My kids are getting excited about Halloween. They’re running around outside at night with flashlights, pretending to find monsters, and they’re putting serious thought toward their costumes this year. Fall is absolutely in the air, so why not make it a weekend of pumpkins, warm drinks, and maybe a scary story or two?

• Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh offers pumpkin carving with a twist Saturday. WakeMed pediatric surgeons will be on hand to help make jack-o’-lanterns, meaning this is your chance to see a pumpkin carved with surgical precision. They’ll be around from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Museum admission is $5, though kids under 1 get in free and those in the military pay $4. See

marbleskidsmuseum.org

.

• The beauty of Brooklyn’s Rolie Polie Guacamole is that, while they’re definitely a kids’ music trio, this band should appeal to parents, too. They write gentle indie rock about looking both ways before crossing the street and eating well – and they do it in a funky, catchy way that’ll stick in adults’ and kids’ heads. Rolie Polie Guacamole plays the Carrboro ArtsCenter at 11 a.m. Saturday. Tickets are $7-$10, or $32 for a family of four. See

artscenterlive.org

.

• The Raleigh Fire Museum is open once a month, and Saturday’s the day for October. This museum collects local firefighting artifacts from 150 years, plus antique fire vehicles – horseless and horse-drawn alike. Admission is free, and the museum is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Visit

raleighfiremuseum.org

to learn more.

• Or get some hands-on experience with North Carolina’s pottery tradition. Raleigh’s North Carolina Museum of History holds a drop-in “Make it, Take it” program Saturday at which participants craft and keep their own face jugs. This free program runs from noon to 3 p.m. Visit

ncmuseumofhistory.org

to learn more.

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