Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane! No, wait. It’s much better than that. It’s Arkansas Balloon Festival 2019, Sept 6-8, 2019 in Harrison, AR!
The Arkansas Hot Air Balloon State Championships are a popular annual event, held in Harrison, AR since 1995. While the event is primarily a chance for balloon pilots to show off their skills, that’s not all. The three-day event also features helicopter rides, skydiving, tethered balloon rides, food, drink, and goods vendors, and live music.
“Chuck Wagon Racing” (detail) by xlibber is licensed under CC BY 2.0
If you’re looking for some good, old fashioned fun and excitement, look no further than the 33rd annual National Championship Chuckwagon Races, in Clinton AR!
Chuckwagon racing got its official start as a spectator sport at the 1923 Calgary Stampede. The U.S. National Championship Chuckwagon Races, on the other hand, have been a Labor Day weekend tradition in Clinton, AR since 1986.
Come experience the fun of Arkansas’ longest running festival at the 78th annual Johnson County Peach Festival! July 18th through July 20th, 2019 in Clarksville, AR.
The Johnson County Peach Festival has been an Arkansas tradition since 1938. The best part of such a successful and long running event is the trust it engenders. I mean, after 78 years, you know they’ve got this thing down.
That’s certainly true of Johnson County Peach Festival 2019. The weekend is a veritable cornucopia of activities, entertainments, and attractions.
The 75th annual Rodeo of the Ozarks – June 26th through the 29th, 2019 – is coming right up! Don’t miss your chance to experience one of the top five outdoor rodeos in the country!
Rodeo of the Ozarks has been a staple of summer entertainment here in NW Arkansas since 1944. The event draws hundreds of folks from around the country to come compete and spectate.
More than 500 of the nation’s best cowboys, cowgirls, and rough stock are expected at this year’s event. Rodeo events include bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie down roping, barrel racing, and bull riding. Youth events include a calf scramble, a “wild horse” race, and – of course! – mutton busting.
The whole shebang winds up with a parade and an exciting fireworks display!
If you’re looking for some good, old fashioned excitement and entertainment, then don’t miss Old Fort Days Rodeo 2019, May 27th through June 1st in Fort Smith, AR.
The annual Old Fort Days Rodeo has been a tradition in Fort Smith for 86 years, now. The rodeo attracts talented cowboys and excited audiences with a winning combination of high prize money and fast paced, quality rodeo action.
Events include calf and team roping, barrel racing, bull riding, bareback and saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, and mutton busting. The event also includes an annual rodeo parade, nightly live entertainment, special theme nights, and much more.
Toad Suck Daze 2019 is coming right up, May 3rd through the 5th, in Conway, AR. This annual event attracts up to 150,000 visitors each year with live music, carnival rides, and of course, Toad Races!
Toad Suck Daze has been entertaining folks the first weekend of every May since 1982. What began as one man’s idea on how to forget the recession has become a beloved annual festival that attracts visitors from all over.
The event is named after a historic crossing on the Arkansas River, just outside of Conway. “Daze” was added as a play on the word “days” and to call out “the euphoria of spring.” The festival was originally held in Toad Suck Park but was moved to downtown Conway after spring flooding made the park unavailable one year.
The name “Toad Suck” itself, remains somewhat of a mystery. Theories abound as to the source. The most accepted theory is that, while steamboat crews waited for their loads to be transferred, they’d frequent a tavern on the spot and commence to “… suck on the bottle ’til they swell up like toads.”
Come to Arkansas and tour … a submarine? Yes, you read that correctly. In fact, Little Rock’s Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum has TWO, floating, World War II-era, Naval vessels!
You might be surprised to learn that you can tour a real, floating submarine in a land-locked state like Arkansas but it’s true.
The Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum doesn’t just have a “boat or two,” they’ve two historic vessels bookending World War II! Both the USS Hoga and the USS Razorback are here.
Come to Stuttgart, AR the “Duck Capital of the World” for the 83rd annual World Championship Duck Calling Contest and Wings Over the Prairie Festival. November 17th through the 24th, 2018.
The Wings Over the Prairie Festival is the largest outdoor duck hunting expo in the Mid-South and one of the Arkansas Delta’s biggest annual events. The festival originated in Stuttgart and has been held here every year since 1936 and it never fails to draw a crowd of thousands from around the country.
November brings three full days of bluegrass goodness to the Ozarks with the Fall session of Mountain View Bluegrass Festival 2018! November 8th, 9th, and 10th, 2018!
Mountain View Bluegrass Festival 2018 is the 16th annual return of what has become an Ozarks’ tradition.
The 3-day festival takes place every year at the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, AR. Each day sees a jam-packed schedule of first rate, bluegrass music from local and regional bands.
Mountain View Bluegrass Festival has been going strong since 2001. In fact, it grew so popular, drawing so many wonderful musicians and large crowds alike, that it is held in two sessions, spring and fall.
Come out to Eureka Springs, AR for the 5th annual Hillberry Music Festival 2018! October 11th through the 14th, 2018 at “The Farm” in the Ozarks of Eureka Springs.
Hillberry Music Festival is a 4-day, annual music experience held right here in the Ozarks, just ten miles outside Eureka Springs. The festival kicks off Thursday night at 6pm and continues on into the wee hours every night through Sunday.
Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane! No, wait. It’s much better than that. It’s Arkansas Balloon Festival 2019, Sept 6-8, 2019 in Harrison, AR!
