Issuu

01_Layout 1 2/24/14 12:42 AM Page 2

02_Layout 1 2/22/14 9:54 PM Page 2

03_Layout 1 2/22/14 9:54 PM Page 3

04_Master Pages 2/24/14 12:53 AM Page 4

EDITOR’S NOTES

Editorial Staff LINDA SEUBOLD Editor in Chief lindaseubold@efortsmith.com LYNN WASSON Managing Editor lynnwasson@efortsmith.com DONNA PAYNE Senior Editor donnapayne@efortsmith.com MARY JANE HENNIG Art Director

Contributing Writers REBA MIZE CANDISE MONTEMAYOR BRITTANY RANSOM KRISTAN ROLAND Contributing Photographers ROGER CARTER GLENN GILLEY KARRIE KELLY REBA MIZE DONNA PAYNE KRISTAN ROLAND LYNN WASSON

Advertising Sales DAVID CARTER davidcarter@efortsmith.com 479-650-9885 Advertising Coordinator KARRIE KELLY karrie@efortsmith.com 479-494-1888 Bookkeeping JULIE BERCH HAMILTON accounts@efortsmith.com 479-494-1888 © 2014 eFortSmith.com Media, Inc. 316 North 7th Street P.O. Box 1341 Fort Smith, AR 72902-1341 Office: 479-494-1888

www.efortsmith.com

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

Marching into action – hibernation is now over Suddenly, spring – even if the weather We went with photographer Glenn Gilley to chooses not to cooperate, everyone this shoot a sneak preview of just a few of the room magazine covers seems to be coming out of settings being transformed for the tour. hibernation. Our calendar is brimming with The Berry home is approximately the same activities and all the entertainment venues, nonage as I am and I so wish I could have held up so profit organizations, museums, galleries, beautifully. Even empty, its architectural design libraries and concert halls are inviting us to see has such “good bones” that it is stunningly lovely and do something new. and almost timeless. While touring, I opened a And it’s about time. This dreary, difficult cabinet door and found the dated height winter cancelled or measurements and names of diminished some of the A.Y. and “Chee” Berry’s area’s favorite events, such as many children and Christmas parades. We grandchildren. It confirmed haven’t been “out” together that 4 Berry Hill is not just a in a long while or at least it lovely home, it has been a feels that way. loving home to family, In these pages are several relatives and friends. unveilings of attractions There are some other worth visiting. Age before good folks in our feature beauty, one of those is the articles. Sue and Sonny oldest structure in Fort Robison, to name two. This Smith, the second fort’s couple, who now often What we love about March: commissary storehouse. The portray Mary and Judge If spring hasn’t sprung, the Master staff and faithful volunteers Isaac C. Parker, are so Gardeners will make it happen at the Fort Smith National admirable for their longanyway, overnight and in our own Historic site have done a time volunteer work for so convention center. Free parking! tremendous amount of many good organizations exhibit design and fabrication to offer a new and efforts here. If being busier than ever makes interpretive experience there. It’s probably been them happy in retirement, we are the years since many of you peeked into the beneficiaries of their good-hearted energy. commissary. You’ll enjoy this chance to go all the Likewise for sweet Stephanie Freeman, whose way inside and even see what it was like when own scary experience with one of her children in civilians made a home there for a while. a neonatal intensive care unit led her to think of The second unveiling is like a caterpillar other parents in that situation, who may be too bursting from its chrysalis. A wonderful Fort distracted by terror to remember to make a Smith home on secluded Berry Hill is emerging photograph of their child. Her compassion has as a bright new creature, but just for one month. sparked a nationwide volunteer service. The Berry family has allowed their family We hope you enjoy this issue in sunny, home’s use as a showcase of interior design steadily warming weather that beckons you to go talent, open for tours that will benefit Project out and dig in the dirt. (See page 36.) Compassion, a very worthwhile cause. – Lynn Wasson CIRCULATION Entertainment Fort Smith is a monthly city/regional magazine published from February to December by eFortSmith.com Media, Inc. Entertainment Fort Smith distributes 30,000 complimentary issues per month.

SUBSCRIPTION Entertainment Fort Smith can be mailed to you for $30 a publication year (11 issues).

Complimentary issues are distributed in Fort Smith, Van Buren, Alma, Greenwood and Barling, Ark., and in Roland, Muldrow, Spiro, Pocola, Poteau and Sallisaw, Okla., in retail and grocery stores, corporate offices, restaurants, medical offices, public libraries, visitor centers and tourist destinations. Complimentary issues are also provided in guest rooms of area hotels.

To print out a form and mail with a check, download a subscription form from www.efortsmith.com

To order by credit card, call 479-494-1888.

Mail check or money order to: Subscribe P.O. Box 1341, Fort Smith AR 72902

05_Layout 1 2/22/14 11:03 PM Page 5

06_Master Pages 2/24/14 1:33 AM Page 6

CONTENTS

features

12 14 20 Retirement overruled

March 2014

A Show House preview Enjoy a sneak peek at the April Designer Show House, which will benefit Project Compassion. A Berry Hill home is transformed by professional designers.

A retirement tale that isn’t Sue and Floyd Robison, champion volunteers, have had a quiet retirement overruled by Judge Parker himself. This active couple has plans to stay busy and volunteer even more.

The old commissary is a storehouse of history Take a new look inside the oldest building in Fort Smith, where visitors will find the stout stone bastion stocked with information about our past, presented in a different way.

Evan’s Project started with one woman’s compassion Stephanie Freeman understands that in an emergency with their baby, parents may miss the moment to capture a very important photograph and memory. She’s helping.

columns

HOT STUFF with LINDA SEUBOLD Linda recalls how horses were important to her and to her daughters.

departments

36 Lawn & Garden show springs up

ReadThis! Program

38 46 75

HOUSE & GARDEN Jean Allison of Creative Furnishings uses a paintbrush as a magic wand.

GARDENING with Reba Mize Now there’s proof that digging in the dirt can make you happier. Science!

DESIGNER NOTES Designer Again resale shop is a well-direct concert of happy buyers and sellers.

TRAVEL The Ozark Folk Center offers a school of Arkansas folk ways, crafts and music.

DINING The Grit Awards invite readers to vote to Give Recognition In Tourism

eve n t s

MUSIC & PERFORMANCE Breaking news: the Blues Festival line-up, plus March music and stage show dates.

KIDS EVENTS Spring break activities from area libraries and other fun stuff.

CALENDAR of EVENTS Check March 15 for the amazing diversity of events. Let us know if you do all of them.

on the cover:

Abby Taylor-Cox of Project Compassion at the 2014 Designer Show House with director Earl Douglas.

