Close to Home for Oct. 28-29

Garden Gallop 5K, the sixth and final event in the Kennesaw Grand Prix Series for this year. 6:30 a.m. registration, 7:30 a.m. 1-Mile Fun Run, 8 a.m. 5K, 8:55 a.m. Tot Trot Saturday. $35. Kennesaw First Baptist Church, 2958 N. Main St., Kennesaw. No dogs but strollers and walkers welcome. Proceeds benefit the Smith-Gilbert Gardens Foundation to support educational programs and conservation of the live plant collection. Participants are encouraged to come in costumes with awards for best individual and team costume. With their race bib, all runners will receive free admission to the Gardens from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on race day. KennesawGrandPrix.com/the-six-races/garden-gallop/gg5k-home.

Book Sale in Marietta

Book Sale by Cobb County Public Library System. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Free parking. Cash or check. Cobb Civic Center, 548 S. Marietta Parkway SE, Marietta. All profits will buy more items for the 16 libraries. Jonathan McKeown at 770-528-2332 or mckeownj@cobbcat.org.

National Drug Take Back Day. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Free and anonymous. No questions asked. Potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs will be collected for destruction. Flushing these drugs down the toilet or throwing them in the trash are both potential safety and health hazards. In April, Americans turned in 450 tons (900,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at almost 5,500 sites operated by the DEA and by more than 4,200 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Overall, in its 13 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in greater than 8.1 million pounds—more than 4,050 tons—of pills. dea.gov.

Smyrna Fall Jonquil Festival

Smyrna Fall Jonquil Festival. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Free. 200 Village Green Circle, Smyrna. More than 175 handmade arts and crafts vendors from throughout the Southeast, local nonprofit booths, puppet shows, live music, festival foods and children’s activities. Tod Miller or Bill Watson at 770-423-1330 or JRMmanagement.com. SmyrnaCity.com.

Puppeteer Peter Hart with unique marionettes and puppet characters that sing, dance, juggle, play fiddle, break apart and come back together, squirt water and are launched by catapult across the stage.

Smooth Sounds of Scott Thompson. Saturday and Sunday. He has performed with or opened for Steve Cropper, Leon Russell, Jimmy Hall and Charlie Daniels. Veteran's Memorial lawn next to the Fall Jonquil Food Court.

The Great Pumpkin Festival in Fayetteville

The Great Pumpkin Festival. Saturday. Historic Downtown Fayetteville. Trick or treating, costume judging, pony riding, chili eating, Market Place shopping with more than 100 vendors, fire station touring, movie watching and storytelling. fayetteville-ga.gov, facebook.com/MainStreetFayettevilleGA.

Southeastern Cowboy Festival in Cartersville

Southeastern Cowboy Festival and Symposium. 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday. $12, $10 for seniors (ages 65 and older), $9 for students (with student ID), free for children (ages 12 and under) and active military with ID. Booth Western Art Museum, 501 Museum Drive, Cartersville. Western music, reenactments of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, demonstrations of traditional Native American dancing, living history encampments of pioneer skills, a Western marketplace with food vendors, free children’s activities such as art projects, hay bale calf roping, chalk art, Western Town Bouncy House, M&R Trackless Train rides and the Little Red Barn Petting Zoo. BoothMuseum.org/CowboyFestival.

Saturday:

Painting Demonstration and Conversation with Artist Howard Post: 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. $30 to $40. Borderlands Gallery.

Cowboy Festival Concert with Sons of the Pioneers: 7 p.m. $25 to $30. Grand Theatre. Signature songs are "Tumbling Tumbleweed," "Cool Water" and "Ghost Riders in the Sky" of the group that has been in existence for more than 75 years.

Sunday:

Cowboy Church: 11 a.m. Museum Festival Grounds. Led by Pastor Jason Lyle of The Open Range Church, Cowboy Church is a nondenominational service, featuring cowboy prayers and Western spiritual music.

Dunwoody Rocks

Dunwoody Rocks for the Dunwoody Nature Center’s 25th anniversary celebration. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Dunwoody Nature Center, 5343 Roberts Drive, Dunwoody. Painted rocks will become a part of the public art display at the center through at least the end of Thanksgiving week. Rock painting, a DJ, games, nature activities, chalk artist Taylor Wilkins and free Chick-fil-A sandwiches for the first 200 guests. info@DunwoodyNature.org.

Avondale Tree Walk

Avondale Tree Walk: “From Clearing to Canopy” by the Avondale Estates Garden Club. 10 a.m. to noon Saturday (rain or shine). Free. Lake Avondale near the gazebo, 59 Lakeshore Drive, Avondale Estates. Register in front of the gazebo which is steps away from the “Tree Huggers in Training” talks for children and other tree talks for adults. The tree walk will begin after the talks. Arborists and landscape architects will lead six different routes in Avondale Estates - one of those around Lake Avondale for those who prefer or require a short walk. iljrd@yahoo.com, AvondaleEstates.org/2204/Garden-Clubs.

