• Café Connections to host prayer rally

First responders in the Pickens area are invited to Café Connections for a special appreciation breakfast on Aug. 4. The event is a way to show the community’s appreciation for the service they provide and to set the stage for a public prayer rally.

The event is set to begin at 8:30 a.m. at Café Connections, located at 319 E. Main St. in Pickens.

Everyone is encouraged to come out and bring their friends to the prayer rally as the community is brought together to pray for and with the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, along with area police, fire and EMS departments.

• ‘Venture Outdoors’ set for Pickens Aug. 27

The city of Pickens will host an outdoor event — Venture Outdoors — on Aug. 27. This is an all-day event which will highlight the many outdoor activities the area has to offer.

Venture Outdoors will feature workshops on fly-fishing, hiking, mountain climbing, bee keeping and kayaking at different locations around town (itinerary in the works).

With the help of Upstate SORBA, the city will host an all-day mountain biking event at Town Creek Bike Park. It will also host a 4×4 Off-Road Cruise-In that will begin with the road closing at 5:30 p.m. on Main Street. Visitors can stop by the Pickens Farmers Market on Court Street that day from 4-7 p.m. Ray’s Mobile Foods and Meat’n in the Middle food truck will begin serving dinner on Main Street at 6 p.m. Awards for the mountain bike races and cruise-in participants will be announced at 6:30 p.m., followed by the musical stylings of The Hired Help live on the amphitheater stage. For more information and to register for workshops, the cruise-in and the mountain bike event, visit cityofpickens.com/outdoors.

• Hagood Mauldin House open for tours

The Pickens County Historical Society extends an invitation to visit the Hagood-Mauldin House. This historic home was built in the 1850s in the old town of Pickens Court House on the west bank of the Keowee River. The home was disassembled and moved to its present site at 104 N. Lewis St. in Pickens in 1868, when Pickens District was divided into Pickens and Oconee counties.

The house is furnished with period antiques. The Hagood-Mauldin House is open the third Saturday of each month, April through October 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The fees are $5 for adults and $1 for children and students (18 and under). Private tours may be arranged during the week by calling (864) 421-4771. Parking is available at Legacy Square, next to McDonald’s.