Opening day for the 13th season for the Emmaus Farmers Market was May 3 at Triangle Park. The market is open 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Sunday. Please note the new hours. However, due to the new normal during the COVID-19 regulations and with the safety of customers and vendors in mind, the market administrators are requesting shoppers wear face masks and keep a distance between shoppers and vendors. Shoppers are encouraged to place preorders and to use the hand sanitizers at the sanitation stations.

Vendors will wear face masks and gloves. There will be no sampling of foods. Also, only one item of each produce will be on the table. The other items will be kept behind the table.

Presently there will be no live music, community tables and loyalty cards until further notice. However, this may change monthly so stay tuned for any changes. For information, email emmausfarmersmarket@gmail.com.

Emmaus borough hall is closed to the public. Borough council will meet 7 p.m. June 15 via an online meeting platform called Zoom. For information, visit borough.emmaus.pa.us or call 610-965-9255.

Due to COVID-19, the Emmaus Compost Center is open limited hours - 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Be aware the public works department employees will not be available to load vehicles.

The Emmaus Community Pool will remain closed for the 2020 season.

The primary election polls will be open June 2. Safety precautions will be in effect. Also, please check that the polling place where you usually vote did not change.

The Friends of the Emmaus Public Library has developed a safe used book sale when Pennsylvania moves to yellow status, anticipated to take place in early June.

The Friends will pre-package brown bags by genre for curbside delivery in the library’s parking lot, 11 E. Main St. Bags will contain a minimum of five books for a small fee. Bags will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last. Payment will be accepted in cash or check. The anticipated date for the brown bag book drive-up sale is June 5, beginning 9 a.m. through 3 p.m. The sale is dependent on Lehigh County moving from the red to the yellow stage June 4. Verify the sale date at the library’s website, www.emmauspl.org. All proceeds benefit the Emmaus Public Library.

The community yard sale scheduled for May 30 has been canceled.

The summer concert programs at Emmaus Community Park have been canceled for June. The concerts for the rest of the summer season have yet to be determined.

The June Tunes on the Triangle has been canceled.

The veterans’ brick installation ceremony scheduled for May 23 has been postponed to 10 a.m. Sept. 5. For information, visit remgarden1@gmail.com.

The Woman’s Club of Emmaus has canceled all meetings until the fall.

The Citizen’s Fire Company festival scheduled for June 3-6 has been canceled.

The Emmaus Kiwanis Club’s pancake breakfast has been canceled.

The Emmaus Garden Club will not have a meeting until August.

The Flag Day program scheduled for June 14 in Emmaus Community Park has been canceled in keeping with the guidelines for social distancing and with respect for the students who were not able to submit essays or poems due to the school closures. The members of the Rotary Club who were coordinating the program this year are sorry for the cancellation. They look forward to coordinating the June 14, 2021 program.

The Emmaus Flag Day program has a long history with the borough of Emmaus. A group of Emmaus citizens headed by Joe Zeller, then mayor of Emmaus, founded the program Nov. 23, 1969 to “promote the observance of Flag Day and Flag Week.”

Initially the Emmaus Flag Day Association sponsored a dinner to honor veterans. The EFDA also took care of the proper disposal of torn and worn old flags. This proper disposal of flags is now performed by the Catholic War Veterans.

The EFDA began a poetry and essay contest which remains part of the Emmaus Flag Day program today. The contest invites fifth graders to write poems and eighth graders to write essays on the topic, “What the American Flag means to me.” Their teachers select the best three to five pieces and submit them for judging. The honored students are invited to read their winning entries during the Flag Day program held each June 14.

From 2014 to 2019, the Emmaus Woman’s Club coordinated the program. In 2020, the Emmaus Rotary Club took over the arrangements for participants, facilities and judges for the contest.

The Emmaus Historical Society members hope everyone in the community is safe and healthy. At this time, the historical society museum, 218 E. Main St., remains closed until further notice. The members are working on plans that will allow the group to restart operations and reopen the museum to the public while maintaining a safe environment for the volunteers as well for guests once restrictions are lifted by Gov. Tom Wolf.

The society is not accepting any donation for the yard sale or memorabilia while the museum is closed but is taking names of those with donations so the members can contact them for a drop-off appointment once museum operations have resumed. Call 610-966-6591 if you have donations and leave a message. For information, visit https//www.emmaushistoric.pa.org or call 610-966-6592. Visit www.emmaushistoricalsociety.org to read the current president’s message and any updates.

The Emmaus Public Library remains closed until further notice. However, join the coloring, memoir writing and June book club online. Also, the art workshop with charcoal and chalk artist Barbara Greco may be available online. The library was not able to celebrate its 80th birthday celebration. Nor could it hold its big kickoff party for the summer reading club, but the staff is working hard to create a great summer at Emmaus Public Library and with the summer reading club. Use the form on the library’s website to sign up for the summer reading club. For information, visit eplcollection@cliu.org or call 610-965-9284.

The Emmaus Main Street Partners and Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce are hosting the 15th annual Golf Classic June 15 at Green Pond Country Club in Bethlehem. For questions and registration email jessicao@lehighvalleychamber.org.

Best wishes for a Happy Father’s Day for all the fathers everywhere.

The deadline for submitting items for the July column is June 15. Please send to 913 Little Lehigh Dr., email durdock@aol.com or phone 610-967-2661. Let’s celebrate June 20, the beginning of summer. Stay safe.