A Great Weekend to Get Out on the Trails of History

News 11 (Blue Ridge Communications local channel in Lancaster County) reporter Peter Taraborelli visited Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum earlier this week to learn about draft horses. Tomorrow and Sunday, 10 am-5 pm, you can too as the museum partners with the Pennsylvania Draft Horse and Mule Association for “Spring Plow Days.” If you’re there on Saturday, consider sticking around for the Spring Benefit Auction, which has a silent auction and a live auction, plus food and drink for purchase, all to benefit the museum’s programs.

Luzerne County’s Keystone Active Zone (KAZ) Passport program for 2013 kicks off this weekend (registration opens today) and continues through the end of September. Eckley Miners’ Village is listed as one of the trails that participants can visit and, as with all the stops, there’s a question for which they can find the answer along the way. Registered Passport users who log in to answer the questions from the stops they visit are eligible for awards and prizes. The project, which is funded in part through DCNR, is designed to get county residents outdoors to visit the many parks and trails available. This is Eckley’s first year as a stop.

Other events and programs on the schedule for this weekend include:

Ephrata Cloister—“Spring Search” history scavenger hunt program. Admission is $1 for children age 11 and under, $10 for adults ($9 for age 65+); free for members of Ephrata Cloister Associates or Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation (hint, hint). Saturday, 1-4 pm.

Pennsylvania Military Museum—Kids Day Dress Up and Discover Program. Try on head gear and field gear from the museum’s education collection and explore learning stations throughout the exhibit galleries. Kids of all ages get in for a buy-one-get-one free admission (Friends of the Museum get in for FREE!). Saturday, 10 am-3 pm.

State Museum of Pennsylvania—New exhibit, “Objects of Valor: Commemorating the Civil War in Pennsylvania,” opens to the public. Included in regular admission. Opening day, Saturday, 9 am-5 pm (check website for general operating schedule). There is a free opening reception this evening from 7-9 pm as part of 3rd in the Burg.

Pennsbury Manor and Washington Crossing Historic Park both have open hearth cooking demonstrations on Sunday afternoon. Included in regular admission.

Open hearth cooking at Pennsbury Manor (via Facebook)

You can click on the April program preview here for more and to see what’s up for the rest of the month.

Here’s wishing you a safe and happy weekend.