April 11, 2003
Travelin' Arkansas: Events Taking Place May 16-31
Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism
A
little bit of Cajun is coming to the Ozark Mountains on May
16 and 13th
annual Crawdad Days Music Festival in Harrison.
The festival includes boiled crawfish and a Cajun cook-off in celebration
of the 200th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase. Each year at the event
several thousand pounds of crawfish are cooked and served with boiled
potatoes and corn on the cob.
The family festival, which focuses on music, food and fun, will kick off
at 9 a.m. May 16 with an arts and crafts show in Harrison's downtown
historic district. Also packed into the two days of entertainment will be
cardboard boat races, a horseshoe tournament, a carnival midway, a 5K run,
a basketball tournament, dance troupes, a fishing derby, great food and
live music and entertainment on two stages.
Admission is free, and activities will take place at Lake Harrison Park
and the downtown area. For more information, call the Harrison Chamber of
Commerce at (870) 741-2659.
More
than the scent of the town's namesake blossoms will be in the air in Magnolia
on Saturday, May 17, when the annual World's
Championship Steak Cook-off fires up. And joining the culinary
aromas will be the music of the classic rock group Mitch Ryder and the
Detroit Wheels, best known for their 1960s medley "Devil with a Blue
Dress On."The cook-off, the main event of the annual Magnolia Blossom Festival, will feature about 30 teams competing on the Columbia County Courthouse Square in downtown. Some 2,500 steaks will be served at 6 p.m. Tickets for the dinner are $12.50 and should be purchased in advance. They are available through the Magnolia Chamber of Commerce, which can be contacted toll-free by phone at 1-800-482-3330 or by e-mail at magcoc@arkansas.net. Winners will be announced later in the evening during the Mitch Ryder performance.
Those wishing to participate as cooks must register in advance through the chamber. The $100 registration fee includes dinner tickets.
The Magnolia Blossom Festival will run from May 15-17. Other events include gospel music performances featuring local acts; a chicken dinner; a fishing tournament on nearby Lake Columbia; a 5-K run; art and crafts shows; car and motorcycle shows; activities for children; and the 53rd annual Sidewalk Art Show, which gave rise to the festival. General festival admission is free.
For more information on festival events, accommodations and other area attractions, contact the Magnolia chamber.
Crawfish dinners, live music and other activities are scheduled for the 20th annual Crawfish Festival to be held in Dermott May 16-17. Festival admission is free.
The crawfish dinners will be served both days from noon to 9 p.m., and vendors of other foods, including catfish, barbecue and pizza, will be on hand as well. Arts and crafts booths will open at 8:30 a.m. both days and street dances are scheduled for both evenings. Activities for children will include a carnival.
The festival's main site will be on Freeman and Peddicord streets in downtown Dermott, which is located in Chicot County 72 miles southeast of Pine Bluff via U.S. 65, U.S. 165 and Ark. 35.
For additional festival information, contact the Dermott Area Chamber of Commerce at (870) 538-5656.
More than $11,000 in cash prizes will be awarded when the southwest Arkansas town of DeQueen hosts the 14th annual Tri-Lakes Big Bass Festival on Saturday, May 24, on nearby DeQueen, Gillham and Dierks lakes. Boat checks on each lake will begin at 5 a.m. with fishing to run from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. The entry fee is $30 through May 22 and $35 thereafter. Anglers may register at the May 24 boat checks.
Prizes will be awarded at hourly weigh-ins on each lake for the top six bass, and over-all prizes will be awarded to the top four bass at 3 p.m. at the Sevier County Courthouse Square, where more than $1,000 in door prizes will also be awarded.
For more information, contact the DeQueen/Sevier County Chamber of Commerce by phone at (870) 584-3225.
The White River town of Clarendon will host its 2nd annual Big Woods Birding Festival on Saturday, May 31, with the theme "Birds of the Louisiana Purchase." Arkansas is currently celebrating the bicentennial of the mammoth land deal that brought the state's territory under U.S. ownership in 1803.
The festivities will get under way with a youth fishing derby from 7 to 9:30 a.m. at the new Donald Branch Fishin' Hole, located on Ann Alden and Carla Drive. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will stock its waters with catfish prior to the event. (The "Fishin' Hole" will undergo additional renovations this summer and will become a permanent community fishing pond and park.)
