Bentonville Battlefield will showcase authentic North Carolina culture and heritage on Saturday, Aug. 11, in the site’s third installment of the popular three-part summer program “2nd Saturdays.”

The theme for August at Bentonville Battlefield in Four Oaks is “Childs Play: Toys and Games of the Civil War.”

Activities for the day include learning how to play townball, an early form of 19th Century baseball. Two games of townball will be played, one at 10:45 a.m. the other at 1 p.m. The public is invited to play in both games. Costumed interpreters will be on hand showing the public how to play mid-nineteenth century games such as blind man’s buff (often mistakenly referred to as blind man’s bluff), French and English, and the game of graces. Visitors can also make cornhusk dolls to take home. The Southriver Tractor and Equipment Club will be on site showcasing their antique tractors. They will parade the grounds at 2 p.m. in their “Parade of Power.”

The Harper House Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy will sell raffle tickets for a hand-sewn quilt as well as a framed print. The Friends of Bentonville will sell T-shirts and hats in support of the battlefield. Visitors will also be able to tour the Harper House, a local farm house that was used as a field hospital for the XIV Corps during the Civil War battle.

For information on the program call 910-594-0789. The Battle of Bentonville on March 19-21, 1865, involved 80,000 troops and was the last Confederate offensive against Union Gen. William T. Sherman. Bentonville Battlefield interprets the battle and field hospital, where many Confederates were left in the aftermath.

Sponsored by the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, the 2nd Saturdays series takes place at 37 State Historic Sites and museums on the second Saturday of the summer months. The more than 100 events across the state bring together history and authentic North Carolina culture. Each site will have its own stylized theme; and many sites will have artists and/or musicians. A complete schedule of events is at www.ncculture.com. For information call 919-807-7389.

The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources annually serves more than 19 million people through its 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, the nation’s first state-supported Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the N.C. Arts Council, and the State Archives. Cultural Resources champions North Carolina’s creative industry, which employs nearly 300,000 North Carolinians and contributes more than $41 billion to the state’s economy. To learn more, visit www.ncculture.com.