The weather does the planning this weekend. The National Weather Service forecast for Castle Rock, issued at 3:21 a.m. Thursday, has Friday "Sunny, with a high near 76," breezy, with afternoon gusts to 34 mph, and then the door slams: Saturday "A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 54," Saturday night "Showers" with a 90 percent chance and a low of 38, and Sunday more of the same, high 54 with a thunderstorm possible after noon. So: do the outdoor things Friday night and Saturday morning, and keep the Fairgrounds in your back pocket for the rest.
Friday
Friday is the night. If you were going to do one outdoor Halloween thing this weekend, do it Friday, because the Saturday-night forecast is a 90 percent chance of rain at 38 degrees.
Castle Pines' Bonfire, BBQ and Brews runs 6 to 9 at Village Square, 7437 Village Square Drive: a BBQ meal, drinks for the 21-and-over crowd, s'mores supplies, fire pits and the band Darling Revival, per the city's event page. $42 for adults and $30 for anyone under 21, advance tickets only; the chamber says there are no sales at the gate, and the city says all sales are final because capacity is limited. Neither page says whether it has sold out.
Highlands Ranch has two. HRCA's Haunted Hayrides leave Stockton's Plum Creek Stables, 7479 W. Titan Road, every half hour from 6 to 8:30 Friday and Saturday: a 30-minute ride with storytellers, $16, free for 2 and under on a lap, with a petting zoo and 4H food in the barn, and the money goes to the Cowboy 4H Club. HRCA suggests the earlier rides for small kids, and payment is the reservation, non-refundable. The Haunted Forest, the association's three-quarter-mile scare walk through the Backcountry Wilderness Area, runs 6:30 to 9:30 Friday (7 to 10 Saturday), recommended for ages 10 and up, with strobe lights; park at Rocky Heights Middle School, 11033 Monarch Blvd., and follow the music south down the trail. $15, or $25 for a fast pass.
Indoors, the Amazing Art Expo opens in Kirk Hall at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, 500 Fairgrounds Drive, from 6 to 9: anime, Disney, Alice in Wonderland and horror art with the artists present, free admission and free parking, with optional $15 and $30 VIP passes. Voice actor John Swasey, All For One in My Hero Academia and Crocodile in One Piece, signs all three days; autographs are sold separately. "Always...Patsy Cline" plays 7:30 at the Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons Street, in its final weekend. At the Gathering Yard in Parker, 11023 S. Pikes Peak Drive, the posted truck is Famous Amos Tacos at 4; Saturday's slot still said "TBD" on Thursday. Lone Creek Farms in Franktown is open 10 to 9 with its Harvest Glow light walk after dark.
Our pick, Friday: the Haunted Forest at dusk, then the art expo to warm up.
Bonfire, BBQ, and Brews
HRCA Haunted Hayrides (Ages 2+)
HRCA Haunted Forest
Amazing Art Expo
Always...Patsy Cline
Saturday
Morning first, while it is dry. Castle Pines' Fall Festival, Trick-or-Treat Street and Great Pumpkin Race runs 10 to 2 at Village Square, free: kids trick-or-treat through the local businesses, there is a farmers market, a petting zoo, hayrides and face painting, and at 1 p.m. the pumpkin race, where kids send decorated pumpkins on wheels down the course (race kits had to be bought from the city by Thursday, so this one is for watching unless you already have yours). One change from the chamber's flyer: the city says the chili cook-off is canceled for lack of entries. Boo Bash at the Outlets at Castle Rock runs 11 to 2 with candy, costumes and activities, per the outlets' page, which does not say where in the center it happens or whether it costs anything.
Then Parker. The Downtown Parker Business Alliance's Trunk or Treat fills the rear lot of Parker Station, 19751 Mainstreet, with up to 60 business trunks. The first hour, 1 to 2, is a sensory hour for families with sensory sensitivities; general admission is 2 to 5. It is free, but every child needs an individual timed-entry ticket, printed or on a phone; adults do not. It is a parking lot, and 1 p.m. is when the forecast turns, so bring the rain layer under the costume.
The best bet if it rains is the All American Reptile and Plant Expo at the Fairgrounds, fully indoors, 10 to 5 Saturday and 10 to 4 Sunday. This year's draw is a meet and greet with Emily and Ed of Snake Discovery, the YouTube channel, included with admission. The organizer's ticket page expects 1,500 to 2,000 people in that line and warns of waits up to five hours, so go at 10 or go Sunday. $20 adults and $10 kids per day, $25 for a two-day adult pass, $45 for VIP (which also covers a Friday-night VIP session), $2 off at the door for teachers, military, first responders and 65-plus, free parking, food trucks and free face painting. The art expo is open noon to 6 across the grounds, with a cosplay contest around 3 (check in by 2), so the Fairgrounds is a full wet-weather day on its own.
