Events coming up in the Greenville area offer music, arts, theater and family fun. Here is a sampling.
Watermelon Festival
The 41st annual Winterville Watermelon Festival continues through Sunday at 324 Sylvania St. The annual event includes amusement rides, games, vendors, live bands, the Watermelon Parade, a watermelon-eating contest and other events. For more information, visit watermelonfest.com.
‘The Voice’
Magnolia Arts Center, 1703 E. 14th St., will host Greenville’s “The Voice” at 7 p.m. today. Tickets are $15. Visit magnoliaartscenter.com.
Alumni art
Hundreds of art pieces from East Carolina University alumni artists will be on display during the RE/collection Alumni Exhibition, which continues through Sept. 26 at four local venues: Wellington B. Gray Gallery at ECU’s Jenkins Fine Arts Center; Emerge Gallery and Art Center, 404 Evans St.; Janice Hardison Faulkner Gallery at ECU’s Joyner Library; and the Proctor-Yongue House, ECU College of Fine Arts and Communication offices. The exhibition’s opening reception will be from 5-8 p.m. Friday at all four venues, as part of downtown Greenville’s First Friday ArtWalk.
Magnolia auditions
Magnolia Arts Center, 1703 E. 14th St., will host auditions for “What Happened After Once Upon a Time” at 2 p.m. today and Sunday. Ages 6-15 are eligible to audition. Performance dates will be Oct. 15-18. Auditions for “Rent” will be held at 6 p.m. Sept. 11, 10 a.m. Sept. 12 and 2 p.m. Sept. 13. Performance dates are Nov. 12-15 and Nov. 19-21. Ages 18 and older are eligible to audition. Visit magnoliaartscenter.com.
Raleigh Ringers
The Raleigh Ringers will perform in concert at 4 p.m. Sunday at Jarvis Memorial United Methodist Church, 501 S. Washington St. General admission tickets are $25. Admission for ages 17 and younger is $10. Visit facebook.com/JarvisMethodist. Remaining tickets will be available at the door beginning at 3:30 p.m.
ArtWalk
The First Friday ArtWalk will be held from 5-8 p.m. Friday in downtown Greenville. Celebrated on the first Friday of each month, the event is a celebration of arts and music and features exhibit openings, live music and the Emerald Express trolley. Visit downtowngreenville.com.
Seraph Brass
ECU’s S. Rudolph Alexander Performing Arts Series will begin its 2026-27 season with a performance by Seraph Brass at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 10 in A.J. Fletcher Recital Hall. Seraph Brass, now in its 12th season, was founded to showcase the excellence of women brass players and to highlight musicians from marginalized groups, both in personnel and in programming. Tickets are $38. Visit ecuarts.evenue.net/list/SRAPAS.
Fashion on Display
The Greenville Museum of Art, 802 S. Evans St., will hold Fashion on Display from 6-8:30 p.m. Sept. 10. The event will feature a runway show highlighting fashions from local boutiques, along with prizes and a chance to shop. Appetizers will be served and there will be an open bar. Tickets are $40 for GMOA members and $50 for others. Visit gmoa.org/fashion-on-display, call 758-1946 or email info@gmoa.org.
Music Series concert
Emerge Gallery and Art Center, 404 Evans St., will host an African American Music Series concert featuring Brian Miller and Band from 7-9 p.m. Sept. 11. Free, but donations are welcome. Visit emergegallery.com.
Collard Festival
The 52nd annual Ayden Collard Festival will be held Sept. 11-12 in downtown Ayden. The event will include a parade and live bands including Russ Varnell & His Too Country Band and The Ray Band, along with rides, vendors, a collard-eating contest and other activities. No pets are allowed at the festival, only service animals. For more information, visit aydencollardfestival.com.
Freeboot Fridays
Downtown Greenville Partnership and the City of Greenville will kick off Freeboot Friday from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Sept. 11 at Five Points Plaza. The free event will feature live music and a kids’ zone. Food and beverages will be available for sale. Additional Freeboot events will be held Sept. 25, Oct. 9 and Oct. 30.
Movies in the Park
The Winterville Human Relations Commission is sponsoring a showing of “Zootopia 2” for Winterville Parks & Recreation’s Movies in the Park series on Sept. 11 at the Winterville Rec Park Amphitheater, 332 Sylvania St. Movies begin about 30 minutes after sunset. Concessions are available. For more information call 756-1487.
