An autumn to remember: Can't-miss events fill Tuscaloosa's fall calendar

With Labor Day rounding the corner, fall and winter roll up close behind, so here's a look ahead at some of the major events in Tuscaloosa and around, for always-busy autumn, and the holidays.

SEPT. 8: Parker McCollum, Jackson Dean, 7:30 p.m., Tuscaloosa Amphitheater. Tickets through www.ticketmaster.com, or the Amp box office at 2710 Jack Warner Parkway, for $84.50 (general admission pit), or $69.50, $54.50, $34.50 or $24.50 for reserved seats. For more, see www.tuscaloosaamphitheater.com.

SEPT. 9: 53rd Fayette Arts Festival, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., free admission, Fayette Civic Center/Art Museum, 530 Temple Ave. N., Fayette. Artists, food and drink vendors, children's activities, and more. Call the museum at 205-932-8727 or email fayetteartmuseum@yahoo.com.

SEPT. 11: Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra performing 2023-2024 season opener "Land of the Free," 7 p.m., Moody Concert Hall, 810 Second Ave., UA campus. TSO season tickets are on sale through www.tsoonline.org. Individual tickets range from $30 to $40; all students are admitted free. This concert will celebrate America's veterans, with music by Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, John Philip Sousa and more. Los Angeles-based multimedia artist Nicholas Bardonnay will present a visual presentation of photography from world wars, and our national parks.

SEPT. 12: "Ghostbusters" (1984), rated PG, 1 hour 45 minutes, 7 p.m., Bama Theatre, 600 Greensboro Ave., downtown Tuscaloosa. Directed by Ivan Reitman ("Meatballs," "Stripes," "Kindergarten Cop"). Original of the much-remade/revisited tale of out-of-work academics who set up a ghost-removal service when their parapsychology funding falls through. Starring Dan Akyroyd (Ray Stantz) and Harold Ramis (Egon Spengler), who wrote the script with uncredited help from Rick Moranis (Louis Tully), and Bill Murray as Peter Venkman. For all fall Bama Art House film showings, the doors, box office and Bama Bar open at 6. Admission is $10 general, $9 for students and seniors, and $8 for Arts Council members. Season pass punch card tickets will be on sale for $70, good for any 10 films, in any upcoming series.

SEPT. 16: Steve Brown and Friends CHS Alumni Comedy Show, 8-11 p.m., Bama Theatre. Central High grad Brown will return for a benefit show, with Ashima Franklin, Marvin Hunter and Sean Larkins, to help his alma mater. Tickets $35, at www.eventbrite.com/e/steve-brown-friends-chs-alumni-comedy-show-tickets-668574222497.

SEPT. 19: "Sleepy Hollow" (1999), rated R, 1 hour 45 minutes, 7 p.m., Bama Theatre. Directed by Tim Burton, based on "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving. Constable Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) is sent to investigate a series of decapitations credited to a mysterious Hessian and/or Headless Horseman (Christopher Walken). Also featuring Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Christopher Lee and Jeffrey Jones.

SEPT. 22: Junior H, 8 p.m., Tuscaloosa Amphitheater. Tickets for $159.50, $99.50, $79.50, $59.50 and $39.50, plus fees and taxes, through www.ticketmaster.com, or at the Amp box office, 2710 Jack Warner Parkway, downtown Tuscaloosa.

SEPT. 29-OCT 1: Second Annual Tuscaloosa Toyota Classic, Ol' Colony Golf Complex, featuring 100 professional women golfers from 30 countries, competing in a 54-hole competition. Admission is free.

SEPT. 29-OCT. 1: Tuscaloosa Children's Theatre will perform Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella," Bama Theatre. www.tuscaloosachildrenstheatre.net/cinderella.

OCT. 3: "26th Annual Manhattan Short Film Festival," 7 p.m., Bama Theatre. Global film festival in which more than 100,000 viewers in more than 500 cities over six continents view and vote on finalists. At the Bama Theatre, patrons will get a voting card and official program, voting for one actor and film as their favorite. Votes are tallied then emailed to NYC headquarters.

OCT. 4-7: 35th Annual Moundville Native American Festival, Moundville Archaeological Park. Native American artisans, dancers, storytellers, musicians and more. Admission $10 general; children 5 and under admitted free. Hours are 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Oct. 4-5, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 6-7. Moundville Archaeological Park is 13 miles south of Tuscaloosa off Alabama Highway 69, at 634 Mound State Parkway, Moundville. www.moundville.museums.ua.edu.

