Entertainment

Shadows in the Pines offers haunting new way to discover Carvers Creek State Park

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Tuesday, 13 October 2026

Written by Tiffany Haywood

The park’s first haunted trail blends local history and Halloween fun while spotlighting its lesser-known Sandhills access.
Did you know you can turn off Ramsey Street and, within minutes, trade Fayetteville traffic for miles of trails winding through a longleaf pine forest?
If your answer is no, you are not alone. I had no clue either.
Jonelle Kimbrough, a member of Friends of Carvers Creek State Park and one of the organizers behind Shadows in the Pines, said the group had been looking for creative ways to introduce more people to the park, particularly its Sandhills access in Fayetteville. Opened in 2019, the entrance remains less familiar to many residents than the park’s Long Valley Farm access near Spring Lake.
“A lot of us really like Halloween and hiking, so we decided to combine our love for Halloween and our love for hiking into a haunted trail at the park,” Kimbrough said.
To me, it sounds like the Friends group may have found the perfect way to bring the two together.
That idea became Shadows in the Pines, the group’s first haunted trail and fundraiser.
On Oct. 24, the trail will take visitors on a nighttime journey through the park’s longleaf pine forest.
For roughly 35 minutes, visitors will travel approximately one-eighth of a mile along a flat, sandy trail, where they may encounter ghostly early settlers and creatures drawn from Celtic mythology.
Once darkness falls, the pines will have some ghostly company.
Kimbrough said the trail will mix jump scares with atmospheric, psychological suspense, but the goal is not to leave visitors terrified. She recommends the trail for visitors ages 10 and older.
“It’s not like being inside of a slasher movie or anything like that,” she said.
The haunt also pulls from the history of the Cape Fear and Sandhills regions, where Highland Scots began settling during the 1700s. Rather than turning the evening into a full history lesson, the trail will use characters and storytelling to pay homage to the area’s early European settlement. Some of those settlers may even return as ghostly residents with stories to tell.
Many know Fayetteville is full of history. This Halloween, some of it may come back to haunt us.
Shadows in the Pines gives residents a reason to visit after dark, but the Friends group hopes the experience will encourage them to return during the day and explore more of what the park offers.
Each $5 admission donation will support environmental education and recreational programming organized by Friends of Carvers Creek State Park in partnership with North Carolina State Parks.
The local group is part of the larger Friends of North Carolina State Parks network.
That programming includes bug safaris and a monthly photography contest featuring images visitors take inside the park. The group is also developing a quiet book club where people can gather to read their own books and only discuss them if they want to.
Between you and me, a book club where talking is optional might be another hidden gem.
The Sandhills access is located at 995 McCloskey Road and can be reached from Ramsey Street.
“It’s miles and miles of trails through longleaf pine forests, so it’s a great place to take your kids, take your dogs and just spend a day enjoying the natural beauty of our area,” Kimbrough said.
The Friends group is still seeking actors and volunteers for Shadows in the Pines.
The event will take place Saturday, Oct. 24, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Admission is a $5 donation per person and will be collected on site. There are no advance or timed tickets; visitors will enter the trail in the order they arrive.
Guests should also bring a reusable bag for trick-or-treating — because even a haunted forest can keep Halloween environmentally friendly.
“We would love for them to have a better understanding and appreciation of the natural beauty here in the Sandhills and of the very rich history that we have here,” Kimbrough said.
The ghostly residents may disappear after Halloween, but organizers hope visitors will return to explore what remains waiting in the pines.

(Photos courtesy of Jonelle Kimbrough)

Fayetteville Marksmen begin new season by building stronger team, deeper sense of belonging

