Ghastly persuasion

October gives away cookies, rice pudding and candy corn for costumed stamp collectors, Lego block builders and ballerinas

October is when ghosts flit, spiders skitter, and even zombies run — all for this Halloween month’s trick-or-treat bag of pizza, cheese dip, cupcakes, beans and cornbread, and — YEEK! — spinach. 1 National Homemade Cookies Day, National Roller Skating Month, American Cheese Month. Kitchen

enrichened, foot travel quickened, hot cheese dip thickened. DEM BONES, DEM BONES, DEM — WHY BONES? Magnificent Me exhibit of how the human body works, through Oct. 20 at Arkansas State Museum, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro. Details at astate.edu. Call (870) 972-2074. NUMBER ONE ON THE BUCKET LIST 2 National Custodial Workers Day celebrates the man who lowers the broom. SAID A MOUTHFUL 3 National Kale Day — for people who think lettuce is too easy to chew. LT. DATA TO BRIDGE CITY 4 Little Rock Tech Fest of web design, data and software through Oct. 5 at the Statehouse Convention Center, Little Rock. Details at lrtechfest.com. LEAVES FALL, VOICES RISE 5 Arkansas Chamber Singers Fall Concert, “The Singing Heart,” 7:30 p.m. at Cathedral of St. Andrew, Little Rock; and 3 p.m. Oct. 7 at Calvary Baptist Church, Little Rock. Details at ar-chambersingers. org. Call (501) 377-1121. WHAT’S THE BUZZ 6 Arkansas Honey Festival, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at Bemis Honey Bee Farms, Little Rock. Details-zzz at bemishoneybeefarm.com. Call (501) 897-2337. ECTOPLASM ENTHUSIASM Arkansas Paranormal Expo, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at said-to-be-haunted MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, Little Rock. Details at arkansasparanormalexpo.com. Call (501) 376-4602. DINNER AND DESSERT m Shrimp Boil, 5 p.m. at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church Little Rock, benefits St. Francis House. Call (501) 225-4203. m Cupcakes for Goodness Sake street festival, 4-7 p.m., downtown North Little Rock, benefits CareLink services including Meals on Wheels. Details at carelink. org. Call (501) 372-5300. PEBBLE BEACH Greater Little Rock Area Mineral, Fossil, Gem and Jewelry Show through Oct. 7 at

Jacksonville Community Center, Jacksonville. Details at centralarrockhound.org.Call (501) 679-4531. A LITTLE PICK-YOU-UP 7 Last day of Get Organized Week, but it’s never too late to get organized. The elves of organization go to work at midnight right after the other big party that happens in October: Sarcastic Month. LAND HO, NO SHOW 8 Columbus Day. But when the explorer tries to write home: “Hey, Ma, discovered America,” he discovers the post office is closed. HIRE AND HIGHER 9 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and CAHRA Fall Job Fair, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at Statehouse Convention Center, Little Rock. Details at Central Arkansas Human Resources Association, cahra.net. Call (501) 378-3807. SPIRITS ARE ABOUT TO SPEAK Tales of the Crypt living history tours of Mount Holly Cemetery, Little Rock, 6-8:30 p.m., supports cemetery maintenance. Details at parkviewtheatre.com. Call (501) 804-6239. CHESTER THE TESTER 10 Chester “Who?” A. Arthur’s birthday, 1830. He was: (A) Third governor of Arkansas, (B) 21st president of the United States, or (3) Marshal Matt Dillon’s first deputy in Dodge City. Answer at Oct. 15. HAIRY ISSUES 11 Pet Peeve Week polling shows that 36 percent of American homes have dogs as pets, 30 percent have cats, and 100 percent have peeves. RIBBONS AND LASSOS Arkansas State Fair through Oct.21 at the State Fairgrounds, Little Rock, with Charlie Daniels Band,

carnival, rodeo, Details at arkansasstatefair.com. Call (501) 372-8341. OH, WHAT A NIGHT! 12 The Jersey Boys: The Story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, through Oct. 14 at Robinson Center Performance Hall, Little Rock. Details at celebrityattractions.com. Call (501) 244-8800. TAKEI’S TAKE ON HISTORY George Takei’s Allegiance: The Broadway Musical on the Big Screen, 7 and 9 p.m. at Ron Robinson Theater, Little Rock. The show is based on the Star Trek actor’s remembrance of growing up in a Japanese-American internment camp in Arkansas. Details at cals.org. Call (501) 320-5715. ALE, ALE, THE GANG’S ALL HERE Oktoberfest through Oct. 13 at Hill Wheatley Plaza, Hot Springs. Details at hotsprings.org. Call (501) 262-5272. SHELL GAME World Egg Day — when the Egg Fairy visits. Good eggs get nest eggs, bad eggs get goose eggs, and the remains of the day stick to the pan. PIECES O’ EIGHT 13 National Pizza Month, and no fair picking all the good parts off the leftovers. INS AND OUTS OF CALORIE COUNTS 14 National Dessert Day — time to wonder why it is that clowns throw whipped cream and egg custard pies, but never pepperoni pies. m Joe Weber Arky 100 bicycle ride, 8:30 a.m. from Sheridan Community Center near Little Rock. Details at arkansasbicycleclub.org. Call (501) 912-1449. NEVER PESTER CHESTER 15 Not-that-old-chestnut quiz answer: (B) 21st president. Chester Arthur lasted fewer than four years in office, compared to stiff-legged Chester Goode, who swept the marshal’s office in Dodge City for nine years. IT’S IN THE BOOK 16 Dictionary Day, National Fossil Day. m FOSSIL (noun): (1) Prehistoric remains, or (2) Anyone older than you. POPEYE NEEDS A SCRATCH — HIS BACK’S SPINACHIN’ 17 Spinach Lovers Month, Squirrel Awareness and Appreciation Month, and be glad that squirrels don’t power up like Popeye. Beware of the squirrel that eats spinach, Run quick from the rat that eats beans; Look out for raccoons;

