n Barnesville: Basic kayaking courses are slated at Tuscarora State Park as follows: 5 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Aug. 24, 10:30 a.m. Aug. 25 and 10 a.m. Sept. 3, according to a press release from Robin Tracey, environmental education specialist. Kayaks, paddles and personal flotation devices will be provided. Maximum weight capacity is 275 pounds. Registration is required by signing up at the park office in person or by phone at 570-467-2506. No online or fax registrations will be taken. Those planning to participate should send a $15 check payable to the PA Parks and Forests Foundation or pay in cash at the park office. In the event of inclement weather on a particular day, the class will be canceled. People who have their own equipment may participate at a fee of $5. Participants will meet at the old lifeguard shack on the lake beach. Children must be 12 or older to participate. Youngsters under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
n Eckley: Eckley Miners' Village will stage a Civil War Weekend from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 28 and 29, according to a release from the village's Karen Esak. The event will include a small arms and artillery demonstration, skirmishes, living history scenarios, camp life displays, period craftsman, sutlers, food and period music by Kent Courtney and David Matsinko. Helen Torok will sing and explain the meaning behind old slave songs. Between 3 and 5 p.m., tea and cookies will be served at the Sharpe House. New at the village are a cobbler shop, seamstress shop, company store and blacksmith shop plus historic Catholic and Episcopal churches, a slate picker's house, doctor's office, the Sharpe House and 1880, 1890 and 1940 homes. All the buildings will be open and staffed with interpreters. Admission to the village and the museum is $6 for adults, $5.50 for seniors over 65 and $4 for children under 13. Eckley is just off Route 940 in Luzerne County, seven miles east of Hazleton. For more information, call 570-636-2070 or visit the village's website at www.eckleyminersvillagemuseum.com. Eckley Miners' Village is a museum and historic site administered by the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission. Its purpose is to interpret the lives and losses of the men and women from all across the globe who chose to make the patch towns of Northeast Pennsylvania their homes and anthracite mining their livelihood, according to the release.
n Gratz: The 139th Gratz Fair will be held Sept. 16 through 22. Anyone wanting to enter an exhibit will need to review an Exhibitor Tabloid for rules, regulations and a list of eligible exhibits. The tabloid, according to a press release, is online at www.gratzfair.net. People may also request a copy by calling 717-365-3441, emailing exhibits@gratzfair.net or mailing a request to Gratz Fair, P.O. Box 204, Gratz, PA 17030. Provide your name and complete mailing address. Tabloid mailing will be at the end of July or early August. All exhibits are competitive and prize money and/or ribbons will be awarded by judges' placement. "Competitive exhibits and its uniqueness bring together the young and old, the urban and rural, and the past and the future," organizers said in the release. Exhibitors and contestants are eligible for free admission to the fair on Wednesday or Thursday - their choice.
n Schuylkill Haven: Linda Berdanier, principal of Schuylkill Haven Middle School, announced student orientation for all new students in fifth, sixth and seventh grade will be held from 8:45 to 9:30 a.m. Aug. 22 in the middle school auditorium.
n Shenandoah: The open-air Downtown Shenandoah Farm Market is held from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays at Main and Centre streets near the more than century-old Bolich & Burke building. Regional growers offer produce, fruit, plants and other goods. The market is sponsored by the Greater Shenandoah Area Chamber of Commerce. Chamber Treasurer Mark J. Bernardyn is chairman of the market committee. A summer/fall fixture since the 1970s, the downtown market is the oldest of its kind in the county.