PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Arrowhead, home of Herman Melville, will celebrate the writer's 190th birthday on Saturday, Aug. 1, with its annual old-fashioned ice cream social.

The event at the historic home at 780 Holmes Road will be held from 2 to 5 and feature the Eagles Band, antique croquet, food by Civitan, ice cream  by SoCo and discount tours of Melville's home.

Admission to the grounds is free and includes the barn exhibit, an 18th-century living history program and birthday cake. For information, call 1-413-442-1793, Ext. 11.

Continue on Sunday, Aug. 2, with a re-creation of what is considered the most famous picnic in American literature. In 1850, Melville met Nathaniel Hawthorne on a hike up Monument Mountain, striking up an immediate friendship.

Visitors can commemorate that occasion with a guided hike, "champagne" toast, and a reading of William Cullen Bryant's "Monument Mountain."

The hike is free; participants should meet in the Monument Mountain parking lot on Route 7; the hike begins at 9:30 a.m. Sponsored by The Trustees of Reservations and the Berkshire Historical Society. For more information, call the society at the number above or The Trustees at 1-413-298-3239.