Suffolk City Council will be briefed today on plans for the upcoming Market Days celebration beginning this weekend, a new endeavor to highlight historical characteristics of downtown.

On Saturdays, Oct. 19 and 26 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., the city and the Suffolk-Nansemond Historical Society plan to present &uot;Market Days in Historic Suffolk&uot; in front of the Visitor Center and Railroad Museum.

Market Days is a seasonal event &uot;that will allow the visitor to discover Suffolk for the first time or rediscover the revitalized historic downtown,&uot; reads a report prepared for council’s review tonight.

&uot;Market-goers will experience the lost trades and purchase a variety of items from food vendors and area artisans and farmers.&uot;

After the initial two events, future festivities are planned at other locations in what’s considered &uot;greater downtown,&uot; including sites along East Washington Street, Hall Avenue, and Carolina Road.

City staff is also considering the historic villages for upcoming Market Days celebrations.

Highlights of Oct. 19 and 26 will include a barbershop quartet, Echoes of Time, and the Buckingham Line Bar Gang, a musical group using iron rails as instruments.

A model railroad depicting Suffolk during the 1800s is a feature, and a tour of the Cedar Hill Cemetery, established in 1802. On Oct. 19, Civil War historian Brain Steel Wills, author of &uot;The War Hits Home: The Civil War in Southeastern Virginia,&uot; is scheduled for a book signing.

Frances Watson Clark, author of Images of America: Suffolk and Nansemond County, is scheduled for a book signing on Oct. 26.