Kids playing in the park stop their games to stare in awe as Abe Lincoln strolls past. A couple walking arm in arm does a double-take, straining their eyes to see the soldiers they thought they just saw creeping through the bushes. Joggers crane their necks to see if those booms they heard really are coming from cannons.

For two days, Fresno’s Kearney Park will be transformed from a community gathering place to a Civil War battlefield. The Fresno Historical Society will host the 15th annual Civil War Revisited: Living History at Kearney Park during the weekend of Sept. 25-26.

Campus history teacher Jon Hall will offer extra credit to U.S, history students who attend the event.

“I would encourage all my students to go to the Civil War Revisited,” Hall said. “The event really reinforces what we are learning in class because it is all so historically accurate. The actors do a great job of bringing history to life.”

Students plan to take advantage of this opportunity for extra points.

“I am definitely thinking about going to the Civil War Revisited,” Andrew King, ’06, said. “I’ve been in the past, and it’s really cool; I think it sounds like an easy and fun way for me to earn a few extra credit points.”

Those who have attended the event in past years relish their experience.

“I went to the Civil War Revisited last year with one of my friends,” Matthew Shattuck, ’07, said. “It was cool, because it was fun and educational at the same time. We watched the battle re-enactment, and the cannons were so loud; it was awesome, and very realistic.”

Events will include a re-enactment of the Battle of Spotsylvania, strolling period artists and musicians and educational presenters. Another highlight will be speeches given by actors dressed as historical characters, including Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Tubman and General Robert E. Lee.

The Civil War Revisited will be held at Kearney Park, Sept. 25-26. The entrance fee is $9 for adults, $5 for children; children five and under are free. For more information, visit www.civilwarrevisited.com, or call the Fresno Historical Society at 441-0862.