The spooky season is creeping into focus as haunted houses start to crop up around the metro area (well, more than usual, anyway). But good times for all ages fill the calendar as fall’s first weekend gets started. Now, if that fall weather would just get the hint…

It’s a double dose of orchestral exuberance this weekend. Promising a high-octane performance, BIG FREEDIA AND THE LPO will perform Friday at 8:30 p.m. in the Orpheum Theater, the third time the two musical powerhouses have united for a mammoth musical moment. Evan Roider takes the baton for the event at 129 Roosevelt Way. Then, on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Mahalia Jackson Theater, Maestro Matthew Kraemer conducts Verdi’s “REQUIEM” with a quartet from the New Orleans Opera, with a 6:30 p.m. pre-concert talk. Friday tickets are $50, Saturday tickets start at $35. Make the most of the music here.

Want to pet a gator? Westbank Bridge Park in St. Charles Parish is the spot for the annual ALLIGATOR FESTIVAL Friday through Sunday, with carnival rides, live gators, food, crafts, music and more in Luling where I-310 crosses the Mississippi. The fest runs Friday 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is $5 and benefits the Rotary Club’s scholarship program. Get the info on the gator goings on here.

St. Agnes Le Thi Thanh Catholic Church in Marrero is the site for TRUNG THU (MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL) starting at 6 p.m. Friday at 6851 St. Le Thi Thanh St. A large assortment of Vietnamese dishes, from pho and báhn mì to a variety of buns and rolls. There will be a children’s lantern parade plus a variety of entertainment, including dragon and folk dancing. The festival runs until 10:30 p.m. Friday, noon to 10:30 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday. Find out more about the festival here.

Seventy-six years ago, a group of women decided they needed a cocktail — a Sazerac to be specific. En masse, they blasted the gender barrier into the Roosevelt Hotel’s famed bar, breaking the all-male patrons’ tradition. The STORMIN’ THE SAZERAC commemoration of the moment of cocktail equality is celebrated annually and falls on Friday at 1 p.m. with a ladies-only luncheon, entertainment, a best-dressed (period) competition and a second-line from the historic Blue Room to the wood-paneled enclave. Tickets start at $160 for the event at 130 Roosevelt Way. Step up to the bar for more information here.

The music of two piano-meisters gets a head-to-head treatment at Jefferson Performing Arts Center in Metairie at 7:30 p.m. Friday when The Legacy Tribute Series presents “BILLY VS ELTON: A TRIBUTE TO BILLY JOEL AND ELTON JOHN.” Beau St. Pierre and Rick English take on the roles of the Rocket Man and the Piano Man with some of their greatest hits, a few seldom-heard alternative tunes and a powerhouse band to back it all up. Tickets start at $40. Get more on the music here.

Totally. Seriously, totally! TOTALLY RAD VINTAGE FEST is a step back to the recent past for a fun day of retail and remembering the ’80s, ’90s and Y2K years Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Pontchartrain Convention and Civic Center in Kenner on Williams Boulevard at the lake. Vendors will be offering clothing and accessories from the periods, plus there will be gaming, a museum and photo ops — just “gag me with a spoon!” Tickets start at $8. For more of the totally tubular info, click here.

A sweet time is guaranteed at the OLD ARABI SUGAR FEST Saturday from noon to 7 p.m. at the Aycock Barn, 409 Aycock St. The sweet treat features music, a sugar giveaway, kids activities, donut eating contest, a dessert banking competition and bus tours of the historic area. The festival is free. Get a taste for the fun in store here.

Head over to historic Longue Vue House and Gardens Saturday from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. for FALL FEST at 7 Bamboo Road. Explore the acres of gardens as the fall season creeps in, with trick-or-treating and costumes encouraged. Longue Vue will be participating in Nickelodeon’s “Our World: Worldwide Day of Play” in association with children’s museums. There will also be the kickoff to the Emma Brown Reading Program with musical accompaniment. Admission is $15. Get more on the fun here.

The Krewe de Jeanne d’Arc joins with the Catholic Cultural Center at the Old Ursulines Convent, 1122 Chartres St., for SALON DE JEANNE D’ARC, an afternoon of discussions about the Maid of Orleans starting at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. On tap are “Yat Catholic,” “Brand Identity in Medieval Times” and “Mythologizing Women Warriors.” A second salon will be held Oct. 4 at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon Ave., Metairie. Both are free. Ride forth and get the information about the salon here.

If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it must be SECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK NOLA DUCK DERBY Saturday at 2 p.m. at City Park’s Big Lake. For as little as $5, sponsor a duck and help raise funds to fight hunger in the southern part of the state, with meals, education and disaster relief. Each duck has a number and the thousands of plastic waterfowl will be plunged into the lake. The first dozen ducks to cross the line win up to $5,000 or plenty of other prizes including hotel stays, grocery gift cards and more. Get quacked up on the details here.