Sunday in the Park
Greenville’s annual Sunday in the Park concert series will feature Emerald City Big Band at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 13. The two-hour free concert will be held at Wildwood Park, 3450 Blue Heron Drive. For more information, call 329-4968.
Arts Across Farmville
Farmville is hosting four days of art, music and literature with Arts Across Farmville. Events begin at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 16 with an author talk at the Emily Monk Davidson Gallery featuring Skye Perryman of Democracy Forward. Music in the Park at the May Museum will follow at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 17 with the band Spare Change. The Third Friday Artwalk will begin at 6 p.m. Sept. 18 and the inaugural PorchFest live music event will begin at noon Sept. 19 with locations across town.
‘12 Angry Men’
Magnolia Arts Center, 1703 E. 14th St., will present “12 Angry Men” at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 17-19 and Sept. 24-26. Additional matinee performances are scheduled for 2 p.m. Sept. 19-20 and Sept. 26. The drama tells the story of a jury that must decide the verdict in the case of a young man who faces the death penalty if found guilty of killing his father. Tickets are $20 for general admission and $15 for students, senior adults and members of the military. Visit magnoliaartscenter.com.
Symphonic Wind Ensemble
East Carolina University’s School of Music will present a performance by the ECU Symphonic Wind Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 18 in A.J. Fletcher Recital Hall. Free. For more information, call 328-6851. Streaming available at youtube.com/ecuschoolofmusiclive.
Concert
Winterville Parks and Recreation will host an outdoor concert from 7-8:30 p.m. Sept. 18 at the Winterville Rec Park Amphitheater, 332 Sylvania St. Spare Change will perform. Concessions will be available. For more information, call 756-1487.
Museum of Art
Greenville Museum of Art, 802 S. Evans St., is featuring “Embodied,” from North Carolina artists Lynne and Suzanne Scott Constantine, in the West Wing Gallery. “Rooted In Place,” in the Commons Gallery, showcases oil and watercolor landscapes and interior scenes by Louisiana-based artist Kathryn Keller. Both exhibits continue through Sept. 19. Visit gmoa.org or call 758-1946.
Symphony Orchestra
East Carolina University’s School of Music will present a performance by the ECU Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19 in A.J. Fletcher Recital Hall. Free. For more information, call 328-6851. Streaming available at youtube.com/ecuschoolofmusiclive.
Farmville gallery
“Homecoming” is scheduled through Sept. 19 at The Emily Monk Davidson Gallery, 3725 N. Main St., Farmville. The group exhibit will include artists whose works have been featured over the last four years at the gallery. A reception will be held from 6-8 p.m. Sept. 18 as part of Farmville’s monthly art walk. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday-Thursday, 9 a.m. to noon and 4-6 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Visit facebook.com/FarmvilleArts.
Figapalooza
Figapalooza 2026 will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 19 at Eastern Carolina Village & Farm Museum, 4570 County Home Road. The one-day fig festival celebrates figs, farms and community with local vendors, food trucks, plant nurseries, farmers, bakers, makers and more. For more information, visit facebook.com/foefigs.
‘Godspell’
ECU/Loessin Playhouse will present “Godspell” at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 23-26 in McGinnis Theater. An additional matinee performance will begin at 2 p.m. Sept. 27. The musical is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew. It features a troupe of eccentric players who team up with Jesus to teach his lessons in a new age. Individual tickets are $10-20. Visit tickets.ecu.edu or call 252-328-6829.
Chamber music
Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival will present “Brahms for Six” at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 25 in ECU’s A.J. Fletcher Recital Hall. The concert will include “String Sextet No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 18” and “String Sextet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 36.” Featured musicians will be Xiao-Dong Wang and Carmit Zori, violins; Ara Gregorian and Paul Neubauer, violas; and Clive Greensmith and Peter Stumpf, cellos. Tickets are $40. Online viewing options are available. If seats remain, a limited number of “Community Rush” discounted tickets will be available Monday. Call 328-4788 or visit fourseasons.ecu.edu/tickets.
Kim Grizzard can be contacted at 252-329-9578 and kgrizzard@apgenc.com.