Halloween season begins this weekend with a “Thriller” flash mob dance on the Phelps Street Gateway in downtown Youngstown that will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
At Youngstown State University at the same time, the theater department will premiere its production of the silly and chilly old play “Arsenic and Old Lace.” It’s a black comedy about a nutty family that dispatches old bachelors out of the kindness of their hearts.
The production will feature an appearance by YSU President Bill Johnson. Show times are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday in Ford Theater, on the lower level of Bliss Hall on the campus.
On Saturday, Columbiana’s annual Witch Walk will take place from noon to 9 p.m. on downtown streets. The popular event will feature a lot of people in costumes doing things like the cackling contest (2 p.m. for children and 2:15 p.m. for adults) and costume contests. The Witch Dance will take place on Main Street at 2:30 and 4 p.m. The Full Circle Band will perform from 5-9 p.m. Admission is free. Learn more HERE.
Three other big events will take place Saturday:
Blues, Brews & BBQ, a daylong blues festival, will take place at the Warren Community Amphitheatre. Doors will open at 11 a.m., and tickets are just $10. The musical lineup will feature headliner Shemekia Copeland at 8 p.m. Also on the agenda are Solomon Hicks, Aaron McCoy, Norman Nardini, the Jazz in the Park Allstars, Sacksville, Backstreet Blues Band and Damian Knapp. There will also be plenty of food and drink vendors, including multiple rib makers. Learn more HERE.
The Warren Philharmonic Orchestra will open its season at 7 p.m. with a masterworks concert at Lakeview High School in Cortland ($30, $15 for children). Learn more HERE.
The YSU Penguins will take on South Dakota State in a Horizon League matchup at 6 p.m. at Stambaugh Stadium. For ticket info, click HERE.
For a complete look at everything going on in the Mahoning Valley, check out The List.
Pictured at top: Shemekia Copeland will perform at Warren Community Amphitheatre on Saturday.