From staff reports

Living history at Fort Tyler and racing ducks on the Chattahoochee River will keep West Point busy tonight and Saturday.

Shops and restaurants will be open late witih special deals.

Tonight, Fort Tyler begins its Civil War living history weekend on the green below the fort with a Civil War Ball from 7 to 10 p.m. EDT.

“There’s no charge for this or any of the Fort Tyler events that weekend, and you don’t have to dress in the Civil War period to take part,” said organizer Nanci Hendrix.

Saturday at the fort from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., re-enactors will demonstrate camp life circa 1865. Hot dogs and hamburgers will be sold at the Fort and tickets can be purchased during the day for barbecued chicken to be served that evening. Food sale proceeds go to restoration of the home of Civil War veteran Elijah Frank Lanier at 1102 2nd Ave. as a coffeehouse and bookstore.

But the weekend isn’t just about history. From 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., Friends of Hawkes Library will conduct a book sale at the library on West 8th St. and the West Point Woman’s Club will host a bake sale both at the library and at Woman’s Club house near Fort Tyler.

Around midday Saturday, the Great Chattahoochee Duck Race begins as the Greater Valley Area Chamber of Commerce drops hundreds of yellow rubber ducks into the Chattahoochee River below West Point Dam. The ducks are expected at the finish line just south of John C. Barrow Bridge downtown, around 2 p.m. EDT. There will be a viewing area on West 8th Street between Hawkes Library and City Hall.

While the ducks are coming downriver, The Charter Garden Club will host West Point’s Green Day. Events will include a plant sale featuring local growers and nurseries, children’s activities and demonstrations of living green from local businesses such as Interface Flor and Walmart. These activities will take place in front of the Hawkes Library. Those who turn in an old cell phone for recycling or bring a receipt from any of the downtown businesses will be given a free tomato plant from the Garden Club.

Beginning around 11 a.m., there will be a crawfish boil on West 8th Street, near the duck race viewing area. Boil tickets are $10 for a plate with some two pounds of food, including crawfish, corn, sausage, potatoes and mushrooms. The Valley Area Swim Team will also be on hand to grill hot dogs.

As the crowd awaits the ducks at the finish line, they will be entertained by an authentic Dixieland band, the Riverfront Ramblers, from Selma, Ala.

The first duck to cross the finish line carries a guaranteed $1,000 payout; the second duck over the line is worth $500 and the third, $250. Several $100 cash ducks are also being added as additional payouts.

Duck Race tickets are available for $5 each - or a “six quack” of six tickets for $25 - at the Chamber of Commerce office, 2102 South Broad Ave., Lanett, and at Capital City Bank and CharterBank locations in West Point and Valley, as well as at Irish Bred Pub, West Point, Wing Stop and Chambley’s, both in Valley, and from Chamber Board members and Ambassador Committee members.

Crawfish Boil tickets are available at the Chamber office and from Chamber Board and Ambassador Committee members.

Back at the Green below Fort Tyler at 3 p.m. on Saturday, there will be Children’s Games of the Civil War Era, including sack races, three-legged races and egg toss.

At Fort Tyler on Saturday night from 8 to 10 p.m. EDT, there will be a Candlelantern Tour starting every 10 minutes.

“This creates a magical time, set the night before the Battle of West Point. It’s like being in a play,” Hendrix said. “When we announced a living history weekend, the Candlelantern Tour was what people asked about most. There’s no charge but you must make a reservation at some point during the day for scheduling purposes.”

At 10:30 p.m., there will be a memorial service inside the fort, featuring a violinist and a lone bagpiper. The bell of nearby West Point Presbyterian Church will toll in memory of the fallen soldiers whose names are read aloud.

Fort Tyler events are sponsored by The Fort Tyler Association and The Fort Tyler Living Historians; the Think Green West Point events are sponsored by Charter Garden Club, West Point; and the Duck Race, Dixieland Band and Crawfish Boil are sponsored by the Greater Valley Area Chamber of Commerce.