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Tuesday, 13 October 2026

Written by Jamie Bishop

Training camp had ended about 30 minutes earlier when Alex Wall sat inside Crown Coliseum and considered what the Fayetteville Marksmen are really selling.
The obvious answer was all around him: professional hockey, cold ice, hard boards and a new season close enough to feel. But Wall, entering his seventh season with the organization and fourth full season as team president, has learned that the game is only the beginning.
“Hockey is the excuse,” he said. “Hockey is the excuse we get to bring people together.”
That philosophy will meet its largest early test Oct. 17, when the Marksmen host the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs at 6 p.m. for opening night. Fayetteville begins the season the previous evening in Roanoke, then returns home with less than 24 hours to recover, adjust and introduce a new team to its city.
Opening night brings familiar theater, but this year carries a sharper question: Can the Marksmen pair the show with a serious postseason run?
Wall believes the organization is ready to demand both.
Fayetteville finished last season 23-28-5-2, placed 10th in the SPHL and missed the playoffs. The Marksmen closed with a 6-0 victory over Macon, but the season reinforced a distinction Wall said the organization can no longer ignore. Attendance and entertainment matter. So does winning.
For years, the club concentrated on creating an experience that could welcome people who did not know a power play from a penalty kill. Videos, music, theme nights, lighting and intermission entertainment helped turn a hockey game into a full evening out. That approach grew the audience, but Wall said success off the ice could not become a substitute for progress on it.
“We don’t put on hockey games; we put on performances and shows,” he said. “Our goal is to entertain fans.”
The challenge, he acknowledged, is that an organization can focus so heavily on presentation that it drifts from the reason the building exists on game night. As the season-ticket base grew and casual guests became committed fans, their expectations changed. They still wanted Star Wars nights, family memories and music. They also wanted playoff hockey.
That realization shaped the hiring of Garrett Rutledge as head coach and director of hockey operations. Rutledge arrived after leading the Athens Rock Lobsters to a 44-11-1 record and a division title in the Federal Prospects Hockey League. He also worked with the Ontario Hockey League’s Saginaw Spirit during its 2024 Memorial Cup championship season.
For Wall, the hire was about “creating a new culture,” establishing a new identity and raising the standard of Marksmen hockey. He expects a team that plays hard and physically every shift, regardless of the score.
“That’s what the city deserves,” Wall said.
The ambition is no longer merely to qualify for the postseason. The Marksmen have reached the playoffs in most seasons under their current identity but have not advanced beyond the first round. Fayetteville’s last professional hockey championship came in 2007, when the FireAntz won the President’s Cup.
The 2026-27 season leads into the 20th anniversary of that title. Wall said the organization is developing promotions involving members of the championship team, connecting the building’s past with the club trying to create its own history.
“It’s time to start chasing the Cup again,” he said. “Making the playoffs isn’t the goal anymore. Now the goal is to make a run.”
His operating principle is simpler than predicting every turn: make the next best decision, then stack good decisions together.
That method has guided an organization Wall says has grown exponentially, most visibly in attendance but also in ways that never reach the standings. Players have advanced to higher levels. Staff members have learned the business, developed relationships in Fayetteville, and moved into larger opportunities. Each departure creates work, but it can also serve as evidence that the organization is developing people, not merely using them.
The same thinking shapes the club’s relationship with the city.
Fayetteville presents a distinct challenge for any institution trying to build tradition. Military families may arrive, become devoted fans, and receive orders elsewhere within two or three years. Players also come and go. In a community accustomed to transition, the Marksmen must offer continuity without assuming longevity.
Wall said the answer begins with being present. The team works with schools, Fort Bragg, businesses, nonprofits, and organizations that welcome new residents. The objective is for someone to learn that professional hockey belongs to Fayetteville, whether that person has lived here one day or 50 years.
At the Crown, that invitation starts before a fan reaches a seat. Wall views the experience as beginning when the ticket is purchased and continuing until the guest returns home. Parking, communication, music, promotions, and hospitality all influence whether a first visit becomes a family tradition.
Themed nights may place guests inside the worlds of Star Wars, Nickelodeon or Disney, but Wall said the larger promise is that children, parents, longtime hockey followers, and newcomers can enjoy the same evening for different reasons.
The hardest step is persuading someone to attend once. After that, he trusts the product and the people already in the stands.
Marksmen regulars often recognize first-time guests, explain unfamiliar rules and welcome them into the rhythm of the sport. That fan-to-fan generosity matters in a market where many people have never watched hockey live.
“It truly is a family type of community,” Wall said.
Perhaps no event demonstrates the club’s reach more clearly than its School Day Game. In 2023, the program filled the 9,500-seat Crown Coliseum and set an SPHL single-game attendance record. Wall counts the experience among his proudest accomplishments because thousands of children encountered hockey and, for some, professional sports for the first time.
The fox mascot, Marky Marksmen, provides another thread of continuity. Players may move quickly through a developmental league, but the mascot remains a recognizable face in schools and at community events. The fox, team name and military-rooted identity make the brand visible; Wall insists the people and programs behind them make it meaningful.
That work is becoming more active. Through Mini Marksmen, players introduce children to hockey. The organization is also developing a school-based street hockey tour with community partners built around movement, healthy living, teamwork and collaboration.
For Wall, those programs connect the demands of his job with the life waiting at home. He has three boys, all 5 and under. They sometimes step onto the ice or fist-bump players as the team heads out, seeing the organization not as a spreadsheet or schedule but as childhood memory taking shape.
Balancing the franchise and family is difficult, especially near opening night, when every day brings a different problem and never enough hours. Wall said the faces in the building keep the work centered.
“When you look around and you watch families get closer and you watch young kids have these core memories that they grow up with, there’s no better feeling than that,” he said.
Five years from now, Wall hopes the record books include a championship. Yet his larger measure is stability, a seamless association between the Marksmen and Fayetteville, strengthened through local businesses, nonprofits, military relationships and families who consider a night at the Crown part of living here.
The club does not possess the marketing budget of larger organizations. Wall said it has fought through challenging periods to reach a measure of sustainability. Its future still depends on fans becoming ambassadors, telling neighbors about a good night, and returning until attendance becomes attachment.
When the puck drops Oct. 17, the scoreboard will provide the easiest measurement. Rutledge’s team will begin showing whether a harder standard has taken root. The crowd will decide whether the energy feels worth carrying home.
But the deeper season will unfold away from the final score: in a child meeting Marky at school, a soldier discovering a hometown team, a first-time fan learning the rules from a stranger and a family building a memory together.
Hockey may be the excuse. Belonging is the goal.

