Travelin’ Arkansas: Events Taking Place Early June

Note to Print and Broadcast Editors: We at the Arkansas Tourism Division recognize that our "Travelin’ Arkansas" media releases are frequently too lengthy to be used in their entirety. However, we feel an obligation to represent a variety of events from across the state. We encourage you to consider adapting "Travelin’ Arkansas" to fit your needs by selecting events you feel meet the interests of your readers or listeners. In addition, we would suggest that "Travelin’ Arkansas" items may be used on a stand-alone basis to fill your space and time needs.

 

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Learn how football is more than just a game by exploring the Football Interactive Exhibit at the Arkansas Museum of Discovery. On display from June 1 to August 31, visitors will be able to take part in the science, technology and history of the game. The "grip tester" enables participants to see if they can be as strong as a lineman. The "passing game zone" and the "bicycle wheel gyro" lets partakers discover if they are the next Peyton Manning or Joe Montana. The story of the sport is highlighted in "history zone" and a tailgate party entitled "football and society zone" rounds out the exhibit.

Admission is $7 adults, $6 ages one to 12 and 65 and over, with those under age one free. Additional information can be obtained from the museum, which is located at 500 President Clinton Avenue in downtown Little Rock’s River Market district by calling (501) 396-7050 or e-mailing acarter@amod.org. The museum Web site is www.amod.org.

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The 25th annual Portfest "Rollin’ On the River" Festival is set to take place in Newport at Jacksonport State Park June 2-3.

Held on the banks of the White River, Portfest offers a range of activities and family entertainment. Attractions include a large carnival, Buddy Bass Fishing Tournament, a children’s area, headliner entertainment, the Colgate Country Showdown and fireworks. Past performers at the festival have included Joe Diffie, Mark Chesnutt, John Michael Montgomery, Neal McCoy, Tracy Byrd, Tanya Tucker, Lee Greenwood, Lee Roy Parnell and Tracy Lawrence.

For more information, contact the Newport Area Chamber at (870) 523-3618 or log onto www.newportarchamber.org.

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Cackling and crowing will abound in Southwest Arkansas when Prescott hosts its 19th annual Chicken and Egg Festival on Friday and Saturday, June 2-3 in Prescott City Park. Activities on the festival stage on June 3 will include the event’s signature cackling and crowing contest, with adult and youth divisions, at noon and the Little Mister Rooster and Little Miss Hen contests at 3 p.m. Festival admission will be free.

The festival's annual variety show will begin on the stage at 5 p.m. on June 2. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs. Arts and crafts, commercial and novelty booths will be found in the Chicken Market, which will open at 5 p.m. on June 2 and 8 a.m. on June 3. Food vendors will be on-site both days. The "Chicken R Eggs" cooking contest will be held at 10 a.m. on June 3 at the Nevada County Library near the city park.

The park pavilion will host the Prescott Rotary Club's serving of "chicken-in-the-rough" dinners starting at 5 p.m. on June 2 and the Kiwanis Club’s Ole Timey Country Breakfast beginning at 7:30 a.m. June 3. Activities for children on June 3 will include a golden egg hunt with a $100 prize, an egg toss, train and pony rides, face painting and a variety of contests. The festival will conclude at 5 p.m. on June 3.

Festival sporting events will include the Chicks with Sticks women's softball tournament, the Fowl Ball men's softball tournament, the Serving Something Eggstra tennis tournament, the Coop Hoop 3-on-3 basketball tournament, singles and doubles Ring the Horseshoe tournaments, the Chase the Chicken 5K run/walk, and the Chicken Chasers kid's run.

For more festival information and for sporting contest entry applications contact the Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce by phone at (870) 887-2101 or by e-mail at mgodwin@iocc.com.

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A major exhibition of works by Pablo Picasso will be on display at the Arkansas Arts Center June 2 through Sep. 3. Entitled "Pursuing Picasso," the event is comprised of three combined exhibits which illustrate his career and "examines how artists responded to his innovations for the rest of the century," an Arts Center spokesperson said. This is the first such gathering of the master’s work in Arkansas and consists of "Picasso and Paris," "Picasso Ceramics from the Bernie Bercuson Collection," and "Pablo Picasso Imaginary Portraits." Admission is $12 for adults, $8 for senior citizens, students, children and groups of 10 or more. Arkansas Arts Center members have free admission to the exhibit. For detailed information on the exhibit, check the "Special Exhibitions" section on the Arkansas Arts Center Web site – www.arkarts.com. The center is located in MacArthur Park in downtown Little Rock.

