Tuacahn's final bows, a free Scarecrow Walk, and Thunder Junction turns 10

This week, Tuacahn's summer season ends. Grease, Les Mis, and Finding Nemo take their final bows on back-to-back nights, so if you've been meaning to go, the clock is ticking. Meanwhile, the corn mazes, haunts and scarecrows are all running at once, and a cooler weekend finally feels like October.In this week's Scoop

When: Grease closes Thursday, Oct. 22; Les Misérables closes Friday, Oct. 23; Finding Nemo closes Saturday, Oct. 24. Time: 7:30 p.m. Where: Tuacahn Amphitheater, 1100 Tuacahn Drive, Ivins. Price: Finding Nemo runs $40-$70; check Tuacahn for Grease and Les Mis seats

Each show gets one last night, in order. Grease goes first on Thursday, Les Mis follows Friday, and Finding Nemo closes out the season Saturday. Closing nights tend to have extra energy in the house, and the cast is the same company you've seen all summer, with many actors pulling double duty across all three shows.

If you have kids under 10, Nemo is the easy call. It runs about 70 minutes with a short intermission; it's rated for ages 2 and up, and you'll be home at a reasonable hour. Les Mis is the big one for adults and runs much longer.

Grab remaining seats through Tuacahn's website or the box office at 435-652-3300. Thursday carries a chance of showers and Friday night drops into the upper 40s, so bring a jacket and a blanket for the canyon.

When: Monday-Thursday 5-9 p.m.; Friday-Saturday noon-10 p.m.; closed Sundays Where: Staheli Family Farm, 3400 S. Washington Fields Road, Washington

Price: General admission covers the corn maze, farmland, and pumpkin patch; pumpkins and some attractions cost extra

With one week left before the Halloween rush, this is a good window for the corn maze and pumpkin patch. General admission includes the maze, the cow train, the petting zoo, the jumping pillow, and the rest of Farmland. The farm's witches roam the grounds Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings from 6 to 9.

Field of Screams runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday this week, starting at 7 p.m. It's the farm's high-intensity haunt, and a signed waiver is required before entry. For younger kids, the Lights On Tour walks the same haunt in daylight with no actors or scare effects, Friday and Saturday from 4 to 6 p.m.

Families with little ones can also book Waffles and Witches, a breakfast with the Staheli Witches, on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tickets and the waiver are on Staheli Family Farm's fall page.

When: Scarecrow Walk nightly 5-10 p.m. through Oct. 31; Enchanted Night Saturday, Oct. 24, 5-7 p.m.

Where: Red Hills Desert Garden, 375 E. Red Hills Parkway; St. George Children's Museum, 86 S. Main St.

Price: Scarecrow Walk is free; Enchanted Night is $10, or $5 for museum members

The Scarecrow Walk at Red Hills Desert Garden is one of the best free things to do in town this month. Dozens of scarecrows built by local residents and businesses line the paths, and the slot canyon gets dressed up with skeletons and spiders after dark. Go right around sunset, about 6:45 p.m. this week, and you'll catch the scarecrows in daylight and the canyon at dusk.

On Saturday, the St. George Children's Museum hosts Enchanted Night at the Museum, an after-hours party with games, crafts, prizes, and candy. This year's theme is All Things Fantasy, so expect knights, dragons, wizards and fairies, though any costume works. Register online ahead of time, since the museum says spots fill fast.

Out in Hurricane, the city's annual Fall Fest takes over the Hurricane Community Center at 63 S. 100 W. on Saturday afternoon and evening, with food, entertainment, and treats for the kids.

When: Tuesday, Oct. 20

Time: 5-7 p.m.

Where: Thunder Junction All Abilities Park, 1851 S. Dixie Drive

Price: Free

The dinosaur park opened 10 years ago, and the city is throwing it a birthday party. Expect food trucks, games, music, face painting, and magic shows, plus free rides on the C.P. Huntington train all evening (normally $2 a ride). Community booths will connect families with organizations that serve people with disabilities.

