Civil War Celebrations Start at Marietta Square

1. Marietta jump starts the observance of the Civil War Sesquicentennial today when the Marietta Museum of History, the and the jointly sponsor the family day event “The Yankees Are Coming: Life in Marietta During the Civil War.”

Today's event runs from from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. and features 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. Stick near the square for dinner and shopping and then head to where the Cobb Symphony Orchestra will visit from 8 to 10 p.m. to perform "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. A good educational program for the family might be the Cobb Alcohol Taskforce Youth Council's "Youth Know the Truth: Inside an Underage Drinking Party." For this event from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m., 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.

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. today 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. Believe it or not, today is Make Your Own Holiday Day (Chase's Calendar of Events, perhaps the most comprehensive compiler of these days even lists it.) Want to name a day in honor of your cat? Want to have an excuse to not work in the yard? What a reason to give yourself a big-screen TV? Now you've got it.