The Arkansas frontier is alive and well in the middle of downtown Little Rock, and on Saturday, the Historic Arkansas Museum will again give visitors an opportunity to take a step back in time with the annual Frontier Fourth of July.
The free event will take place at the museum on East Third Street, and according to Chris Hancock, the museum's communications manager, people will be able to celebrate Independence Day the same way the pioneers would have.
Frontier Fourth
of July
2-4 p.m. Saturday, Historic Arkansas Museum, 200 E. Third St., Little Rock
Admission: Free
(501) 324-9307
"It's a fun opportunity to explore our history," Hancock explains.
There will be stilts to make and walk on; 19th-century music to listen to; and tours through a pre-Civil War neighborhood filled with actors portraying real Arkansans who lived there; plus museum director Bill Worthen's annual reading of the Declaration of Independence.
"These are things territorial Arkansans would have done in the past," Hancock says.
"It's a fun and free opportunity for family and friends to experience how early Arkansans would have celebrated the holiday that unites our nation to this day."
The event has been taking place for more than 45 years, Hancock says, and is consistently one of the museum's highest attended events.
The reading of the Declaration is the main event, Hancock says. Those who attend are encouraged to yell "huzzah" as Worthen reads and actors dressed in red coats, representing British troops, grumble nearby.
There will be free lemonade and watermelon. Kids will be able to create streamers and flags and participate in the parade, which starts at 3 p.m. They can also sign and take home their own Declaration of Independence.
"Lots of kids say the Fourth of July doesn't start until the fireworks, but this is a great primer to have an understanding of the celebrations that happen the rest of the day," Hancock says.
"It focuses on more of the original inspiration why we celebrate the holiday."
Weekend on 07/02/2015