That are all full of prunes;

It’s time to call out the Marines. THAT’S THE GRIST OF IT 18 War Eagle Fall Craft Fair through Oct. 21 at War Eagle Mill near Rogers. Details at wareaglemill.com. Call (479) 789-5343. THE PIROUETTING UNDEAD Ballet Arkansas performance, Dracula,

Oct. 21 at University of Arkansas at Pulaski Tech 19 20 Center Details for at balletarkansas.org. Humanities and Arts, Call North (501) Little 812-2387. Rock. USE THE FORCE, LUTE Arkansas Symphony Orchestra concert, “The Music of Star Wars,” 7 p.m. Oct. 20, and 3 p.m.

Oct. Rock. 21 Details at Robinson at arkansassymphony.org. Center Performance Call Hall, (501) Little 666-1761. RO-TEL HOTEL World Cheese Dip Championship, noon to 4 p.m. at the Clinton Presidential

Center, Little Rock. Details at cheesedip.net. APPLE FOR THE TEACHER Neville, edu. Call 7:30 (501) p.m. 812-2710. Dozen 22 21 at the Brass Take Orleans Beware Week. University TAKIN’ Band Me The Computer Live to IT and of the teacher with BIG Arkansas Ivan River the EASY Learning bytes. and New Dirty at Ian Pulaski Tech, North Little Rock. Details at charts.uaptc. through Nov. 11 at 23 murrysdp.com. Comedy Murry’s Dinner The HALO, Call HAPPY Hallelujah (501) Playhouse, EVERYBODY BIRTHDAY, 562-3131. Girls Little Rock. Details at 24 grow silly-walker Trump, on. SCORPIO birthday? 37 Do on EVERYBODY John the Oct. If (Oct. scorpion Cleese, so, 30. 24-Nov. happy 78 dance STING on wishes 21): Oct. with Is ALONG 27; and today Monty and a pinch your Ivanka Python to 25 Pablo round CLEAN cake, Picasso’s in GUESSO UP with birthday, THESE the cubist. WHO CRUMBS 1881: out with the 26 Hansel Nov. 11 and at Arkansas Gretel’s Gingerbread Arts Center Children’s Games through Theatre, Little Rock. Details at arkansasartscenter.org. Call (501) BEAN 372-4000. THERE, RUN THAT Bean Festival and Great Arkansas Championship Outhouse Races, Oct. Details 27, at Mountain yourplaceinthemountains.com. View Courthouse through Square. Call 27 (870) 269-8068. LOOK! — UP IN THE SKY Thunder Over the Rock: Little Rock through Air Oct. Force 28 at Base the Air air base, and Space Jacksonville, Show, with and Army the United Golden States Knights Air Force Parachute Thunderbirds Team. Details thunderovertherock.com. FLASHES IN THE PAN 11 a.m. Arkansas to 4 p.m. Cornbread around 15th Festival, Street and arkansascornbreadfestival.com. South Main, Little Rock. Details Call (501) at 396-9587.

m Grand Prairie Rice Festival, antique engine and tractor show, Hazen. Call (870) 830-2404. BRICKERS AND STICKERS through BrickUniverse Lego Fan Experience with professional Lego builder Jonathan Lopes and his

8-foot-tall model of New York City’s Woolworth Building, through Oct. 28 at Statehouse Convention

Center, Little Rock. Details at brickuniverse.com.

m Pinnacle Stamp Club of Arkansas PINPEX stamp show through Oct. 28 at Jacksonville Community

Center, Jacksonville. Call (501) 868-4553. LEFT IN A LURCH m Creep ’N’ Crawl costumed fun run, 5 p.m. at Two Rivers Park, Little Rock. Details at creepncrawl.com. m Eureka Springs Zombie Crawl parade, 5 p.m. through downtown Eureka Springs. Details at eurekaspringschamber.com. Call (479) 253-8737. MERCY THEM 28 MercyMe, 6 p.m. at Verizon Arena, North Little Rock. Details at verizonarena.com. Call (800) 745-3000. POSTAGE DUE 29 National Stamp Collection Month remembers when “save a stamp” meant more than go online. BETTER CORNY THAN COOL 30 National Candy Corn Day celebrates the treat that comes from heavily subsidized Iowa candy corn fields. EITHER WAY, THE SCARIEST THING IS THE SUGAR 31 Halloween.

m Day of the Dead, Mexican holiday through

Nov. 2.

Coming next month: November! Write to Ron Wolfe at rwolfe@arkansasonline.com

by Oct. 15 to suggest November calendar entries or how to celebrate November as National Novel Writing Month, such as: the stuff that reams are made of. All entries require a web address and/ or phone number that is answered during business hours.