Summer is the season for picnics, reunions and outdoor fun and the Vera Cruz Homecoming promises all of the above in the 70th annual event noon to 8 p.m. Aug. 21 at Mystic Chain Park, Main Road East.

Activities will include a cakewalk and other games.

The Rehrig Brothers and The Large Flowerheads will perform.

Crowd favorite radio personality Uncle Jeffrey is expected to broadcast live 3-5 p.m.

The day begins with a church service 9 a.m. at Vera Cruz E.C. Church, 5501 Vera Cruz Road. The service will feature the music of Jeffrey and Sarah Tankred.

If gardening is your outdoor fun, consider a visit to The Seed Farm, 5854 Vera Cruz Road, for its inaugural fall plant sale 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 20 and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 21.

The sale will feature a wide selection of vegetables, herbs and flowers, all grown at the farm, with an emphasis on cold and frost tolerant varieties for this sale. All plants are grown without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides.

More local outdoor fun this month includes Das Awkscht Fescht in Macungie, Aug. 5 to Aug. 7 and Musikfest in Bethlehem, Aug. 4 to 14.

The contemporary gospel group The Ball Brothers will perform Aug. 6 at Milford Park Bible Camp outdoor tabernacle, 6451 Chestnut St., Zionsville. The concert will be held rain or shine. Other upcoming concerts at the camp include the music group Sunnyside, Aug. 13 and vocalist Ivan Parker, Aug. 20. All shows begin 6:30 p.m. A freewill offering will be collected.

In keeping with the above mentioned Vera Cruz Homecoming, the Upper Milford Historical Society will host a program on the Village of Vera Cruz 7 p.m. Aug. 25 at the Upper Milford Township municipal building, 5671 Chestnut St. Participants will share memories, photos and stories of Vera Cruz. My early memories of Vera Cruz include getting farm fresh eggs with my mom at Shell’s Egg Ranch. Sometimes I was lucky enough to be given the (what I then thought to be) mature task of putting the money in the honor box to pay for the eggs.

If in need of locally grown fresh produce, visit the Upper Milford farmers market at the township building 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Other area farmers markets are offered in Emmaus and Macungie boroughs.

As reported in the July 27 edition of The Press, plans have started for the Lower Milford Fall Festival scheduled 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 24 at the Lower Milford Township municipal building, 7607 Chestnut Hill Church Road.

This marks the 20th anniversary of the event. The festival welcomed more than 3,000 visitors in 2021, a record according to organizers as reported in the Nov. 17, 2021, edition of The Press.

The event traditionally features animal exhibits, music performances, area vendors and the perennially popular wagon rides.

In other Lower Milford Township news, the oil and chip treatment of roads was scheduled to start Aug. 1 and 2, weather permitting. The first roads to be done include Westview Drive, Glen Road, Sheridan Road, Gable Drive, Brent Street, Lamour Street, Dogwood Drive, Elm Road and portions of School House Lane, Scout Road and Bell Gate Road, according to the township website.

The Lower Milford Township board of supervisors next meet 6:30 p.m. Aug. 18 at the township building, 7607 Chestnut Hill Church Road.

The Upper Milford Township board of supervisors next meet 7 p.m. Aug. 4 and Aug. 18 in the municipal building, 5671 Chestnut St. and via Zoom. Visit the website uppermilford.net for details.