Festival City Symphony (FCS) will begin its “Pajama Jamboree” season with Halloween Pajama Jamboree, a free concert on Wed., Oct. 26, 2016, at 7:00 pm in the Bradley Pavilion of the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. Dressed in costume, the orchestra will celebrate Halloween with a performance of musical “treats” related to the season. This year, the concert also will feature talented young local actor Chris Orth, appearing as the prolific Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. A graduate of Concordia University Wisconsin, Mr. Orth’s studies included performing in the musicals “Little Women,” “The Will Rogers’ Follies,” “Something’s Afoot,” and “Curtains.” Attendees are encouraged to wear costumes. Unlike previous years, attendees should enter through the main entrance on 929 N. Water Street. If you park in the Marcus Center lot, you are welcome to use the third level skywalk. All “Pajama Jamboree” concerts have free admission. Hosted by Education Director Jayne Perkins, these popular programs welcome children and their parents or grandparents to attend in casual dress or pajamas. The audience is invited to bring a blanket and sit on the floor, up close to “meet” the orchestra. Conventional seating is also available. Pajama Jamborees are best suited for children in K4 through fifth grade. Milwaukee’s Festival City Symphony, the oldest performing symphony orchestra in the area, showcases area professional musicians. Its mission is to educate the community and extend the reach of classical music with reasonable pricing and informative formats that embrace people of all ages. For more information, visit festivalcitysymphony.org or call 414-365-8861.

Combining forces for the first time, The Manhattan Transfer and Take 6, two of the most acclaimed, award-winning vocal groups in pop music, create an unforgettable concert event that will thrill audiences of all ages. The two groups boast a remarkable 20 Grammy Awards, and a range of styles that covers nearly every genre of popular music; from jazz to swing, from gospel to R&B. As The Manhattan Transfer mark the 40th Anniversary of their debut, Take 6 shares their crystal clear harmony, demonstrating why this sextet is recognized as the pre-eminent A cappella group in the world. No ordinary double bill, this is a show combining unexpected twists & turns to create a once-in-a-lifetime event!

With Halloween just around the corner, Delavan’s 5th annual Skeleton Scurry 5K run/walk and 1K kids run will return to Lake Lawn Resort on Saturday, Oct. 22 beginning at 9 a.m. Participants are encouraged to get in the true ghoulish spirit and wear their best Halloween costumes for a chance to win a prize for “Best Dressed.”

Following his acclaimed Atlantic and The Men Who United the States, New York Times bestselling author Simon Winchester offers an enthralling biography of the Pacific Ocean and its role in the modern world, exploring our relationship with this imposing force of nature. As the Mediterranean shaped the classical world, and the Atlantic connected Europe to the New World, the Pacific Ocean defines our tomorrow. With China on the rise, so, too, are the American cities of the West coast, including Seattle, San Francisco, and the long cluster of towns down the Silicon Valley. Today, the Pacific is ascendant. Its geological history has long transformed us—tremendous earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis—but its human history, from a Western perspective, is quite young, beginning with Magellan’s sixteenth-century circumnavigation. It is a natural wonder whose most fascinating history is currently being made. In telling the story of the Pacific, Simon Winchester takes us from the Bering Strait to Cape Horn, the Yangtze River to the Panama Canal, and to the many small islands and archipelagos that lie in between. He observes the fall of a dictator in Manila, visits aboriginals in northern Queensland, and is jailed in Tierra del Fuego, the land at the end of the world. His journey encompasses a trip down the Alaska Highway, a stop at the isolated Pitcairn Islands, a trek across South Korea and a glimpse of its mysterious northern neighbor. Winchester’s personal experience is vast and his storytelling second to none. And his historical understanding of the region is formidable, making Pacific a paean to this magnificent sea of beauty, myth, and imagination that is transforming our lives. Co-sponsored by the Friends of the Golda Meir Library, UWM Libraries and Boswell Book Company. Free and open to the public.

Become more than just a spectator during the live, interactive theater production of “The Passion of Dracula” by local theater group, Creative Outlets on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. beginning in Lake Lawn Resort’s Great Room.

This concert offers great choral music inspired by the Saints and exalting the Soul. You will hear some familiar pieces such as At the river (arr. by Aaron Copland), Hark, I hear the harps eternal (arr. By Alice Parker), and He that shall endure to the end from Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah as well as music less known. The program spans many centuries starting with Orlando Gibbons and Thomas Morley from the 16th-17th centuries and ending with contemporary pieces by Matthew Erpelding, Daniel Gawthrop, Herbert Howells, Susan LaBarr, Brian McLinden, Lloyd Pfautsch, and Joan Szymko. For tickets and more information, call (414) 319-9816.