Some of Arkansas' liveliest festivals take place in the fall. Autumn's diminished outdoor temperatures make for more pleasant mingling with crowds of fellow day-trippers out for a good time. Here are some prime prospects, with entrance to the festival grounds usually free, but admission charged for some music and other events:
• Depot Days Festival, Newport, Friday, Saturday. The name not withstanding, this is a celebration of rock 'n' roll rather than railroading. The setting for the music is a stage near the restored Iron Mountain Railroad depot. Four acts will play from 6-11:30 p.m. Friday. Eight more will perform from 1-8:30 p.m. on Saturday, with a tribute to local legend Sonny Burgess at 5 p.m.
• King Biscuit Blues Festival, Helena-West Helena, Oct. 4-7. International renown attaches to this blues extravaganza along the banks of the Mississippi River. Five stages, including the levee-top main amphitheater, are set up to host more than 60 bands and solo performers. A bicycle race and a Kansas City-sanctioned barbecue contest are also on the program.
• Timberfest, Sheridan, Oct. 6-7. The Arkansas State Lumberjack Championship is the headliner for this 34th yearly festival. Competition categories include the horizontal chop, ax throw, Jack-and-Jill crosscut, vertical cut and chainsaw. For added fun, there's a horseshoe tournament, a bow shoot and a pinewood derby race of miniature cars.
• High Cotton on the Bayou, Scott, Oct. 7. The so-called good old days in rural Arkansas involved a lot of hard manual labor, as portrayed during a day of time travel at Scott Settlement Plantation. Included will be demonstrations of blacksmith work, butter churning and sorghum making, along with music and face painting for youngsters.
• Quartz, Quiltz & Craftz Fest, Mount Ida, Oct. 13-15. Montgomery County Fairgrounds provides the setting for this triple-header festival that includes three shows: gems and minerals, quilts, and arts and crafts. Also on the schedule are two quartz crystal digging competitions, one billed as a world championship for adults and the other a K-6 Kids Dig.
• Johnny Cash Heritage Festival, Dyess, Oct. 19-21. Johnny Cash family members along with Kris Kristofferson will star Oct. 21 in an outdoor concert near Cash's restored boyhood home. Tickets remain only for space on the grass behind the chair seating. Free performances Oct. 19-20 on a stage next to the site's visitor center will feature Arkansas roots musicians.
• Wiederkehr Wine Festival, Wiederkehr Village, Oct. 21. Befitting the winery's Swiss-German roots, contests at this bibulous gathering will include at Baum Stossen (log toss) and a Stein Stammen (stone toss). Visitors can also try their hands -- er, feet -- at stomping grapes. A polka band will play and a conga line will dance its way through Wiederkehr's cellars.
• Ding Dong Days, Dumas, Oct. 25-28. This whimsical event is shifting dates in 2017 from the start of October to the end of the month. Its inspiration is a nonsense ditty from the Roaring '20s, "I'm a Ding Dong Daddy From Dumas." The family-focused fun will include a beauty pageant, a street dance, a barbecue cook-off and a Ding Dong eating contest.
• Arkansas Bean Fest & Great Arkansas Championship Outhouse Races, Mountain View, Oct. 27-28. The beans come first, then the outhouse racing. At noon on Oct. 28, 2,000 pounds of pinto beans will be served free along with cornbread and onions. Then the privies will race, with drivers perched on a toilet seat and two pushers providing the power.
• Wings Over the Prairie Festival, Stuttgart, Nov. 18-25. Staged each November since 1936, this venerable festivity is best known as host of the World's Championship Duck Calling Contest, scheduled for 2 p.m. Nov. 25. There are separate duck-calling events for women and youngsters, as well as a trap-shoot competition and a duck-gumbo cook-off.
More information on these and other Arkansas fall festivals is available at arkansas.com, the site of the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism.
Style on 09/26/2017