SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — Li’l Friday features dozen of ways for people to enjoy the weekend via theater, music, art, culinary happenings and more.
All events featured were scheduled as of Thursday; however, it’s wise to check in ahead of attending any one. Inclement weather, changes in schedules and unforeseen circumstances may shift for organizers at the last minute.
Thursday, Oct. 16
‘Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors’
Thalian Hall, 310 Chestnut St. • Tickets: $35
A reimagining of the horror classic from Bram Stoker, this comedy is dubbed the love child of “Monty Python” and Mel Brooks. “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors” presents 90 minutes of quick-paced, laugh-out-loud gothic comedy. It twists the classic tale, embedding pop-culture references and gender-bending characters along the way.
The story follows a real estate agent meeting one of the most harrowing clients in the town of Transylvania, before vampire hunters manage to chase Drac out of town into the British countryside with hijinks endured along the way.
The show is being produced by Big Dawg Productions at Thalian Hall Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 16-26. The play is performed at 7:30 p.m. except for 2 p.m. matinees on Sunday. Tickets are $35.
OTHER THURSDAY EVENTS
Here Come the Mummies — More spooky fun is taking place at the Wilson Center, 703 Third St., with the eight-piece funk-rock act Here Come the Mummies. The Nashville band started in the early aughts and though its members remain wrapped in linen cloth while performing, they remain anonymous — some rumored to be Grammy winning, in fact. They promise to “bend your brain and melt your face” with their show, including reggae, jazz, soul and ska sounds. The performance also welcomes Lachy Doley and Platinum Moon, with tickets starting at $25 here.
CFCC Theater Department Costume Sale — Just in time for Halloween, Cape Fear Community College Theater Department welcomes the public to shop through its costume closet Thursday and Friday, Oct. 16-17, 10:30 a.m. to1:30 p.m. The sale will take place in the courtyard behind the Joe and Barbara Schwartz Center (610 N. Front St.) and will feature a selection of clothing and accessories from past theatrical productions. Cash and credit card payments will be accepted.
Friday, Oct. 17
Phobia Haunted Trail
635 Governors Rd SE, Winnabow • Tickets: $25-$35
Across the bridge in Leland, on Maco Road, a haunted trail is returning with two trails ready to take you on a haunted Halloween journey.
The theme is Freakshow, so prepare for oddities and wonders that will cause thrills and shrills and test you to question what’s real. Expect an immersive experience that will also test your biggest phobias, as clowns are ready to exact revenge across the forest in which they live.
The trail opens Friday through Sunday, 8 p.m. to midnight, through Nov. 2 and reservations can be made here.
OTHER FRIDAY EVENTS
Pleasure Island Fall Restaurant Week — Restaurants in Carolina and Kure beaches are lined up for Pleasure Island Restaurant Week, taking place Oct. 11-18. More than two dozen participants are involved, offering specials on healthy starts and coffee drinks, lunch and dinner of every cuisine, fun nostalgic sweets and pancakes. Also, for every four restaurants visited during the PIRW and entered onto bingo cards here, diners will be entered for a chance to win a $500 prize package. All restaurant week specials are listed here.
Galloway Farm Maze Craze — Annually, Galloway Farm opens its Maze Craze for fall at 370 Artesia Rd. in Hallsboro, North Carolina.The 2025 maze is part of the fifth-generation working cattle farm located 40 miles west of Wilmington. There is a 13-acre maze with 5 miles of pathways, a QR code hunt, plus games, tractor-pulled wagon rides, barrel trail rides, live farm animals, concessions, and more. It’s open weekends through Nov. 9 and tickets start at $15 here.
Dusty Slay — An American comedian, who name-drops Wilmington in his latest Netflix special “Wet Heat” and is known as part of “The Nateland Podcast” with Nate Bargatze, is headed to the Wilson Center stage. Dusty Slay is known for his blue-collared, observational standup, complete with Southern delivery and often centered on his life growing up in a trailer park and working varied odd jobs. The comedian has performed at Dead Crow Comedy Room before in Wilmington, as part of the Cape Fear Comedy Festival, and at Odell Williamson Auditorium in Brunswick County. Tickets start at $25.
