Carolina Woman
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Family Violence Prevention Center of Orange County Silent and Live Auction
Oct. 6 from 5:30-8:30 p.m.
Top of the Hill, 100 E. Franklin St., Chapel Hill
929-3872
www.fvpcoc.org
The event celebrates the organization's 11 years of service and calls attention to National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Komen NC Triangle's PinkFest
Oct. 9 from 1-4 p.m.
Renaissance Raleigh Hotel at North Hills
4100 Main at North Hills St., Raleigh
493-2873
www.komennctriangle.org
Kick off Breast Cancer Awareness Month and celebrate survivors. Pamper yourself with beauty services, raffles, door prizes and merchandise.

Grab My Wheel's le Tour de Femme
Oct. 8 at 9 a.m.
Cycling Spoken Here
1377 NW Maynard Rd., Cary
816-093
www.letourdefemme.org
This women-only bicycle ride, which raises community awareness and funding for cancer research and survivorship programs, benefits the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the local Angel Fund of Rex Hospital. Riders can choose to complete 15, 31.2 or 62.4 miles.

Alliance of AIDS Services: Works of Heart
Oct. 8 from 6-10 p.m.
AJ Fletcher Opera Theater Progress Energy Center for Performing Arts
2 E South St., Raleigh
834-2437
www.worksofheart.org
Works of Heart is the Triangle's art auction against AIDS. The public can attend a free preview from 11 a.m.-4 p.m., which is followed by both a silent and a live auction.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Light the Night
Oct. 15 at 5:30 p.m
Halifax Mall, 301 N. Wilmington St., Raleigh
www.lightthenight.org/nc
Participants carry illuminated balloons -- white for survivors, red for supporters and gold in memory of those lost to cancer -- and raise money during this leisurely stroll, which takes less than an hour.

UNC Lineberger's Turn the Town Pink
Throughout October
Chapel Hill and surrounding community
966-5905
www.unclineberger.org
This campaign benefits the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Support Program. To see all events and promotions happening in October, check out the calendar on the website listed above.

Fly Me to the Moon...or Smithfield!
The annual Ava Gardner Festival, scheduled for Oct. 7-9 in Smithfield, pays tribute to Frank Sinatra, the man Gardner called the love of her life. A screen siren of the 1950s and early '60s, Gardner was born in poverty in Smithfield, which is within an hour of most points in the Triangle.

The three-day event is centered at the Ava Gardner Museum, in downtown Smithfield. There's a new exhibit, "Frank & Ava: Their Lives, Love and Friendship" as well as a redesigned main gallery.
Gardner's third and last marriage was to Sinatra. He left his wife for the movie star and their subsequent marriage made headlines. Sinatra was savaged by gossip columnists, the Hollywood establishment and his fans for leaving his wife for a femme fatale.

"Frank Sinatra would risk everything to love Ava Gardner during a time in his life he struggled with his career," says Donna Bailey-Taylor, museum board member. "It was not an easy relationship and ultimately it would crumble under the pressure from the press, the studios, and their own jealousy."

For more, check out www.avagardner.org or call 919-934-5830.