If you've got a hankering for some good old-fashioned 19th century country living -- complete with wool petticoats, knee breeches and black powder muskets -- you're going to want to head on out to Anchor Point this weekend for the Cook Inlet Mountaineers' First Annual Labor Day Rendezvous.

The two-day event begins at 10 a.m. Saturday with a firearms safety lecture, specialized for 1840s-era black powder rifles, at the Anchor Point shooting range.

The shooting aims to be of the fancy variety, too, with participants testing their skills by trying to shoot a piece of charcoal dangling from a string at 25 yards or trying to shoot a playing card in half. Everyone is invited to the show and will even be allowed to try their hand at shooting a flintlock muzzleloader, as long as they attend the lecture.

Later, at the residence of Christine Warren - just follow the big Cook Inlet Mountaineers signs at Black Water Bend, about Mile 161 of the Sterling Highway - the public is also invited to a big 6 p.m. potluck dinner, featuring authentic 1840s-era utensils and attire. Many folks, some from sister groups in Anchorage and Fairbanks, will be attending the party, camping out in primitive canvas tents and participating in contests like knife throwing, tomahawk throwing and skillet tossing.

"Originally, a Rendezvous was held when the trapping and hunting season was over. They'd get together and tell stories and buy, sell and trade items to get them through the winter. Our goal is to get people to understand what we're doing with this lifestyle. It's so hilarious," said event organizer Sandy Thomas, who has been living the 1840s life for decades.

For more information on the Labor Day Rendezvous, visit the Cook Inlet Mountaineers' Web site, www.cookinletmountaineers.blogspot.com, or call Sandy Thomas at 299-4044.

Aaron Selbig can be reached at aaron.selbig.@homernews.com.