Gov‘t Mule — Comprising legendary guitarist Warren Haynes (guitar, lead vocals), Matt Abts (Drums), Danny Louis (keyboard, guitar, backing vocals) and new bassist Kevin Scott, Government Mule will perform at Greenfield Lake Amphitheater. Gov’t Mule was formed in 1994 by Haynes and former Allman Brothers bassist, the late Allen Woody. Andy Hess replaced Woody in 2003, followed by Jorgen Carlsson in 2008 who left in 2023 just before the band released its 26th album “Peace … Like a River.” Scott picked up where Carlsson left off. Tickets start at $58 here.
WHQR Soup to Nuts LIVE! w/ Randy McQuay — Wilmington’s bluesman will bring his soulful, sultry sounds to Live at Ted’s as part of WHQR’s Soup to Nuts Live. McQuay performs with his acoustic — a style derived from claw-hammer picking styles and percussion — and harmonica, covering songs from songwriting troubadours like Bob Dylan, guitar virtuosos like Stevie Ray Vaughn and speckles in original tunes as well. His American roots music has earned McQuay the Lee Oskar Top Harmonica Player Award from The Blues Foundation, reigning Cape Fear Blues Challenge solo champion and 2015’s International Blues Challenge winner. Tickets to his show are $10 and the music begins at 8 p.m., with doors at 7 p.m.
ARTFall Show and Sale — Head to the Community Arts Center at Second and Orange streets this weekend for the annual ARTFall Show and Sale, featuring varied works by dozens of artists. The event is open to the public Oct. 17-18 and 20-25, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Only original works created in the last two years are accepted and judged by award-winning artist Benjamin Billingsley, a professor of studio art and art history at Cape Fear Community College. The awards reception is held Thursday, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. with more than $500 awarded in prizes.
Brian Simpson — Austin comedian Brian Simpson, a frequent performer at The Comedy Store and Comedy Mothership, will bring his unique point of view to the Dead Crow stage this weekend. The comedian often dishes on life in the foster care system and his time enlisted as a Marine. He’s appeared on “Lights Out with David Spade,” Netflix’s “The Standups,” and “That’s My Time with David Letterman.” He released his special “Brian Simpson: Live from the Mothership” on Netflix, wherein he quips: “Minorities mostly don’t join the military out of patriotism. I joined in March of 2001, six months before 9/11. I was just trying to go to school. 9/11 was my 9-1-1, personally — it threw my whole plan off. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a traitor. I love my country but I’m just not in love with it.” He performs four shows this weekend, Friday and Saturday, at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 to $41 here.
‘Home’ — American playwright, Samm-Art Williams, originally from Burgaw, North Carolina, will be celebrated at Thalian Hall this weekend with his 1979 play “Home” being performed. The show was nominated for a Tony Award upon its 1980 debut, wherein it ran for more than 270 performances. It was revived in 2024, a month after Williams’ died, from Roundabout Theatre Company and received a Drama Desk Award nomination as well. Locally, it is sponsored by the Pender Arts Council and Arts Council of Wilmington and New Hanover County, in association with Thalian Association Community Theater to celebrate Pender County’s 150 years. “Home” is directed by Fracaswell Hyman, starring Kaleb Edley as the central character Cephus Miles, who works on a small, family-inherited farm in North Carolina. All’s content in Miles’ world until his life takes a turn: His sweetheart moves away to college and Cephus refuses to serve in the Vietnam War, only to become imprisoned for evading the draft. He also loses his land due to back taxes and decides to start a new life up north in the big city, only to eventually find his way back down South. The show runs Oct. 17-18 at 7:30 p.m. and at 2 p.m. on the 19. Tickets are $42 here.
Saturday, Oct. 18
Lighthouse Beer and Wine Festival
Live Oak Bank Pavilion, 10 Cowan St. • Tickets: $49 and up
Annually, one of the biggest and tastiest fundraisers for the Carousel Child Advocacy Center takes place in October with Lighthouse Beer and Wine Festival.
