Friday is the cold one. The National Weather Service forecast for Castle Rock, issued at 12:46 a.m. Thursday, has Friday "Sunny, with a high near 58" and a low of 35 that night, then Saturday "Sunny, with a high near 78" with gusts to 17, and Sunday "Mostly sunny, with a high near 70." So: jacket Friday, shirtsleeves Saturday, and the big Halloween afternoon lands on the warm day.
Friday
Friday is the quiet one, and the cold one, so take it as the last-chance day. Gilly's Pumpkin Patch, the small one on the 1889 homestead at 1433 Lake Gulch Road, lists this as its final weekend: Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. until dark, $5 a person or $20 a family, free for 3 and under. After Saturday it is done for the year. Lone Creek Farms in Franktown, 3879 N. Highway 83, is open 10 to 9 Friday and Saturday and 10 to 7 Sunday at $27.95 for ages 4 and up ($25.95 seniors and military), with the Harvest Glow light walk included after dark on Friday and Saturday nights; the farm's FAQ says Sunday too, so ask.
Parker has a new place to eat outside. The Gathering Yard, the food truck and vendor lot at 11023 S. Pikes Peak Drive, a short walk from Mainstreet, lists Las Cunadas from 2 to 8 Friday and a "Smore's Time" at 5, then The Tiny Oven from 9 to 2 Saturday. No admission; bring a chair.
At night, "Always...Patsy Cline" plays 7:30 at the Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons Street, two women, the hits sung live, about two hours with an intermission. It runs through Oct. 25 and the center does not print prices on the page.
Our pick, Friday: Gilly's before the light goes, then s'mores at the Gathering Yard.
Saturday
This is the weekend's day. Start at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, 500 Fairgrounds Drive, where the Rocky Mountain Mennonite Relief Sale runs 7:30 to 3:30 in the Event Center: pancake and sausage breakfast from 7, a 5K at 8, booths from 8, the general auction at 9:30, the kids auction (ages 5 to 15) and silent auction at 10, a BBQ chicken lunch from 11 to 1, the tractor auction at 1, and the quilt auction, which is the reason people drive in from three states, at 1:30, per the organizers' schedule (the county's listing has the quilts at 1; get there for the tractors and you are covered). More than 30 Mennonite and Brethren in Christ congregations put it on for Mennonite Central Committee's relief work. Admission and parking are free. German sausage, Amish cheese, pie and ice cream. This is the best-value morning in the county and it happens once a year.
Then the Halloween afternoon. Spooktacular, the town of Castle Rock's Halloween afternoon at Philip S. Miller Park, 1375 W. Plum Creek Parkway, runs 1 to 4 p.m. per the town calendar; it is outdoors, so the 78-degree forecast is a gift. The town's event page was unreachable for us Thursday, so we cannot confirm this year's price or the hour-by-hour plan; check the town's socials before you go. At 1 p.m. downtown, the Castle Rock Historical Society's Ghostly Stories and Tragic Tales walking tour leaves from the museum at 420 Elbert Street: free, donations encouraged, reservations required at 303-814-3164. It repeats Oct. 21, 22, 28 and 29 at 7 p.m. and Oct. 31 at 1.
Early birds have two more. The Witch Paddle at Chatfield State Park's swim beach, 11500 N. Roxborough Park Road, puts costumed paddleboarders and kayakers on the reservoir from 9 to 11, with food trucks, vendors and costume contests running 7 to 1; spectators are free and the paddler registration page is on a waiting list, so go to watch. And the Indian Creek Trail Runs leave Indian Creek Campground on Highway 67 outside Sedalia at 5 miles, 15 miles, 55k and 50 miles; online registration is closed, but race-day sign-up is on site from 4:45 to 8 a.m. at $60 for the 5-mile up to $170 for the 50.
Night: magician Zak Mirz's "Kid@Heart" at the PACE Center, 20000 Pikes Peak Avenue, 7:30, $49, $44 and $39, all ages, and every child needs a ticket. Patsy Cline plays 1:30 and 7:30 in Lone Tree.
Our pick, Saturday: Pancakes and the quilt auction at the Fairgrounds, Spooktacular at 1, the ghost tour if you can split the party.
Rocky Mountain Mennonite Relief Sale Auctions
Spooktacular
Ghostly Stories & Tragic Tales of Castle Rock
Witch Paddle
Indian Creek Trail Runs
Zak Mirz: Kid@Heart
Sunday
Castle Rock's Fall Festival, this year billed as "Creepy Crawlies Around the Rock," runs 10 to 3 at Festival Park, 300 Second Street, per the town calendar; as with Spooktacular, the town's page was behind a bot wall Thursday, so take the time and place from us and the details from the town's socials. The Highlands Ranch Farmers' Market is on the HRCA calendar for Sunday, hours and address not on the listing. "The Carole King and James Taylor Story" at PACE at 2 is sold out, per Parker Arts. Patsy Cline has a 1:30 matinee and a 7 p.m. show. Lone Creek is open 10 to 7.
Our pick, Sunday: Festival Park at 10, then the market in Highlands Ranch, then the couch.
Fall Festival featuring Creepy Crawlies Around the Rock
Highlands Ranch Farmers' Market
The Carole King & James Taylor Story
Still on
The HRCA's Halloween house-decorating map has been live since Oct. 8 and keeps adding homes through Oct. 30. Season roundups: our pumpkin patch and corn maze guide, our fall festivals guide, our fall colors guide, which has the county's oak and cottonwood peaking this very week, and every verified Halloween date in the county. Next weekend: HRCA's Haunted Hayrides and Haunted Forest on Oct. 23, Castle Pines' bonfire and Fall Festival Oct. 23 and 24, Parker's Trunk or Treat Oct. 24. The county's new Baby Cafe, a free drop-in for feeding support, runs every Thursday 10 to noon at 11045 E. Lansing Circle.
Election note
Monday is the day the machinery starts: the first Voter Service and Polling Centers open Oct. 19, and the county begins processing returned ballots the same day. The 23 drop boxes are open around the clock through 7 p.m. on Nov. 3 (locations). If your ballot has a passenger-rail sales tax question on it, Ballot Issue 7A, and you do not live in Sterling Ranch, that is a printing error and here is what happens to it. Every race and measure on your ballot.
We'll see you out there. If we missed something that belongs in next week's drop, the address is on the About page.
Places mentioned
Philip S. Miller Park
320-are public park with a trail network, adventure playground & picnic area with shelters.
Festival Park
This scenic community area features an amphitheater, picnic pavilion & paved walking trails.