Travelin’ the Arkansas Ouachitas: Events Taking Place During October

Zoie Clift, travel writer
Arkansas Tourism

Note to the Print and Broadcast Media: In order to better serve your needs and to keep you from getting extremely long documents from the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, we have decided to break down our Travelin’ Arkansas release into regions organized by date. This way you will be able to look only at the areas you are interested in covering. The territories covered in Travelin' Arkansas adhere to the six geographical regions found in the Arkansas Tour Guide. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions: communications@arkansas.com or 501-682-7606.

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The 41 Annual Hot Springs Arts & Crafts Fair is set for Oct. 2-4 in Hot Springs. The event is the second largest crafts fair in the state with over 400 craftsmen, artisans, and vendors. The fair is located at the Garland County Fairgrounds at 4831 Malvern Ave. For more information visit www.hotspringsartsandcraftsfair.com or call 501-760-2872.

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October 3-4 hosts the 7th Annual Street Rod Car Show at DeGray Lake at DeGray Lake State Park in Bismarck. The Arkansas Street Rod Association will have pre-1949 restored cars on exhibit at the Caddo Bend area of the state park. Viewing is open to the public. For more information call 501-865-2801.

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Balloons and Byrd Weekend will fly into Hot Springs Memorial Field Oct. 8-10 in Hot Springs. The Legends Balloons Rally and Tracy Byrd’s All-American Weekend will include a free concert Friday night by Grand Funk Railroad and a free Saturday night show by Tracy Byrd, Tracy Lawrence, and Blake Shelton. Fishing events will be held at Lake Hamilton and Lake Ouachita. For more information, visit www.hotsprings.org or call 501-321-2277.

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The 2nd Annual Ouachita Art Trails Studio Tour is scheduled for Oct. 9-11 in Mena. Around 30 artists have signed up to participate in the tour this year. Artists will demonstrate their work at their individual studios and also at the Old Armory. Registration for the tour is available online, at the Mena Art Gallery at 607 Mena St. and at the individual artist’s studios. For more details visit www.ouachitaartrails.com or call 479-394-3880.

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Get ready to get dirty at the 25th Annual World Championship Crystal Dig and Gem and Mineral Show Oct. 8-11 at the Mount Ida Showground in Mount Ida. The event is held in conjunction with the Quartz, Quiltz & Craftz Festival. For more information, check out www.mtidachamber.com or call 870-867-2723.

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Keep your calendars open for the 18th Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival Oct. 16-25 at the Historic Malco Theatre in Hot Springs. The theme of this year’s festival is Documentaries are: Windows to the World. The festival is produced by the Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute, one of the premier documentary film institutes in the world. For more information visit www.hsdfi.org or call Malinda Herr-Chambliss at 501-321-4747.

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The FLW (Forrest L. Wood) Bass Tournament DeGray Lake Regional will hit the waters of DeGray Lake Oct. 22 – 24 in Bismarck. The tournament will start daily at 7 am and Weigh-in at 3 pm at Iron Mountain Lodge and Marina. The top six boaters and co-anglers advance to the 2010 BFL (Bass Fishing League) All-American. For more details call 270-252-1000.