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The winner of the 29th annual Cache River Regional Duck Calling Contest to begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 3 at the Brinkley Convention Center in Brinkley will be qualified automatically to participate in the 2006 World’s Championship Duck Calling Contest to be held in Stuttgart on the Saturday following Thanksgiving.

Registration for the Brinkley contest will begin at noon and the entry fee will be $40. Admission will be free for spectators. Food and commercial vendors are expected to be on hand.

Brinkley is located on Interstate 40 about 65 miles east of Little Rock. The convention center is at 1501 Weatherby Drive. From I-40, take Exit 216 south on U.S. 49 and turn right on Weatherby to reach the site. For more information, contact the Brinkley Chamber of Commerce by phone at (870) 734-2262 or by e-mail at brinkleyc@futura.net.

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On October 9, 1902 frightened onlookers on the Union County Courthouse Square watched as a fierce gunfight in downtown El Dorado left three men dead and several more wounded, including City Marshal Guy B. Tucker, the grandfather of former Arkansas Gov. Jim Guy Tucker.

At 7 p.m. on Saturdays from June 3 through August 5, the historic gunfight will be reenacted on its original site in "Showdown at Sunset," a 30-minute presentation that includes background information on the feud that spawned the fight. This will be the ninth year for the free performances.

Beginning at about 6 p.m., live bluegrass, country or light rock music will precede each performance. Audience members will receive a free pamphlet on the gunfight and the feud. Free marshal’s badges will be given to children and beanbag games will be available for them before the show. Refreshments and event T-shirts will be available for sale.

For more information on the re-enactment, contact MainStreet El Dorado by phone at (870) 862-4747 or by e-mail at mainstreeteldoraco@sbcglobal.net. Information on El Dorado’s lodging, restaurants and attractions is available online at www.goeldorado.com and may also be obtained from the El Dorado Chamber of Commerce by phone at (870) 863-6113 or by e-mail at info@goeldorado.com.

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The 30th annual Wynne Farmfest will take place June 5-10 at the Knights of Columbus Hall Grounds in Wynne.

Perfect for a family outing, the festival will host many arts and craft vendors, a large selection of food vendors, live entertainment Friday night and all day Saturday and Saturday night. There will also be carnival rides starting Thursday night. Live entertainment includes Blues Station Band, Bad Habits, John Carter and Sonny Burgess. Admission is free.

Wynne is located in Cross County in the northeast portion of the state. It lies just west of the scenic Crowley's Ridge. The town is known as "The City With a Smile," coined by Bud Raley, the announcer for radio station KWYN in 1956. For more information, phone (870) 238-2601 or e-mail crossccc@sbcglobal.net.

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Seventeen concerts and almost 250 open rehearsals of symphony orchestra, chamber orchestra, chamber music, choral music, opera and crossover concert music will be presented June 5-18 at various venues in and around the Ouachita Mountains resort town of Hot Springs during the 11th annual Hot Springs Music Festival.

This year’s event will include a world premiere live performance of the late American composer Cole Porter’s last musical, "Aladdin," with libretto by theatrical and film writer S.J. Perelman. That performance is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 10 and admission will be $25. The musical was broadcast in an abbreviated version in 1958 and was reworked as a revue and performed in London without libretto in 1959, but its Hot Springs performance will mark the first time the entire musical has been performed as its two creators envisioned it.

The festival annually brings to Hot Springs a visiting community of 250 professional and apprentice musicians and vocalists from the U.S. and abroad for the concerts and the preceding rehearsals. Public admittance to all rehearsals is free and concert admissions range from $5 to $15 (except for the "Aladdin" premiere) with most being $10 or $15. Dress for all events is casual.

Holders of festival passes, available for $125, are seated first at all concerts and rehearsals and receive a festival souvenir program book and an invitation to a reception to meet the festival’s musicians. Ticket and travel information, a schedule of events with music to be performed, a map to performance venues and other festival information is available at www.hotmusic.org. Information can also be obtained by phone at (501) 623-4763. Additional Hot Springs tourism information is available at www.hotsprings.org.

