Ian Millhiser – Thursday, 7pm – In Injustices: The Supreme Court’s History of Comforting the Comfortable and Afflicting the Afflicted, the author explores how the Supreme Court has hurt everyday people and argues that the Supreme Court usurped power for itself that rightfully belongs to elected representatives, steering American history away from justice. The Regulator Bookshop, 720 Ninth St.; Free; 919-286-2700
The Scanners Artists’ Talk – Thursday, 7pm – Leah Sobsey shows haunting images from field and museum collections. John Gallagher creates otherworldly compositions from close scans of ordinary things. Tama Hochbaum delicately composes images from winter detritus she collects. Jim Lee arranges the remains of natural processes and human-made waste into unexpected still lifes. On view through October 24. The Carrack, 111 W. Parrish St.; Free admission
Strange Beauty Film Festival – Thursday-Friday, 8pm, and Saturday, 3pm and 8pm – The sixth annual festival is back with a new venue, but the same commitment to showcasing short movies from around the globe that explore the shadowy realms between terrifying normality and sublime fever dreams. Animation, documentaries, fiction, experimental and many more genre-bending gems await. Shadowbox Studio, 900 E. Club Blvd., Unit 2200-D; $10 per screening block, includes free popcorn
Jo Dee Messina – Thursday, 8pm – The multi-platinum, award-winning country singer/songwriter performs songs from her new, full-length album, ME. The Carolina Theatre, 309 W. Morgan St.; $32+; 919-560-3030
Denim Donation Party – Friday and Saturday, 11am – Bring a pair of worn denim to Magpie and receive $20 off a pair of new denim (limit three pairs per person). Plus, get fitted and styled in the most flattering denim for your body while learning what works best for your shape. The denim will be donated to Pennies for Change, a thrift boutique that resells women’s clothing, accessories, furniture, home decor and books, and uses the proceeds to fund local programs and services for victims of domestic and sexual violence. Magpie, 601 W. Main St.; 919-683-1981
Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors – Friday, 8pm – This Nashville-based rock band will perform music from their latest album, Medicine. The Carolina Theatre, 309 W. Morgan St.; $22+; 919-560-3030
The Muse Masquerade – Friday, 8pm-midnight SOLD OUT – This fundraiser for community-supported art space The Carrack features live music by Shirlette Ammons, The Boulevard Ensemble, Gmish Klezmer Band and Beauty World; gender-bending drag artist Shasta Kola; aerialists from Raleigh’s Cirque de Vol Studios; spontaneous custom poems on a vintage typewriter from the Poetry Fox; immersive dance encounters; tarot readings by Slow Holler and Madame Flora; live artist-created portraits and photography; pop-up theater; a scavenger hunt created by parasol b; and food and drink from Counting House Restaurant. 21c Museum Hotel, 111 Corcoran St.
Rennie Harris Puremovement – Friday and Saturday, 8pm – Famed hip-hop choreographer Harris’ award- winning dance company is sure to entertain when they return to the stage with both new moves and classics. Reynolds Industries Theater, 125 Science Dr.; $15-$38; 919-684-4444
Postcards Past, Present, Future – Friday and Saturday, 8pm, and Sunday, 3pm – Join KillianManning/NoForwardingAddress for an evening of sorting through mail with news of Bach, rocks, suitcases, flight attendants, airport anxiety and coffee jello. Manning and her cast of performers will combine text, props, movement, music and mayhem to ensure the delivery of an evening of passion, humor, introspection and connection. Common Ground Theatre, 4815-B Hillsborough Rd.; $10-$15; 919-384-7817
Disney’s Beauty and The Beast – Friday-Sunday, times vary – See Belle, Beast and all your favorite characters from the beloved Disney love story, and hear classic songs like “Be Our Guest” and “Tale as Old as Time” performed live. DPAC, 123 Vivian St.; $30+; 919-680-2787
Folding Light – Saturday through Nov. 28 – All of the works in the exhibit, a collaborative show from Heather Gordon and Warren Hicks, are black and white, including photographs, site-specific installation, video and sculpture, and probe questions of identity and community through a process of replication and iteration. SunTrust Gallery, Durham Arts Council, 120 Morris St.; Free admission; 919-560-2787
Pumpkin Patch Express — Saturday and Sunday, train times vary — Celebrate fall with a train ride to the museum’s pumpkin patch, where the kiddos can pick out the perfect pumpkin to decorate and take home. Crafts and carnival games spice up the pumpkin adventure. Then, return to the station and continue the day exploring the rest of the museum and its exhibits. Museum of Life and Science, 433 W. Murray Ave.; $12, plus museum admission; 919-220-5429
EVOLVE Summit – Saturday, 10am-noon – EVOLVE Mentoring Inc., a youth empowerment organization focused on holistically preparing students for life after graduation, hosts this fun learning experience that includes free food, raffles, music by K97.5’s Wade Banner and Brian Dawson, workshops with PNC and Tru Access, panels with area young professionals and an interactive keynote college chat with Shanti Das, The Hip Hop Professional. Alfonso Elder Student Union, N.C. Central University, 1801 Fayetteville St.; Free, register here
Rockin’ Robotics – Saturday, 10:30am-noon – Bring the family for a hands-on technology tinkering adventure. Build a robot with LEGO WeDo kits, then design a program to make it move! Museum of Life and Science, 433 W. Murray Ave.; $15; 919-220-5429
