Did you know that the Crater of Diamonds became a state park 40 years ago? And in that same year the Buffalo became a national river? Or that the late Arkansas Governor Winthrop Rockefeller would have been 100 years old in 2012? These are just a few of the notable anniversaries taking place in 2012. In Mountain View, both the Arkansas Craft Guild and the Arkansas Folk Festival are turning the big “five o.” Cross County in eastern Arkansas and the anniversary of the Battle of Prairie Grove are observing sesquicentennials…150 years.  

 

Once again this year, the citizens of Piggott will honor Independence Day as they have for the past 84 years. It’s been three-and-a-half decades since Burt Reynolds and Sally Field roared across the screen in “Smokey and the Bandit.”  What does Arkansas have to do with this iconic film? You’ll have to keep reading to learn the answer.