OCT. 4-8: Theatre Tuscaloosa's SecondStage will present "Erma Bombeck: At Wit's End," written by Margaret Engel and Allison Engel, in the Alabama Power Recital Hall, off the lobby of the Bean-Brown Theatre at Shelton State. Carol DeVelice will star in the one-woman show. www.theatretusc.com.

OCT. 6: Maxwell, Musiq Soulchild and Leela James, 7 p.m., Tuscaloosa Amphitheater. Tickets through www.ticketmaster.com, or at the Amphitheater box office at 2710 Jack Warner Parkway, for $125, $99, $79.50, $59.50, $39.50 and $25, plus fees and taxes. For more, see www.tuscaloosaamphitheater.com.

OCT. 10: "The Fog" (2005), rated PG-13, 1 hour 40 minutes, 7 p.m., Bama Theatre. Remake of John Carpenter's 1980 thriller, directed by Rupert Wainright ("Stigmata"), about a mist filled with vengeful spirits terrorizing an Oregon coastal town. Starring Tom Welling, Maggie Grace, Selma Blair. Rotten Tomatoes score: 4%, from 69 reviews; 19% audience score, from 100,000 plus ratings.

OCT. 14-15: 52nd annual Kentuck Festival of the Arts, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 14, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Oct. 15, Kentuck Park, 3401 Fifth St., Northport. Hundreds of folk, outsider and contemporary artists and craftspeople demonstrating, exhibiting and selling; with live music, spoken word performances, children's hands-on activities and more. Tickets are $15 per day, or $25 for both days; children 12 and under get in free. www.kentuck.org.

OCT. 18-22: Theatre Tuscaloosa will perform "Some Enchanted Evening — The Songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein," a musical revue it took to Schorndorf, Germany, in 2000 as part of Tuscaloosa's sister city festivities, in the Bama Theatre. www.theatretusc.com.

OCT. 20: Monster Makeover closing party, Harrison Galleries, LLC. The Tuscaloosa News-born event teams with the Arts Council, Harrison Galleries and others to bring back the art exhibit featuring kids' monster art, and descriptions, side-by-side with adult professional artist's interpretations of the kids's work. A silent auction, and T-shirt sales, will go to benefit local education funds.

OCT. 24: Tech or Treat, 6-8 p.m., The Gateway in Alberta, 2614 University Blvd. E., Tuscaloosa. City of Tuscaloosa-sponsored event, free, and open to all. Families go from table to table collecting candy, and learn about science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) opportunities from city departments and community organizations. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

OCT. 24: "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (1992), rated R, two hours eight minutes, 7 p.m., Bama Theatre. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on Stoker's novel "Dracula" (1897), in which the centuries-old vampire travels to England to court new blood. Starring Gary Oldman as the head bloodsucker, Winona Ryder as Mina Murray, Anthony Hopkins as Professor Van Helsing, Keanu Reeves as Jonathan Harker, Richard E. Grant as Dr. Seward, Sadie Frost as Lucy Westenra, Cary Elwes as Lord Holmwood, and Tom Waits as Renfield.

OCT. 27-28: Chukker Weekender two-day celebration, Druid City Brewing Co., featuring live music, poetry, comedy, visual arts, yoga and more. Among the bands playing/reuniting: Club Wig, the Penetrators, the Irascibles, Model Citizen, Sweat Bee, the Crying Jags, Henri's Notions, the Dexateens, the DTs, Instant Karma, Blip, Hooper, Che Arthur, Tommy Sorrells and more. The event will celebrate the late lamented Chukker, home to artists, musicians, writers, and other oddballs from 1956 until a forced closing, Halloween night 2003. There's an online fundraiser set up to keep the weekender free, and to help pay for some pre-show artists' costs and setup, at www.gofundme.com/f/support-chukker-weekender-2023.

OCT. 28: Tuscaloosa Oktoberfest 5K, presented by Mercedes-Benz U.S. International. Race begins downtown, and the after-party is at Druid City Social, 301 Greensboro Ave., (old train station). Entry is $50; registration closes 9 a.m. Oct. 25. Proceeds benefit the American Cancer Society. www.runsignup.com/Race/AL/Tuscaloosa/5KOCTOBERFESTMERCEDESBENZ.

