The allure of Autumn

October is filled with festivals, fairs and other fancies.

October is the month of jeepers creepers, when every monster and his hairy brother take to the streets to howl for candy, or else. What else? Pizza, biscuits, mules and moldy cheese are in the bag this month — no tricks, for real. 1 Cookie Month, Sarcastic Month, Computer Learning Month, Dental Hygiene Month, Toilet Tank Repair Month. A chocolate chip, a sassy lip, a screen gone blip, a finger nip, a midnight drip.

LIKE SHERBET FOR SCHUBERT

Arkansas Symphony Orchestra season opener, Mozart, Schubert & Mayhem, with pianist Elisso Bolkvadze, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1 and 3 p.m. Oct. 2 at Maumelle Performing Arts Center, Maumelle. Details at arkansassymphony.org. Call (501) 666-1761.

FEST WISHES

High Cotton on the Bayou Festival, butter-churning and sorghum-making at Scott Plantation Settlement at Scott near Little Rock. Details at scottconnections.org. Call (501) 3515737. Ozark Folklife Festival, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. at Tyler Bend on the Buffalo River near St. Joe. Details at searcycountyarkansas.org. Call (870) 448-2557.

PEDIGREES, POOCHES AND ROCKHOUNDS

Hot Springs National Park Kennel Club Dog Show through Oct. 2 at Hot Springs Convention Center. Details at hotsprings.org.

Greater Little Rock Area Mineral,

Fossil, Gem and Jewelry Show with 25 dealers from seven states, 9 a.m.5 p.m. Oct. 1 and 2 at Jacksonville Community Center, Jacksonville. Details at centralarrockhound.org. Call (501) 379-8653.

POOF! — IT’S HERE; POOF! — IT’S GONE

Maxwell Blade Festival of

Magic through Oct. 2 with shows, lectures, workshops at various venues, Hot Springs. Details at maxwellbladefestivalofmagic.com. Call (501) 623-6200. Keep Arkansas Beautiful Great Arkansas Cleanup, litter pickup and disposal and other projects statewide through October. Details at keeparkansasbeautiful.com.

AMORE AND MORE

2 Little Italy Italian Dinner and Bazaar,

11 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at St. Francis Catholic Church, Roland. Details at littleitalyarkansas.com.

“ONCE” UPON A TIME

3 ONCE the Musical, 7:30 p.m. at Reynolds Performance Hall, University of Central Arkansas, Conway. Details at uca.edu/reynolds. Call (501) 450-3265.

THERE’S A FRAPPE FOR THAT

4 Happy, happe Frappe Day. A frappe in the lap is a cool lagniappe.

FLOUR SHOW

5

King Biscuit Blues Festival with Sonny Landreth, John Mayall, Charlie Musselwhite, through Oct. 8 at Helena-West Helena. Details at kingbiscuitfestival.com. Call (870) 572-5223.

WHEN THE DEALIN’S DONE

6 Kenny Rogers Final World Tour: The Gambler’s Last Deal, 8 p.m. at Verizon Arena, North Little Rock. Details at verizonarena.com. Call (800) 745-3000.

WHAT’S-UP DOCS

7 Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival with honorary co-chairmen Beau Bridges and Louis Gossett Jr., through Oct. 16 at the Arlington Hotel, Hot Springs. Details at hsdfi.org. Call (501) 538-0452.

KIT CARSON AND CABOODLE

Leslie Mountain Man Rendezvous through Oct. 8 near Marshall. Details at lesliearkansas.org. Call (870) 448-2557.

Junkfest garage sale through Oct. 8 in Bradley southwest of Magnolia. Call (870) 894-3935.

TOOTHINESS

World Smile Day — that ear-to-ear time of year.

BLAME IT ON THE BOSSY NOVA

8 The Great Chicago Fire, 1871: Mrs.

O’Leary’s cow kicks the lantern, and it’s a hot time in the old town tonight.

HEE-HAW HOO-HAH

Pea Ridge Mule Jump at Pea Ridge near Rogers. Details at pearidgemulejump.com. Call (479) 4511122.

BEES AND BOOS

Arkansas Honey Festival and beekeeping workshops, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at Bemis Honey Bee Farm, Little Rock. Call (501) 897-2337. Arkansas Paranormal Expo and ghost hunting through Oct. 9 at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. Details at arkansasparanormalexpo.com. Call (501) 376-4602.

RIND TIME HAD BY ALL

9 How to celebrate Moldy Cheese Day: with no-gooda Gouda, Herman Muenster and Provolone turned anti-volone.

LEGS — THEY KNOW HOW TO USE ’EM

Joe and Helen Weber Arky 100

Bicycle Ride through farm and timber country, 8 a.m. from Sheridan Community Center, Sheridan. Details at arkansasbicycleclub.org. Call (501) 912-1449.

COLUMBUS LOST HIS COMPASS

10 Columbus Day — when the post office closes and nobody knows why.

Columbus sailed the ocean blue

In fourteen-hundred, ninety-two,

And sighted land at Plymouth Rock,

No, take it back — at old New Yawk,

Where Davy Crockett met the ship, And shook hands with a mighty grip.