More than 100 beer, wine, and seltzers vendors are on site offering samplings of their sippers. Plus, there is live music from The Midatlantic and Swellians, Fudge and Soundwaves and food trucks.
VIP ticket holders are allowed in an hour earlier at noon with general admission at 1 p.m. Tickets are $49 to $140. It takes place at Riverfront Park’s Live Oak Bank Pavilion, 10 Cowan St.
OTHER SATURDAY EVENTS
Veg-Out Festival — From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Greenfield Lake Park by the Rotary Wheel Garden, a festival focused on healthy living is taking place. Veg-Out is free, but there will be vendors galore, providing vegan and vegetarian food, fitness, massages, ethically sourced crystals, traditional and alternative health care, all individually priced. Naturally sourced beauty products and hemp-based wellness products, plant protein mixes, holistic nutrition and more will be available. There also are speakers beginning at 11:30 a.m. with certified beekeeper Sandra Cecelski speaking about pollinators that can help in your backyard. Learn more at www.veg-out.org.
Backyard BBQ Cookoff — The Carolina Beach Island Men are hosting its annual BBQ Cookoff from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Fort Fisher Air Force Recreation grounds. There will be up to 20 local and regional BBQ teams competing, with live music, art and business vendors and a children’s area. Admission is $15, which includes 10 sample tickets. Additional tasting tickets are $2 each. Children 12 and under are free.
Monster Prom — It’s the spookiest event of the year, welcoming all monsters, ghouls and goblins to enjoy a variety of seasonal performances. There will be live music,burlesque, drag and more from Hidden Valley Raunch, Karma’s Vision, Julia Rothenberger, Pi Starsong, Marlowe Moore “Bunny LaLa” and Dante Sinferno. The event takes place at Bourgie Night and tickets are $20 here.
Boiling Springs Fall Festival — The Town of Boiling Springs is also hosting its fall festival this weekend from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the BSL Community Building. Come dressed in your best Halloween costume and enter the contest, to take place at 6:30 p.m. The haunted trail will be open at dusk and hot dogs and hamburgers are available for purchase.
Kids at CAM — Bring the kids to celebrate Hispanic heritage and Halloween traditions at Cameron Art Museum from 10 a.m. to noon. Kids at CAM will have crafts and activities designed for the theme. The art projects are led by museum staff and at 11:30 a.m. museum-guided tours will take place for the current exhibitions on display. It’s free for members, otherwise $10 for children and $5 for their parents who are nonmembers (children 2 and under, free). Register here.
Sunday, Oct. 19
Art in the Arboretum
New Hanover County Arboretum, 6206 Oleander Drive • Tickets: $5-$35
Art in the Arboretum takes place every fall and this weekend it opens on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 18-19, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
It features around 90 artists setting up booths to sell their homemade creations, including paintings, photography, sculpture and more. Both 2D and 3D works will be for sale, and the Education Center will be transformed into youth arts display from students of Dreams of Wilmington and Kids Making It. A hands-on youth activity will be provided by the New Hanover County 4-H Youth Development Program.
If you want to get a sneak peek, the event officially kicks off Friday, 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., with a ticketed evening showcase, Sip, Savor and Shop, to give visitors first dibs on artwork for sale. It’s $35 and limited to 250 people. It also includes live music, wine and beer.
Tickets to Saturday and Sunday cost $5; it’s free for Friends of the Arboretum members, children 12 and under, and military members with ID. Live music is planned throughout the weekend events with food trucks also parked on site.
OTHER SUNDAY EVENTS
Pumpkin Festival — Leland Brewing Company will have a Fall Festival from noon to 5 p.m. at its 2115 Ale Ave. brewery. It’s family-friendly, with activities including a petting zoo, bounce house, pumpkin patch, hay maze, food trucks, live music, and an oyster roast. It’s free to attend.
Family Farm Day — Riptide Stables welcomes families to its farm from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be games, kids’ crafts, petting zoo, pony rides, and snacks for sale. Picnics are welcome, plus the trails are open to walk. Its cost $10 per person and the farm is located at 5915 Sidbury Road.
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