(Photos courtesy of the Fayetteville Marksmen)

Costumes, candy, community: Where to Trick-or-Treat

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Tuesday, 13 October 2026

Written by Sheila D Barker

Halloween is almost here, and little ghosts, witches, superheroes and princesses are ready to fill their buckets with treats. The community offers a wide array of events. From traditional trick-or-treating to community trunk-or-treats, there are plenty of places to create some Halloween fun.

SATURDAY, OCT. 17
• Fall Family Fest at 1700 Elliot Farm Rd.-3 p.m.: Join The Fayetteville Church for their 4th Annual Fall Family Fest. Enjoy trunk-or-treat, hayrides, food trucks, games, and more. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/mr5jwpdf.
• Paddy's JEEPERS CREEPERS Trunk & Treat at Paddy's Irish Public House, 2606 Raeford Rd.-6 p.m.: Join the Ft. Bragg Chapter of Military Jeepers and Ville City Jeeps for a family-friendly trunk-or-treat. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/mr3cp9m6.

FRIDAY, OCT. 23
• Retro's Stars & Guitars Ticket Stop + Fall Festival at Retro Spa & Wellness, 3622 Morganton Rd.-5:30 p.m.: Pick up your tickets for Stars & Guitars and stay for the fall festival, including trunk-or-treat, bounce house, and more. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/yw7cj8xz.
• Trunk or Treat at Celebration of Praise Church of God, 4944 Fayetteville Rd., Raeford-5 p.m.: Enjoy a fun-filled evening with hot dogs, hay rides, and a trunk-or-treat. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/ymfusuw2.
• Trunk or Treat at Powers Swain Chevrolet, 4709 Bragg Blvd.-4 p.m.: Bring the kids out dressed in their favorite costumes for a safe and family-friendly trunk-or-treat. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/mtct2k5b.

