Spring is a prime festival season in Arkansas. The icy interludes of winter are (let's hope) behind us. And the torrid heat of summer lies well over the horizon.
Through Memorial Day weekend, dozens of festivals dot the Natural State map. Some are modest affairs, targeted mainly at locals. Others aim to attract visitors from far and wide.
Here's a sampler of the more ambitious fests. There may be charges for some activities.
• Edamame Festival, Mulberry, March 28. This is the second yearly festival spotlighting the 2012 opening in this Crawford County town of the first U.S. facility for processing edamame. There'll be contests involving the immature soybean lately in vogue as a snack food.
• Arkansas Scottish Festival, Batesville, April 10-12. Lyon College's Scottish and Presbyterian roots provide the inspiration for this tartan-tinged spring fling. Bagpipers, Highland dancers and tea with scones are part of the ethnic mix. For a wee flash of flesh, there's the Bonniest (no, not Boniest) Knees Contest.
• German Heritage Festival, Stuttgart, April 11. A 5K run and walk will kick off this oompah-accented gathering in Stuttgart. Hearty Old World food and drink are the focus -- tasty bratwursts and sauerkraut washed down with flavorful beers from the Fatherland. Then it's exercise time again with dancing to a polka band.
• Arkansas Folk Festival, Mountain View, April 17-19. Reveling in the title "Folk Music Capital of the World," Mountain View and Ozark Folk Center State Park on its outskirts will pulsate at this 53rd annual tuneful gathering. The center's Craft Village will proffer a host of enticing objects.
• Alma Spinach Festival, April 18. The aptly named Popeye Stage will host country and gospel music at this annual green-veggie gathering in Alma, northeast of Fort Smith. There'll be a spinach-eating contest, which presumably will be good for even the losing participants.
• Fordyce on the Cotton Belt, April 20-25. Model-train displays are a highlight of this festival celebrating the heyday of railroading. Also scheduled are gospel singing and karaoke, plus classic cars. The Redbug Reunion Rally salutes Fordyce High School's mascot, aka the pesky chigger.
• World Famous Armadillo Festival, Hamburg, April 29-May 2. Armadillos tend to be seen as hapless highway victims. But they evidently can be persuaded to race, since that's a headline act of a fest that includes an armadillo meat-eating contest. Please ignore any smart remarks about roadkill.
• Toad Suck Daze, Conway, May 1-3. Much ballyhoo accompanies this festival, which stages the World Championship Toad Races and attracts 100,000 or so visitors annually. The 2015 event is aiming for more locally focused entertainment and higher-quality art vendors.
• Magnolia Blossom Festival and World Championship Steak Cookoff, May 11-16. Stretching over six days, Magnolia's big blowout will sizzle on the evening of May 16 with steak judging ($10,000 in prizes). There'll be a steak-eating contest on May 15. Also scheduled are shows of arts and crafts, cars, motorcycles and dogs.
Contact information as well as event times, costs (if any) and other details on these and more spring festivals can be viewed on the website of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism: arkansas.com.
Weekend on 03/19/2015