AUGUST CALENDAR

Moonshine and melons

Seed-spitting werewolves hit the highway for bargains, down-home fun

— August needs two full moons to explain all the madness this month - a full moon on Aug. 2 to account for so many yard sales in the drooping blaze of summer, and a full moon on Aug. 31 to explain why the state’s two watermelon festivals happen the same weekend.

1 Whale-of-a-tale Moby Dick author

Herman Melville’s birthday, 1819, and fashion tip to Cap’n Ahab: Remember, nothing is so passe as a white whale after Labor Day.

HAIR CURLY RED; “ARF,” THE DOG SAID

Movies in the Park closes out the summer season with Annie, sundown at Riverfest Amphitheatre, downtown Little Rock. Details at moviesintheparklr.net. Call (501) 375-2552.

BROOM WITH A VIEW

Harry Potter’s World: Renaissance Science, Magic and Medicine exhibit and programs through Aug. 11 at the Central Arkansas Library System’s Main Library, downtown Little Rock. Details at cals.org. Call (501) 918-3086.

ARR-RROOO!

2 Full moon.

PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR

U.S. Treasury issues the first Lincoln penny, 1909. The penny had to wait another 20 years for the invention of bubble gum. Today, the right Lincoln penny can be worth hundreds of dollars to a collector, but nothing to a gum machine.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN: BARGAIN HUNTER

3 Yards and Yards of Yard Sales

through Aug. 4, Eureka Springs. Details at eurekaspringschamber.com. Call (800) 638-7352.

RIND AND SEEK

National Watermelon Day.

Legoria Payton and Friends, 5 p.m.

at the Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, Pine Bluff. Details at artssciencecenter.org. Call (870) 536-3375.

NOT SO MELLOW YELLOW

4 National Mustard Day, and three things often covered with mustard:

Hot dogs.

Pretzels.

Car seats.

SIS-BOOM-BAH

5 Sisters Day.

“Sisters are blossoms in the garden of life.” - Old saying.

“Big sisters are the crab grass in the lawn of life.” - Linus in the comic strip Peanuts.

TAKE IT TO THE MAT

6 Get Ready for Kindergarten Month. And then it’s over, and people act like there’s something wrong with flopping on the floor.

VINE TIME HAD BY ALL

7 Tontitown Grape Festival, carnival, grape ice cream and spaghetti dinner, through Aug. 11, Tontitown near Fayetteville. Details at tontitowngrapefestival.com. Call (479) 927-2295.

OLD YELLER AND THEN SOME

8 Odie the dog’s 34th birthday in the Garfield comic strip. If one human year equals seven dog years, this makes Odie 238 in dog years -a mere pup compared to Dagwood Bumstead’s dog, Daisy, and Mickey Mouse’s dog, Pluto, both about 500; and the hot dog, at least 800 in dog years.

MELON BALLS

9 Hope Watermelon Festival, watermelon-eating and seed spitting contests; Easton Corbin concert Aug. 11, Hope. Details at hopemelonfest.com. Call (870) 777-3640.

Cave City Watermelon Festival through Aug. 11, Cave City, north of Searcy. Details at cavecityarkansas.info. Call (870) 283-5959.

$TOP $IGN$

Bargains Galore on 64, 160 miles of yard sales through Aug. 11 along U.S. 64 from Fort Smith east to Beebe. Details at bargainsgaloreon64.com. Call (888) 568-3552.

10 Missouri admission day, 1821. Missouri admits that Arkansas has the Ozarks, and Missouri has what was left of the Ozarks that didn’t fit in Arkansas.

GONE SOUTH

Drama Southern Cross mingles historic characters including Gen. William T. Sherman and Elvis Presley, through Aug. 11 and weekends through Aug. 25 at The Weekend Theater, Little Rock. Details at weekendtheater.org. Call (501) 374-3761.

POOF! AND CONSEQUENCES

Youth Magicians’ Show, 7 p.m. in the Fine Arts Building, University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Call (501) 663-9380.

TOME SWEET TOME

11 Arkansas Book and Paper Show of antiquarian books, maps, postcards and other paper goods, through Aug. 12 at the Jacksonville Community Center, Jacksonville. Call (501) 590-0071.

SANDWICH ON A PLATTER

12 National Panini Month, Vinyl Record Day.

EVEN YANKEES HAVE SOUTHPAWS

13 Left Handers Day. Left handed compliments to famous left-handers Leonardoda Vinci, John Dillinger, Marilyn Monroe and Barack Obama.

FIT TO A TEE

14 National Golf Month.

MARCHING ORDERS

15 Napoleon Bonaparte’s birthday, 1769.

“Just follow your heart. That’s what I do.” - Napoleon Dynamite.

BAIT AND SEE

16 National Catfish Month. Catfish have been known to bite on: (A) Chicken livers, (B) Clams, (C) Cheese, (D) Biscuit dough, (E) Marshmallows, (F) Soap, (G) Thumbs.