SATURDAY, OCT. 24
• Community FallFest at MacPherson Church, 3525 Cliffdale Rd.-1:30 p.m.: Enjoy a trunk-or-treat, bounce house, games, music, and $5 BBQ. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/yc8km38x.
• TRC's Annual Trunk or Treat at Triangle Rock Club, 5213 Raeford Rd. Ste 103-5 p.m.: Trunk-or-treat at a safe, festive environment with lots of community spirit. All are welcome, including non-members. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/y9jh24sb.
• Annual Trunk or Treat at Stoney Point Trail of Terror, 7221 Stoney Point Rd.-Noon: This free community event invites all to dress up and get ready for some treats. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/3ct3yb4u.
• MDC's Fall Festival and Trunk or Treat at Moonlight Dance Company, 920 E Russell St.-6 p.m.: Join the studio for a fun, free, open-to-the-public trunk-or-treat. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/yvt59see.

SUNDAY, OCT. 25
• Haymount UMC Trunk or Treat at Haymount United Methodist Church, 1700 Fort Bragg Rd.-4 p.m.: Head to the back parking lot for a free, family event that includes hot dogs, popcorn, and lots of candy. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/hu9wbyty.
• LW Fall Family Festival at Living Water Church, 2040 N Bragg Blvd., Spring Lake-5 p.m.: This fun, family-friendly event includes games, food, a chili cook-off contest, and trunk-or-treat. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/5592trt9.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 28
• Trunk or Treat at Spa Fitness & Wellness Center, 860 Elm St.-5:30 p.m.: Bring the kids out for face painting, food, trunk-or-treat, and more. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/2kyybnwy.

THURSDAY, OCT. 29
• Monster Mash Trunk or Treat at AmeriHealth Caritas, 4101 Raeford Rd.-5 p.m.: Bring out the whole family for a costume contest, arts & crafts, games, vendors, community resources, food trucks, and tons of candy. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/5ysmh5jr.

FRIDAY, OCT. 30
• Trunk or Treat 2026 at Freedom Christian Academy, 3130 Gillespie St.-6 p.m.: Join Freedom Christian Academy for a family trunk-or-treat. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/mwyy9vhp.
• Trunk or Treat at Aaims Property Management, 100 Westlake Rd.-6 p.m.: Get ready for face painting, free popcorn, haunted house, and a trunk-or-treat. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/3vabnw9a.
• Trunk or Treat at Baker Motorsports, 3700 Sycamore Dairy Rd.-6 p.m.: Enjoy music, food, a costume contest, and trunk-or-treat. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/474bthj5.

SATURDAY, OCT. 31
• U & I Annual Trunk or Treat at Walker-Spivey, 500 Fisher Rd.-5 p.m.: Create a memorable night with a family costume contest, hot dogs, drinks, music, vendors, and a trunk-or-treat. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/58a3wecs.
• Boo Bash at Eastover Ball Park, 2721 Ballpark Rd., Eastover-6 p.m.: Bring the family out to this free community event for inflatable games, hayrides, food, and a trunk-or-treat. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/55c9rbme.
• Trunk or Treat & Fall Festival at Cedar Falls Baptist Church, 6181 Ramsey St.-4 p.m.: Get ready to enjoy a bounce house, games, and trunk-or-treat. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/4rfw6ejp.
• Trunk or Treat!!! at Faymount Baptist Church, 3663 Cumberland Rd.-6 p.m.: Enjoy a trunk-or-treat along with hot dogs, chips, and water. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/bdfwnf5n.
• FASNCNW Halloween Health & Community Resource Fair at VFW Post 6018 Auxiliary at 116 Chance St.-11 a.m.: This trunk-or-treat promises family-friendly Halloween fun as well as free health screening, health-living information, mental wellness resources, fitness information, financial resources and more. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/tusd8uan.
• Trunk or Treat at Fit4Life Health Club at 2820 Hope Mills Rd.-4 p.m.: This community Halloween celebration will have vendors, food, music, prizes, and a trunk-or-treat for the family to enjoy. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/bdzja84p.
• Trick or Treat at Lori's Ace, 2800 Raeford Rd. Suite 24A-Noon: Enjoy a safe, family-friendly Halloween event with a unique trick-or-treat experience, pumpkin trail, spooky tunes, pizza, popcorn, and crafts. Recommended for ages 0-12. For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/mwmk99re.

