HEBER SPRINGS — Louis Short spent more than 20 years covering the World Championship Cardboard Boat Races for the local newspaper.
“When I was covering the event, I enjoyed seeing everybody’s boat and how they let their imaginations run wild,” said Short, who serves on the Heber Springs City Council. “It is amazing to see what everyone can build with cardboard and what they can’t build with cardboard because they’ve waited till the last minute.”
Short has competed in the race four or five times, including against former first lady of Arkansas Janet Huckabee and members of some of the news crews from Little Rock.
“Those were always fun,” Short said.
The annual World Championship Cardboard Boat Races will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at Dam Site Park as part of the first Freedom Fest on the Lake, presented by the Heber Springs Area Chamber of Commerce. This is the first time the cardboard boat races will be the same weekend as the annual Fireworks Extravaganza.
“In the past, the races have been on a separate weekend, and the fireworks were always the Saturday before the Fourth,” said Ginger Harper, president and CEO of the Heber Springs Area Chamber of Commerce. “Many years ago, they had the boat races and fireworks on the same day, but it has been a long time.
“We are reuniting those two events, but also adding a concert and trap shoot. This is the first time we are having a weekend-long event.”
The cardboard boat races will be divided into four divisions, and registration for the races is $80 for teams of one to two people and $85 for teams of three to eight. Harper said that even though the chamber wasn’t able to put on the cardboard races last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Championship Cardboard Boat Races was still nominated and won Most Unique Festival or Event from the Arkansas Festival and Events Association.
“We are getting registration forms each day, but so many people register the day of the race that it will be hard to tell how many boats we are going to have,” she said. “We have gotten good feedback, and I think it will bring more people to town and give them a chance not just to go to the events, but also to visit our restaurants and businesses to eat, shop and play.”
Harper said the Fireworks Extravaganza is one of the largest fireworks displays in Arkansas and will be choreographed to music broadcast on 101.9 The Lake-KSUG. Prior to the fireworks on Saturday, the Little Rock band Just Sayin’ will perform from 7-9 p.m. at Dam Site Park.
“One thing we wanted to stress is that we want this to be a weekend festival,” said Cheryl Ann Shook, board chairman of the chamber.
The event will begin at 9 a.m. Friday with the MEC Freedom Fest Trap Shoot at the Cleburne County Shooting Club, 201 Arkansas 25 in Heber Springs. The entry fee of $50 for each participant includes a free T-shirt. For more information, contact Jim Bly at (501) 270-2511.
Friday will conclude with a free concert featuring “The Voice” contestants Marybeth Byrd and Cory Jackson, both from Arkansas, at 7 p.m. at the Heber Springs Performing Arts Center, on the campus of Heber Springs High School, 1100 W. Pine St.
“We want to stress that for the concert Friday night, it will be a very casual atmosphere, and we want people to come and enjoy it,” Shook said.
She said she wanted this festival to have something that would spark an interested in people of all age groups.
“Not everyone is going to want to go to the boat races or fireworks,” she said. “Hopefully, we will build this event, year after year, and have more activities in the future.
“We could possibly have an antique car show or pageant — there are all kinds of things that we could add to the weekend as we grow the event.”
Harper said the July Fourth weekend is always a big weekend for Heber Springs.
“The lake is gorgeous, and people want to come and see our area,” she said. “I think this festival is going to bring in more people and provide more options of things to do.”
“That’s why we created the weekend event,” Shook said. “We really wanted something for all age groups for locals and visitors alike.”
For more information on Freedom Fest on the Lake or to register for the boat races, visit the chamber’s website, www.heber-springs.com.
Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.