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

07_Layout 1 2/22/14 9:53 PM Page 7

08_Master Pages 2/23/14 2:18 PM Page 8

BY LINDA SEUBOLD

Two generations of horsey girls I'll never forget the day Frank Ahhhh, spring! I can't wait and his friend Tom Terrill (who for it to arrive this month – or had always had horses and at least it's supposed to, looked just like the Marlboro according to the calendar. Man) decided it was time the Except for the tornados that sisters had their own ponies. come with it, spring is my Laurie and Lanci were only 8 favorite time of year. and 7 when Tom came by in his Those first breezy, blue bird pickup one Saturday to take sky, emerald grass spring days them and Frank to buy a nearly often still remind me of my matched pair of dapple brown elementary school days in ponies he thought would be Fort Smith – when some of perfect for the girls. The girls my friends and I would race had ridden before, but never like like wild horses past our they did that day. playground toward the (off When they got back to our limits!) banks of the house with the horses, I was bordering Mill Creek that Lanci, in front on the left, and Lauri on their childhood ponies. stunned to see Tom just back his gave our school its name. horse and purchase its hay and feed with my truck up to the low ditch around the front of Some of us would even munch on the babysitting and odd jobs money. our house, lift each girl onto the back of her emerging spring grasses near the creek and When he found me a handsome, fleetown pony and have the ponies jump out of end up with “wild onion breath” that grossed footed pinto gelding, I promptly named it the truck and over the ditch into our yard. out our teachers and other classmates. I never “Amigo,” because I was certain that cow pony Neither girl had ever done anything like grazed on those spring plants to irritate would become my best friend forever. that, but you would have never known it. They teachers or other students – I just wanted to Amigo and I did have some fun, but not looked like they had been jumping horses off actually BE a horse. And, not just any horse. I necessarily at the same time. trucks across ditches every day for years. wanted to be the black, Arabian horse I had In case you've never read any previous And that's how it was from then on. Both started reading about in author Walter Farley's stories about my adventures with Amigo, I'll girls loved animals and we had plenty – still world-famous “Black Stallion” books. just say that any good traits he had were chickens, rabbits, goats and dogs – they had My mom used to tell me I had loved eclipsed by his two major flaws – he was already helped care for. So, with a few horses since I was a toddler. There were impossible to catch until he was ready to be parental instructions, they right away began family photos of me being led around on caught, and he could escape from any taking care of those ponies through ponies when I was 3 or 4 and riding double pasture, paddock, barn or fenced enclosure he everything from sub-zero Illinois blizzards to on my country cousins' tall saddle horses was ever kept in. Thanks to some of his spring monsoons and blazing hot summers, when I was in grade school. I started reading Houdini-like escapades, that horse nearly just as if they had always been doing it. Farley's “Black Stallion” books in about the caused me to be stung to death by bees and Until we moved from the farm a few years fourth grade and could whinny, toss my head my Methodist minister dad to nearly lose his later, Laurie and Lanci had nearly as many and run like the wind, just like the books' religion during all the times he had to help adventures with Cocoa and Cinnamon as I magnificent Black. me round up the fugitive pinto. had had with Amigo – except, thank My phase of wanting to be a horse didn't I didn't ride much after my husband, goodness, they never had to chase them all last long, though, and was replaced by an Frank, (who also used to ride and have his over creation like I had to do with my obsession to own a horse. By the time I was own horse) and I had five children within ornery horse. But, when we moved from about 12, my dad, in an apparent effort to eight years while he was working and going that farm and they had to see their ponies preserve his sanity and put an end to my to college. Of the five, only two – daughters sold, I knew they felt just like I did when I nagging, agreed to make up the difference of Laurie and Lanci – were ever horse crazy had to sell Amigo before my senior year in the money I had saved and what I still needed like me. high school. on two conditions: I take complete care of the 8

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

09-11_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 10:36 AM Page 9

April Show House

Berry Hill home is a Designer Show House to benefit Project Compassion

09-11_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 10:36 AM Page 10

APRIL 2-30

Local interior decorators each take a room to create a showcase of art and design

A secluded home on Berry Hill Road will open its doors to tours as the April Designer Show House, staged by local interior designers and decorators with furnishings, artwork, wall treatments, lighting and floor coverings to please the eye and perhaps inspire new design concepts in the beholders. On tour April 2-30, the proceeds of the show house ticket sales benefit Project Compassion, a nonprofit service organization whose mission is to bring joy, companionship and quality of life to residents in long-term care and retirement facilities throughout the area. More than 300 Project Compassion volunteers visit these facilities to make one-on-one visits, collect meaningful and comforting holiday gifts in their Hearts of Gold drive, plan recreational and healthy activities and make sure no elderly resident feels lonely or forgotten. A $12 admission ticket (group rates available) supports this mission while opening the door to both a house and design talents worth seeing. The house itself, built in the late 1950s by the late A.Y. Berry Jr. and Frances “Chee” Berry, is a mid-century modern classic, exemplifying the design style’s timelessness. Several of the designers have taken inspiration from the period, a look that is enjoying a revival and appreciation in contemporary design. Its open floor plan has long interior vistas, abundant windows that bring the outdoors in, with prominent display of natural architectural elements – richly finished woods, stacked stone fireplaces and fieldstone floorings. A spectacular curving staircase with redwood treads and handrails is a stunning focal point at the entry and atrium, mirroring the natural forms of the grove of trees surrounding the hillside home. This is the second benefit show house organized by Earl Douglas, a returned Fort Smith native who spent his career in Arizona and has experience in directing charitable events and designer houses in Los Angeles and Aspen. Also, he once helped organize a benefit in Monaco for the International Red Cross. In addition to the designers credited for the rooms previewed on these pages, others participating are Ann Coleman Interiors – study; Bill Harper Design – family room; and Denise Peacock – kitchen. Douglas has taken the stonefloored entry, placing a painting by Fort Smith artist Ernest Cialone on a custom-upholstered wall Douglas installed. Paintings he selected from the Center for Art and Education hang in other transitional spaces and hallways. Other donors will be recognized onsite and in the show house program. Visitors can enjoy the home’s distinctive architecture and lake views, as well as the interiors decorated for the tour. Some may fondly recall visiting as guests of the Berry family, who have graciously donated the use of their home. A.Y. Jr and Chee reared six children there and it also was a beloved family home for 24 grandchildren, almost 30 great-grandchildren and many more close relatives. Admission is $12 per person, available from Project Compassion. Tour hours are 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 1- 6 p.m. Sunday. April Designer Show House, 4 Berry Hill Road, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-2273 10

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

MAIN LIVING AREA

SARA STILLMAN, ASID ARCHITECTURE PLUS Abstract art, a patterned rug and vibrant blue vases in the sun-filled, first-floor living area.

SECOND-FLOOR BEDROOM

TERRI GLASCO, ASID From glazed white to tones of silvered mercury glass, gray and blue, tranquilly elegant colors.

PHOTOS BY GLENN GILLEY

09-11_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 10:36 AM Page 11

- LYNN CREEKMORE Updated with a mirrored wall and skillful mix of shapes, woods and patterns. DINING ROOM

BEDROOM

JEAN ALLISON, CREATIVE FURNISHINGS Hand-stenciling and a plum hue create a peaceful ambiance.

NURSERY

NED ROBERTS, GARRISON AVENUE ANTIQUES Rare antique Victorian four-poster crib and cradle, christening gown and rocking chair. YOUTH BEDROOM

JEN HURT, ASID JAMES R CHILDERS ARCHITECT, INC. Vibrant colors, energetic patterns, beadwork and textures in a lively collage. March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

12-13_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 10:42 PM Page 12

PROFILE

Sue and Floyd have retired, but the Parkers never do

Mary and Judge Isaac C. Parker, portrayed by Sue and Floyd Robison, at Parker’s Courtroom

hey had such a deliberate, sensible plan, these two. He worked loyally and long for a leading Fort Smith corporation. She put in the last 10 years at a constantly challenging job at a nonprofit, but one that brought together several of her talents and passions. Soon after marrying in 2003, they carefully began to prepare to retire almost on the same date in 2014. They stuck to that plan to be assured they could stop working and be relatively secure, retired – at leisure. When she learned she had a (solvable) medical concern, her treatment last year blew their goal of same-day retirement. Even though her last day at work came a little earlier, they still managed to conclude their careers very close together. Rocking chair, here they come, right? There is just one problem. About five years ago, Sue Robison and Sonny, as many call Floyd, began portraying iconic figures in their hometown’s history. And while the Robisons may retire, the characters of Judge Isaac C. Parker and his wife, Mary, never will. The historical couple is in demand. Fortunately, it’s something they have both come to love doing. And since Sonny has the “leading role” of their duo, portraying the legendary jurist who presided over the Federal Court of the Western District of Arkansas from 1875-1896, for once he can’t claim Sue made him do it. Getting involuntarily drafted into Sue’s “army” is something Sonny got accustomed to soon after they met at a Scottish Club event. He once would have described himself as considerably less outgoing than his wife, who absolutely thrives on planning, promoting and participating in community festivals and charitable events. She may have spotted his hidden potential when she found out he would at least wear a kilt. And while Sonny did not have quite as keen an interest in community projects that were thick on Sue’s resume, they did have a lot in common.

