Carnegie Hall has partnered with the Greenbrier Historical Society and the West Virginia Storytelling Guild to celebrate the season with a week’s worth of special family fun events and classes. Running from Oct. 22 through Oct. 28, Carnegie Hall-O-Ween offers exciting and informative opportunities to get you ready for Halloween and Trick or Treat.
Kicking the week off will be Make a Leather Mask with Luke Davis on Saturday, Oct. 22, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Students will use their imagination and basic leather crafting skills to make a one-of-a-kind carnival mask.Students will choose from numerous templates including a cat, bear, fox, elephant, and owl, and learn the basics of leather working or expand on techniques learned from prior classes. No prior experience is necessary, and all materials are provided. Cost is $45 for members and $55 for nonmembers. Students must be at least 10 years of age.
On Monday, Oct. 24, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., Carnegie Hall Education Director Harmony Flora turns the Hall into a Halloween Mad Scientist Slime Lab as she teaches students how to create slime. Young gals and ghouls will learn to make a glow in the dark ghost slime and a black, creepy-crawly magnetic slime. All materials are provided. Cost is only $10, and students must be at least 8 years old.
Explore the bewebbed halls of haunted home décor in Spell Books and Potion Bottles, a fun for all ages class led by Carnegie Hall’s Teri Hartford on Tuesday, Oct. 25, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Students will use simple decorating techniques to create themed potion bottles and spell books. Students are encouraged to bring any special decorations they would like to incorporate, such as plastic spiders, skeletons, and rats, as well as an old book and a fun shaped glass bottle. There will be a limited selection of labels, bottles and books provided. The cost is only $10, and students must be at least 8 years old. Costumes are encouraged.
Afterwards join the staff of the Greenbrier Historical Society and enjoy a guided candlelit tour of two historic cemeteries in Lewisburg and learn about the people who lived and died with chilling stories to tell. Tour begins at Carnegie Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 25 and Thursday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m., 7:30 p.m., and 8 p.m. Tickets are $10.
On Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m., the Greenbrier Historical Society presents The Historical Ghost: An Exploration of Documents from the Trial of the Greenbrier Ghost in the Hamilton Auditorium at Carnegie Hall. Hear the historical account of “The Greenbrier Ghost” as we discuss the historical documents from the 1897 trial of Zona Heaster Shue. Admission is only $5.
The Carnegie Hall staff hosts a free BYOP Pumkin Parade and Carving Party on Thursday, Oct. 27, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Attendees are asked to bring a finished jack-o-lantern or carving tools and a pumpkin to decorate and participate in a fun candlelit pumpkin parade on the Ivy Terrace. Stencil patterns and votive candles provided. Enjoy themed treats and spooky decorations before strolling along the Ivy Terrace to view the gory gallery of gourds. Prizes will be awarded, and Halloween costumes are encouraged.
For a new twist, join Jan Darrah for Medicinal and Culinary Bitters on Friday, Oct. 28, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.Used for centuries for their digestive and medicinal properties, bitters are fast becoming an essential ingredient in the mixology and culinary tool kits. Students will learn to make easy, customizable bitters using natural herbs, spices, and botanicals. Each student will have their own custom blend to take home at the end of class, as well as the knowledge to create a variety of flavors. All materials provided. Cost is $40 for members and $45 for nonmembers. Students must be 16 years of age or older.
Following the Bitters class, join the West Virginia Storytelling Guild for These Haunted Hills: Ghost stories and Folklore from Appalachia on Friday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. in the Hamilton Auditorium. Cost is $15.
For a complete list of classes and workshops and to enroll visit carnegiehallwv.org/classes-and-workshops or pick up a Classes & Workshops brochure at 611 Church Street, Lewisburg.