Get Out ... to the Dixie Swim Club

Essential Cobb happenings for the weekend:

1. Ready to laugh for a good cause? The Dixie Swim Club is showing at the Earl Smith Strand Theatre this weekend. The Mount Paran Players of Mount Paran Church return to the stage in The Dixie Swim Club, which examines the friendship of five strong Southern women who met on a college swim team and reunite each year at a cottage on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The comedy is by playwrights Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten. Times: Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. Admission: $23 for a single ticket and $20 for groups of 10 or more. All proceeds benefit MUST Ministries.

2. The Covenant Churches of East Cobb (St. Peter & St. Paul Episcopal, Mount Zion United Methodist, The Lutheran Church of the Resurrection and the Catholic Church of St. Ann) is sponsoring a charity garage sale benefiting Habitat for Humanity. Furniture, books, toys, kitchenware, home accessories, tools, baby items, clothing and shoes will be for sale. Times: Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mount Zion United Methodist Church, 1770 Johnson Ferry Rd. For more information, call 770-977-0587.

3. In the mood for some culture and fine arts? Check out the Artist Market. It features local art students alongside the popular Marietta Square Farmers Market. Times: Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon. Marietta Square. For more information, call 770-427-5377.

4. Dust off your running shoes! The 6th Annual Dog Days Run 5K, a 5K/Mile/Tot Trot, happens Saturday at 7 a.m. at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church. All net proceeds benefit local and international service projects of the East Cobb Rotary Club. Registration is $25 on race day; if you can't be there but want to support the cause, the cost is $25 for a phantom runner. Register in person starting at 6:30 a.m. Saturday. For more information, call Des Yawn at 404-401-6502 or Joe Murphey at 770-354-3365.

5. More than 220 8-foot tables of dug relics, guns, swords, books, prints, currency, artillery items, metal detectors and more Civil War goodies will be at the 33rd Annual Southeastern Civil War Show And Sale Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Cobb County Civic Center, 548 S. Marietta Pkwy. Admission: $5 for adults; children under 10 free.