T The Robisons do clean up nicely, as pictured here at a wedding reception, but are just as often seen working hard as they are below, helping the Fort Smith Museum of History move in its “On the Air” broadcast exhibit. They’re the kind of volunteers who will do the heavy lifting.

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

12-13_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 10:42 PM Page 13

PROFILE Sue was born in Fort Smith at St. Edward’s hospital, one year and one day after Sonny was born at the same place in 1950. Her family moved to California because their father was in the Navy, but returned here and she attended Fort Smith schools through her graduation from Northside High School in 1969. Sonny had graduated from Southside in 1968. He joined the Navy and served in Vietnam. Both were previously married and have daughters, born one year apart but in the opposite order. Sue’s daughter, Anne, is one year older than Sonny’s daughter, Heather. He started to work more than 35 years ago at ABF in the rating/traffic department, which then operated on paper and by telephone, but progressed during his career to one of the most highly computerized areas. She worked in media, first at Channel 5, where covering our active community connected Sue to many nonprofit organizations and institutions she would later associate with. Working in television also suited her live-wire personality and can-do ethic. “At 5, then, everybody did it all,” she recalled. “I wrote commercial copy, invented promos and contests, did the Santa show, even ran the camera if necessary. I loved video editing. I never worked for a better company than the New York Times, nor have I worked with more caring, creative or exciting people than those I knew at TV5.” She shifted to print media, working in promotions at the Southwest Times Record until it sold to Stephens Media. “My big project I’m very proud of there was the 2000 rededication of the National Historic Site,” Sue said. “I worked with Nancy Steel on the special historical publication ‘Insight 2000.’” When the newspaper changed hands, she was let go along with 13 others in a downsizing. Sue went to the nonprofit sector, working for the Sebastian County Humane Society. Working at a nonprofit agency called for effort above and beyond anything the enthusiastic Sue had ever done. That’s when Sonny really got drafted into her world. “After that, everything she’s done, I had to volunteer for,” Sonny said in mock protest. “I enjoy being involved and I love the public,” Sue said. “I told Sonny when we got together, we can do these things or we can sit on the porch when we’re 85 and say we could have done these things.” She ribbed him that he had to admit they’ve had some good times – or at least, adventures, such as the time she had to ask him to drive an edgy shelter dog to a media interview. Sonny drove a Doberman he thought “was going to eat my face,” he remembered. At the interview, the bigger dog tried to bite a Chihuahua. “On the way back, I was now sure he could eat my face!” he said. Despite that, Sue said he worked patiently with shelter dogs to rehabilitate them so someone would adopt them, even though he’s more of a cat man. The couple naturally wound up with several pets at home, including one guinea pig. When Sue took a job at Community Services Clearinghouse, her experience around promotions and fundraising became part of her duties. The need for fundraising is constant. The agency fights hunger and operates the Meals for Kids Backpack Program, sending more than 2,000 area students home weekly with weekend food. Sonny pitched in frequently at Clearinghouse events, standing beside her for one sweaty, 15-hour day at a fundraiser at the Mayor’s Fourth of July celebration, selling concessions. Sue also enlisted his help for the regular work of the Clearinghouse, which includes packing, loading in or shipping out food or helping with holiday gift distribution. “I don’t have to ask her what I need to do,” he joked. “When she sees something that has to be done, she does it.” He just learned to keep up.

Frequent volunteers there, Floyd and Sue enjoyed participating in two Fort Smith Museum of History exhibits that touched on their own past. He contributed to a Memorial Day recognition of the military with photos from his Navy Seawolves covert helicopter operations in Vietnam. They also helped recall Sue’s media career in the “On the Air” broadcast exhibit.

While at Clearinghouse, Sue produced an annual Heritage Festival, a multi-cultural outdoor event held downtown that included Western reenactors and Parker-era historical figures, wagon rides and a petting zoo. Held primarily for the children served by Clearinghouse, it grew into an event lots of people attended and involved the Museum of History, the Fort Smith Trolley Museum and the Fort Smith Historic Site. “When we were dealing with the Historic Site, Sue suggested I should volunteer,” Sonny recounted. “I said you might enjoy it!” Sue said, protesting being called bossy. Sonny trained with the National Historic Site’s volunteer cannon crew and portrayed both Confederate and Union soldiers in programs. He had grown his snow-white beard and hair longer for the re-enactments and others noticed he resembled the photographs and portraits of the older Isaac Parker. David Dunagin, an attorney who volunteers for reenactments of federal court trials at Night Court presentations, often portrays Parker as a younger man, Sonny noted. “I had gotten tired of being killed in a lot of Civil War battles so I promoted myself to judge,” he joked. At the Heritage Festival and in programs at the Fort Smith Museum of History, he began to appear as Parker, simply for atmosphere. Sue joined him as Parker’s wife, Mary. At first they appeared as the couple only ceremonially, but both were drawn to do research so they could characterize the Parkers correctly. “I was appearing at a Judge Parker birthday party celebration when two little girls outside spotted me and yelled, ‘There he is!’” Sonny recalled. “I started talking with them. The young kids know a lot more than we give them credit.” The interest of children and responsibility to educate them accurately pushed him to learn to speak more when in character. Because of kids, “I’ve gotten more outgoing about it,” Sonny said. “I don’t want to embarrass Parker for one thing. For another thing, I don’t want to have to answer to him if I meet him in the afterlife!” Finding out more about Mary has hooked Sue. “She’s less well-known, but I think I know her now. She was well-educated. I don’t think she fit in very well here as an upper-class person. They had a happy home, a jovial home, raising boys. She was a worker bee. Education was her cause and she taught in a little free school during the Civil War before coming here. She was one of the founders of Fort Smith’s first lending library,” she said. “I think she was raised to feel she had a duty to do service.” “I also found out she was in charge of a pony race; her boys liked to ride ponies,” she said. Sounds a little like Sue’s own fun-loving ideas. The Robisons claim they know how to relax. Sonny does some winemaking and woodworking. But for these two, retirement also means more time for volunteering and bringing a historic couple alive to children. March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

14-15_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 11:58 AM Page 14

The Commissary Storehouse at the Fort Smith National Historical Site has new interpretive exhibits explaining all its uses over its long existence.

Still standing strong, now a storehouse of history

Visitors can now step inside and learn about history in new ways at Fort Smith’s longest-surviving landmark – the Commissary Storehouse at the Fort Smith National Historic Site, regarded as one of the oldest structures in Fort Smith. Built during the second military Fort Smith period, which began in 1838, it originally stood within the fort’s stone wall and served as a corner bastion protecting two officers quarters, a barracks and a quartermaster storehouse. Of that period, only the commissary and the barracks, later converted to the Federal Courthouse, still stand. The park’s purpose is to put the past in the hands of visitors. The updated, interactive exhibits at the commissary will now do that well. The building previously reflected only its use as a supply warehouse during the fort’s military period. After months of painstakingly detailed work, the commissary now presents a more thorough depiction of all the ways the building was used. “Originally, we only told one story, now we tell two – of it being a commissary for food and about it being turned into living quarters sometime during the Civil War, ” said Jeremy Lynch, an interpretive park ranger. “Food supplies were stored at the location and later transported to troops stationed farther west. Transcontinental railroad survey parties, ’49ers heading for California's goldfields and soldiers fighting in the U.S.Mexican War drew rations from this building. It was modified for use as a barracks and hospital, and then converted into a residence for a time.” Before the new exhibit, visitors could only look in from an open doorway at period-typical bags and crates stacked inside. Now, they can enter a corridor and stand in the heart of the building. 14

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

Display cases hand built by Lynch hold food stores typical of a commissary’s inventory, including the occasional well-placed (plastic) mouse on a rafter or worms in hardtack and salt pork barrels. How’s that for authentic? Shelves hold period-correct canned products such as potted beef and hominy. The cans are smooth edged and soldered according to the practices of the day. All the labeling and stenciling of bags, boxes and barrels are authentic to both the time and location of history it represents. “I have always liked the small details, not just the large picture,” said Erik Creekmore, a park volunteer. “To me, that is what makes or breaks an impression for an exhibit.” The floor is laid with stones that were pulled from the Arkansas River. The massive, aging beams can be seen leaking salt. More text panels and a smell display, where visitors can sniff vinegars and salt pork, eventually will be added. The fortress of a building is hard to imagine as anyone’s home, but a few civilians lived there. That use is recognized in an exhibit of period furnishings, such as a writing desk that would have been owned by Florence Hammersley, court stenographer for Judge Parker, whose family lived in the building after a flood at their home in town. Parker himself used the second floor of the building as his chambers. In 1910, after the Parker era was over, commercial buildings and streets crowded beside the commissary. Citizens with foresight succeeded in preserving it, using it as the Old Fort Museum, a forebear to today’s Fort Smith Museum of History. The military fort property was conveyed to the National Park Service in 1961.

