (like the Christmas Parade) or are permanent features (like Marbles).

For now, please feel free to use the site as is – and if it happened in 2013, there is good chance it will also take place in 2015 and beyond at around the same time.

If you have specific question, don’t hesitate to reach out – I’m still around at daddy@daddyweekly.me.

Saturday afternoon will be cold and rainy for sure, and Marbles has a cute event for all those who want to become a Veterinarian – aptly named FutureVet. Offered in collaboration with Banfield Vet Hospital and led by a veterinarian, kids find out about being a vet, meet a therapy dog, and even get a certificate. This is from 2-3p, and included in regular Marbles admission.

A vet at work (during the Vet School Open House)

If you can still get tickets (but many train rides were sold out at the time of this writing), the Haunted Train at New Hope Valley Railroad looks really cool.

In addition to riding the train (and seeing some spooky installations along the way), you can visit an old witch and have your future told, or a mad scientist blowing smoke-filled bubbles. (I hope in a kids-appropriate way, and not the way we did it when we were young!)

There will be spooky photo ops and even a take-home gift for visitor. As of this writing, tickets were only available for the 2:45p train and the (scarier) 7:45p train.

Haunted Steam Locomotive (c) New Hope valley Railroad

Mordecai Historic Park has its Haunted Mordecai Free Festival this Saturday, 10/26 from 5p-10p. In addition to games, crafts, food, etc., there will be a “paranormal investigation group” presenting what they found out about Mordecai’s ghosts, and also costume contests for different age groups (under 3 at 6pm, 4-6 yrs at 7pm, 7-12 at 8pm, 13-16 yrs at 9pm). To do the Lantern Tour of of the Mordecai House, you need tickets.

Mordecai Historic Park is just North of Downtown at 1 Mimosa St.

Marbles is hosting its annual Halloween party also this Saturday evening, from 6p-9p. Note that tickets are required, even for members, and that Marbles closes at 4p that day in order to prepare for the event, so you can’t go early and just stay.

Marbles as always puts a science/museum twist on the event, which includes among other things a Mad Scientist Lab and Spinning Spider Science. Showing up in costume is highly encouraged!

Purchase tickets ahead of time if you can, they are $8 in advance, but $13 on the day of the event ($10/$15 for non-members).

Living on a street that is primarily known for its block party is certainly special, and Cooke Street Carnival keeps going strong in its fifth year. “The Cookeout” is this year’s theme, and in addition to art vendors, kids activities and bands, there are of course food trucks and beer tents. Particular mention goes to the “Art Boards”, 2D-art with cutouts for your head, all created by local artists, and excellent photo-ops.

Cooke Street Carnival is this Saturday from 1-6p – on Cooke Street, of course!

So, what new can we say about the State Fair? After all it’s been taking place (except for brief interruptions during war) continuously since 1853.

Well, new is the pork barbeque filled egg roll, for example, or the Sloppy Joe Doughnut burger. Enjoy! Another newer development is the local wine and micro-brew beer tasting that has been added a few years ago.

For kids there is Kiddieland, and then of course the livestock. And the drag racing. And the music. And the food. In short, all that makes the state fair, the state fair.

It is that time of the year again. The leaves are turning, the pumpkins are patching and the corn is a-mazing.

I won’t disguise it, I take the simple path and will just refer you to my last year’s article. Both corn mazes are good options that we’ve visited personally. One addition to the list this year is Vollmer farm, where we went a few weeks ago for the Farm Tour. It has a large kids activity area and the usual farm stuff. No corn maze, but a giant jumping pillow and even movies on Saturday night.

Ken’s Korn Maze and Ganyard Farm were covered in last year’s article.

Shakori Hills, the twice-yearly music festival started yesterday. With temperatures dropping, it will probably be more a hardcore hippies event, but if your family can brave the chilly 70s, head out and enjoy tent camping, music, tie-tying, singing, drum-circling, short everything needed to help the kids understand what the grandparents did back in the 70s. (Well, maybe not everything.)

Shakori Hills is family-friendly, read their family page for some details. Tickets are $110, kids get in free.

The Festival takes place this weekend, which is my annual opportunity to promote urban hiking. See, if you drive and hour to a park, only to find a half hour paved loop, you might as well stay ITB. Don’t ask me why, but I find loop hikes more appealing that out-and-back. Are you interested in more hikes like this? Please let me know – I’m thinking about writing up a few more, but I’m not sure whether there is any interest.

(If you visit the page about this hike, you can download a pdf with the map.)

You can anywhere in downtown (your house, ideally), and make your way to Boylan Ave, then Walnut Creek Greenway, the Little Rock Greenway, and finally back toward downtown along E Lenoir St.

If I read it correctly, the festival is not scattered along the greenway this year, but concentrated around the beautiful Walnut Creek Wetland Center, perhaps about an hour walk from downtown along the greenway. From the, continue on to Chavis Park, where the 75th anniversary of this underutilized park is celebrated. Free carousel rides all day!

If you don’t think of downtown as a place to hike: go do this one, and let me know! (And if you need tips, contact me upfront!)