5 things to do this weekend (and links to more)

Posted October 03, 2014 1:01 am

October brings the last weeks of outdoor fall fests - and the first tastes of spooky Halloween attractions. You can enjoy a little of both this weekend in the suburbs.

For more ideas, go to dailyherald.com/calendar.

Fall decor and more: Browse 270 indoor booths at the Festival of Arts & Crafts, featuring paintings, photography, ceramics, furniture, pottery, stained glass, fall decor and more. It's at the Lake County Fairgrounds, 1060 E. Peterson Road, Grayslake. $3 admission; kids 11 and younger admitted free. stepbysteppromotions.com. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

North vs. South: Take a trip into America's past at the Civil War Re-Enactment at Cantigny Park, 1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton. Visitors can watch artillery demonstrations and battles and meet re-enactors portraying well-known Civil War figures. Free admission with paid $5 parking fee. firstdivisionmuseum.org. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Circus, circus: See Cirque Italia, an European-style traveling circus featuring a water show and other acts, at Westfield Fox Valley, 195 Fox Valley Center, Aurora. $10-$50. (877) 628-6872 or cirqueitalia.com. 7:30 p.m. Friday; 2:30, 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday; 2:30 and 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

Scares onstage: First Folio Theatre opens its season with the world premiere of the gothic drama "The Gravedigger" at the Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 W. 31st St., Oak Brook. The play, by First Folio artistic associate Joseph Zettelmaier, draws from the novel "Frankenstein" and begins with a gravedigger finding a horribly scarred man hiding in a grave. Tickets $22-$39. www.firstfolio.org. Saturday show sold out. 3 p.m. Sunday.

Autumn Harvest Festival: See hands-on demonstrations of frontier-era and 1880s farm life including cider pressing, blacksmithing, 19th-century games and more at the Autumn Harvest Festival at Spring Valley Nature Center, 1111 E. Schaumburg Road, Schaumburg. $5 per person; $20 for a family of 6 or less; free for kids 3 and younger. (847) 985-2115 or parkfun.com. Noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Doug MacKechnie and Simina Contras star in First Folio Theatre's production of "The Grave Digger," opening this weekend in Oak Brook.

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