Walk for Wellness in Douglasville

Walk for Wellness and Community Day. 10 a.m. Saturday. Douglas County Courthouse, 8700 Hospital Drive, Douglasville. This event is part of Douglas County Behavioral Health Month for October. Tiffany Stewart Stanley at 770-920-7436 or TStewartStanley@co.douglas.ga.us or StompTheStigma.org/douglas.

Brer Rabbit’s Pumpkin Patch in Atlanta

Brer Rabbit’s Pumpkin Patch. 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Free. The Wren’s Nest, 1050 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd., Atlanta. Candy for the children and not-so-scary stories by Akbar Imhotep. Cosponsored by PEDS, a pedestrian advocacy group, for their WALKtober initiative to help Atlantans find new places to walk to, and new people to walk with, in their neighborhoods. PEDS.org, WrensNest.org.

Train or Treat in Duluth

Train or Treat. 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. $7 to $10, free for children under age 2. Southeastern Railway Museum, 3595 Buford Highway, Duluth. Noon and 3 p.m. costume contest for ages up to 12. Small extra charges for rides ($2 to $5) and food. 770-476-2013, train-museum.org.

Family musical in Roswell

GET FamilyStage: “Miss Nelson Is Missing!” musical. 11 a.m. to noon Saturday. $10. Roswell Cultural Arts Center, 950 Forrest St., Roswell. Tickets: 770-641-1260, get.org.

Kennesaw Mountain events

October events. Free. Visitor Center, Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, 900 Kennesaw Mountain Drive, Kennesaw. 770-427-4686 ext. 0 or nps.gov/kemo.

Hunters Harvest Fall Festival in Douglasville

Hunters Harvest Fall Festival Arts & Crafts Show. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Hunter Park, 8830 Gurley Road, Douglasville. Vendors from all over West Georgia and Metro Atlanta will bring arts and crafts items. Kendrick Davis at 678-449-3166 or davisk@DouglasvilleGa.gov. 

‘The Andrews Raid’ in Kennesaw

“The Andrews Raid” lecture. 2 p.m. Saturday. Free. Kennesaw Library, 2250 Lewis St., Kennesaw. Listen as historian Michael K. Shaffer recounts the 1862 stealing of the General in Big Shanty. CivilWarHistorian.net.

Zine Workshop in Atlanta

Zine Workshop with Alexa Lima. 3 p.m. Saturday. Free. Cleveland Avenue Library, 47 Cleveland Ave. SW, Atlanta. Alexa Lima of hip hop collective WAKE will lead a workshop, teaching participants, ages 8 and above, the basics of creating their own zine. A zine (pronounced “zeen” which is short for magazine or fanzine) is a small-circulation, self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images that is usually reproduced by a photocopier. 404-762-4116, afpls.org.

Youth Pancake Palooza in Lithia Springs

Youth Pancake Palooza. 6-9 p.m. Saturday. Fellowship Hall, First Baptist Church of Lithia Springs, 3566 Veterans Memorial Highway, Lithia Springs. Pancakes anyway you like them with syrup, sprinkles and jelly. Rick Martin at 770-920-7303 or RickMartin@co.douglas.ga.us.

Little Hands, Big LoveFest in Atlanta

Little Hands, Big LoveFest by Children Helping Children. 2-4 p.m. Sunday. Free but parking fee at Park Tavern, 500 10th St. NE. Event at Piedmont Park, 1320 Monroe Drive, Atlanta. Children, ages 3 and up, are invited to assemble projects that benefit other children in Atlanta and enjoy a jump house, face painting and cotton candy. 404-931-0266, chcAtlanta.org, PiedmontPark.org.

Movie Trivia in Roswell

Club Nostalgia: “The Awful Truth” comedy (1937) with Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. 2:30-4:30 p.m. Sunday. Free. East Roswell Library, 2301 Holcomb Bridge Road, Roswell. The movie is watched at home and discussed at the meeting with trivia and prizes. 404-310-5354, ClubNostalgia.vpweb.com.

Trunk or Treat in Douglasville

Trunk or Treat at the Court House. 4-8 p.m. Sunday. Douglas County Courthouse, 8700 Hospital Drive, Douglasville. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Douglasville Police Department will host this event for children ages 14 and under. Weather permitting, popcorn, hot dogs, barbecue and soda will be served. Rick Martin at 770-920-7303 or RickMartin@co.douglas.ga.us.

Not-So-Spooky Halloween at The Rock Ranch

Not-So-Spooky Halloween. 1-7 p.m. Sunday (Saturday events canceled due to rain prediction). $15/tax (Saturday), $13/tax (Sunday), free for children ages 2 and younger. Extra costs: zip lining at $8/tax or $12.75/tax, rock climbing wall at $5/tax, carousel rides at $2/tax. The Rock Ranch, 5020 Barnesville Highway, The Rock. Trick or treating, pet costume contest (with pets on a leash), Frisbee dog shows, music, games, pumpkin carving with more than 35 attractions. TheRockRanch.com.