Durham Bulls FanFest – Saturday, 11am-2pm – Take batting practice and play catch on the field, and enter into a raffle to win a Trick-or-Treat outing with Wool E. Bull. With a donation of at least three canned food items, fans will be placed into a raffle to win a Trick-or-Treat outing with Wool E. Bull, where the team’s mascot will accompany a family through its neighborhood on Halloween evening. All canned food items will be donated to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. The Ballpark Corner Store will be having an end-of-season blowout sale with select merchandise marked down as much as 75%, while game-used bats will be just $15 and all fitted hats will be marked at $20. Bull City Hospitality will be serving Bright Leaf Hot Dogs, wings, nachos, Pepsi products and more at a discounted price. Durham Bulls Athletic Park, 409 Blackwell St.; Free, donations of canned food items accepted
The Hunt – Saturday, noon-4pm – This video scavenger hunt takes 200+ intrepid explorers and their teams on a challenging daylong adventure through Durham’s city center. Teams of 2-6 hunters, comprised of company employees, neighborhood teams, nonprofit teams, groups of friends, etc., search for clues within a four-square-mile area in downtown. Teams solve the clues that lead to past and present Durham landmarks, then shoot and upload video clips at each location to impress the judges. Points are awarded based on the number of correctly answered clues, the quality of the clips and the amount of fundraising completed before the event. Grand Champions walk away with a really big prize, bragging rights and a very Durham trophy; other teams will get locally sourced prizes, too. The adventure continues at an afterparty celebration/prize giveaway/video screenings from 6pm to 8pm at Bull McCabes. Proceeds benefit the Southern Documentary Fund, a Durham-based nonprofit arts organization that cultivates documentaries made in or about the American South. Downtown Durham; $100/team; 919-308-3714
Bike-a-Bull City – Saturday, 1-3pm – Celebrate biking in Durham as the Museum of Durham History teams up with Bike Durham. Local historian Ernie Dollar will lead a two-hour ride of downtown Durham’s historic sights that begins and ends at Bull City Ciderworks. It’s a family-friendly ride, but riders ages 10 and older, or with similar riding experience, encouraged. Bull City Ciderworks, 113 S. Elizabeth St.; 919-246-9993
Beaglefest 2015 – Saturday, 2-6pm – This family- and dog-friendly event includes food, games, raffles, contests and vendors. Sunny Acres Pet Resort, 5908 US Highway 70 East; $5/person, dogs (all breeds), free
Lakewood Fall Block Party and Pig Pickin’ – Saturday, 4-7pm – Enjoy free whole-hog barbecue and food from local vendors; bring the kiddos out to paint mini pumpkins and have their faces painted and make trick-or-treat bags with The Scrap Exchange. Wellville will be giving out free massages, plus live music and bike tune-ups provided. Bring a new or gently used book to donate to Book Harvest! Oak Church, 2100 Chapel Hill Rd.; Free; 919-357-5916
Julia Elliott – Saturday, 7pm – The Pushcart Prize and a Rona Jaffe Writer’s Award-winning author promotes her new novel, The New and Improved Romie Futch, which follows a South Carolina taxidermist who enrolls as a research subject at the Center for Cybernetic Neuroscience. Romie and his newly enhanced brain seek to revolutionize his taxidermy and win back his wife. The Regulator Bookshop, 720 Ninth St.; Free; 919-286-2700
Mel Melton & the Wicked Mojos – Saturday, 8pm – Known as North Carolina’s premier Zydeco, Swamp Pop, Louisiana Dance Hall band fronted by Melton’s sizzling accordion style blues harmonica, the Wicked Mojos include veteran blues musicians Max Drake on guitar, T.A. James on bass and Kelly Pace on drums. All those attending this show get a free Louisiana Red Hot release of the “Papa Mojo’s Roadhouse” CD. The Blue Note Grill, 709 Washington St.; $10; 919-401-1979
John Hodgman – Saturday, 8pm – The longtime Resident Expert on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” presents his latest stand-up show, “Vacationland,” discussing topics ranging from the evolutionary purpose of the weird dad mustache to how to decide which small animals you should love as members of your family and which you should kill with traps and poison. The Carolina Theatre, 309 W. Morgan St.; $23+; 919-560-3030
Halloween Spooktacular – Sunday, 4-7pm – The Durham Symphony Orchestra, led by Maestro William Henry Curry, presents its opening performance of the 2015-2016 season as the finale of Northgate’s Music on the Plaza fall series. Enjoy an afternoon of fun-filled musical offerings with bluegrass and jazz twists for the whole family, including inspired works by Copeland, Sousa, Grieg, Ellington and a special tribute to Louis Armstrong. Don your Halloween costumes and enter the Best Costume contest while enjoying great music featuring the 65+ member orchestra. Paperhand Puppet Intervention, creator of giant puppets, masks and shadow plays, joins the DSO in staged performances, plus an intermission performance by the Little River Cloggers and hands-on instrument fun for kids with High Strung Petting Zoo. Food truck fare provided by Deli-icious and The Wandering Moose, wine and beer from Carolina Brewery along with Northgate’s food court options will be available. If weather is inclement, the event moves indoors to Northgate’s Center Court. Northgate Mall, 1058 W. Club Blvd.; Free; 919-286-4400
Beefsteak 2015 – Sunday, 5pm – An all you can eat pasture-raised meat and beer fest of epic proportions. Bull City Burger and Brewery, 107 E. Parrish St.; $50, adult or $20, children ages 12 and younger; 919-680-2333
Mike Farris & The Roseland Rhythm Revue – Sunday, 8pm – The winner of the inaugural Grammy Award for Best Roots Gospel Album for his album Shine For All the People is joined by his band. The Carolina Theatre, 309 W. Morgan St.; $27+; 919-560-3030
