More than 30 restored wooden boats, some valued at several hundred thousand dollars and representing such manufacturers as Chris-Craft and Riva of Italy, will be on display as Garvan Woodland Gardens at Hot Springs hosts its annual Antique Boat Show on Saturday and Sunday, April 1-2.
Show hours will be 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on April 1 and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 2. The boats will be located at the gardens’ boat dock. Regular garden tour admission will be charged: $7 for persons ages 13 to 54, $6 for those 55 and older, and $4 for ages six to 12. Children five and under are admitted free. Discounts are available for groups of 20 and more. Garden hours will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Garvan Woodland Gardens is a 210-acre botanical garden with 4.5 miles of shoreline on Lake Hamilton. The University of Arkansas is developing the site, which is located at 550 Arkridge Road, off Carpenter Dam Road. For more information, visit www.garvangardens.org or phone (800) 366-4664 or (501) 262-9300.
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Lake Ouachita State Park near Hot Springs will be hosting a Spring Kayaking and Camping Trip along the shores of the state’s largest lake on Saturday and Sunday, April 1-2. According to park officials, the tour is designed for novice paddlers and is especially good for families and groups interested in learning a new way to experience the outdoors.
Led by a park interpreter, the tour will consist of about five hours of leisurely paddling each day and tent camping on an island with an astronomy program included. A support boat will follow the tour so paddlers do not have to carry camping gear and personal items in their kayaks. Admission will be $60 per paddler, which includes all meals. Participants may bring their own kayaks and camping equipment, although a limited number of rental kayaks and camping gear will be available for additional fees.
The park is located on the lake’s eastern end. From Hot Springs, it can be reached by traveling three miles west on U.S. 270 and then north 12 miles on Ark. 227. For further information, including a list of suggested gear to bring, and to make reservations, phone (501) 767-8148 or e-mail lakeouachita@arkansas.com. Early reservations are advised since the tour will be limited to 25 participants, though the tour will be repeated on May 6-7.
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An international quilt exhibit, “Seven Sisters: New Quilts from Old Favorites,” will be open throughout the month of April at the Peel Mansion Museum, 400 S. Walton Blvd., in Bentonville.
The quilts will be exhibited in the Carriage House and Conservatory from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday at a cost of $2 per person. In celebration of the event, a wine and cheese reception will be from 6 p.m.-8 p.m., April 20 with Vickie Lawrence, a three-time winner of the Museum of Antique Quilts International Quilt Contest. The cost for the reception will be $10 per person.
The admission price to the quilt exhibit does not include a tour of the mansion, which is $3 per person. For more information, phone (479) 273-9664.
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The Central Arkansas Antique Machinery and Historical Society will be hosting its 15th annual Central Arkansas Antique Power Show on April 7-8 on the Grant County Courthouse Square in downtown Sheridan. At least 100 antique engines and more than 30 tractors are expected to be displayed. Show hours will be 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on April 7 and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on April 8. Admission will be free.
Scheduled activities include a performance of live bluegrass music by the Lions Club Band of Sheridan on the evening of April 7 and an open-class car show on April 8. Food and craft vendors will also be on hand.
Sheridan is located 31 miles south of Little Rock via U.S. 65 and 167. For more show information, phone Brent Carr at (501) 776-4088. To inquire about Sheridan’s lodging, restaurants and other attractions, including the Grant County Museum and nearby Jenkins Ferry Historic State Park, phone the Grant County Chamber of Commerce at (870) 942-3021 or e-mail gccc@alltel.net.
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When Hampton hosts its Hogskin Holidays Festival and Pork Cook-off, the Calhoun County Fairgrounds comes alive with the mouthwatering aroma of savory barbecue, the rub-the-eyes sight of Randall’s Diving and Racing Pigs and the sounds of live music. This year’s 15th edition of the event is set for Friday and Saturday, April 7-8.
The trained pigs will be performing throughout festival hours, usually every 30 minutes. Alternating with the flying and racing porkers will be a mini-tractor pull for kids hosted by Dune Buggy the Clown.
General festival hours will be approximately 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. Admission will be free, except for the Hogskin Holidays Rodeo to begin nightly at 7:30 p.m. Some events will be held at the Calhoun County Courthouse in downtown Hampton, some three blocks north of the fairgrounds.
The festival’s live music will include a 4 p.m. show on April 8 in the fairgrounds’ exhibit hall featuring country music singer/songwriter Wood Newton of Nashville, Tenn., who hailed from Hampton. Newton’s many song credits include co-writing two Number One country hits, “Bobbie Sue” by the Oak Ridge Boys and “Twenty Years Ago” by Kenny Rogers.