14-15_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 11:58 AM Page 15

As the commissary illustrates, the fort has played ever-changing roles in its almost 200 years. “Most people that come here are surprised because they don’t realize the large period of history that we cover,” said Lynch. “We start in 1817 and explain how this piece of land played such a huge part in politics, in law and order, and keeping the peace in Indian Territory.” Addressing events from the establishment of the first Fort Smith on Dec. 25, 1817, to the final days of Judge Isaac C. Parker's jurisdiction over Indian Territory in 1896, the Fort Smith National Historic Site examines almost 80 years of richly varied state, national and cultural history, including one of the most difficult periods for Native Americans. A passion for the past has drawn as many as 70,000 to 80,000 visitors, researchers and history buffs each year to learn Fort Smith and America’s past. Bringing this history to life is an ever-evolving aspiration for park staff and volunteers who willingly give their time to accomplish continual park upgrades.

“We try to present multi-perspectives and to look at both sides of the story, including the people that sometimes got caught in the middle,” Lynch said. “This is a place people can come and spend the day. In winter or summer, there are different pieces of history to explore.” The park's grounds are open 365 days a year and include paved, handicapped-accessible walking trails along the Arkansas River and Belle Point, offering picnic tables and several outdoor exhibits, including a Trail of Tears overlook with interpretive panels. A visit to the historic site begins at the visitor center, located in the former barracks/courthouse/ jail building beside the replica gallows. Fort Smith National Historic Site, 301 Parker Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. For visitor information, call 479-783-3961. nps.gov/fosm

Living quarters as they may have looked when the Hammersley family resided there. STORY AND PHOTOS BY CANDISE MONTEMAYOR

Lead-sealed canned goods and barrels of salted pork with opportunistic (fake) pests. Park ranger Jeremy Lynch and volunteer Erik Creekmore open the dry grain bin exhibits.

16_Master Facing Pages 2/24/14 12:10 AM Page 16

MARCH 21-23

Spring springs at River Valley Lawn & Garden Show A gardener in Fort Smith need never be lonely – or have a garden question without an answer. The annual Lawn & Garden Show held by the River Valley Master Gardeners is proof. The entire convention center is filled with folks eager to share what they know and help other gardeners succeed. The horticultural extravaganza March 2123 convenes garden educators, vendors of new tools, implements or ornaments, and nurseries large and small selling live plants. Specialty growers of herbs, for example, or succulents, orchids or vegetables can be found in the bazaar of vendor booths. Springing from the concrete floor, large “show gardens” appear fully realized. Some may have spectacular running waterfalls and live trees surrounded by “lawns” of green sod and blooming flowers. A children’s area keeps young green thumbs busy. Admission is $5. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Fort Smith Convention Center, Rogers Avenue and South 9th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-285-0148 fslawngardenshow.com

Expert Speakers Schedule: Friday, March 21 10:30 a.m. How to Grow A Vegetable Garden Mary Smith & Mary Watts

Saturday, March 22 10:30 a.m. Using Hardscapes to Soften Your Landscape Tom Perry

Sunday, March 23 10:30 a.m. Propagation of Plants Susan Randolph & Diane Pitlick

12:30 p.m. Creating Your Edible Landscape Jim Long

12:30 p.m. Heirloom Vegetables & Herbs, a Beginner’s Guide Jim Long

1 p.m. Hot New Plants for Arkansas Janet Carson

2:30 p.m. Gardening From Inside Out Dawn Denton

2:30 p.m. Roses and New Plants on the Market Vicki Whitfield

2:30 p.m. Growing and Using the Top 10 Herbs Jim Long

4 p.m. Moles & Gophers H.C. Varnadore

3:30 p.m. Japanese Maples & Azaleas Carden Harris

4 p.m. Concrete Casting Diane Parker

5 p.m. Pruning Shade Trees Pat Robbins 16

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

17_Layout 1 2/22/14 9:50 PM Page 17

18_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 3:12 PM Page 18

MARCH 10

GUNS of the Frontier

The Old West and Indian Territory days are an era ingrained in the American imagination and no single item represents this period more than the gun. In a lecture series presented by the U.S. Marshals Museum, learn about three guns that were part of this legendary and often mythical period of American history.

March 10

May 12

Session 1 Guns of the Frontier

Session 3 A Deputy and His Colt

A series overview will be presented by Robert Pickering, director of curatorial affairs and public programs at the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Okla., and former deputy director of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyo. Pickering will discuss the role guns played in settling the frontier and in the building of the nation, the types of guns that were most popular and myths versus the realities of gunslingers. 6:30 p.m. UAFS Blue Lion, 101 North 2nd Street, Fort Smith

May’s lecture will highlight Bass Reeves, one of the first AfricanAmerican deputy U.S. marshals west of the Mississippi River. Judge Paul Brady, great-nephew of Bass Reeves, will discuss Reeve’s life and times as a deputy. Paul Szymaszek, historical research assistant from the Colt Historical Department, will examine the history of Colt Firearms, the popularity of Colt on the frontier and important features of Reeves’ own .32 Colt Revolver, donated to the U.S. Marshals Museum by Judge Brady in 2011. 6:30 p.m. UAFS Blue Lion, 101 North 2nd Street, Fort Smith

April 14

Session 2 The Hangman and His Winchester This talk will showcase a Winchester Rifle acquired by the museum in 2013 and its infamous owner, the “Prince of Hangmen” George Maledon. David Bichrest, gunsmith, Winchester consultant and past president of the Winchester Arms Collectors Association, will discuss the history of Winchester Repeating Arms, the Winchester’s popularity on the frontier and what made the Winchester Model 1873 “the gun that won the West.” A panel of local historians will discuss the facts versus myths of the life of Maledon, executioner and one of the more elusive figures of Judge Parker’s Court. 6:30 p.m. River Park Events Center, 101 Riverfront Drive, Fort Smith. 18

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

June 9

Session 4 An Outlaw and His Smith & Wesson Roy Jinks, historian for Smith & Wesson, will highlight the history of Smith & Wesson, its popularity on the frontier and the distinguishing characteristics of the “Russian” model, including the ivory handled, long-barreled .44 pistol carried by Ezekiel “Zeke” Proctor and on loan to the USMM for this program. Learn about the life of Zeke Proctor from one of his descendents. Audiences may attend selected lectures or all four. A commemorative monograph is included with the purchase of the four-lecture package. The monograph may be purchased separately for $15. Light refreshments will be served at each lecture. Cash bar available. For reservations, call or visit the USMM Office. $10 per lecture, or $25 for all four lectures and the monograph. The Marshals Museum office is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday at 14 North 3rd Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-709-3766 usmarshalsmuseum.com

19_Layout 1 2/22/14 9:52 PM Page 19

20-22_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 1:22 PM Page 22

Photographer devotes her life to capturing tender moments

B By Brittney Ransom

There is nothing more beautiful than someone who goes out of their way to make life beautiful for others. – Mandy Hale, author

Stephanie Freeman of Greenwood is proof of that, as are the moving newborn photographs that are a product of her organization, Evan’s Project. Evan’s Project is a charitable organization that provides professional photography services to parents of infants in neonatal intensive care units. The goal is to provide tangible memories of a child’s earliest days at no cost to the parents. The project was inspired by a couple of

Freeman’s personal experiences. When her son, Jake, was born in 1996, he was unexpectedly taken to the NICU, where he remained for 10 days. Solely focused on getting her son well enough to take home, pictures were the last thing on her mind. “One of the nurses was kind enough to snap a Polaroid of him during those first few days,” Freeman said. “It is the only picture I have of Jake from his first week and a half.”