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"Colonial America: New World to New Nation" will be the theme of this year’s Natural State Chautauqua to be presented by the Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources at Smackover on June 5-10. The event will feature six evenings of reenactor portrayals of notable Americans from the colonial era and early nationhood. Admission will be free.

The schedule of reenactments is as follows: June 5, John Rolfe, a tobacco farmer and husband of Pocahontas, will be portrayed by Dick Cheatham of Richmond, VA; June 6, Anne Hutchinson, who was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony because of her religious teachings, by Dr. Doris Dwyer of Fallon, Nev.; June 7, Lemuel Haynes, the first African-American to pastor an all-white congregation in the New World, by Dr. Jim Armstead of Ben Lomond, Calif.; June 8, Patrick Henry, the famed lawyer and orator, by Dr. John “Chuck” Chalberg of Bloomington, Minn.; June 9, Abigail Adams, the First Lady who was perhaps the first American feminist, by Dr. Suzan King of Tulsa, Okla.; and June 10, Benjamin Franklin, the diplomat, statesman and inventor, by Dr. Fred Krebs of Merriam, Kan.

Each evening’s activities will begin at 6 p.m. with musical entertainment by local performers, to be followed by an hour-long presentation by the featured re-enactor. The Chautauqua takes place under a large tent on the museum grounds and attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs. The museum is located on Ark. 7 two miles south of Smackover. For more information, visit www.amnr.org or contact the museum by e-mail at museumnaturalresources@arkansas.com or by phone at (870) 725-2877.

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Good food, good friends and good wine — are the ingredients for the 6th annual Art of Wine Festival in Fayetteville. This year the event will be June 8-10 at the Walton Arts Center.

Begin this year’s Art of Wine festivities with exclusive wines and a sumptuous meal hosted by one of E & J Gallo’s most prestigious wineries at The Winemaker’s Dinner set for 6 p.m., June 8 at a cost of $150. Featuring award-winning wines from the Gallo family vineyards and a gourmet meal specially created by one of the area’s most popular chefs, the Winemaker’s Dinner is sure to quench your thirst for an evening of culinary extravagance.

More than 300 wineries will be represented at the Art of Wine Grand Tasting Event at 5 p.m., June 9 and 10. Tickets cost $65. Guests will be invited to sample food from the area’s best restaurants, enjoy wines from around the world, wander the galleries of the Walton Arts Center, and bid at the silent auction. Vintners will be available to
comment on the wines and assist in the tasting experience of over 600 selections. A program guides participants through the various choices.

The Wine Lover’s Brunch at 10:30 a.m., June 10 will cost $40. Whether you’re a timid wine drinker or the ultimate wine connoisseur, let an E & J Gallo representative guide you through the wine pairing process. Learn about wine varieties, wine pairing, buying, serving and even storing wine.

For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Walton Arts Center box office at (479) 443-5600 or visit www.waltonartscenter.org.

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Mountain View will be the town base for Autoharp Jamboree: A Traditional Music Event at Ozark Folk Center State Park June 8-10.

Learn more about the traditional instrument by enlisting in a workshop or just come to listen. The autoharp is a zither-like musical string instrument having a series of chord bars attached to dampers which, when depressed, mute all the strings other than those that form the desired chord. The instrument, which is known for being easy to learn, is commonly used in the U.S. as a bluegrass and folk instrument.

Workshops are offered at all levels of play. The registration fee has been set at $150/3 days or $55/day. Classes will start at 9 a.m. and last until 4:50 and special mini-concerts for the students will take place which the general public may attend with a craft ground ticket. For more information, visit www.ozarkfolkcenter.com or phone (870) 269-3851.

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June 9-10 will swing in the 3rd annual Heart of the Lake Hoopla Festival at Greers Ferry. West Side School will serve as homebase to the two day festivities.

At the festival there will be a craft show, water rides, tractor pull, lawn tractor competition, builder's picnic table competition, auction, parade and hula hoop competition. Admission to the festival is free. There will also be a Karaoke contest at 7:30 p.m. on Friday in the field across from West Side School. Bring your own music or use a song from the DJ’s collection. The prize for the contest is $50.

