Check out six events this October and November in Prosper and Celina.

1. Beware! of the Square

Celina’s annual Halloween festival will return to the Downtown Square with trick-or-treating, a haunted house, a pumpkin decorating contest and more. The event will also feature two performances from Cirque du Beware! and a market with local vendors.

• Oct. 24, 4-9 p.m.

• Free (admission)

• 142 N. Ohio St., Celina

2. Corn Husk Hullabaloo

Participants ages six and up can learn about the thousand-year history of corn husk art, then make their own dolls and decorations with supplies provided. Call or visit the front desk of the Celina Public Library to sign up.

• Oct. 27, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

• Free

• 112 N. Colorado St., Celina

Chicken Salad Chick could be coming to Celina.

The details: The restaurant will be located on Frontier Parkway. A renovation of an existing building is expected to begin early next year to prepare for the business opening, according to a state filing for the project. Construction is set to run January through March next year.

On the menu: Chicken Salad Chick offers a variety of chicken salads, sides and sandwiches.

• 220 W. Frontier Parkway, Ste. 100, Celina

Check out five upcoming, ongoing and completed transportation projects around Dallas-Fort Worth.

Upcoming projects

1. John Hickman Parkway construction

Project: John Hickman Parkway in Frisco will be constructed from Dallas North Tollway to Parkwood Boulevard. The project borders The Mix at the corner of Lebanon Road and Dallas North Tollway.

Update: The project is in the design phase and project details are not yet available.

• Timeline: early 2027-mid 2028

• Cost: $7.5 million

• Funding source: city of Frisco

Ongoing projects

2. Eldorado Parkway and Virginia Parkway rehabilitation

Project: Reconstruction of failing concrete panels and broken curbs will occur in McKinney along Eldorado Parkway between Ridge Road and US 75 and along Virginia Parkway between Stonebridge Drive and US 75.

Update: Work on Eldorado Parkway is complete. Work continues on Virginia Parkway between Lake Forest Drive and Hardin Boulevard. Any remaining work on Virginia Parkway between Hardin Boulevard and US 75 will be completed in summer 2027 after the project is rebid.

• Timeline: June 2025-October 2026

• Cost: $10.8 million

• Funding source: city of McKinney

The University of North Texas will open its brand-new science and technology building in the spring after breaking ground in August 2024. Officials hosted a tour of the nearly complete facility Oct 9.

The collaborative space and research facility is for UNT’s growing biomedical engineering, life sciences, chemistry, kinesiology, psychology and data science research footprints on its Denton campus, according to the university website.

Two-minute impact: The four-story, 110,000-square-foot building is located at the southwest corner of West Mulberry Street and Avenue C in Denton.

The project was funded by $103.4 million in tuition revenue bonds authorized by the 87th Texas Legislature in 2021, according to UNT’s website.

Looking ahead: The official spring opening date for the research building has not been announced yet, said Amanda Lyons, assistant director of media relations at UNT.

She added that a ribbon-cutting ceremony will occur in early 2027.

As Election Day nears, candidates seeking to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate are raising—and spending—large sums of money, their campaign finance reports show.

The details: Candidates and political action committees, or PACs, involved in federal races had until midnight Oct. 15 to submit reports detailing their fundraising and spending from the third quarter of 2026—July 1 through Sept. 30.

• Democrat James Talarico raised $60.2 million and spent $67.2 million, according to his campaign finance report.

• Republican Ken Paxton, the state's current attorney general, reported raising $10.2 million and spending $7.1 million

• Libertarian Ted Brown's campaign finance report shows he raised about $5,208 and spent $3,410

Preparing for the polls: Early voting in Texas' midterm election runs from Oct. 19-30, and Election Day is Nov. 3.

Texans can view a personalized sample ballot with information about dozens of candidates and local propositions at communityimpact.com/voter-guide.