Evan’s Project founder Stephanie Freeman Evan Bumgarner, whose short life prompted Stephanie Freeman’s photography mission.

20-22_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 1:22 PM Page 23

EVAN’S PROJECT The second experience came 13 years later. Freeman’s dear friends, Sean and Monica Bumgarner, gave birth to a boy named Evan, who was diagnosed with a rare condition known as Trisomy 13. While in the NICU, a nurse encouraged Evan’s parents to take pictures, but they were too overwhelmed by his recent diagnosis to find the time. Fortunately, a nurse at Arkansas Children’s Hospital picked up a camera and snapped some of Evan and his parents. Evan lived only six days. Following Evan’s passing, Freeman was determined to help her friends during their time of grief. “I knew I wanted to do something,” said Freeman. “God started just working on my heart. He gave me this idea and I admit, I didn’t listen at first. But He kept putting it on my heart.” Eventually, Freeman surrendered and things got rolling with “a lot of prayer and a phone call.” She reached out to Ronald McDonald Charities of Arkoma, which worked with Mercy Fort Smith to obtain the proper permissions for the project. The go-ahead call came on March 10, 2011 – Evan’s second birthday.

“Her compassion for others and uncanny desire to serve those in our community is absolutely amazing,” said Ginger Thompson, Evan’s Project board member. “Every family means something to her. She becomes their friend. She knows the names of every baby that has been photographed.” Freeman’s service extends far beyond Evan’s Project. She is a devoted wife, mom, church member, employee and volunteer. She and her husband, David, have been married 20 years and have two sons: Jake, 17, and Jackson, 11. “I believe the first ministry God gives us is our family,” said Freeman. “With everything else, they are really my focus. Most of my time is spent following my boys’ athletics. Both are baseball and football players and their schedules keep us pretty busy.” When she is not shuffling kids to games, snapping photographs for Evan’s Project or working as an employee benefits specialist for Konecny Insurance Services in Fort Smith, Freeman can be found serving at her church, Greenwood United Methodist, or volunteering for the American Cancer Society and Ronald McDonald House Charities. She also operates her own business, Diamond Memories Photography. Freeman is passing on her heart for service to her family. Jake now volunteers as a photographer for Evan’s Project.

The Evan’s Project photo above was taken by Freeman’s son Jake. He is now on the team of volunteer photographers providing pictures of babies in neonatal intensive care units.

“The timing of it all was further evidence that the Lord was at work and that this was all coming together in His perfect timing,” said Freeman. Freeman began placing calls to several of her photographer friends, asking if they would be interested in volunteering their services. She received an overwhelming response. “It was amazing to see God opening their hearts to see a vision of a project I hadn’t even figured out yet,” she said. Freeman exemplifies what it means to have a servant’s heart and, because of that, more than 500 families have been blessed with beautiful photographs of their babies during their earliest days. The program has served families all over Arkansas, as well as in Oklahoma, Texas, Washington and Connecticut. For a handful of these parents, they are the only photographs they will ever have of their child. While incredibly humble in her endeavors, Freeman’s kindness is inspiring to those around her.

“It is pretty amazing to see him in action,” said Freeman. “He told me one day that he believed he could serve as a real encouragement to the parents. He said he thought it would be helpful for the families to see that he was a NICU baby and that he came through and grew to be strong and healthy and that their child can, too.” Freeman seems to have found a balance between faith, family, job and her mission work. Her kindness and eagerness to serve has blessed the lives of hundreds of families all over the nation and has even received international recognition. Ronald McDonald House Charities recently obtained permission to use Evan’s Projects photographs in its marketing, which is seen in 57 countries. Because of her willingness to follow her heart, Stephanie Freeman has undoubtedly made the world a more a beautiful place. March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

20-22_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 1:22 PM Page 24

EVAN’S PROJECT

How to become a part of Evan’s Project As Evan’s Project has grown, Freeman has had to step back from doing so much of the photography and focus on the more administrative tasks. She spends a significant portion of her time sending out calls for photographers and responding to requests. “We could really benefit from some volunteers to help with scheduling and outreach,” explained Freeman. “I think it would help a great deal if we had area coordinators to help schedule the photographers, arrange for back-up photographers and assist with outreach.” As with any nonprofit, donations also are always needed. “Our biggest expense is insurance,” Freeman said. “We offer our services free of charge and all of our photographers donate their time, but we have expenses, including our organization’s insurance, as well as postage and other items.” For more information about Evan’s Project, visit evansproject.org.

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

23_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 3:34 PM Page 23

READTHIS! PROGRAM

Read one book together, meet the author Tim O’ Brien

ort Smith’s diverse community – from Vietnam War veterans to college students to the city’s Vietnamese population – will have a chance to read an acclaimed novel on the Vietnam War and then meet its author March 12. “The Things They Carried” was selected as the annual book for the University of ArkansasFort Smith’s ReadThis! program. “An Evening with Tim O’Brien” will allow readers to meet and talk with its author. Some readers will pick up the novel with no prior concept of the Vietnam War and its toll on the soldiers who fought in it. Through a series of short stories all concerning one company, O’Brien writes of the real and metaphorical things the young soldiers carried, left behind or took with them if they survived their tour in Southeast Asia. While O’Brien doesn’t want to dictate how his best-selling novel is interpreted by the various individuals who read the book, he hopes “The Things They Carried” will inspire them to continue learning and reading about the conflict. “The virtue is that I get so many letters from people that had no idea what (the Vietnam War) was at all, but now they have a feel for it, and they say they want to read more,” he said. “Whether they were frustrated by my book or loved my book, it made them want to say, ‘I want to learn more.’ And that’s great.” O’Brien’s talk comes after two months of ReadThis! events centered around his celebrated novel. The speaking engagement will be held at 5:30 p.m. March 12 at the Stubblefield Center

on the UAFS campus and will be followed by a book signing. Admission is free but tickets are required and available at the UAFS Box Office.

“

Whether they were frustrated by my book or loved my book, it made them want to say, ‘I want to learn more.’ And that’s great.

”

The novel was praised by critics and readers alike upon its release in 1990. It was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. The New York Times wrote, “By moving beyond the horror of the fighting to examine with sensitivity and insight the nature of courage and fear ... (O’Brien) places ‘The Things They Carried’ high up on the list of best fiction about any war.” It was O’Brien’s sixth novel and one that was five years and thousands of hours of work in the making. O’Brien adhered to a strict work regimen while writing the novel, working on average from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. every day in an arduous grind of perpetual revision. “To be a writer, you have to be really stubborn, almost like a donkey,” he said. “You don’t get done in a day or two days, or a year or

two years, or sometimes even five years. It’s endless revision, endless criticism of oneself, endless rethinking.” O’Brien, who was already a committed writer prior to serving in the Vietnam War, found the craft a perfect outlet to explore the emotions and occurrences he experienced overseas. “I think going back to Vietnam and going back to the things they carried was necessary for me,” he said. “I’m not sure if it was entirely psychological, but it was more a feeling that there were so many other stories that were worth telling. And I think that’s probably what really pushed me to write this book.” To have the novel selected for a community read is, to O’Brien, “a real honor.” “It’s kind of a validation of a lifetime’s worth of work. To have so many people around the country reading ‘The Things They Carried’ and to have it chosen for a community read like this is unbelievable,” he said. “Very few writers get that, and it’s really neat to go to a town where so many people have read my book.” After doing approximately 20 speaking engagements a year across the nation, O’Brien began to cut back on the amount of talks he gave due to its interference with his writing. Now, he said he goes “where I want to go and to places I’ve never been before.” “That’s why I’m going – I’ve never been there,” said O’Brien said of Fort Smith. “I’ve only been in Arkansas twice in my life – once was in Fayetteville 25 years ago. And I met smart people and good writers, so now I want to see another part.” March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

24-25_Master Pages 2/23/14 1:55 PM Page 24

DESIGNER NOTES

Jean Allison at her inviting storefront.

