Buckskin and bonnets in N.Y.

ALBANY, N.Y. — A party of four wearing buckskin, bonnets and tricorn hats might turn heads at most restaurants. But at the Wagon Wheel in Ticonderoga, it just means there's something going on up at the fort.

"It's very nice to see that," restaurant owner Ray Thatcher said. "It brings the history of our community to life."

Communities upstate and elsewhere can expect scenes like that over the next several years at commemorations of the 250th anniversary of the French and Indian War, which was fought between France and Britain for control of North America.

A series of events featuring 18th-century military encampments and battle re-enactments are scheduled at various state, national and local historic sites from western New York to the eastern Adirondacks through 2010.

This spring and summer, events are scheduled at French and Indian War-era forts and other locations in Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and New Hampshire in addition to upstate New York.

Some of the larger events typically involve as many as 1,000 re-enactors and can draw thousands of spectators. With the added publicity the war's 250th anniversary has generated, officials are expecting even bigger crowds over the next four years.

"The visibility of anniversaries raises the public's awareness and brings people to the site," said Robert Emerson, executive director of Old Fort Niagara, a state historic site located where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario. "Once they get to the site, we can teach them history."

During last year's Grand Encampment of the French and Indian War, an annual three-day event at Old Fort Niagara, 9,500 visitors passed through the gates, Emerson said.

An estimate of the overall economic impact of "living history" events isn't readily available, but it's clear that people playing 18th-century soldier can generate big bucks for the host community. According to the Empire State Development Corp., last September's re-enactment of the 1755 Battle of Lake George attracted about 15,000 people who spent more than $1 million over two days, giving the Adirondack village a post-Labor Day economic boost.

"It's a tremendous economic engine, not only for the hometowns where the events are happening, but for the region," said Nicholas Westbrook, executive director of Fort Ticonderoga.