COVINGTON, Ky. – Halloween isn’t just taking a sharpened object to a harvested orange cultivar of a gourd or hoping your neighbor this year gives out more than Dum Dums and Tootsie Roll Minis (guilty!)

 

If you really want to expand your horizons, get on the Internet and start reading about Samhain, Allhallowtide, Totensonntag, Hop-tu-Naa, and Nos Galan Gaeaf.

 

But enough of that intellectual mumbo-jumbo … this weekend in The Cov has a decidedly Halloween theme with movies, carving, and painting (although the actual holiday doesn’t arrive until next weekend, why not draw it out?).

 

If all things Oct. 31 is not your thing, there’s plenty else too.

 

Sunday at The Carnegie: “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

 

Sort of.

 

COVID-19 forced The Carnegie to delay this season’s full-scale theatrical productions and move them to the 2021-22 season, so the Covington theatre-gallery has adopted a new feature: the Tiny Concert and Community Film Series.

 

Shows seat only 50 people in The Carnegie’s 447-seat theater.

 

Sunday’s free feature is Tim Burton’s 1993 stop-motion animated musical starring Jack Skellington, voiced by Chris Saradon with singing parts by Danny Elfman. (And did you know that Catherine O’Hara voiced “Sally” and Peewee Herman was “Lock” of the Lock-Shock-Barrel trio?)

 

Info and tickets, HERE.

 

Also at The Carnegie, on Saturday it will feature the second performance of S-T-E-E-L-E: the One with the Redheads as part of its Tiny Concert Series, HERE.  

If you like to carve pumpkins, head to “Pumpkins on the Patio” on Saturday afternoon, and note that the patio is a whole block long in front of Butler’s Pantry down on the riverfront.

 

It requires tickets but will feature drinks (cold and hot, alcoholic and not), plus chili, cornbread and peanut butter sandwiches.

 

Bring a pumpkin or buy one there.

 

Info, HERE.

 

Or you could go to one of the cooler local businesses in Covington on Saturday for its annual “Pinots & Pumpkins.”

 

As the folks at Crafts & Vines tell it, “Pumpkin carving is fun, but pumpkin carving with wine is way better!”

 

For a small cost, they provide the gourd, tools, and a drink – AND, they clean up the mess. (You bring the friends, skills, and attitude.)

 

Kids are welcome. Info and to register, HERE.

 

What’s creepier than zombies on a makeshift drive-in screen near a massive abandoned federal complex?

 

On Saturday night, the Over-The-Rhine International Film Festival will again host an old-fashioned drive-in movie in the parking lot between the shuttered IRS facility and the CSX Railroad tracks’ approach across the Ohio River.

 

But … this isn’t your typical zombie movie. It’s told from a zombie’s perspective (think “Grendel”), and he’s a sensitive soul.

 

The feature is “Warm Bodies,” the 2013 paranormal romantic zombie comedy film (how’s that for an increasingly narrow description) about a zombie who befriends the daughter of a military leader charged with exterminating the undead.

 

Cost is only $20 a carload. Sound comes via speakers and FM radio.

 

Info and tickets, HERE.

 

You’ve seen painted pumpkins. And you’ve seen Greek vases. But have you seen pumpkins painted to resemble Greek vases?

 

The Carnegie is hosting a part-educational, part-activity event on Saturday for youth ages 10-13.

 

Tickets are limited, HERE.

 

A sea of pink.

 

That’s the goal at Covington Yard early on Saturday morning, when the Jazzercise Edgewood Fitness Center is celebrating Breast Cancer Awareness Month with a massive outdoor class called the Jazzercise PINK OUT Dance Event.

 

Don your pink and honor survivors, remember lives lost, and give strength to those in the middle of the fight.

 

Info, HERE.

 

There’s yoga, and then there’s yoga paired with canvas painting and wine. That combination comes courtesy of Lean Bodies LLC and Chroma Vino, two fun-loving small businesses in Covington.

 

The event happens this evening, and with thunder expected to be rumbling outside, it seems like a fantastic way to spend the time. The yoga class is a beginner class, btw, so don’t be intimidated.

 

Info, HERE.

 

Sure, you could break your back all year fighting weeds, blight, slugs, and bugs in order to get your fresh produce. You could also drive long distances looking for orchards and roadside stands.

 

Or you could get the tasty and nutritious benefit of homegrown and homemade the easy way, all in one place, on Saturday morning at the Covington Farmers Market. There you can typically get everything from kimchi to chiles, honey to hummus, corn to cucumbers, and eggs to gourds.

 

This Saturday there’s an added attraction: Free bike safety checks and affordable sharpening of kitchen and garden tools.

 

Safety protocols required. Info, HERE.

 

(This isn’t exactly a social event, but the City is sponsoring it, so we’re contractually obligated to advertise it …)

 

Got worn-out tires around the yard and ‘hood taking up space and slowly hurting the environment?

 

Residents of The Cov can get rid of up to 10 of them free on Saturday at the Covington Transfer Station in Latonia.

 

Details, HERE.

 

And then there’s … Scarlet Begonia’s Flower Truck Pop-Up on Saturday at Dari-Crest by Bean Haus, HERE … the Covington Bourbon Experience all weekend by Pedal Wagon Covington, HERE … the MainStrasse Village Food & Culture Tour on Saturday, HERE … “Accessible Yoga” (ADA accessible, and open to all shapes, ages, ability levels and sizes), by Sage Yoga on Saturday at the first-floor Zembrodt Education Center, HERE … and Art for the Holiday free raffle signups all weekend at Purple Paisley, Local Artisan Shop, HERE.

 

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