One of the founders of the Jog ‘n Hog national race series e-mailed me to say that the second annual Stanganelli’s Pepperoni Ball Jog ‘n Hog has been scheduled for June 15 and and on the first day of registration you can sign up to participate at a discounted price.

Registration opens Saturday, which happens to be Groundhog Day, and for 24 hours only the price will be $18, said Erie native Brian Smith. On Sunday, the cost rises to $25. It goes up again on April 1 to $30 and climbs on June 1 to $35.

Those prices are for the whole hogger, which requires you to run two miles on Presque Isle State Park, eat six pepperoni balls, and run back two miles. The half hogger requires consumption of just three pepperoni balls and the price for it rises to $22 on Sunday, $27 on April 1 and $32 on June 1.

Your registration also gets you a race T-shirt and a coupon for a dozen free Stanganelli’s pepperoni balls.

To learn more or sign up, visit www.jognhog.com.

Are your children already bored with their holiday toys? Looking for something to keep them occupied until school starts again after the break?

Try a trip to the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, 301 Peninsula Drive. The center is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and general admission to the exhibits is free, although there is a price if you want to see a movie on the Big Green Screen.

Take the kids up the 131 steps to the top of the tower to help tire them out.

If you go on Friday, you can take part in the “Wild Holiday: Winter Animals of PI” program led by a Presque Isle State Park staff member from 2-3:30 p.m.. You’ll learn about what animals do in the cold season. The program is free and no registration is required.

To learn more, visit www.trecpi.org or call (814) 833-7424.

Presque Isle Downs & Casino is celebrating the Fourth of July by giving away T-shirts in two batches on Wednesday.

The first 500 people who arrive at the casino after 9 a.m. and the first 500 at the racetrack after 4:30 p.m. will receive a complimentary T-shirt, according to a news release from the casino. The release doesn’t say what the shirts are like.

Wednesday also is Family Night at the racetrack, with $2 cheeseburgers, 2 Smith hot dogs for $2 and $2 draft beer, according to the release.

Visit www.casinoinerie.com to learn more.

Here’s a little tip for avoiding overspending if you do go to the casino or track. Don’t take more cash than you’re willing to lose and leave the ATM, credit and debit cards at home so you’re not tempted to take out more cash.

The New Year’s Resolution Walk Series at Presque Isle State Park continues this month.

An environmental education specialist will lead you on a free evening walk at the park today and on Feb. 9. The 90-minute treks give you a chance to exercise and also learn about the peninsula, as the walk leader shares information about the park and its inhabitants.

Meet at the Ranger Station at 6 p.m.

Call (814) 833-7424 to learn more.

The Discover Presque Isle weekend wraps up today.

There’s another pancake breakfast if you’re willing to pay $6.50 for adults and $3 for children. You can watch the duathlon and volleyball tournament for nothing. There’s also no charge for the pontoon boat rides at 11 a.m. and 1 and 2 p.m. but you want to be there by 10 a.m. to sign up or you might not get a seat. The Children’s Festival from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. includes arts and crafts, bingo and a scavenger hunt, among other activities.

As this event is a fundraiser for the park, you are asked to buy a Discover Presque Isle button for $3, but that also gets you a shot at a $1,000 prize. Since admission to Presque Isle State Park is always free, you really don’t have to pay anything but it would be nice to give at least a little something.

You also can, but don’t have to, buy food and other items.

For a full schedule, visit www.discoverpi.com.

Today is the second day of the Discover Presque Isle weekend.

The day at the state park starts with a pancake breakfast that costs $6.50 for adults and $3 for children. If that’s a little much for you, take your own breakfast from home (maybe some bananas or oranges) and head out for the sand sculpture competition at 8 a.m. The volleyball tournament begins at 9 and the bounce-a-lot fun zone for kids opens at 10.

Music and a bonfire begin at 4 p.m. and go until 10 p.m. on Beach 8.

You are asked to support the park by buying a Discover Presque Isle button for $3, but that also gets you a shot at a $1,000 prize and the event is, after all, a fundraiser for the park. Since admission to Presque Isle State Park is always free, you really don’t have to pay anything but it would be nice to give at least a little something.

And if you want to spend a little more, there will be food and other items to buy.

For a full schedule, visit www.discoverpi.com.

A three-day celebration of Presque Isle State Park begins today. Sure, you are asked to support the park by buying a Discover Presque Isle button for $3, but that also gets you a shot at a $1,000 prize and the event is, after all, a fundraiser for the park.

Today’s activities include free pontoon boat tours of the lagoons at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. Nature Awareness Day will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Waterworks area, where park staff will share environmentally friendly information and activities. Professionals will fly kites and other items from 2 to 9 p.m. at Sunset Point.

For a full schedule, visit www.discoverpi.com.

If you do want to spend money, there will be vendors there selling food and other items.

I recently spent a day discovering all there is to see and do at Presque Isle State Park. (To see what I came up with, look for the story Friday in the Erie Times-News and on GoErie.com.) The eight-hour day cost me $25.10, but I really could have done it for less.

My big expense was a one-hour canoe rental for $10 to explore the lagoon area. If I’d gotten there soon enough, I could have signed up for a free pontoon boat tour instead. Or, if I’d taken someone with me, we could have split the cost of the canoe.

My second biggest expense was $6.23 for a hamburger and 20-ounce bottle of water from a concession stand for dinner. Lunch was $5.18 for a jumbo pretzel and similar bottle of water. Normally I would have packed at least one of those meals with less expensive and more healthy choices, but I was trying to get an idea of what the stands offered and their prices.

The one expense I couldn’t avoid was gasoline, but even that wasn’t bad. I used up about a gallon driving around and it had cost me $3.69 at a gas station the night before.

If you do a little planning, you can fill a whole day with fun at the park for very little cost.

Check back here this weekend for more about how you can Discover Presque Isle without emptying your wallet completely.