Eye on the details, seeing potential pretties

elaxed, beautiful but artfully and deliberately chosen – that’s the impression Creative Furnishings will make on each visitor to the Van Buren shop of Jean Allison. Among other attractions on historic Main Street, Creative Furnishings’ exterior bids for a passer-by’s attention. A sidewalk setting of sculpture and a café table and the handsome black-and-cream storefront call visitors inside. She has a gift of arranging things pleasingly. Before Jean and her husband, Clint, came to live in Arkansas after his retirement from the military, she staged eagerly anticipated, quarterly yard sales at her Florida home. “I set up vignettes in the driveway,” she explained. “I usually sold out.” As a career military spouse, mobility as a lifestyle challenged Jean to create a home in whatever circumstances her family arrived in.

What she regarded as a hobby outside her career as an educator and mental health counselor became a business when she opened Creative Furnishings last year, although she enjoys it so much she still calls it “play.” At the heart of Creative Furnishings is her transformation of furniture and objects with milk paint, chalk paint and, often, stenciling. Jean has said her reward comes from turning an “ugly duckling into a beautiful swan.” An art deco sideboard currently in the store is an example of her duckling-to-swan magic. It had graceful lines but a worn varnished finish. Jean’s artistry with Annie Sloan paint renewed it into a painted piece. Her subtle floral stenciling inside the doors is the kind of detail that distinguishes her furniture transformations. A small, chippy black side table became a popping accent piece when she painted a white Moroccan pattern, twining on its top. Besides painting furniture for retail, Jean also teaches milk paint, chalk paint and stenciling techniques in small classes in-store. She also takes on custom work to paint clients’ furniture and accessories. “I like to encourage people to ‘shop’ in their own homes first, to see if we can transform something they already own,” she explained. She has engaged the professional skills of her engineer husband to create clever primitive and Original artworks hanging with frames and a Ronald Julius Christensen serigraph, “Farmyard.”

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

24-25_Master Pages 2/23/14 1:55 PM Page 25

DESIGNER NOTES

A reclaimed chair near a Sacran original oil.

Stencil work inside a Deco sideboard door.

industrial light fixtures. Two in the store now are made from a wire potato basket and a chicken feeder, both lit by vintage Edison bulbs. Creative Furnishings also offers selected works of local artists such as oil paintings by Jason Sacran and photographs by Kevin Mehle. Jean’s design talent will be seen in the April Show House benefitting Project Compassion. Her bedroom in the show house is emblematic of her many talents. She chose a plum wall color then stenciled it in a rounded pattern on an accent wall. A headboard of rustic shutters (fabricated by Clint), custom-painted furniture and a circular rug complete the room. The effect is simple, serene but with a quiet energy and elegance – Jean’s signature style. Creative Furnishings 504 Main Street, Van Buren 479-883-2269 Open Monday 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m. or by appointment. March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

26-32_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 11:07 PM Page 26

home & garden goodies

Vintage Kromex spun aluminum canister set from Creative Furnishings by Jean.

Vintage carved wood smoking pipes from Designer Again.

Garden or tabletop urn planter with braid accents available at Jo Waite Interiors.

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

26-32_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 11:07 PM Page 27

home & garden goodies Painted tin planters with bird and nest designs available from Neumeier Nursery & Florist.

Wooden, handpainted chinoiserie and tea caddy bookends from Main Street Interiors.

Self-cleaning, large capacity, stainless steel Frigidaire gas range found at Sutherlands.

March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

26-32_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 11:07 PM Page 28

home & garden goodies

Specialty gourmet food items available at Paul's Meat Market.

Stamped seed box, vintage wheelbarrow, patchwork quilt and watering can found at Belle Starr Antique Mall.

Swan Creek soy candles in reusable vintage pottery from Unique Boutique.

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

26-32_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 11:07 PM Page 29

home & garden goodies Contemporary accent chair with exposed wood trim and welt cord tailoring from Furniture Emporium.

Lolita coffee glass, whiskey, liqueur and lager – it's all Irish and found at In Good Spirits.

Jellies, jams, preserves and salsas available at Yard Sale Find Design.

March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

26-32_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 11:07 PM Page 30

home & garden goodies Primo Oval Junior with cooking station available at Luther Stem Pools and Spas.

Photo frames in bright yellow found at Mailbox Express.

Burlap bunny, photo keepsake box and vintage alarm clock from The Goods.

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

26-32_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 11:07 PM Page 31

home & garden goodies

Metal yard stakes and Easter egg tree from Sharum’s Garden Center.

Red coffee cup on canvas available at Marcia Cooksey Interiors.

Rustic table lamp with burlap shade and metal sign that points to the lake. Available at Now & Then Shoppe.

March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

26-32_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 11:07 PM Page 32

home & garden goodies

Bone china figurine of The Last Supper and a selection of crosses from Crossroads Antique Mall.

Organic, local products by Deputy 5 Farm and Rockin' J Ranch found at BrickCity Emporium.

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

33_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 4:00 PM Page 33

Recognizing and honoring Noble Causes

harolette Tidwell and Tom Jakobs will be honored for their good works with a reception March 13 recognizing their Noble Cause Awards. The awards were founded by Arthur J. Gallagher Co. to recognize people devoted to making their world a better place. With her Antioch Youth & Family organization, Tidwell fights hunger in the Fort Smith region, currently serving more than 3,200 families and 7,500 individuals each month. Antioch volunteers collect, package, serve and deliver thousands of nutritionally balanced bags of groceries monthly. Tidwell has found ways to stretch Antioch’s resources to serve those in need. Philip Merry, area president of Gallagher, called Tidwell an exemplary “servant leader.” Jakobs created Be Extraordinary, or BeX, a nonprofit helping severely Charolette Tidwell disabled people. Partnering with InvoTek, a local company specializing in innovative technology for individuals with severe disabilities, and the Arkansas Spinal Cord Commission, BeX works one-on-one with individuals, inventing technology solutions and patient problem-solving to reach goals that may be as simple but life-changing as devising a way for a paralyzed man to use a computer. BeX is currently assisting 24 people, mostly in Arkansas. Tom Jakobs The community is invited to the reception, 5:30-7:30 p.m. March 13 at the Fort Smith Convention Center. Refreshments will be served. Donations to the honored organizations are suggested but not required.

March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

34-35_Master Facing Pages 2/24/14 12:01 AM Page 34

WHAT’S COOKING with KRISTAN ROLAND

Celebrate

the sweetness of Spring!

Spring is almost here!! I don't know about you, but after the winter we had, I'm ready. I'm SO over the ice, the cold wind and all the snow days!! School exists for a reason, just saying. My husband has his 40th birthday this month, so besides the warmer weather, I'm excited to welcome a new decade with him. And what better way to celebrate than with dessert?

