The Yankees Are Coming ... to Marietta!

Essential Marietta happenings for the weekend:

1. Three of Marietta's most beloved museums will band together this Saturday for an incredible family day event called “The Yankees Are Coming: Life in Marietta During the Civil War.”

The Marietta Museum of History, the and the will have special presentations, demonstrations and tours on to mark the beginning of their observance of the Civil War Sesquicentennial, which begins this year and runs through 2015.

This event, held rain or shine from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., will feature a Civil War Home Front tour, cooking demonstration and period games at the Root House Museum, re-enactors portraying the experiences of soldiers at the Marietta Museum of History and a period music and dance demonstration at the Gone With the Wind Museum.

Regular museum admission will be charged. For information, visit the Cobb Landmarks and Historical Society Web site at www.CobbLandmarks.com, call 770-426-4982 or send an e-mail to program.coordinator@cobblandmarks.com.

2. The Cobb Symphony Orchestra visits from 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday for "Negro Folk Symphony" by William Dawson, an African-American composer who drew from folk spirituals, jazz and West African rhythms. The CSO Chorus will be joined by the Zion Baptist Church Choir for an amazing evening of music.

Tickets are $5. For information, visit www.cobbsymphony.org, call 770-429-7016 or send an e-mail to sstensland@cobbsymphony.org.

3. Let's continue the time travel, but maybe not go so far back into history this time. How about the 1970s? Yacht Rock Revue arrives at Dixie Tavern this weekend with a mix of soft-rock seventies tunes from such stalwarts as Kenny Loggins, the Bee Gees and the Doobie Brothers. And they come in costume. Cover charge is $5 and the music starts at 9 p.m.

4. Dance Stop Studios, a nonprofit dance organization and recipient of this year's Cobb Arts Council Ovation Award for best dance ensemble, will present its annual Mid-Winter Concert this weekend. The program includes jazz, tap and ballet.

The event will be held at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at the . Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the studio at 4400 Roswell Road. For information, call 770-578-0048 or send an e-mail to dancestopstudios@bellsouth.net.

5. On an extremely serious note, this might be a good educational "Get Out" for the family. The Cobb Alcohol Taskforce Youth Council is sponsoring "Youth Know the Truth: Inside an Underage Drinking Party."

For this event from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m. Saturday, the council will provide a guided tour through a re-enactment of an underage drinking party at a Marietta home (local provided upon registration). Space for the mock party is limited, and registration is a must.

For information, visit www.cobbat.org/youth_council.