Where do you draw inspiration from? Where do your best ideas become fully-fledged?

As cliché as it sounds, I do my best thinking when I’m about to drift off to sleep. As I float between wakefulness and dreamy bliss, my brain stops on a dime and comes up with a stanza of poetry or a fantastical book idea. Some of the best lines I’ve ever written (and yes, some of the best Miller Minutes intros you’ve read) come just before I am “dead to the world,” so the saying goes.

Other people, I understand, are normal.

They find the spark of inspiration while in the shower, on a walk, during a conversation or while looking out a window.

When I’m jolted from sleep by a great line, there is a sense of urgency. “I must write this down before I fall asleep,” I think. “There is no possible way I will remember it in the morning.”

And I am always right, because when I do succumb to sleep before I write the idea down, I wake with only the feeling of the idea, and not the idea itself.

So for my artists and entertainers, here is some encouragement for the week: No matter where or how the inspiration comes, give it a sense of urgency. Because even though someone else may have had the same creative thought, no one can execute it like you.

If you’re anxious for a creative jolt this weekend, look no further than Butler County. You can look here to find out everything that is happening in our little corner of the world.

Dress your pet in a Halloween costume for Barktoberfest from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Cranberry Township Municipal Center, 2525 Rochester Road. Pets can be photographed at the photobooth set up during the township’s farmers market for a chance to win a prize! For more information, visit the event Facebook page.

Come on out to the Hobnob Theatre on Main Street in Butler for First Friday’s Improv Night at 7 p.m. Friday. Purchase tickets at hobnobtheatre.com/events for $5!

Bring a flashlight to the Owl Prowl at McConnells Mill State Park, 1761 McConnells Mills Road in Slippery Rock Township, Lawrence County, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Friday. Learn about the incredible flying nocturnal creatures and then go on a guided walk to find them. For more information, visit events.dcnr.pa.gov/event/owl-prowl-990.

The band Hot Rod Willie is performing at the Butler Elks Lodge, 80 Kaufman Drive, from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday. There is a $5 cover charge for the concert.

Help make Audubon’s Nature Reserves more bird- and pollinator-friendly by volunteering at 9 a.m. at Todd Nature Reserve, 367 Kepple Road, Buffalo Township. Activities will include removing invasive species and replacing them with high wildlife-value native species. All materials will be provided, and all ages are welcome. Call 412-904-7404 for more information, and register in advance at aswp.org/events.

Mars’ AppleFest is running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, rain or shine, on Grand Avenue in the borough. There will be family fun, food and drink, vendors and more. For more information, visit marsapplefest.com.

The Portersville Steamshow’s Fall Fling starts at 10 a.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday, offering plenty of chances to see antique equipment and vehicles, taste good food, watch a tractor pull, have cider right off the press, and more! Learn more about this apple fest by going to the website portersvillesteamshow.com.

Slippery Rock’s Octoberfest is a great way to get out and enjoy some small-town culture and brews. It starts at noon Saturday on Main Street, and you won’t want to miss it. Find more information on the event Facebook page.

Attend a Polka Party from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday at the Tanglewood Center, 10 Austin Ave., Butler Township. Tickets cost $10 for access to the live band music and delicious food. Proceeds benefit St. John Byzantine Catholic Church.

Purchase tickets for the Butler County Symphony Orchestra’s next concert “Video Games at the Symphony,” which takes place at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Presale tickets cost $30 for adults and $10 for children or students on butlersymphony.org. The performance is held in the Butler Intermediate High School auditorium, 551 Fairground Hill Road, Butler Township.

Watch “Monsters Inc.” in Roebling Park, 147 N. Rebecca St., Saxonburg, starting at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. There will be refreshments, but you must bring a lawn chair or blanket! In the event of rain, the event will be held in South Butler Community Library, 240 W. Main St., Saxonburg.

The Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh will conduct a star party at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Nicholas E. Wagman Observatory in Deer Lakes Park, 1090 Baileys Run Road, Tarentum. Call 724-224-2510 for more information.

Learn about how you can get involved in the Butler Little Theatre by attending the volunteer information night at 5 p.m. Sunday at 1 Howard St. This theater has operated on volunteer help for 83 seasons. Come be part of its amazing history!

Purchase tickets for Musical Theatre Guild’s production of “Some Enchanted Evening,” a collection of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s greatest works, by going to mtgbutler.org. The show runs Oct. 18 to 20 at the Succop Theater at Butler County Community College. Tickets cost $18.

If you want to submit an event for Miller Minutes, email the information to news@butlereagle.com.

Molly Miller is an Eagle correspondent.