Breezy and mild is the forecast for today, when families can begin to celebrate Halloween a few days early with numerous activities throughout Casper.

If there are no trick-or-treaters at your house, perhaps you'd enjoy an afternoon of piano music or browsing at a couple of craft fairs.

If a run or some free fitness classes are more to your liking, you can do those as well.

Here are a few of the things happening in Casper today:

- Merchants downtown offer trick-or-treating in their stores from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

- Nearly 40 area educators, students and musicians perform today in "Music for Melissa" at 1 p.m. in Durham Hall at Casper College. The program is a benefit for the Children's Organ Transplant Association in honor of Melissa Berg, a young pianist and student at Kelly Walsh High School. The event is free and donations will be gladly accepted.

Halloween Parties

There are three free family parties today:

- One is at Winter Memorial Presbyterian Church, 900 St. John St., from 4 to 6 p.m. Costumes are welcome but not mandatory. Children from babies to 12 and their parents are welcome.

- The 27th annual Family Fall Carnival at the Casper Recreation Center is today from 6 to 8 p.m. The free event includes games, treats and contests, as well as a costume contest beginning at 6:30 p.m. The event is designed for children 12 and under and their parents.

- The Salvation Army, 625 S. Jefferson St., hosts a Fall Harvest Festival with food, games, prizes and candy from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

Haunted Houses

If spooky is more to your liking, there are two "haunted houses" this evening:

- The 4th Annual Casper Children's Theatre Haunted Theatre is open from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Casper Children's Theatre, 138 S. Kimball St. in the Commissary Mall. It is not recommended for children under 9. Admission is $3 per person.

- Ghost Town, located at 450 S. Wolcott St., will be open for guided tours today from 2 to 7 p.m. Admission is $2, or one nonperishable food item gets you in for free. Proceeds benefit the Poverty Resistance food pantry.

Spooky Bingo

- Miss Fink's 6th grade class hosts Spooky Bingo at Verda James Elementary School today from 4 to 7 p.m. One dollar admission per person includes one pack of 10 Bingo cards, and additional packs $1 each. There will be free goody bags of candy and prizes for all bingo winners.

Craft Fairs

- The season for craft fairs has arrived and there are two today. The first is at the Holiday Inn on the River from 9 a.m to 4 p.m., featuring beaded items, handbags and handcrafted jewelry.

- Sunrise Shopping Center offers its fall fair today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with various craft items, decorations, jewelry and baked goods.

Healthy Fun

- The Casper Windy City Striders' annual Halloween Run and Fun Walk will be today at Old Town Amusements, 123 W. "E" St. There will be a 4-mile run, a 2-mile fun walk, and a 1K kids' run. The fee for the 4-mile run and the 2-mile fun walk will be $15 for Windy City Striders members and $17 for nonmembers. $7 of each entry in the 4-mile run and the fun walk will be donated to the Wyoming Medical Center Foundation. The fee for the kids' run will be $5. Registration begins at 8 a.m. at Old Town. The kids' run will start at 9 a.m., with the 4-mile run and the fun walk to begin at approximately 9:20 a.m.

- The Wyoming Athletic Club hosts the 2006 Breast Cancer Awareness Day with a variety of free activities from 7 a.m. to noon today at the 455 Thelma Dr. location. There will be free classes in cardio, tennis, Pilates, cycling, step, kickboxing, aqua aerobics and yoga. Speakers will discuss issues relating to staying healthy pre- and post-cancer. A light breakfast will be served from 8 a.m. to noon.

In addition to the free events at the club, one month's dues for every yearlong contract signed today will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Community News editor Sally Ann Shurmur can be reached at (307) 266-0520 or sallyann.shurmur@casperstartribune.net.