West Side School is located at Hwy 92/Greer Ferry Road. For more information, contact the Greers Ferry Area Chamber at (501) 825-7188 or log onto www.greersferry.com.

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The Old Town Bike Show is set for June 10 on historic Main Street in Van Buren.

The street will be blocked off for motorcycle traffic only with about 500 bikers expected. Beginning at 9 a.m. a DJ will provide entertainment. Door prizes will be given out throughout the day to spectators and bikers that register. Registration for the Poker Run will be from 9 a.m.-10:30 a.m. with the proceeds from the event benefiting Bikers Against Child Abuse. Afternoon activities will include bike games, judging and awards. All restaurants and shops along Main Street will be open and offering specials.

This family-friendly event is free. For more information, visit www.vanburen.org.

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The 15th annual Dinosaur Festival in the Southwest Arkansas town of Nashville will feature a Saturday of family-oriented activities on June 10, including an evening edition of the Colgate Country Showdown talent contest. Other activities planned for the day include a 5-K "Dino Run," "Bam-Bam and Pebbles" look-alike contest, a "DinoEgg" toss and "Dino Dig," and kids’ "prehistoric" crafts.

The Colgate talent contest winner will advance to regional competition and will also perform during Nashville’s Stand Up for America celebration on July 4, which will include a concert by country music stars Larry Gatlin and The Gatlin Brothers. Other festival activities will include a fishing derby; girls’ softball and youth baseball tournaments; a tennis tournament; local musical and other entertainment; chalk art; and additional activities for children. Food and crafts vendors will be on hand.

Festival admission will be $1 and all activities will be in the Nashville City Park, located on West Johnson Street off U.S. 371. For more information, contact the Nashville Parks and Recreation Department by phone at (870) 845-7405 or by e-mail at nashpark@sbcglobal.net.

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Central Arkansas Radiation Therapy Institute’s (CARTI) annual Tour de Rock Bicycle Race will be June 10 and headquartered at the Burns Park Soccer Complex in North Little Rock. The event includes a fun race for all ages and skills, a more difficult 33-mile trek for experienced riders, and competitive United States Cycling Federation-sanctioned criterion races. A guided trail ride for more advanced and/or adventurous riders may also be offered. The criterion races take place entirely within the park complex. The fun ride begins and ends at the soccer field, crossing the Arkansas River Trail along the way into downtown North Little Rock. Proceeds from the race benefit the CARTI Foundation. Admission is $25 per rider in advance, $30 day of the race.

There will be a variety of entertainment and food, contests, games, face painting, and prizes for the non-cyclists. Information on how to register and other details can be found on www.tourderock.org, obtained by calling (501) 296-3413 or e-mailing lbramlett@carti.com.

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Centennial Valley Country Club in Conway will be the site of the 10th Annual Conway Regional Golf Classic, June 12. The four-person scramble has morning and afternoon tee times with two flights for each. The event features flight prizes and course contests such as longest drive for men and women, a putting contest, plus closest to the point and hole-in-one competitions. The $800 per team entry free includes a round of golf, a golf cart, a continental breakfast, lunch, snacks and beverages, along with a free goodie bag and golf shirt.

Joan Shofner with Conway Regional Health System can provide more information at (501) 513-5771 or jshofner@conwayregional.org. The Web site is www.conwayregional.org.

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The town of McGehee in Southeast Arkansas will have its Centennial Celebration in high gear on Thursday through Saturday, June 15-17 with musical performances by regional and local acts; an encampment of Civil War re-enactors with cannon-firing demonstrations; a fish fry; a parade with Eudora Mosby, the reigning Miss Arkansas, as the grand marshal; a political rally; antique car and motorcycle shows; a barbecue cook-off; a horseshoe tournament; and many other scheduled activities.

Among the musical acts slated to perform are Uncle Mal, the Billy Jones Bluez Revue, Third Degree, the LA Codgers, The Krackerjacks, Stone Quartet, Paul Lewis Dottley, The Hacketts and the Southern Heritage Quartet.

McGehee is located 63 miles southeast of Pine Bluff via U.S. 65. A complete centennial schedule, along with area lodging and restaurant information, is available on the McGehee Area Chamber of Commerce’s Web site at www.mcgeheechamber.com. The chamber can also be contacted by phone at (870) 222-4451. McGehee was incorporated on March 5, 1906 and the first meeting of its town council was held July 21, 1906.