The barbecue cook-off will be held throughout the morning and afternoon on April 8 with music being provided by the Cummins Prison Band from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Winners will be announced about 4 p.m. Barbecue dinners will be sold during the cook-off, as will bulk, carry-out orders by the pound and rack.
Other scheduled activities include a downtown parade at 2 p.m. on April 7; the Little Miss Pigtails contest at 10 a.m. and the Miss Champagnolle Bottoms pageant (a male beauty revue) at 2 p.m., both on April 8 in the exhibit building; and a horseshoe-pitching tournament and log-loading and skidding contests on April 8. Events scheduled for both days include antique car and motorcycle shows and an exhibit of historic photographs at the courthouse; a quilt show, student art show and display of mounted wildlife, all in the exhibit hall; a 3-on-3 basketball tournament; and an arts and crafts show, a large carnival and food vendors elsewhere on the fairgrounds.
Hampton is located in south-central Arkansas on U.S. 167 about 28 miles north of El Dorado. For more festival information, phone (870) 798-2100.
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The 30th annual Dogwood Days Festival will be April 7-8 at the Diamond B Mall parking lot in Horseshoe Bend.
A street dance is set for 6 p.m. on Friday, April 7. On Saturday, April 8, live entertainers scheduled for the event will include cloggers, Kyla Rose, a 12-year-old country and western singer, and the Five Dooley Siblings singing contemporary Christian music. Event-goers will find food booths with typical festival fare such as bratwurst, hamburgers and hot dogs. About 25 artisans will be selling their wares. At 4 p.m. the Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual fundraiser, this year auctioning off four automobiles, as well as other items such as art work and floral pieces, all donated by local businesses.
For more information phone the chamber at (870) 670-5433. For more information on recreation in Horseshoe Bend, visit www.horseshoebendar.com. Admission is free.
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Bluegrass veterans Bill Grant and Delia Bell with the Welch Mountain Boys will be the headline act and seven other groups are set to perform at the second annual Ouachita Mountain Spring Bluegrass Festival to be held near Mena on Thursday through Saturday, April 13-15.
Bands slated to perform all three days are Third Generation, the Tom Hartley Family, Mountain Bluegrass Boys, and the Roving Gamblers. Performing on April 14-15 only will be Outcast Bluegrass, The Duhon Boys, and Grant and Bell. The Cooper Road Bluegrass Band will be performing on April 13 only. Also appearing April 14-15 will be a guest comedian, Don Fowler, who performs as "Bandy, the Rodeo Clown."
The festival will be held at the Christian Motorcyclists Association’s (CMA) pavilion and campground at Iron Mountain, located on U.S. 71 about six miles south of Mena. The pavilion seats more than 5,000 indoors, which will allow the festival to continue in the event of rain. Admission will be $8 on April 13 and $12 daily on April 14-15. A festival pass good for all three days will be $30. Children 12 and under will be admitted free. Lawn chairs are welcome and a playground will be available.
Camping fees will be $15 daily for sites with electric hook-ups (with sixth day free) and $4 daily for rough camping. Campsites will be available only to festival ticket holders and on a first-come basis with no reservations taken. For more camping information, phone the CMA at (870) 389-6196. The CMA will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner from 7 a.m. to close each day. Crafts vendors will be on hand. No alcoholic beverages will be allowed.
An all-gospel night will kick off the festival at 6:30 p.m. on April 13. Music sessions are also set to begin at 12:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. on April 14 and 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on April 15. The 10 a.m. session on April 15 will feature guest bands. Boone Carlton’s Ole Time Fiddlin’ Session is set for 6 p.m. that day.
For more festival information, contact promoters Bob and Wanda Dowdy at (479) 243-0577 or (479) 437-4343. For information on additional camping, lodging, restaurants and other services in the Mena area, visit www.gomenaarkansas.com or phone the Mena Advertising and Promotion Commission at (479) 394-8355.
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The 18th annual Ozark UFO Conference is set for April 14-16 at the Inn of the Ozarks Convention Center in Eureka Springs.
The conference offers lectures and audio-visual presentations on all aspects of UFOs and vendors sell UFO-related items. Ten lectures are planned and speakers will include Forest Crawford, Linda Moulton Howe, Wendelle C. Stevens, Nancy Talbott, Joe Lewels, Paul Von Ward, Dr. Rudy Schild and Norman Oliver. The conference will begin at 1 p.m., Friday, April 14 and conclude at noon, Sunday, April 16. Registration will begin at 8 a.m. Friday.
Registration is $45 per person if paid in advance (through April 10) or $50 at the door. For registration, payment and lodging information, phone Lucius Farish at (479) 354-2558 or visit www.ozarkufo.com.
