Have you been down to Bath lately? This Saturday might be a good time to go because Bath is in festival mode: re-enactments, art, music, food and even a croquet tournament bound to bring out the cutthroat in the players. Bath Fest, the Tar Landing Jam, the Beaufort County Community College Foundation’s Cutthroat Croquet Tournament, and throw in the Bath High School Preservation yard sale at the old high school, there’s more than enough to do to while away an entire day in North Carolina’s oldest town.

If you go to any of these events what you’ll see is everything provided; the fun already in place, just waiting for anyone to partake.

What you don’t see is the many people who have dedicated countless hours to putting it all together. What you don’t see is what happens to the money raised during these many fundraisers.

Who would make the connection between old-time music and buying chairs for a new community library? How about the tie between a yard sale and, potentially, a new elevator for a community center, in a historic building a group of residents have rallied to restore? Would you ever put together a highly competitive game of croquet with giving a deserving student the ability to obtain a higher education?

These ties exist, all wrapped up in volunteer-driven fun for the whole community.

It’s a good weekend to visit Bath, but it’s an even better weekend to pitch in to help add a little more luster to what is already a Beaufort County jewel.