CIRCLE OF LIFE

11 How to celebrate National Pizza Month: Do like a pelican — hold the anchovies.

Pizza reception and panel discussion on “Robinson Re-imagined,” the remaking of Little Rock’s Robinson Auditorium, 5:30 p.m. at Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock. Details at arkansasartscenter.org. Call (501) 3724000.

AMEN TO THAT

12 Clergy Appreciation Month: The answer when someone asks, “Pray tell, what month is this?”

BIG WHEEL KEEP ON TURNIN’

13 War Eagle Mill Craft Fair through Oct. 16 near Rogers. Details at wareaglemill.com. Call (479) 789-5343.

TEN-DAY FORECAST: FAIR

14

Arkansas State Fair through Oct. 23 with Bret Michaels, Rick Springfield, bull riders and rodeo queens, State Fairgrounds, Little Rock. Details at arkansasstatefair.com. Call (501) 372-8341.

YOLKS AND AWAY

World Egg Day. The 100 folds in a chef’s hat, or toque, represent 100 artful ways to cook an egg. But no matter which, somebody’s gonna squirt ketchup all over it.

PANSY PANTHEON

15 Master Gardener Fall Plant Sale, 8-11 a.m. at the Master Gardener Greenhouse behind Arkansas State Hospital, Little Rock. Call (501) 626-8964.

DEFINITION ERUDITION

16 Dictionary-maker Noah Webster’s birthday, 1758. DICTIONARY (noun): A book of words, useful only if you already know the word you can’t think of.

WONDERFUL TIME OF SNEER

17 Sarcastic Month. Whoop-dee-doo.

POUR BOY MAKES GOOD

18 Yankee Doodle stuck a feather in his cap. And according to mixologist legend, a similar thing happened in a tavern in New York on this day, 1776. It seems the bartender tickled a tipsy toss-pot by sticking a feather in the guy’s drink. And so was invented the: (A) Screaming Eagle, (B) Rooster Tail, or (C) Cocktail.

Answer at Oct. 30.

CARROT ARTERY

19 National Vegetarian Month — otherwise known as Dracula’s 31day beet juice diet.

LUCKY PUP

20 Adopt a Shelter Dog Month — set to the music of Snoop Dogg, Joe Cocker, Howling Wolf, The Barking Dogs, Three Dog Night and George (“Bad to the Bone”) Thorogood.

APPREHENDED APPARITIONS

21 Voices From Eureka’s Silent

City, living history cemetery tours through Oct. 22 and Oct. 2829, benefits the Eureka Springs Historical Museum. Details at eurekaspringshistoricalmuseum.org. Call (479) 253-9417.

STOP, LURK AND LISTEN

22 Washington After Dark

candle-lit Halloween tours of Historic Washington State Park, 6-9 p.m. and again Oct. 29, near Hope. Details at historicwashingtonstatepark.com. Call (870) 983-2684.

IN THE PINK

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, downtown Little Rock. Activities start at 6 a.m. Details at komenarkansas.org. Call (501) 202-4399.

POSTAGE DUE

PINPEX , Pinnacle Stamp Club of Arkansas show through Oct. 23 at Jacksonville Community Center, Jacksonville. Call (501) 868-4553.

FURRY FEAT

23 Monster Dash 5K and fun run with costumes and candy treats along the way, 2:30 p.m., Fayetteville. Details at halloweenmonsterdash.com. Call (479) 521-7766.

EVERYBODY STING ALONG

24

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21): Is today your birthday? If so, make time and space for “Dr. Who” Matt Smith, 34 on Oct. 28 — because everybody knows Scorpios are bigger on the inside.

BALONEY, I’M FALLING UNDER YOUR SPELL

25 The day after National Bologna Day is phony baloney.

WOO-HOO WITCHY WOMAN

26 The Crucible through Nov. 13 at Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Little Rock. Details at therep.org. Call (501) 378-0405.

SULU SOIREE

27 Star Trek actor George Takei, 7:30 p.m. at Reynolds Performance Hall, University of Central Arkansas, Conway. Details at uca.edu/reynolds. Call (501) 450-3265.

READY EYORE NOT

28 Winnie-the-Pooh (and Roo, too), through Nov. 13 at Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre, Little Rock. Details at arkansasartscenter.org. Call (501) 372-4000.

FLASH IN THE PAN

29 Arkansas Cornbread Festival,

11 a.m.-4 p.m. in Little Rock’s South Main district. Details at arkansascornbreadfestival.com.

DEAR WHO-HIT-JOHN

30 Bottom’s up quiz answer: (C) Cocktail, a mixed drink that can make a person sleep through the rooster’s crow, the birdie on the window sill, the song of the owl, and wake up with crow’s feet and egg on his face.

MODUS OPERANDI WITH CANDY

31 Halloween —when ghosties and ghoulies, with bed sheets and hoodies, and bags full of goodies, go chomp in the night. Coming next month: November! Call (501) 399-3633, write to Ron Wolfe, Arkansas

Democrat-Gazette, 121 E. Capitol Ave., Little Rock, Ark. 72203, or e-mail rwolfe@arkansasonline.com by Oct. 15 to suggest November calendar entries or how to celebrate November as Real Jewelry Month — by knowing there’s a reason why sequins aren’t a girl’s best friend. Each event requires a phone number that is answered during business hours or by an answering machine that identifies the event or its sponsor.