Explore the outdoors, step out onto the scenic trails, make your way down the historic waterways —take it all in at the new 5 Rivers, Alabama’s Delta Resource Center, then take it home with you.

Two new additions to the grand opening celebration will change the way you see our home state. One special guest is the author of two of the most stunning books ever published about Alabama’s natural beauty. The other is a man who has turned Alabama’s earthen resources into an art form —literally.

Doug Phillips, author of Discovering Alabama Forests and Discovering Alabama Wetlands will be at the new Cypress Gift Shop on Saturday, from 4 to 6 p.m. Phillips is coordinator for environmental information and education with the Alabama Museum of Natural History, and producer of the award-winning Alabama Public Television series “Discovering Alabama.”

The ecologist-educator released his latest book in 2006. Discovering Alabama Forests has been called a “visually stunning portrait of Alabama’s precious and majestic forests” and “an excellent educational resource and overview history of Alabama forests.”

You won’t want to miss this chance to meet the author — and then take the beauty home with you.

On Sunday, take a piece of Alabama home with you — in the form of a masterpiece of pottery. Artist John Rezner will be in the Cypress Gift Shop all day April 15 to share conversation on his craft and creations.

After graduating from Auburn in 1990, Rezner put his fine art degree to use making pottery full time. He works with clay from the area near Fish River, just south of his hometown of Fairhope, an area known as “Clay City.”

Growing up near there, the potter knows Baldwin County is well-known for its large deposits of natural stoneware clay. By digging his own medium, Rezner takes joy not just in his art, but in sharing what he calls “closeness with nature and tradition on a daily basis.”

But that’s not all this weekend of fun, sun and celebration has in store. The Delta Blues Festival is two days and nights of awesome live entertainment, featuring three of the most amazing blues musicians in modern history.

Richard Johnston, Tab Benoit and Shemekia Copeland will leave listeners hungry for more, while four restaurants famous for coastal cuisine also serve up sensational sounds — and all in celebration of the new 5 Rivers — Alabama’s Delta Resource Center.