Biking, Hiking, Entertaining This Warm January Weekend

This weekend will have the highest temperatures of the week, so get out and take advantage of them and get started on that New Year’s Resolution to show off your talents or to get in shape. There is a 20 percent chance of showers on Saturday, according to the National Weather Center out of Peachtree City, so bring an umbrella, just in case.

• Come out and show off your talents to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for Cobb’s 26th annual MLK celebration. , Cobb Civic Center, 548 South Marietta Parkway in Marietta. Audition slots are limited, so please RSVP to 770-528-8490. For more information, call the Cobb County NAACP office at 770-425-5757.

The celebration will be held 10 a.m., Monday, Jan. 16, at the Cobb Civic Center. The theme will be "Celebrate: the Life, the Dream, the Legacy" and the event is free and open to the public. It will include the annual presentation of the “Living the Dream” award to a community member who demonstrates the ideals King exemplified.

• It’s January and everyone is making resolutions to get healthy and get in shape. Start the year off right by coming out to the first, at the Cobb Central Library in Marietta at 266 Roswell Street.

• You can really get a workout with the

This 1.5-mile hike is moderately difficult and goes inside the Civil War-era textile mill ruins of New Manchester and follows the lovely rapids (up to class IV) of Sweetwater Creek.

A flashlight and sturdy shoes are required, and no children under 6 or dogs are allowed. Participants are asked to meet inside the Visitor Center and to register in advance. The cost is $6 plus $5 parking. For more information, call 770-732-5871. 

• Maybe you’d rather bike than hike. Well, you can jump right in and take in the sights in Vinings on a moderate 22-mile ride on Saturday, which begins at Atlanta Cycling in Vinings at 4335 Cobb Parkway. Lunch follows. Expect the ride to be somewhat hilly and a maybe a little chilly, but the sun should be out and shining brightly. . For more information, visit http://­atlanta­cycling.­com/­articles/­rides-­and-­events-­pg37.­htm. 

• After all that physical activity or maybe after a long day of none at all, grab the gang and head to Varner’s Tavern at 725 Concord Road in Smyrna