WHAT'S UP

Halloween events

Nine downtown Gaffney merchants will host "Trunk or Treat on Limestone" today from 5-7 p.m. Jeff Gates will entertain with music for children and Susan Sarratt will tell stories beginning at 5 p.m. There will be lots of candy and treats for children and prizes will be awarded to the decorated trunks for oldest, silliest, scariest, etc. Limestone Street will be closed from Frederick to Meadow streets for the event.

Everyone is invited to come to downtown Blacksburg on Saturday, Nov. 1, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., where candy will be distributed at a number of businesses.

Buffalo Volunteer Fire Department will have a haunted house today and Saturday at 137 Blackwell Road in Blacksburg. Admission is $5. The fun begins at 7 p.m. For directions, call 864- 839-4500.

Bar H Arena in Boiling Springs, N.C., will have its final Haunted Hayride and maze beginning at sundown tonight. Hayride tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for children; maze tickets are $6. Combo tickets are $14 for adults and $9 for kids. For more information, call (704) 434-2866.

Pirates of the Lost Emerald Farm Halloween Adventure will take place today and Saturday from dusk until ? at Lost Emerald Farm, I-85 Frontage Road (Exit 87). Admission is $13 per person and children under 8 years old are $6. The cost includes a warm heated tent complete with games, movies and fun; a ride on the Emerald Queen ghost ship; a trip through the pirates' swamp maze; a maze of lost souls; a 3-D haunted house; and a special surprise never been seen in South Carolina. Partial proceeds will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation so that a child in the upstate with a life-threatening illness can have a wish come true. For more information, call 1-800-769-7228 or visit LostEmeraldFarm.com.

Fund raisers

Heritage Christian School, 4279 Cherokee Ave., will have a yard sale and live auction Saturday, Nov. 1, beginning at 9 a.m. and continuing until ?. There will be something for everyone. Biscuits, coffee, hot dogs, hamburgers and soft drinks will be sold.

Gospel concerts

The Chesnee Gospel Music Center on Green Lake Road in Chesnee will have a singing Saturday, Nov. 1, at 7 p.m. featuring Jamie Tolley from West Virginia. For more information, call Jeff at 828-223-1514 or email chesneegospelmusiccenter @yahoo. com.

Fall festivals

Park Hills Baptist Church will have a "Trunk or Treat" today, Oct. 31, from 5-6:30 p.m. The church is located at 1100 Leadmine Road.

Open Door Baptist Church, 229 Edgewater Drive, will have a free drop-in fall festival today from 6-8 p.m. There will be food, fun and games.

Corinth Baptist Church, 190 Corinth Road, will hold a fall festival today from 6-8 p.m.There will be hot dogs, large inflatables, a cake walk and small games with prizes. Kids will be able to "Trunk-or-Treat."

Benefits

A benefit for the Cherokee Children's Home will be held Saturday, Nov. 1, at Bethany Baptist Church, 215 Wilkinsville Hwy. Activities begin at 4 p.m. with games for children and adults, including a cake walk. At 5 p.m., a hot dog supper with all the fixin's will be served and at 6 p.m., there will be a biblical hay ride. The hay ride will travel through many biblical scenes with Bible stories being told in a peaceful not scary presentation. The evening will conclude with a Trunk-or-Treat for children. Donations will be taken and all proceeds will be given to the children's home. For more information, call the Rev. Roger W. Ham, Bethany's pastor, at 864-488-5553.

A benefit concert to raise funds to help with medical expenses for Pam Hester, a multiple sclerosis patient, will be held Saturday, Nov. 1, beginning at 7 p.m. at Gardner-Webb University's Blanton Auditorium (located in the Hamrick Building). Featured groups at the gospel-bluegrass concert will be Dunkleman, Dunkleman, Jones, Flint Hill and Joe Collins, all of Shelby, and The Bledsoes of Mt. Airy, N.C. Admission is by donation only with a suggested donation of $8 per person. All proceeds will be given to Mrs. Hester.

Church news

All women are invited to join together in prayer for our nation and the world on Baptist Women's Day of Prayer, Monday, Nov. 3, at 6:30 p.m. at Providence Baptist Church, 822 Providence Road. A soup supper will be served. For more information, call 864-489- 8205.

The annual Broad River Baptist Association's Candlelight Tour of Churches will be held Tuesday, Dec. 2, at Cherokee Avenue Baptist Church, Central Baptist Church and First Baptist Church. The first tour will begin at 6 p.m. Call Becky Mullinax, 864-489-3119, for more details.

Way of Life Praise and Worship Center Inc., 1320 Old Georgia Hwy., will sponsor "Youth Explosion 2008" today, Oct. 31, and Saturday, Nov. 1. Today events will begin at 7 p.m. and guest speaker will be Prophet Justin Dorest, Minister of Music at Way of Life PWC. On Saturday at 6 p.m., choirs from both Carolinas will be on hand to sing.

The Youth Choir of Bethel Baptist Church will celebrate its 37th anniversary Sunday, Nov. 2, at 5 p.m. with a singing program. Choirs and groups from the area will be on the program.

The Senior Missionaries and YWAs of Thickety Mountain Baptist Association will have their annual World Day of Prayer program Monday, Nov. 3, at 6:30 p.m. at the Associational Building, 1505 Old Post Road. Speaker will be the Rev. Mary Jefferies, pastor of Indian Hill Baptist Church.

The Trustees of Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church will have their annual trustee program Sunday, Nov. 2, at 11 a.m. Speaker will be Maurice Thompson. Five new trustees - Bruce Adams, Timothy Belk, Maurice Dawkins, Jaffray Gist and Stephen Phillips - will be installed.

Cherokee Creek Baptist Church, 502 Buck Shoals Road, will have its first Rev. John R. and Annie M. Ruppe Fall Revival beginning Sunday, Nov. 2. Services on Founder's Day will begin with Sunday School at 10 a.m. and morning worship at 10:45. The pastor, Mike Frazier, bringing the message and dinner will be follow in the fellowship building. Revival services will begin Sunday at 7 p.m. and continue each evening at 7 through Wednesday, Nov. 5, with the Rev. Bobby Earls speaking.

Faith Baptist Church, 246 Ford Road, Gaffney, will worship with Mitchell Chapel F.B.H. Church, 424 Dr. Rosemond Lane, on Sunday, Nov. 2, at 5 p.m.

The Pastor's Aid of Way of Life Praise and Worship Center Inc., 1320 Old Georgia Hwy., will sponsor a fellowship service Sunday, Nov. 2, at 4 p.m. Guest speaker will be the Rev. C.A. Wallace, pastor of Mt. Sinai Baptist Church.

The Little Angels of Indian Hill Baptist Church, 135 Leadmine St., will celebrate their second anniversary on Sunday, Nov. 2, at 3 p.m.

White Plains Baptist Church Missionaries will have their annual prayer breakfast program Saturday, Nov. 1, at 9 a.m. Minister Teresa Black of New Salem Zion Baptist Church will be the special guest. The Rev. James Patton Jr. is pastor.