Grown-ups: Oaked and Smoked, HRCA's whiskey and BBQ tasting with Davidson's, runs 3 to 6 at Eastridge Recreation Center, 9568 University Blvd., unlimited one-ounce pours in a souvenir cup plus BBQ samplings, $45, $15 for designated drivers who get the food only, 21 and over with IDs checked. It is outdoors but moves inside if the weather is bad, which is the only rain plan any organizer posted this weekend. The Friends of the Highlands Ranch Senior Center's craft fair has 60-plus artisans at 200 E. Highlands Ranch Parkway, 10 to 3, free. Parker Recreation's Floatin' into Fall puts a prize apple somewhere in the Parker Recreation Center pool, 17301 E. Lincoln Drive, sessions at 9 and 10:30, $18 for residents and $24 for everyone else; kids 5 and under need a parent in the water. And it is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, 10 to 2, at the Sheriff's Highlands Ranch substation, 9250 Zotos Drive (no needles, inhalers or aerosols) and, per the town calendar, at the Castle Rock Police Department, 100 Perry Street.
Saturday night in the Backcountry is three events stacked: the Haunted Forest Fall Fest for little kids 1 to 4 ($10 kids, $5 adults, bounce house, not-as-scary trail), Fright Lite 5 to 7 ($10, the lights and scenes without the live scares), and the full Haunted Forest 7 to 10. The hayrides run again 6 to 8:30. None of the four pages posts a rain policy, and the night forecast is 90 percent showers; check HRCA's events page before you drive. "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" with the Colorado's Elusive Ingredient shadow cast is at 8 at the PACE Center, $32, rated R and 17-plus, and sold out with a waitlist through the box office. Patsy Cline plays 1:30 and 7:30.
Our pick, Saturday: Castle Pines at 10, Trunk or Treat at 2 with a rain layer, then the reptile expo if the sky opens.
Fall Festival, Trick-or-Treat Street, and Pumpkin Race
Downtown Parker Trunk or Treat on Mainstreet
Boo Bash
All American Reptile & Plant Expo
Oaked and Smoked: Whiskey and BBQ Tasting
HRCA Haunted Forest Fall Fest
HRCA Haunted Forest Fright Lite
Friends of the Highlands Ranch Senior Center Fall Craft Fair
Floatin' into Fall
National Prescription Drug Take Back Event
DEA National Prescription Drug Take Back Day
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Sunday
Wet and 54 again. The reptile expo runs 10 to 4 and the art expo noon to 6, both indoors at the Fairgrounds. The Highlands Ranch Farmers' Market goes 10 to 2 at the Town Center, 9288 Dorchester Street, rain or shine, with free garage parking; it runs one more Sunday after this, Nov. 1, and then it is done for the year. The Outlets at Castle Rock has a free Yoga Flow with Big Jack and lululemon from 9 to 11 with coffee after, per the outlets' page. "Always...Patsy Cline" closes with a 1:30 matinee. Lone Creek is open 10 to 7 and says it stays open in weather when it can, with closures posted to its Facebook page.
Our pick, Sunday: the market at 10 under an umbrella, then the Fairgrounds.
Highlands Ranch Farmers' Market
Yoga Flow with Big Jack x lululemon
Still on
Lone Creek Farms, 3879 N. Highway 83 in Franktown, runs Thursday through Sunday through Nov. 1 at $27.95 for ages 4 and up ($25.95 seniors and military, free 3 and under), with the Harvest Glow light walk included after dark; the farm's own page says "Friday and Saturday nights" in one place and "Friday through Sunday" in another, so ask before you plan on Sunday. The Castle Rock Historical Society's Ghostly Stories tours take this weekend off and return Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 28 and 29, at 7 p.m. and Halloween at 1 p.m., free with a reservation at 303-814-3164. Next weekend is the big one: Fangtastic Festival at Festival Park Friday, Oct. 30, and Last Stop Halloween at the Highlands Ranch Mansion on the 31st; every verified Halloween date in the county is here. Season guides: pumpkin patches and corn mazes, fall festivals, fall colors.
Election note
Monday, Oct. 26, is the last day to request a mail ballot and the last day the Secretary of State says to put one in the mail; after that, use a drop box or a voting center. Through Tuesday, 51,100 Douglas County ballots were back, per the state's Wednesday release, and our turnout tracker updates with each one. Four voting centers are open weekdays 8 to 5; nine more open Friday, Oct. 30 (locations and hours). 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.