Check out Kristan’s blog at confessionsofacookbookqueen.com Brownies 1 cup salted butter 1 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder (dark cocoa powder) 2 cups granulated sugar 4 large eggs 1 tbsp. vanilla extract 11⁄3 cup flour 1 12 oz. (or close to 12 oz.) jar hot fudge sauce Frosting 1 cup salted butter, slightly softened 1 ⁄3 cup heavy whipping cream 2 tsp. mint extract 1 tsp. vanilla extract Drop or two of green food coloring 4 cups powdered sugar 2 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped Brownies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with foil and spray with nonstick vegetable oil spray. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the cocoa and melted butter until smooth. Stir in sugar until combined. Stir in eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each. Stir in vanilla. Fold in flour just until you no longer see flour streaks in the batter. Gently fold in hot fudge sauce (you may need to heat it just enough to spoon/pour out of jar). Spread batter in prepared pan and bake for about 20-25 minutes. Test brownies with a toothpick before removing from oven. The toothpick should have a few fudgy crumbs on it, but no raw batter. Let brownies cool completely. 34

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

Frosting: In the bowl of a mixer, beat butter, cream and both extracts on medium speed until smooth. With mixer speed on low, slowly add powdered sugar and mix until just combined. Add food coloring and increase speed to medium high and beat for about minute, until frosting is light, smooth and fluffy. If frosting is too thick, add another tablespoon or two of cream and beat for 30 more seconds. Add chopped chocolate and mix on low until incorporated. Frost cooled brownies. For easiest cutting, cover and chill brownies before serving. Helpful Tip: This recipe makes a large batch but the ingredients can easily be cut in half and the brownies can be baked in an 8x8 pan, for a smaller amount. I like making the full batch and freezing half for when I need a quick dessert! Variations: Not a fan of mint? Omit the mint extract and green food coloring and you'll have chocolate chip brownies. If dark chocolate isn't your thing, you can also substitute regular, unsweetened cocoa powder.

34-35_Master Facing Pages 2/24/14 12:01 AM Page 35

Cupcakes: 1 box (18.25 oz.) classic white cake mix 1 small box lime Jell-O 11⁄3 cup vegetable oil 4 eggs 3 ⁄4 cup limeade concentrate, thawed 2 cups graham cracker crumbs Frosting: 1 stick salted butter, slightly softened 8 oz. cream cheese, slightly softened 3 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice 4 cups powdered sugar Graham cracker crumbs and lime slices for garnish Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin tins with liners. Sprinkle a spoonful of graham cracker crumbs in the bottom of each liner. In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, Jell-O, eggs, vegetable oil and limeade concentrate. Beat on low for 30 seconds. Scrape sides of bowl, increase speed to medium high and beat for two minutes. Fill tins 2⁄3 full. Bake for about 15 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and cool completely on wire racks. Frosting: In the bowl of a mixer, beat cream cheese, butter and lime juice on medium-low speed until combined. With the mixer set on low, slowly add powdered sugar. Beat until just combined. Increase speed to high and beat for one minute. Frost cupcakes, then garnish with additional graham cracker crumbs and lime slices. March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

36-37_Master Pages 2/23/14 4:22 PM Page 36

GARDENING

It’s a scientific fact that dirt can make you happier By Reba Mize

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

hat’s right, getting dirty can make you happier. I have always known that working in my yard made me feel a sense of peace. Birds singing, bees buzzing and, if I’m lucky, I get flowers and vegetables. It turns out there is another reason for that sense of well-being. The secret lives in the soil. Specifically Mycobacterium Vaccae. This naturally occurring bacterium found in most soil has been found to increase levels of serotonin, the so-called “happy hormone.” Gardeners get an infusion of these bacteria when digging in the dirt. I found this fun fact while researching the role of therapeutic gardens. I had to look into this further – any excuse to get into the garden. We begin at London’s Royal Marsden Hospital where oncologist Dr. Mary O’Brien discovered her patients given M Vaccae (pronounced emm-vah-kay) for a life-threatening disease received unexpected improvements in another area – emotional health, vitality and even cognitive ability. This without ever stepping into a garden. Dr. Chris Lowry, working at the time at Bristol University, decided to do further study on this phenomenon using mice and a tiny swimming pool. Apparently, mice don’t naturally like water. It causes them great anxiety. The mice he injected with M Vaccae, however, had a veritable pool party. I spoke with professor Dorothy Matthews, who, along with her colleague professor Susan Jenks, studies the positive effects of this phenomenal bacterium at Sage University in Troy, N.Y. They feed their mice a peanut butter and M Vaccae cracker and send them through a maze. “The mice that eat the cracker with the M Vaccae bacteria complete the task in half the time with less stress as the control mice,” she said.

36-37_Master Pages 2/23/14 4:22 PM Page 37

GARDENING Forget your Wheaties and eat dirt? Should we be adding a spoonful of soil to our daily diet, Professor Matthews? No, the dirt contains many other things that may not be so good for you to eat, she said, but getting out in your yard is a great idea. “Most of us in our modern urban world would avoid dirt,” she said. “These microbacterium evolved along with humans over time. It may be that we need them to develop healthy nervous systems and disease resistance.”

Turns out your mother was ahead of the scientists when she marched you out to play when you were being naughty. An hour or so outside in contact with the soil really did chill you out. A different study at Harvard University recently concluded that flowers affect people in a way that causes them to feel more compassion and less anxiety, as well as feeling more energetic. Let’s consider getting our medicine in a flower bed rather than a pill bottle.

Here are Dr. Matthews’ actual laboratory mice, posing on their peanut butter, and the bacterium Mycobacterium Vaccae under the microscope. It looks like fried eggs!

March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

38-39_Master Pages 2/23/14 5:57 PM Page 38

HEALTH & BEAUTY FOCUS

Owner Tiffany Parker in the clothing department.

Managing the ins and outs at Designer Again

iffany Parker has learned to go with the flow at her busy downtown consignment and resale empire – well, two kinds of flow. At the large North 3rd Street shop just off Garrison Avenue, she has to serve two sets of people essential to her: buyers and sellers. The good quality, gently pre-owned merchandise in the well-organized store comes from Column A – consigners who bring in apparel, jewelry and footwear or home furnishings, decorations, art, antiques and collectibles. Column B are the shoppers, customers who love bargain prices and make fun discoveries on the hangers and shelves. A number of her regular customers belong in both columns, she said. They sell consignment merchandise but also use their profits to shop from Designer Again. Service is her No. 1 priority, for both groups, Tiffany said. Her critical role is in choosing what to accept and how to price it. “We research a lot to decide what to do,” she explained. “Knowing what is selling right now is important. I encourage my employees to learn all the time. We don’t want to mislead our consigners by accepting items we won’t be able to sell for them. It’s not that they are not good items, but we will tell them what isn’t and is selling right now.” Her decisions are based from her innate

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

fashion sense and it’s helpful to have both a young adult and teenage daughter, Tiffany said. She takes a lot of fashion cues from her kids and from her fashion-savvy employees, she noted. Many of the women (and sometimes guys) who are clerks at Designer Again were attracted to the job because they do “have an eye” for what’s in, she said. More than the season influences Tiffany’s apparel buying and pricing. Vintage trends pop up spontaneously and Parker has good intuition about when, for example, high-waisted jeans, vests or other accessories make a comeback. Tiffany became interested in resale through her own creativity, that old-fashioned value – thrift – and the benefits of recycling. She loves to restyle, reuse and re-enjoy almost anything of good quality or design. Repurposing has become as popular as the idea of recycling and many who enjoy freshening up a table, chair or chest comb through Designer Again for crafting candidates. Tiffany often sees some of the other creative shop owners associated with this magazine “picking” for furniture or jewelry to update or reassemble into something fun, she said. She enjoys seeing their finds of the day. The popularity of Pinterest, Etsy and eBay online pulls in new people who browse for glassware or tableware for entertaining, she has noticed. Awareness of resale shops is growing.

38-39_Master Pages 2/23/14 5:57 PM Page 39

HEALTH & BEAUTY FOCUS

Stemware, glasses, mugs and tableware are always popular sellers at Designer Again.

Sales of contemporary, used furniture are always strong and fairly swift, Tiffany added. Attractive furnishings in almost-new condition are very affordable. Both sellers and buyers are pleased in the transaction, she said. “Most people selling furniture just are ready to have it out of the house,” she said. The store purchases some larger pieces or sets directly and then resells them when she spots good furniture that may take a little longer to find a buyer. Taking digital pictures of heavy items to pitch to Designer Again is a convenient way to do it. With clothing for men, women and children and home furnishings from antique to vintage to today, Designer Again is like a department store, but for buyers and sellers alike.

