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CATERPILLARS & CASSIUS CLAY Seattle Children’s Theatre, the nation’s second biggest theater for young audiences, has premiered more than 100 plays. This month, it offers two shows. For young children, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show with 75 puppets, brings to life this and other Eric Carle classics. For kids 9 and older, there’s And in This Corner: Cassius Clay, which explores themes of identity, civil rights and life in the Jim Crow era. 201 Thomas St., Seattle Center 3sct.org

THINGS TO DO WITH KIDS q BY FIONA COHEN »Romp

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This month’s BrickCon in Seattle is the nation’s biggest Lego convention in terms of attendance.

Going loco for Legos

The creativity and humor of Lego lovers will be out in full force for

BrickCon, Oct. 6 and 7 at Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, where thousands will come by to see the amazing things that people can build out of Legos — and many will stop at the build tables to conjure something of their own.

This year’s theme is Hidden Worlds. Among the displays: a Ninjago city, a StarCraft battle, a 16-foot winter village, and a World War I battle scene.

“They’ve been working on the trenches and they are very realistic,” says Steve Walker, CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE > 5 FALL EXPERIENCES IN LOCAL FARM COUNTRY These days, the fall farm experience goes well beyond a family visit to the pumpkin patch for just the right Halloween gourd:

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Corn mazes Craven Farm has two, a 15-acre one built on an “Alice in Pumpkinland” theme, and a smaller one geared for younger folks. 13817 Shorts School Rd., Snohomish 3cravenfarm.com

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Pumpkin trebuchet Oh, to see the spectacle of a medieval siege weapon that catapults pumpkins through the air. Visit Jubilee Farm. 229 W. Snoqualmie River Rd. NE, Carnation 3jubileefarm.org

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Meet the animals When you arrive at Fairbank Animal Farm, you get a cup of feed you can throw to the chickens and ducks. There are a variety of other animals, including baby animals. 15308 52nd Ave. W., Edmonds 3fairbankfarm.com

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Pick apples Fill your fruit bowl as well as your doorstep. BelleWood Acres offers the chance to pick a variety of apples from its orchard. 6140 State Rt. 539, Lynden 3bellewoodfarms.com

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Take a ride Remlinger Farms’ Family Fun Park has lots of choices, including a half-sided steam train, kid-sized roller coaster, Ferris wheel, miniature Model Ts, pedal cars and a carousel. 32610 NE 32nd St., Carnation 3remlingerfarms.com

q For a complete list of local farms, visit seattleschild.com/ Things-To-Do

BrickCon’s build tables are an essential stop for every kid.

< BrickCon CONTINUED BrickCon’s display and artistic director. One thing that makes a difference: a new kind of Lego tile that looks like wood paneling.

Much-loved local builders, including Alice Finch (best known for elaborate, fantastical displays of places such as J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth Elven realm Rivendell and Harry Potter’s alma mater Hogwarts) and Iain Heath (best known for ingenious pop-culture sculptures) will be back with new creations on display.

There will be fighting Lego robots in the BattleBricks contests.

“We’ll have a Lexan BattleBot cage to keep pieces from flying into the crowd,” Walker says.

BrickCon Seattle is the nation’s biggest Lego convention in terms of attendance. Other places have it beat for size. The Seattle Center Exhibition Hall hasn’t gotten any bigger since the first BrickCon in 2002, but it has become a lot more tightly packed.

Legos’ appeal comes from two elements: First, it’s an art medium giving people the power to create in three dimensions. Second, there’s a whimsical culture: A Lego Star Wars scene won’t be all melodrama, for example.

“You may find a hidden room with the Star Wars stormtroopers sitting in a hot tub,” says Walker.

The one essential stop for every kid: the build tables. Walker says he’s seen overstimulated kids transform when offered a chance to dip into the big pile of bricks:

“When you turn them loose in the kid build area, they settle down.”

Walker’s main advice: buy your tickets in advance, online. The event sold out last year, and likely will do so again. q brickcon.org

Escape from Seattle!

THE HAUNTING

OF COUPEVILLE On the Whidbey Island town of Coupeville, Halloween is a busy season. Starting Oct. 3, the decorations go up, adding a spooky air to this seaside village’s old-fashioned charm. There’s a mock graveyard featuring deadly puns. (Names include Noah Pulse and Ima Stiph). Sherman Pioneer farm at the corner of Terry and Ebey roads opens a Haunted Barn, and from 6:30 to 10 pm Oct. 26 and 27, the abandoned gun emplacements at Fort Casey — eerie on any day — host a haunted fort tour with ghost stories, Trick or Treat and more. $8 per person or $30 for a family (up to six people). The cap on the season is the Great Pumpkin Race on Oct. 28, starting at 1 pm. Competitors put wheels on their pumpkins, then release them down the hill, derby-style, on Alexander Street toward Penn Cove. 3facebook.com/HauntingofCoupeville