Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Fourth Annual Natural Fest June 4-5 In McGehee

A fish fry, barbecue dinner and auction, Great Bodies auto show, antique tractor show, home run derby, basketball and horseshoe tournaments, a fishing derby, live entertainment and activities for children are all scheduled as part of the 4th Annual Natural Fest, June 4 and 5, in the Southeast Arkansas town of McGehee.

The festivities will begin at 5 p.m., June 4, with a fish fry at the festival site, located just east of the railroad viaduct on U.S. 65. Access to the site is from the highway on the viaduct's south side.

At 5 p.m. on Saturday, the barbecue dinner and auction, featuring goods and services donated by McGehee area businesses, will be held in the American Agriculture Building, located on the north side of the U.S 65 viaduct.

For more Natural Fest information, contact the McGehee Chamber of Commerce at 870- 222-4451.

The history and architecture of Pine Bluff will be examined in a free tour Saturday, June 5, as part of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program's (AHPP) "Walks Through History' series.

The tour will visit architecturally and historically significant commercial and residential buildings in the downtown area.

Leading the tour will be Ken Story, the AHPP's preservation outreach coordinator. The tour will begin at 10 a.m. from the south step of the Jefferson County Courthouse, located at the north end of Main Street. The tour will last about two hours.

AHPP is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage. For more information, contact Story at 501-324-9880.

El Dorado will premiere the 1999 version of its historic feud re-enactment, 'Showdown at Sunset,' at 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 5 on the Union County Courthouse Square. Subsequent performances will be held at 6 p.m. each Saturday through August 28.

On October 9, 1902, a fierce gunfight on the square left three dead and several wounded, including City Marshall Guy B. Tucker, the grandfather of former Arkansas Gov. Jim Guy Tucker.

In 'Showdown at Sunset,' a cast of area actors reenacts the gunfight in a 30-minute presentation including background information on the legendary feud spawning the fight.

The re-enactments will be preceded by live bluegrass music beginning at 5 p.m. The music will continue for an hour after the gunfight.

According to 'Gunfight on the Courthouse Square,' a book by George Arnold, managing editor of the El Dorado News-Times, the origins of the feud between Tucker and the Parnells, a family of prominent El Dorado businessmen and farmers, were complicated and included a dispute over a sidewalk and romantic triangle.

Even through some participants were banished from Arkansas, the feud continued until 1905.

Main Street-El Dorado has available a brochure detailing a walking tour of historic downtown buildings all located within four blocks of the courthouse and most dating from the 1920s. The 1921 discovery of oil nearby quickly swelled the city's population from 3,000 to 30,000, prompting a building boom.

For more information on the re-enactment, the tour brochure and El Dorado attractions and accommodations, call toll-free at 1-888-921-BOOM or write P.O. Box 1325, El Dorado AR 71730.

There'll be plenty of activities to cackle and crow about when Prescott hosts its 12th annual Chicken and Egg Festival on Friday and Saturday, June 11 and 12.

At noon on June 12, the event's signature cackling and crowing contest, with adult and youth divisions, will be held on the festival stage in the Prescott City Park, the festival site.

At 2 p.m. the stage will feature the Little Mister Rooster and Little Miss hen contests.

The festival's annual variety show will begin on the stage at 6:30 p.m. on June 11. Attendees should bring their own 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 11 and 9 a.m. on June 12. An antique car show will open at 9 a.m. on June 12.

A carnival and food vendors will be on-site both days. In addition, the park pavilion will host the Prescott Rotary Club's serving of 'chicken-in-the-rough' starting at 5 p.m. on June 11 and the Kiwanis Omelet Breakfast beginning at 6:30 a.m. on June 12.

A variety of activities for children on June 12 will include a golden egg hunt with a $100 prize, an egg toss, best decorated egg contest and face painting.

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, the Chase the Chicken 5K run/walk, the Chicken Chaser's kid's run and the Cock of the Walk weightlifting tournament.

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 write P.O. Box 307, Prescott AR 71857.

A 'living history' encampment of Civil War re-enactors will be featured as Hot Springs National Park hosts its 5th annual Civil War Weekend in the park's Gulpha Gorge Campground on Saturday, June 12. The campground is located on U.S. 70-B (Gulpha Gorge Road) between U.S. 70 and Ark. 7

Visitors interested in learning about soldier's daily lives during the Civil War are invited to drop by the camp around 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Admission is free.

For more information, contact Ranger Jeff Heitzman at 501-624-3383.

There won't be any sauropods attending when Nashville hosts its 10th annual Dinosaur Festival on Saturday, June 12, but visitors will be able to see sauropod tracks unearthed in 1983 in a gypsum mine just north of the Southwest Arkansas town.

The festival schedules includes dinosaur-related crafts for children, a fishing derby, a girls' softball tournament, park train rides, sack races, a 'Dino-Dig,' and live music in the evening. Festival admission is $1 for those aged 6 or more. The festival will be held in Nashville's City Park. Food and beverage vendors will be on hand.

Nashville is located 27miles northwest of Hope via Ark. 4. For more festival information contact the Nashville Parks and Recreation Department at 870-845-7405.