By Fred Wright, Jr.

Star Wars Fan Fest
Joining the hoopla over the sixth and final Star Wars motion picture, a month-long, family-friendly fan-fest — Star Wars Weekend — is under way at Walt Disney World in Orlando through June 12. The theme park’s “Star Tours” thrill ride serves as the centerpiece of the celebration. Disney-MGM Studios are filled with crowds of heroes, heroines, droids and villains from the famous films. Even Mickey gets into the act, posing for pictures in his very own Jedi costume. For more information, go to www.starwars.com or www.disneyworld.com.

Dive! Dive! Dive!
No, we’re not talking about a submarine drill. Dive operators on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands have combined efforts to promote a dive passport. Under the auspices of DIVERSe Virgin, seven retail dive operators allow divers to pay one price for a specific number of dives and then redeem the passport at any St. Croix dive center. Prices range from US$ 199 to US$ 468. For more information, go to www.diversevirgin.com.

You’d Rather Just Watch
If you don’t feel like you want to shoulder a musket, but you still want to explore early U.S. military history, a new exhibit — “The Terrible and the Brave: The Battles for New Orleans, 1814-1815” — is now on view at the Historic New Orleans Collection, a museum on Royal Street in New Orleans. The exhibit runs through December and features original documents, artwork, vintage weapons and military equipment — more than 100 items in all. For more information, call 504-523-4662 or go to www.hnoc.org.

Teacher Discount
RiverBarge Excursions, which has a series of river excursions out of New Orleans, is offering special rates for current or retired teachers — 50 percent off when a companion full-fare ticket is purchased. This specialized pitch to teachers is good for the June 8-15 trip from St. Louis to Cincinnati as well as Nashville to Cincinnati from July 13-20 and Cincinnati to St. Louis July 20-27. Passengers barge along the Ohio River, stopping to visit historical sites. The full-fare rate starts at US$ 2,390 per person. For more information, call 888-GO-BARGE (888-462-2743) or go to www.riverbarge.com.

Where’s Tarzan?
The Nashville, Tennessee zoo opened a new African Elephant Savannah earlier this year. The elephant habitat transformed three acres (1.2 hectares) of undeveloped property into simulated grasslands of Africa. It includes several viewing points as well as a 150,000-gallon (567 800 l) wading pool (for the elephants), mud hole (also for the elephants) and tall trees to shade the zoo’s three female elephants. For more information, call 615-833-1534 or go to www.nashvillezoo.org.

A Very Civil War
For those who want to reach back in time and pretend to participate in a Civil War lifestyle, America’s first permanent overnight Civil War experience opened in April at Pamplin Historic Park in Petersburg, Virginia. Select a Confederate or Union uniform, sleep in recreated huts or barracks, “enjoy” authentic Civil War-era hot meals, fire muskets and mortars and more. Advanced reservations are required for a series of two-day events through October. For more information, go to www.pamplinpark.org.