Ladies Laugh Lounge gives women the mic

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Tuesday, 13 October 2026

Written by Tiffany Haywood

Kiki Wynns turns self-care into stage time for women as her Halloween-themed comedy series makes its Fayetteville debut.
“Physician, heal thyself.” We have heard the proverb hundreds of times, but psychologist-turned-comedian Kiki Wynns took its message to heart.
Like many people, Wynns found herself struggling to maintain everything during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was managing her psychology practice, caring for her family and feeling mentally stretched. After spending years encouraging others to make room for self-care and creativity, she finally decided to follow her own advice and enroll in an improv class.
“I took my own advice, and I signed up for an improv comedy class that summer,” Wynns said. “I loved it.”
Way to go, Kiki, because that decision did more than provide a creative outlet. Improv led Wynns to stand-up, and stand-up gave her a glimpse of how few women were being featured on many comedy lineups. After making space for herself onstage—and receiving an invitation to make space for others—she created Ladies Laugh Lounge to give women more opportunities and visibility in comedy.
On Oct. 16, the series will make its Fayetteville debut at the Cameo Art House Theatre.
Wynns’ journey from her first class to becoming a working comedian moved quickly. She performed her first four-minute open mic set at Raleigh Improv in summer 2022, about a year after taking that first class. After only three open mics, she received her first paid booking.
As her comedy career grew, Wynns noticed how rarely women were given room onstage. Raised by a single mother, she has long been interested in supporting women. Entering comedy showed her how heavily many lineups favored men.
“When I got into comedy, I realized it’s even more underrepresented for women,” she said.
Then Goodnights Comedy Club invited Wynns to create a show of her own. She chose an all-women concept, and Ladies Laugh Lounge debuted in August 2024. The first show sold out within weeks.
Since then, the series has expanded beyond Raleigh to stages in Nashville, Virginia and elsewhere in North Carolina. Wynns said the crowd is often mostly women, creating the atmosphere of a supportive ladies’ night. Despite “Ladies” being in the name, men and anyone else who wants to laugh are welcome.
“It’s so fun to have almost all women in the crowd—the amazing ladies-supporting-ladies energy, ladies’ night out,” Wynns said.
The Oct. 16 performance will be the first Ladies Laugh Lounge held in Fayetteville. Wynns selected the Cameo after another comedian recommended the downtown venue.
The show also includes homegrown connections. Comedian Annie Franceschi grew up in Fayetteville, and Ayeshia Ayeshia is a local comedian. Wynns also has a personal connection to the military community through her father, who retired from the Army. She plans to include material that can connect with service members and military spouses.
Wynns will headline the show, with comedian Jose Mwamba performing an opening set and serving as host. Susan Horne, Franceschi, Ayeshia and Heather Hill round out the lineup.
Wynns describes her comedy as clean, observational and rooted in real life. Her background in psychology influences how she observes people, relationships and everyday situations, then works those observations into her material.
“They’re more related than a lot of people realize—and even more related than I realized until I started merging these two worlds,” Wynns said.
Her material touches on marriage, parenting, aging and middle age. She describes it as roughly PG-13. The show is not intended for children, but Wynns does not rely on profanity or explicit shock value for laughs.
“I pride myself on having something really well-written that’s just about life and resonates with people,” she said.
For the Ladies Laugh Lounge “Spooky Edition,” the comedians will perform in Halloween costumes. Audience members are encouraged, but not required, to join them.
Still, who does not want an opportunity to put on a Halloween costume a little early? Costumes can get pricey, and getting another wear out of one sounds like a win. Ladies Laugh Lounge offers the perfect excuse.
“We’re all going to be dressed up in Halloween costumes,” Wynns said. “We’re asking the audience to come dressed up in costume.”
Comedy began as Wynns’ form of self-care, her own version of “physician, heal thyself.” Now, it allows her to create opportunities for other women while giving audiences a chance to put their everyday pressures aside and laugh.
“Spreading laughter is actually doing something just as important for the world as what I do in my day job,” Wynns said.
Ladies Laugh Lounge: Spooky Edition will be held Friday, Oct. 16, at the Cameo Art House Theatre, 225 Hay St. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 before applicable ticketing fees and are available through TicketMe Sandhills.

(Photo: Graphic courtesy of Kiki Wynns)