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Leaving the audience begging for more after last year’s performance, The Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats are returning to Eureka Springs on April 15 for two performances, set for 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
The group has become the world's leading Chinese acrobatic troupe, performing more than any other company. The show contains spellbinding feats of physical daring and grace, enhanced by elaborate traditional costumes in brilliant colors. The performers represent the best of their honored tradition, mixing award-winning acrobatics, traditional dance, spectacular costumes and ancient and contemporary theatrical techniques to present a show of breathtaking skill.
From the Cangzhou, Hebei province, The Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats have performed in all 50 states and over 65 countries on five continents. The troupe has graced the stage at such prestigious venues as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Germany's Elspe Festival, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Caesar's Palace in Atlantic City, and the Seattle Children's Festival.
Part of PaperMoon Attractions’ Enchantment Series, tickets are $25 in advance, $30 day of show, and $12 for students under 18. Tickets are available online at www.PaperMoonAttractions.com or at (479) 363-0363. Reserved seating is available.
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Old Washington Historic State Park’s annual Frontier Day on Saturday, April 15 will revisit Arkansas’s early history with re-enactor encampments of Native Americans and frontiersmen and demonstrations of skills such as blacksmithing, spinning and pioneer cooking. Visitors will be able to tour the park's historic homes and its weapons and print museums, try their hands at tomahawk throwing, and ride a horse-drawn surrey through Washington, one of the state’s most prominent 19th-century towns.
Hours for the event will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission for outdoor activities will be free though a $4-per-vehicle parking fee will be charged. The park’s regular fees will be in effect for tours of its museums and historic structures and for the surrey rides. The park’s 1832 Williams Tavern will serve lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Frontier Day for Schools will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 14 and interested school groups are requested to contact the park for reservations.
Founded in 1824, Washington rose to prominence as the county seat of Hempstead County and as a jumping off point for travelers en route to Texas. Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston, heroes of Texas' fight for independence from Mexico, frequented the town. It served as Arkansas’s Confederate capital from 1863-65.
The park is located on U.S. 278 about eight miles northwest of Interstate 30 at Hope (Exit 30) and 18 miles southeast of Nashville. For more information on Frontier Day and for school group reservations, phone (870) 983-2660. More park information, including tour prices, is available online at www.oldwashingtonstatepark.com.
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Celebrity Attractions invites visitors to come have a “BLAST!” as the original production of music and theater comes to Little Rock’s Robinson Center Music Hall. Dates for the performance are April 17-19. The 2001 Tony Award winner for Best Theatrical Event and a 2001 Emmy for Best Choreography, the company is comprised of 60 brass, percussion, and visual performers. The production is based on one drum corps, The Star of Indiana, which began in 1984 and consistently has achieved success no corps on record has accomplished in such a short period of time. With its legendary reputation in drum corps history secured, the group moved beyond its original beginnings “to bring the power, passion and precision of outdoor pageantry to the stage in a musical performance that is now called ‘BLAST!’”
The music performed by the group runs the gamut from Ravel’s Bolero to Aaron Copland’s Simple Gifts/Appalachian Spring and Land of Make Believe by Chuck Mangione. Toss in some classic Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim (Gee Officer Krupke) from West Side Story, along with spirituals Spiritual of the Earth (Marimba Spiritual, Minoru Miki; Earth Beat, Michael Spiro), and the Cuban flair of Malaguena.
Tickets range from $17 to $52 and can be purchased online at www.celebrityattractions.com. Robinson Center is located at the corner of Markham and Broadway in downtown Little Rock.
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Head to the hills and enjoy the colors and beauty of wildflowers at Village Creek State Park in Wynne for The Wonder of Wildflowers April 12-16.
For five days the park will offer guided hikes, an audio-visual presentation and children’s activities highlighting the amazing variety of spring bloomers. Trilliums, May-apple, phlox, Jack-in-the-pulpit, sweet anise, spring beauty, violets, and yellow bellflower will all be blooming along the trails along with the brilliant red blossoms of red buckeye. Participants can also take advantage of the other activities that can be enjoyed in the park such as camping, hiking, fishing, and horseback riding.
For more information on this free event, call (870) 238.9406 or e-mail villagecreek@arkansas.com.
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The 44th annual Arkansas Folk Festival is set to take place April 13-15 in Mountain View at Courthouse Square and Ozark Folk Center State Park. Mountain View is well known as the Folk Music Capital of the World due to the eclectic collection of musicians and fans that come together in the Historic Courthouse Square to enjoy live music.
At the festival there will be handmade crafts, frontier life demonstrations, dancing on the Courthouse Square, a window decorating contest, and no shortage of folk, mountain, and bluegrass music.
There will be a free shuttle from downtown to the Folk Center and free admission to Crafts Village during this weekend. For more information, call (888) 679-2859 or visit www.YourPlaceintheMountains.com.