Also beginning at 7 a.m., guided bird walks will depart from the city's Tourist Welcome Center at Madison and Second streets. Participants are encouraged to bring binoculars. Last year, more than 50 species of birds were seen on the walks.
The festival's official opening will take place at 10 a.m. at the welcome center. Prizes will be awarded to winners of a logo contest and the fishing derby, after which the Little Rock Zoo will present its birds-of-prey program showcasing several live hawks, owls and a bald eagle.
From 11:40 a.m. to 3 p.m., speakers will present programs at the American Legion Hall at 120 N. Main Street on nature-related topics. Scheduled speakers and their topics include Dr. Brian Davis from Ducks Unlimited (mallards and wood ducks of the White River bottomlands); Bill Holimon of the state Natural Heritage Commission (how to identify common birds); and Lori Spencer of Mt. Magazine State Park (butterflies). A presentation on birds of the Louisiana Purchase, including the Carolina parakeet and the passenger pigeon, is also planned. The two species were once common in the area, but are now extinct.
The festival will conclude with a guided field trip to the Louisiana Purchase Historic State Park at 3 p.m. Located about 14 miles southeast of Clarendon, the park's main feature is a 950-foot boardwalk leading into a rare headwater swamp that contains the initial point for surveys of Louisiana Purchase. Those wishing to take advantage of provided transportation should call for reservations, but participants may travel in their own vehicles.
Other festival activities will include boat rides on the White River, offered hourly from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; workshops for children on the making of birdhouses and pinecone birdfeeders; crafts; educational booths; food vendors; and other activities for children, including a petting zoo and pony rides. Festival-goers can also view the state's Louisiana Purchase Traveling Exhibit, which will be housed in the Monroe County Courthouse in Clarendon from May 28 through June 14.
General festival admission is free. Small fees will be charged for the boat rides (children six and younger ride free), the pony rides and for transportation to the Louisiana Purchase park.
To reserve transportation to the park and for more festival information, phone Kathy Radomski at (870) 946-0595 or phone the Clarendon City Hall at (870) 747-5414.
Movie and television actor Larry Sellers, best known as Cloud Dancing in the 1990s CBS series "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," will make a special appearance during the first annual Grand Pow Wow of Arkansas, May 23-25, at Clinton. Sponsored by the Lost Cherokee Nation and the Clinton Area Chamber of Commerce, the event will include a Native American art festival, dinner, dancing competitions, craft vendors and music. More than $5,000 will be awarded in the American Indian dance contests. All festivities will be held at the county fairgrounds, off Arkansas Ark. 16, east of Clinton. For more information, call the chamber office (501) 745-6500, or visit www.lostcherokee.com.
The Discovery Trail through the lower sections of Blanchard Springs Caverns near Mountain View will reopen May 24 for its regular season. Discovery joins the Dripstone Trail, which is open the year around, and Wild Cave Tours, which are available by reservation only. The Sylamore District of the Ozark National Forest operates all tours at Blanchard Springs Caverns. For tickets and reservations, call toll-free 1-888-757-2246.
The annual Spring River Cleanup will be held May 28 to prepare the popular fishing and canoeing stream for summer visitors. The Mammoth Spring Tourist Information Center will be the staging area for volunteers, starting at 8:15 a.m. Canoeists will enter the river about 9 a.m., and the job should be completed by 4:30 p.m. Persons are requested to bring their lunch and pre-register by May 25. For more information, call Mammoth Spring State Park at (870) 625-7364.
The 2nd annual Resophonic Guitar Festival, to take place May 30-31 at the Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View, will include performances by David Holt, the Grammy Award-winning host of "Folkways" on PBS-TV. The Texas native is also a noted storyteller and music historian, who has appeared on the Grand Ole Opry and numerous television shows. Others scheduled include Texan Steve James, an acoustic blues artist who has toured North America and Europe, and Johnny Bellar, a Nashville-based dobro artist and composer who regularly appears on the Opry. Resophonic instruments (dobros and steel guitars) were created before electrical amplification so large audiences could hear the stringed instruments. For more information, call (870) 269-3851 or visit www.ozarkfolkcenter.com.
Submitted by the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism
One Capitol Mall, Little Rock, AR 72201, (501) 682-7606
E-mail: info@arkansas.com
May be used without permission. Credit line is appreciated:
"Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism"