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Grand Ole Opry member Mike Snider, the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America’s reigning contemporary gospel group of the year New Found Road, and Marty Raybon, former lead singer for the country music group Shenandoah, are among the acts scheduled to perform during the 29th annual Turkey Track Bluegrass Music Festival set for June 14-17 at the Turkey Track Bluegrass Park near Waldron.

The festival schedule is as follows: June 14 – the Jammers’ Showcase winner, Turkey Track Band, White House Harmony, The Batten Family, Spittin’ Image and Grassfire; June 15 – Ronnie Reno and the Reno Tradition, White House Harmony, Grassfire, The Batten Family, The Welch Mountain Boys and New Found Road; June 16 – Mountain Heart, Louisiana Grass, Hickory Hill, Boone Carlon’s Old-Timey Fiddlin’ Session, Spittin’ Image, The Lampkins and Wildfire; and June 17 – Marty Raybon, Mike Snider, Louisiana Grass, Hickory Hill, The Lampkins and The Welch Mountain Boys.

Festival admission will be $6 on June 14 and $12 daily June 15-17. A pass good for admission all four days is $40. Children under 12 years of age are admitted free with parent. Food concessions will be available. The Turkey Track park has hook-ups for recreational vehicles with sites available at the rates of $8 per day with festival ticket and $10 per day without. Camping without hook-ups is $3 per day. The park also offers hot showers, restrooms and sanitary dump stations. No alcohol, drugs or bicycles are permitted, but lawn chairs and golf carts are welcome.

A 5 p.m. hog roast and potluck supper will begin the festivities on June 14. Attendees should bring a covered dish and their own table service. Performance sessions will begin at 6:30 p.m. on June 14; 1 and 6:30 p.m. on June 15-16; and at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on June 17. Guest bands are welcome to perform at the 10 a.m. session on June 17.

Waldron is located about 45 miles southeast of Fort Smith via U.S. 71 and 71-B and about 80 miles northwest of Hot Springs via U.S. 270 and 71-B. To reach the Turkey Track park from Waldron, travel three miles south on U.S. 71-B, then turn onto Ark. 250 and travel eight miles.

For more festival information, contact promoters Bill, Linda and Dusty Lovett at (479) 637-3717 or e-mail turkeytr@valuelinx.net. More information is also available at www.turkeytrackbluegrass.com. For information on lodging, restaurants and other services in the Waldron area, contact the Waldron Area Chamber of Commerce by phone at (479) 637-2775 or by e-mail at info@waldronar.com.

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A free concert featuring the country music of T.G. Sheppard will be among the weekend activities at the 35th annual Oil Town Festival set for June 14-17 in Smackover. Sheppard produced his first Number One country hit in 1974 with "Devil in the Bottle," and followed it with 16 more, including "Fooled Around and Fell in Love," "I Loved ’em Every One" and "Last Cheater’s Waltz." His concert is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 17.

Other musical acts set to perform during the festival include the Red River Playboys, a Cajun band from Shreveport, La., who will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. on June 15 and The Campbells, a country band from Delight that features the brother and nephews of country music star Glen Campbell. They will perform at 8 p.m. on June 16.

Vendors of food, arts, crafts and antiques will be on hand on both of the festival’s weekend days. Activities on Friday, June 17 will also include a free ice cream social and the sales of barbecue chicken dinners by Smackover’s firemen. Scheduled for June 18 are a 5-K run, 3-on-3 basketball, arm-wrestling and horseshoe pitching tournaments, local entertainment, a watermelon-eating contest, and turtle racing, egg tossing and other activities for children. Plate dinners will be available beginning at noon following the festival’s ribs cook-off. Activities related to Smackover’s history as an oil boomtown will include a rod-wrenching contest and an oil-well drill bit throwing competition.

The festival will be held in Tennyson Park, adjacent to downtown Smackover. Smackover is located about nine miles north of El Dorado via Ark. 7. For more information, contact the Smackover Chamber of Commerce by e-mail at smkovrcofc@sbcglobal.net or by phone at (870) 725-3521. The chamber’s Web site address is http://.smackoverar.com.