OCT. 28: Camp Fear Halloween, Lake Lurleen’s annual trick or treat, 6-9 p.m. Children under 12 admitted for $2; 12 and older $5. Campers are welcome, but most decorate and hand out treats to get the $25 (plus tax) per night discounted fee. www.alapark.com/parks/lake-lurleen-state-park/camp-fear-halloween. The 1,625-acre Lake Lurleen is about 10 miles west of Tuscaloosa, in Coker.

OCT. 28: Halloween Ghost Hunt and Dinner, with Southern Ghost Girls, 6 p.m., $75, Drish House, 2300 17th St., Tuscaloosa. featuring Lesley Ann Hyde. Steak and chicken dinner, paranormal investigation, and more. Email lesleyhyde7480@gmail.com, or see www.southernghostgirls.com.

OCT. 28: Pink Box Burlesque's 16th annual "Rocky Horror" show, 8 p.m., Bama Theatre. Doors at 7, costume contest at 8, interactive show with movie 8:30 p.m. Prop bags will be available while supplies last and include Bama-approved props. Outside prop bags are not allowed in the historic Bama. General admission is $22; admission plus prop bag is $28. www.pink-box-burlesque.ticketleap.com/pbbs-16th-annual-rocky-horror-picture-show/dates/Oct-28-2023. www.pinkboxburlesque.com.

OCT. 28: Boo! in the Park, with Touch-a-Truck, 9 a.m.-noon, free, Mason's Place at Sokol Park. Kids' activities, carnival games, candy and prizes, inflatables, kid and pet costume contests, and touch-a-truck, both sensory-friendly (no sirens or horns) and with full sirens and horns. www.tcpara.org/programs/parakids/halloween.

NOV. 7: Foreigner, Loverboy, 7 p.m., Tuscaloosa Amphitheater. Tickets for $119.50, $99.50, $79.50, $59.50, and $39.50, plus fees and taxes, through www.ticketmaster.com, or at the Amp box office, 2710 Jack Warner Parkway, in downtown Tuscaloosa. For more, see www.tuscaloosaamphitheater.com.

NOV. 12: Diwali, festival of lights, Bama Theatre, 600 Greensboro Ave. Diwali is a festival celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and some Buddhists, celebrated during the Hindu lunisolar month Kartika (between mid-October and mid-November). Diwali symbolizes the "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance."

NOV. 13: "Moonlit Melodies," the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra's annual chamber-music concert, 7 p.m., $30 to $40 (students free), First Presbyterian Church, 900 Greensboro Ave., downtown Tuscaloosa. www.tsoonline.org.

NOV. 24: Holidays on the Plaza opens. Ice-skating rink and the Tinsel Trail (decorated trees) in Government Plaza, 618 21st Ave., downtown Tuscaloosa. Runs through the holiday season, and into the new year. Schedule, prices and more will go up at www.holidaysontheplaza.com.

DEC. 1-3: Tuscaloosa Children's Theatre will perform the musical "Elf Jr.," Bama Theatre. www.tuscaloosachildrenstheatre.net.

DEC. 4: 47th Annual West Alabama Christmas Parade, "A Hometown Christmas," and county courthouse tree lighting, free and family-friendly. Tree lighting at 5:15; parade begins at 6:30, featuring floats, walking groups, marching bands, horse groups, and decorated vehicles.

DEC. 5: Dickens Downtown, 5-8 p.m., downtown Northport. The free, family-friendly event is a Victorian-style Christmas celebration inspired by Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." The event will include decorated storefronts, costumed performers, an appearance by Father Christmas, snow machines, a tree lighting and more.

DEC. 6-8: AHSAA Super Seven high school football championships, Bryant-Denny Stadium. www.ahsaa.com/Media/AHSAANOW/News-Articles/ahsaa-announces-2021-2032-sites-for-super-7.

DEC. 7-10: Tuscaloosa Community Dancers will perform "The Nutcracker," Bama Theatre. www.tuscaloosadancers.com.

DEC. 10: Holiday Singalong, caroling in Capitol Park, free and family-friendly, returns after pandemic-driven hiatus. 1-2:30 p.m., with lyrics, song leaders and accompaniment provided.

DEC. 11: "Home for the Holidays," 7 p.m., tickets $30 to $40 (students free), Moody Concert Hall, UA campus, concert featuring the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra, Alabama Choir School, UA Choral Department and Tuscaloosa Community Dancers. www.tsoonline.org.

DECEMBER (date not yet decided): Christmas Afloat, decorated boat parade on the Black Warrior River, run by the Pirates of the Warrior. Times and more details TBA.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Kentuck, Moundville festivals part of Tuscaloosa's fall calendar