Weekend Roundup: The Big Apple and U-Pick Pumpkins

By Charity Corkey (Contact)

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Halloween fun begins this weekend in Loudoun at Great Country Farm's u-pick pumpkin patch. Also, the Big Apple Circus returns to Dulles and Loudoun Ballet performs the musical-themed "Peter and the Wolf."

"If music be the food of love, play on!"

Acrobatic Chinese ballerinas, Brazilians on the flying trapeze, Russians on the Russian barre and an Armenian fashion show are only a few of the performances at the Big Apple Circus coming to town this week.

Launching its new tour, Play On! the circus will premier at the Dulles Town Center from Sept. 25 to Oct. 13. A self-described "magical music box," the show includes astounding acts and comedy along with a mix of classical, soul, and rock-and-roll.

Tickets for Play On! range from $18 to $52 and are available online or by phone at 703-828-9014. Circus hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

Pumpkin, Fresh Off the Vine

Visit Great County Farms in Bluemont Saturday and Sunday to pick your own pumpkin in the largest u-pick pumpkin patch in Northern Virginia. Visitors will also get a chance to see the farm's Oinkintucky Derby Pig Races.

Great County Farms is located at 18780 Foggy Bottom Rd in Bluemont. Visit their Web site to learn about other fall events.

Peter and the Wolf

The Loudoun Ballet Company is performing Sergei Prokfiev's "Peter and the Wolf" this Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. each day. The performance will carry a handful of musical themes, as each of the nine characters is introduced by a different instrument: Peter will be announced by the violin, the bird by the flute, the duck by the oboe, the cat by the clarinet, the wolf by the horn, the grandfather by the bassoon and the hunters by a kettle drum.

Performances last 30 minutes each, and will be held in Purcellville's new Franklin Park Performing & Visual Arts Center, a 275-seat, timber-framed auditorium and art gallery. Tickets are $8 and may be purchased at the door or in advance by calling the Franklin Performing Arts Center at 540-338-7973.

Tagged: arts, Dulles Town Center, entertainment, Franklin Park Center, Great Country Farms, Loudoun Ballet Company

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