Answer at Aug. 21.

Original musical Nobody’s Business through Aug. 19 and Aug. 23-26 at the Royal Theatre, Benton. Call (501) 315-5483.

WILD RUMMM! -MMMPUS

17 Mountains, Music and Motorcycles through Aug. 19, Ozark Folk Center State Park at Mountain View. Details at ozarkfolkcenter.com. Call (870) 269-3851.

PLUNK ROCK

Eureka Springs Bluegrass Festival with Deadman Flats and Dread Clampitt, through Aug. 19 at Basin Spring Park and The Auditorium, Eureka Springs. Call (479) 253-7333.

B’AR NONE

King of the Wild Frontier Davy Crockett’s birthday, 1786.

BOOM-SHE-BOOM

18 Ever since passage of the 19th Amendment, 1920, the ultimate small room with a woman’s touch is a voting booth.

Knights of Columbus Council 10908 spaghetti and meatball supper and bake sale, 5-8 p.m. in St. Vincent near Conway. Call (501) 354-4854.

AISLE DO

19 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Fall Bridal Show, 12:30-5 p.m. at the Statehouse Convention Center, Little Rock. Details at arkansasbridalcommunity.com. Call (501) 918-4539.

UP, UP AND AWAY-YYYYY!

How to celebrate National Aviation Day: Fly the coop.

Bill Clinton’s 66th high-flying birthday.

C’MON, BABY, LET’S DO THE TRYST

20 Romance Awareness Month, and how to tell love’s tender blossom from a Bloomin’ Onion: “We that are true lovers run into strange capers.” - William Shakespeare.

“Love stinks.” - J. Geils Band.

Starts with an tingle

You feel through and through;

Ah, this must be love, or else -

Ahh!-ahhh!-

Ahhhh-choo!

BY A WHISKER

21 What’s the catch quiz answer: All of the above.

Catfish will bite on pretty much anything - as long as somebody else is holding the pole.

NICE AND EASY

22 Win with Civility Month.

“Try your best to make goodness attractive. That’s one of the toughest assignments you’ll ever be given.” - Mr. Rogers.

ROOTS, ROOTS, ROOTS FOR THE HOME TEAM

23 Fayetteville Roots Festival celebrates down-home artists, farmers and cooking through Aug. 26 at Walton Arts Center and George’s Majestic Lounge; John Prine, Aug. 25, Fayetteville.

Details at fayettevilleroots.com. Call (479) 422-3627.

SOMEBODY NEEDS A CHUG

24 Frisco Festival, carnival and music celebrates railroad history through Aug. 25, downtown Rogers. Details at friscofestival.com. Call (479) 936-5487.

PLANTING RUMORS

25 The Wizard of Oz premiere, 1939. Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion run through a field of what kind of flowers? - hint: also the flower of August - (A) Poppies, (B) Peonies, or (C) Petunias.

Answer at Aug. 28.

Central Arkansas Iris Society Rhizome and Plant Sale, 8 a.m. at Grace Lutheran Family Life Center, Little Rock. Details at centralarkansasiris.org. Call (501) 455-1478.

NO MEAN FEET

Rollin’ on the River race and fun walk, 7:15 a.m. at the Clinton Presidential Center, Little Rock, benefits Easter Seals Arkansas. Details at eastersealsar.com. Call (501) 227-3702.

ON AND ARF

26 National Dog Day, the eighth annual - or 56th in dog years.

DROP RANCOR

27 Global Forgiveness Day. You know that thing you did? Fuhgeddaboudit!

OOO’S AND OZ

28 Toto a go-go quiz answer: (A) “Poppies will put them to sleep! Sleeeeep!” - The Wicked Witch of the West.

FUZZY-WUZZY HUBBA-HUBBA

29 National Peach Month.

“Y’know, I could eat a peach for hours.” - Nicholas Cage, Face/Off.

STRUM GUYS HAVE ALL THE LUCK

Banjo Rally International through Sept. 1 at venues including the Inn of the Ozarks, Eureka Springs. Details at banjorally.org. Call (309) 263-2518.

BASKET CASE

30 National Picnic Month. Anything that’s not a picnic is no picnic.

Fine Arts Club Introductory Lollapalooza, 4-6 p.m. at the Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock. Call (501) 412-3768.

ARR-RROOO! PART TWO-OOO!

31 Full moon.

Coming next month: September! Call (501) 399-3633, write to Ron Wolfe, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 121 E. Capitol Ave., Little Rock, Ark. 72203, or e-mail

rwolfe@arkansasonline.com

by Aug. 15 to suggest September calendar entries or how to celebrate College Savings Month in September, such as: Not nearly enough. Each event requires a phone number that is answered during business hours or by an answering machine that identifies the event or its sponsor.

Style, Pages 27 on 07/31/2012

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