Weekend events: Let the outdoor activities begin

Bike Rides

Come ride along the South Coast Bikeway. Join us for a Bay State Bike Week Ride on Sat., 5/11, at Fort Phoenix in Fairhaven. Registration at 9 a.m., ride starts at 9:30.

THREE rides: You choose the best route for you!

Nine-mile Bike Path route, 18-mile Fort Phoenix to Fort Taber Bike Path route, 35 mile Fort Phoenix to Snipatuit Pond Return to start.

For more information and pre registration visit www.southcoast bikeway.com.

This family event is brought to you by the South Coast Bikeway and the Fairhaven Bikeway Committee along with the support of SRPEDD. Bay State Bike Week is a partnership with MassDOT, MassBike, and MassRIDES. Helmets are required. Water and snack suggested. SCBA representa­tives will ride with you.

Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive

This Saturday, 5/11, leave food in or around your mailbox or porch for letter carriers to pick up and distribute to local food shelters. See letter for more details.

Riverside Cemetery Walking Tour

Fairhaven’s lovely Riverside Cemetery will be the setting of two Office of Tourism walking tours during the month of May. A Saturday morning walk is scheduled for May 11 at 10:00 a.m. An evening tour will be held on Wednesday, May 22, at 6:00 p.m. Both tours begin inside the cemetery’s entrance at 274 Main Street. They last about 90 minutes and are free of charge. Office of Tourism volunteer Joanne Zych will act as guide.

The cemetery was created in 1850, on land donated by Warren Delano II, grandfather of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful rural-style burial grounds in the region.

The walking tour route traces the quiet winding paths past the final resting places of some of the town’s most famous residents, including the Delano family tomb designed by Richard Morris Hunt, the H.H. Rogers mausoleum designed by Charles Brigham, and the grave sites of Captain William H. Whitfield, artist William Bradford, William F. Nye, John I. Bryant, and others. At each site, the guide discusses some of the history connected with the people buried there.

Nature lovers will see a wide variety of trees such as beech, black tupelo, birch, holly, cherry, dogwood, weeping willow, ash, sugar maple and more. Those interested in tombstone art will find fine examples of monu­ments and early slate markers bearing carvings of angels, willow trees, urns and other traditional symbols.

There is no need for advance reservations. Walkers are urged to wear comfortable shoes and to be prepared for some hills and uneven ground. The tour will be cancelled in the event of rain. Parking is allowed on the roads inside the cemetery, however two or three car lengths must be left open directly inside the gate. There are no public restrooms in the cemetery.

The Office of Tourism will also offer tours of the cemetery in June, July, August, September, and October. For details visit: http://FairhavenTours.com/riverside-cemetery-tour/.

For more information, call the Office of Tourism at 508-979-4085 (this is not the cemetery phone number) or email FairhavenTours@fairhaven-ma.gov.

Cystic Fibrosis Walk

The Mass.-Rhode Island Chapter announced today is hosting a Great Strides walk as part of a national effort to fight cystic fibrosis, a rare, genetic disease that progressively limits the ability to breathe and causes premature death. Walkers in the Greater New Bedford Area will join 250,000 people across the country in Great Strides walks being held in 450 cities.

The South Coast Walk is taking place this Saturday, 5/11 at Fort Rodman/Taber. Check-In is at 10:00 a.m.; walk will start at 11:00 a.m.

To get involved in Great Strides and help fight CF, please call the Massachusetts-Rhode Island Chapter at 508-655-6000 or visit http://fightcf.cff.org.

For more information on the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, visit www.cff.org.

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