Pavilion celebrates Halloween with Hocus Pocus Pops

The Houston Symphony will perform “terrorific” music at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion during Hocus Pocus Pops at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 28.

Tickets are $15 for orchestra seating. Mezzanine and lawn seating are free, courtesy of H-E-B. Tickets are not required for free seating. Gates open at 6 p.m.

Conductor Brett Mitchell casts a spell on the audience with chilling music and spooky sounds as the symphony plays The Ride of the Valkyries from “Die Walküre,” Toccata and Fugue, Funeral March of a Marionette, Psycho: A Narrative for String Orchestra, Suite from “Star Wars” and more.

Daddies, mummies and all the little ghosts and goblins are invited to dress up in their favorite Halloween costumes for a chance to walk on stage during the concert. The first 100 children in costume to check in at Hocus Pocus Central in the Fidelity Investments Plaza can participate in the Goblin Parade that snakes across the stage during the symphony’s performance.

There also are pre-concert activities. Pulling into The Pavilion at 5:30 p.m. is the Great Pumpkin Express. Hop on for a ride around The Pavilion’s grounds. Starting at 6 p.m., costumed characters roam the grounds in the Fidelity Investments Plaza where little monsters can create their own spine-tingling music at The Pavilion Partners Instrument Petting Zoo and ignite their haunting imaginations creating lollipop ghosts at The Partners arts and crafts booth. Enjoy ghoulish activities by H-E-B, Houston Family Magazine, Woodforest National Bank, Fidelity Investments, Montgomery County Food Bank, YMCA’s Run Thru the Woods and Audi of America, official automobile of The Pavilion. Creep into the House of Blues Hospitality Tent for Radio Disney’s Graveyard Smash Dance Party featuring the Radio Disney Boo Crew from 6-7:15 p.m. for dancing, prizes, tricks and treats.

For “monsterous” prizes, register to win one of two gift baskets provided by H-E-B and The Pavilion by bringing any H-E-B receipt from October 2011 to Hocus Pocus Pops. Receipts must be brought to Hocus Pocus Central in the Fidelity Investments Plaza prior to the performance (between 6 and 7:15 p.m.). The drawing takes place on the Main Stage before the concert.

Winners of the Hocus Pocus Pops “Spooktacular” Essay Contest will be announced. Out of 130 entries, a winner was chosen from each of six grade categories. Each grade category winner receives a $25 gift card to H-E-B, a $25 gift card to Amazon.com, four VIP tickets to the concert and will have the essay printed in the Hocus Pocus Pops program. One grand prize winner will be drawn at random from the six finalists and announced at Hocus Pocus Pops. The winner receives an Amazon Kindle, a $100 gift certificate to Market Street and will have the essay printed in The Courier and The Villager newspapers. Each participant in the contest is entered into a drawing for a variety of prizes. The Hocus Pocus Pops “Spooktacular” Essay Contest is sponsored by The Courier and The Villager and Simply Tutoring.

For more information about The Pavilion, visit www.woodlandscenter.org.