The Emmaus Rotary Club will host the annual Flag Day celebration 6 p.m. June 14 in the Arts Pavilion at Emmaus Community Park. The 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 in 1969 to “promote the observance of Flag Day and Flag Week.”

Fifth grade students are invited to write poems and eighth grade students to write essays on “What the American Flag means to me.” The students will present their winning poems and essays at the June 14 program.

From 2014 to 2019, the Emmaus Woman’s Club coordinated the Flag Day program. In 2020, the Emmaus Rotary Club took over the arrangements for participants, facilities and judges for the contest. The program includes Emmaus veterans, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and musical presentations.

Dr. Raymond Fritz, a retired member of the elite SEAL Team One and SEAL Team Two Reserves will be the featured speaker. The Rev. Waldemar R. Vinovskis, pastor of the Concordia Lutheran Church, will give the invocation and benediction. Nathan Brown will preside and Emmaus Mayor Lee Ann Gilbert will present proclamations to the winning students.

The Emmaus Rotary Club has launched a holiday flag program. For a reasonable price, the club’s members will place a flag at your site six times this year: Memorial Day, Flag Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Patriots Day and Veterans Day. The profits benefit local Rotary Club projects. For information, visit Flags.EmmausRotary.org.

The Emmaus Garden Club will meet noon June 1 at the Rotary Club pavilion in Emmaus Community Park. The speaker will be Joe Daniels, a master gardener from Delaware County. The program will be “Plant a Cocktail Garden.” Guests are always welcome. For more information, call 610-395-0903.

The St. Ann Council of the Knights of Columbus will hold its popular drive-in version of bingo June 2. This is a family-friendly, social-distancing version of 50-50 cash prize bingo where the players stay in their cars (like at the drive-in) and the bingo board is projected on the back wall of St. Ann’s Church in Emmaus.

The gates open 7:15 p.m. and the first game begins 7:45 p.m. Children under 18 can play if accompanied by an adult. Players should enter via the South Fifth Street entrance into St. Ann’s upper parking lot. Players are asked to wear face masks when at check in and whenever out of the cars. All proceeds benefit the charitable works of the Knights of Columbus. For information, visit www.koc12886.org.

The borough is holding its annual community yard sale 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 5 with a rain date of June 6. No permit or fee is required to hold a yard sale on this date. Good luck in finding some treasures.

The Emmaus Historical Society, 218 Main St., will have tables of treasures set up in the front yard, driveway and back of the museum 8 a.m. to ? during the June 5 community yard sale. (Rain date is June 6). Along with the sale items, the society will have local memorabilia from Emmaus and surrounding communities, including back copies of the Tattler yearbooks. The museum has benefited greatly from the “pandemic cleaning” of their members and friends in the community. All items are priced to sell. Face masks and social distancing required. All proceeds benefit the Emmaus Historical Society.

The Emmaus Historical Society and museum is excited to announce its reopening date the weekend of Aug. 14 and 15. It will be celebrating Lehigh Valley Passport to History Month 2021 in conjunction with numerous other historical organizations throughout the Lehigh Valley during the month of August. Stay tuned for information about the new displays and events that will be part of this fun weekend.

Also, don’t forget to support the Emmaus Historical Society through Amazon Smile when placing your next order on Amazon. The society thanks everyone for their continued support through fundraisers and memberships.

The society appreciates donations of any Emaus/Emmaus-related memorabilia and vintage holiday decorations. If you have any donations, questions or need membership information, contact the Emmaus Historical Society at 610-966-6591, www.emmaushistoricalsociety.org, Facebook or Instagram.

Emmaus Borough Council meets 7 p.m. June 21. The meeting held in council chambers, 28 S. Fourth St., is open to the public. For information, visit info@borough.emmaus.pa.us.com or 610-965-9292.

The borough’s electronics recycling site is open noon to 6 p.m. June 14. Residents can drop off E-waste at the E-waste dumpster beside the public works department garage on Kline’s Lane. Residents visiting the site are required to show identification signifying they are a borough resident. For a list of acceptable items and materials, visit borough.emmaus.pa.us.