The party also marks the groundbreaking for Phase II, a 2.5-acre, Ice Age-themed expansion with new inclusive play equipment, slides, and a second train stop. Tuesday has the week's best chance of rain, so keep an eye on the City of St. George's Thunder Junction page for updates.

Volleyball: Utah Tech vs. Idaho, Thursday, Oct. 22, 6 p.m., Burns Arena

Men's basketball: Exhibition vs. West Coast Baptist, Saturday, Oct. 24, 7 p.m., Burns Arena

Football: At Cal Poly, Saturday, Oct. 24, 3 p.m

The football team is on the road this week, so the home action moves indoors. Volleyball hosts Idaho on Thursday night in a Big Sky match, and Saturday brings an early look at the men's basketball team in an exhibition before the season opens in November.

Football comes back to Greater Zion Stadium next Saturday for a Halloween afternoon game against Idaho State. Schedules are on Utah Tech Athletics.

The Utah high school mountain bike state championship rolls through Trail Park at Desert Color on Friday, Oct. 23, with riders from across the state racing for the title. If you've never watched a NICA race, it's a fun, loud scene and a good excuse to check out the trail park.

Red Cliffs Mall continues its free Fall Concerts on the Terrace on Saturday evening, Oct. 24, with local reggae-rock group The Last Light. Details are on the Red Cliffs Mall events page.

The historic St. George Tabernacle wraps up its free October concert series this week. The Second Chance Band plays Celtic jigs, reels, and bluegrass on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m., and the Heritage Choir performs its autumn concert with guest artist Brandon Lee on Friday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m., with a repeat Saturday at 2 p.m. Seating is first come, and the full schedule is on the St. George Chamber's Tabernacle page.

The free Electric Film Series continues Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 6 p.m. at the Electric Theater, 68 E. Tabernacle. Each month's pick represents a decade of film history, with an intro and a discussion afterward.

Lucy is a year and a half old, 43 pounds, and one of the friendliest dogs at the shelter. She loves walks and the dog park, gets along with every dog she meets, and has lived with cats (she wants to play with them, whether they agree or not). She's house-trained and very affectionate, and she likes to stay close to her people.

Her $60 adoption fee covers vaccines, microchipping, and spay. Visits at the St. George Animal Shelter are by appointment, so call 435-627-4350 to meet her, or see her and the other adoptable animals on the shelter's Petfinder page.

While you're at the Scarecrow Walk, look for the big bronze disc hanging in the garden. It's a five-foot, double-walled gong made around 1975 by Harry Bertoia, the artist best known for his wire chairs, and it once hung in the barn where he recorded his sound sculptures in Pennsylvania.

The gong sat in storage for most of a decade before Bertoia's daughter, Celia, brought it to St. George, where the Harry Bertoia Foundation is based. It's now on loan to the garden, with mallets hanging beside it. You're allowed, and encouraged, to hit it.

Start with the soft mallet. The sound builds slowly and hangs in the air longer than you'd expect, which makes it a strangely calm way to end an evening of scarecrows and skeletons. There's no other public place where you can walk up and play a Bertoia.

Warm and showery early, then a cool, clear weekend.

Lows sit in the upper 50s early in the week, then drop into the upper 40s Friday through Sunday, so evening plans at Tuacahn or Staheli call for a real jacket. Sunrise moves from 7:46 to 7:51 a.m. this week, and sunset slips from 6:51 to 6:44 p.m.

Halloween week is stacked. Washington City holds its Trunk or Treat on Monday, Oct. 26, from 6 to 8 p.m., and the Staheli Witches lead a glowing Witches Light Parade at the farm that same evening at 6.

Odyssey Dance Theatre's Thriller returns to Tuacahn Oct. 28-31, and Utah Tech football hosts Idaho State at Greater Zion Stadium on Halloween afternoon. We'll have the full rundown next week.

If you do one thing this week, catch a closing night at Tuacahn. For free fun, walk the Scarecrow Walk at sunset and tap the Bertoia gong, then swing by Thunder Junction's birthday party Tuesday. Saturday is the week's best weather day, and it's packed.

Know about a local event we should cover? Reply to this email and let us know.

See you out there, St. George.

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