This Weekend in the 614: Oct 23-25

Halloween is a week away, and the last full weekend before it is mostly costumes and candy, with a symphony doubleheader downtown for anyone who would rather sit still. Six picks for Friday, October 23, through Sunday, October 25, all from our events calendar:

• Wizards and Wands Festival in Uptown Westerville - Friday from 4:30 to 9 p.m., the library's Fourth Friday takeover is free and packed: a DeLorean on display, BUGMAN's creepy critters, a giant bubble show at 5:30, COSI Science LIVE at 6:30, and Columbus Zoo animals at 7:30.
• Halloween on the Green - Friday, 6 p.m. until 8, on the Worthington Village Green at 753 High St., the Worthington Partnership sets up a trick-or-treat trail and presses cider, and admission costs nothing.
• Mysteries, Anthems and Victories - Friday and Saturday nights in the Ohio Theatre with a 7:30 curtain, Rossen Milanov leads the world premiere of Gregory Spears's The Mysteries, bass-baritone Davone Tines sings his Concerto No. 2: ANTHEM, and Tchaikovsky's Fifth closes the night. A free talk starts at 6:30.
• Halloween Party at Homestead Metro Park - Saturday from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Lakeside Pavilion on Cosgray Road in Hilliard, with caramel apples while they last, pumpkin decorating and Coco on an outdoor screen. Bring chairs or a blanket. Metro Parks says it goes on rain or shine.
• Nearsited by Whirlwind Dance Company - Sunday at 2 and 7 p.m. at the Lincoln Theatre, a new evening-length piece inspired by the hidden side of the moon and the pull between near and far.
• Columbus Symphony Halloween Spooktacular - Sunday at 3 p.m. back at the Ohio Theatre, with John Williams favorites, Star Wars and Harry Potter music and A Night on Bald Mountain. Pre-concert activities start at 2, including an instrument petting zoo, a costume contest and trick-or-treating.

Friday is the night to choose a suburb. Westerville starts earliest and runs latest, while Worthington wraps by 8, which leaves time for dinner on High Street afterward. Families who want the symphony in costume should pick Sunday afternoon over the Friday and Saturday Masterworks nights, which run about two hours.

Trick-or-treat itself is split next week: most of the region goes Thursday, while Worthington and Grandview Heights hold out for Halloween night, as laid out in our trick-or-treat roundup. For a scarier Saturday, our Best Haunted Houses list ranks the area's haunts, and the Downtown page has dinner ideas near the theatres.