Concerts in the Arts Pavilion in Emmaus Community Park begin June 6. The concerts begin 6 p.m. June 6. The Acoustic Project will perform. On June 13, The Jump Start Band will perform and Friends of Tom will entertain June 27. There is no concert scheduled June 20.

The borough will present Tunes in the Triangle June 11 and 25. This activity is presented through the partnership of the Emmaus Main Street Partners, the Emmaus Arts Commission and the Recreation and Entertainment Commission. The concerts on the Triangle will be held the second and fourth Fridays of the month through August. The musical entertainment begins 6 p.m. Kendal Conrad will entertain June 11 and Yingling Porter on Tap June 25.

The Emmaus Community Park pool will open noon to 8 p.m. May 29 and 30. It will be open noon to 5 p.m. May 31.

A kickoff party for the summer reading club, Tails and Tales, at the Emmaus Public Library is 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 19 on the library’s lawn, 11 E. Main St. The summer reading club begins June 14 and is for readers of all ages. Participants earn incentives based on time spent reading. Adults have the option to enter book reviews each week for a chance to win a basket of goodies and gift certificates from local businesses. You do not need a library card to participate but you do need one to borrow materials. The rain date for the kickoff party is June 26. Sign up online or in person at the library.

Summer book bingo is ongoing June 1 through Aug. 31. Adults are invited to pick up a bingo sheet at the library or print one from home. Read the books that fit the squares, then cross off the rows across, down and diagonal. Once you bingo, turn in your sheet at the library or email to eplcollection@cliu.org to collect your prize.

Dr. Nicholas Schultz, PT, DPT, from Excel Physical Therapy, will present a program about the three most common causes of lower back pain and sciatica, as well as, simple steps involved in healing those areas 10:30 a.m. June 16.

For information about other programs offered in June, visit www.emmauspl.org or call 610-965-9284. All programs and events are free and held online via Zoom unless otherwise noted.

The Emmaus Farmers Market at the Triangle on Main Street in Emmaus is held 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Sunday. Come out and visit the folks in the community booth, listen to the musical entertainment and check out the more than 25 vendors. For information, email info@emmausmarket.com or visit www.emmausmarket.com.

The Emmaus Commemorative Gardens Foundation will hold the Veterans Memorial Day brick installation ceremony 10 a.m. May 29 at the Remembrance Garden, 164 E. Main St. Enter at the Cintas building driveway and follow the garden signs. For information, email remgarden1@gmail.com or visit emmausremembers.org.

The Emmaus Veterans Committee will host a Memorial Day parade and service 9 a.m. May 31. The parade starts at Emmaus High School and proceeds up Chestnut Street to the Memorial Triangle at Third and Fourth streets, at which time an honor guard service will be held. In case of inclement weather, the parade will be canceled but a short military service by the honor guard will be held.

Also, the Emmaus Veterans Committee will honor departed comrades buried in each of the six cemeteries in Emmaus May 30. The public is invited to be present for a short prayer service, rifle salute and taps.

The program starts 8 a.m. at Calvary Cemetery, then proceeds to Old Moravian, Moravian at Ridge Street, Lutheran Reformed, Northwood and ends at Evangelical, Second and Ridge streets.

Plaudits to the Emmaus Veterans Committee and its honor guard.

The purpose of the committee is to ensure the needs of local veterans and their families are taken care of. The committee’s activities include but are not limited to replacing the flags at veterans’ grave sites, organizing the Emmaus Memorial Day activities, holding a flag retirement ceremony and visiting VA hospitals and nursing homes.

The honor guard is a group of local veterans who volunteer their time to perform military funerals for fallen veterans at the grave site, including playing of taps and a gun salute. The honor guard will also perform services inside the funeral home per the request of the family.

The deadline for submitting items for the July column is June 16. Please send to 913 Little Lehigh Dr., Emmaus, or durdock@aol.com.

Best wishes for a Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers everywhere. Also, congratulations to this year’s high school graduates.