Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

July Events Set Around State

TRAVELING ARKANSAS

Department of Parks and Tourism

The 5th annual Homespun Day will be held Saturday, July 12, from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. at Plantation Agriculture Museum in Scott. Craftpersons from the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View will be presenting old-time craft demonstrations.

The demonstrations will include spinning on a spinning wheel, weaving on a loom, dying materials with homemade dyes, weaving baskets and making brooms and cornshuck dolls.

The event will be held outdoors. Visitors are also encouraged to tour the museum. Museum admission is $2.11 for adults and $1.06 for children ages 6-12. For more information, contact the Plantation Agriculture Museum at 501-961-1409.

Summertime brings visitors from accross the nation to fish in the numerous lakes and streams of Arkansas. On July 12, the shores of Lake Bennett will be lined with young fishermen as Woolly Hollow State Park near Greenbrier plays host to the 6th annual Kids' Fishing Derby.

The derby is for children, ages 12 and under, and will include fishing and casting contests. Prizes will be awarded in several categories. Contact Woolly Hollow State lPark at 501-679-2098 for more information.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Decide for yourself at the 10th annual Chicken and the Egg Festival to be held July 18 and 19 at Prescott. Admission is free for this activity-packed weekend which honors the many poultry-product farmers in Nevada County.

The customary golden egg hunt will be held on the festival grounds with clues being given to help participants locate the $100 golden egg. There will also be live entertainment, as well as activities for children, including a variety of rides and game booths. Sports tournaments will include 3-on-3 basketball, men's and women's softball, horseshoe pitching, weight lifting, tennis and a 5k run/walk. Crafts, novelty and food booths will also fill the festival grounds.

For more information, contact the Prescott Chamber of Commerce at 870-887-2101.

Bats, which are often termed one of the world's most misunderstood creatures, will be the focus of the 5th annual Bats Unlimited Weekend at Crowley's Ridge State Park in Walcot July 18 to 20. The weekend activities will give participants a better understanding of these nocturnal flying mammals.

At 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, there will be a guest speaker and video presentations of "The Secret World of Bats" and "Arkansas Bats." Live bats will be on display to allow participants an opportunity to see these animals up close. There will also be "bat condo tours" to view the largest bat condominium in the state, which houses just under 100 large, brown bats. At dusk, participants will hike to the cave to watch the bats as they take their evening flights to feed on Lake Walcott.

On Saturday, there will be a 10 a.m. bat house building workshop at which participants will construct a backyard bat house. Instructions will be given on house erection and ways to encourage bats to develop a colony in your own backyard. The program Sunday will begin at 2 p.m. on the beach and will include a visual aid board and discussion of the various bat breeds.

Admission is free. Contact Crowley's Ridge State park at 870-573-6751 for more information.