Designer Again 16 North 3rd Street, Fort Smith 479-782-8313 Open Monday-Friday 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Contemporary furnishings in almost-new condition are frequently in the store.

40-44_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 9:47 PM Page 40

health & beauty goodies

Designer eyewear by Fendi and Emporio Armoni available at Ennen Eye Center.

Proti Diet tropical drink concentrates from Bodé Couture.

Plush bunnies, lamb and chick found at Coleman Pharmacy.

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

40-44_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 9:47 PM Page 41

health & beauty goodies

Jungle green Tano leather hobo with zippered pockets available at Fashion Boutique.

Dry Remedy hair care collection by Aveda found at Metropolis.

Variegated sweater, decorative plate and spring-inspired floral arrangement from This ‘N’ That.

March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

40-44_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 9:47 PM Page 42

health & beauty goodies

Vintage Avon collectible car cologne bottles found at Abilities Unlimited.

Ray-Ban Wayfarer Rare Prints sunglasses from the office of Dr. Steven B. Stiles.

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

Waterford football and football helmet paperweights available at Newton’s Jewelers.

40-44_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 9:47 PM Page 43

health & beauty goodies

Sleeveless tunic dress with lace overlay and chevron shift dress from Crane Clothing Co.

Raquel Welch wig, studded wrap choker and feather earrings found at Salon Elements. March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

40-44_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 9:47 PM Page 44

health & beauty goodies

Matrix Heat Resist hair products from Vanity Calls.

Prom dresses with flirty skirts and glitzy bodices found at N Style Revue.

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

Brighton's Primrose jewelry features squares of turquoise-hued howlite and etched silver. Available at The Purple Plume.

45_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 5:25 PM Page 45

MARCH 17

Relive the Moment March Bracket Madness: 20th Anniversary of the 1994 National Championship Game

Get out your championship memorabilia! Wear your lucky T-shirt – if it still fits.

s Scotty Thurman knocked down a three-pointer with just 51 second to go in the game, the emotions of all Razorback basketball fans leapt in hope that the lead would hold until the buzzer. Two free throws by Clint McDaniel and one by Alex Dillard sealed the 76-72 win over Duke University as fans in the arena, including President Clinton, and fans watching at home joyously exploded into cheers of Razorback and state pride. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the heart-stopping 1994 game will be shown in its entirety starting at 7 p.m. A silent auction and door prizes also are a part of the celebration. Presented by the Van Buren Rotary Club, the game night's proceeds will support community projects and worldwide polio eradication. $25 heavy appetizers and beverages; table prices available. Contact Bob England for advance tickets or table reservations at 479-414-0804. 5:30 p.m. Sisters Bistro, 719 Main Street, Van Buren, Ark. 479-474-4949

March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

46-47_Master Facing Pages 2/24/14 1:52 AM Page 46

TRAVEL

Ozark Folk School holds traditional music, crafts and garden wisdom The Ozark Folk Center near Mountain View in Stone County, Ark., opened in 1975 to preserve and share the traditional music and folkways of Arkansas pioneers. The Folk Center is a state park but also a place of cultural exchange and entertainment. Each spring, an Ozark Folk School offers the chance for people to spend a few days with musicians, craftsmen and folkway educators for an experience that goes beyond just a visit. From March 17-21, a roster of music, craft and herb classes is offered. Students may stay at the park cabins or nearby to enjoy the classes by day and entertainment by night. The music classes include learning from masters of the banjo, harmonica, guitar, fiddle and rhythm instruments and even to pick up traditional dances. The craft classes are varied and all based on folkways and traditional methods of residents

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

of the Ozarks. Try your hand the home arts of pottery, candlemaking, broom-making, reed basket weaving or soap-making or the needle arts of quilting, tatting and lacemaking. Ozark hill people also did their own blacksmithing, made knives and knew their wood identification and uses for furniture, tool and even toymaking. Classes at the Folk School reflect these skills. Fine skills of the luthier, or stringedinstrument builder, are taught in a class on making mandolins. Letterpress printers are offered two classes on a vintage press. Others register for the herb gardening class, learning traditional medicinal and health uses, as well as horticultural instruction on successful gardening from Susan Bersinger, the center’s full-time culinary herbalist. She invites gardeners to immerse

46-47_Master Facing Pages 2/24/14 1:52 AM Page 47

TRAVEL themselves in a fragrant and flavorful experience in a three-day intensive herbal course. In the evenings, music, films, a gallery tour and park and local restaurants offer more relaxation and entertainment. It’s both a school and a vacation experience. Registration information, lodging options and fees are all found at the Ozark Folk Center’s website. Ozark Mountain Folk Center State Park, 1032 Park Avenue, Mountain View, Ark. 800-264-3655, ozarkfolkcenter.com

The Heritage Herb garden at the folk center.

Flat-picking, fiddling, folk singing and dancing were the traditional entertainment of the people of the Arkansas Ozarks – and they still are at the Ozark Folk Center. Ozark Folk School brings together excellent traditional musicians who keep the heritage alive by teaching others. But even for those who attend as students in crafts or herb gardening, every evening there’s a “play party” with unbelievable music where old pros and new learners play together. Guitars, mandolins, dulcimers, autoharps and other acoustic instruments join to create the old-time music that is still enjoyed to this very day in scenic Mountain View, the heart of the Ozark folk music scene. Folk great Arlo Guthrie performs at the Ozark Folk Center March 29.

March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

48-50_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 6:23 PM Page 48

MUSIC

& performance Riverfront Blues Festival Announces 2014 Festival Performers Brian Gary March 1 Old-Time Gospel Hour Two evenings of Southern gospel, black gospel and oldtime hymns are performed by favorite local soloists. The Old Time Gospel Hour concerts will feature area musicians and vocalists Barry Law, Pam Camp, Brian Gary, Rosilee Russell, a men's Gaither Quartet and many more. 2 p.m. March 1. UAFS Breedlove Auditorium, 5210 Grand Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7251 www.uafs.edu/Academy

Paul Thorn Fort Smith’s Riverfront Blues Festival celebrates its 24th year June 20-21 with another fantastic two-day outdoor blues festival featuring some of the best artists in contemporary blues. Singer/songwriter Paul Thorn and blues legend Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials headline the two-day event, held at Harry E. Kelley Park on the banks of the Arkansas River. The festival will also feature 2009 International Blues Challenge winner J.P. Soars, a crowd favorite at previous Riverfront Blues Fests and Memphis guitar slinger Patrick Dodd, a contestant on NBC’s “The Voice.” Regional favorites Jigsaw Mud and Smokin’ Crawdadz bring local flavor to the festival, and fans will also hear rising stars Samantha Fish, the Peterson Brothers and Blind Boy Paxton. Headliner Paul Thorn has a loyal following in Fort Smith and is one of the best storytellers in roots music. Even his song titles are memorable: “Joanie, the Jehovah Witness Stripper” and “I Don’t Like Half the People I Love.” The lyrics are even better. Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials will also headline. The Riverfront Blues Festival began in 1991 and has featured such blues greats as Buddy Guy and Koko Taylor, while also providing an early look at rising stars. The 2014 festival continues in the same spirit, with younger acts carrying on this original American musical form.

Lil’ Ed & The Imperials

Admission to the 2014 festival is $10. The Riverfront Blues Festival is produced by the Fort Smith Riverfront Blues Society, which also sponsors “Blues in Schools” educational programs and the Barry Ratliff Memorial Scholarship for area music students. The all-volunteer organization seeks members to help present the festival. Connect at riverfrontbluesfest.org or Facebook to be one of the faithful who are “Keepin’ the Blues Alive.”

Rosilee Russell

March 4 Willie Nelson and Family With a six-decade career and 200-plus albums, this iconic Texan is hailed as a creative genius behind the historic recordings of “Crazy,” “Red Headed Stranger” and “Stardust.” 7 p.m. Walton Arts Center, 495 West Dickson Street, Fayetteville, Ark. 479-443-5600 waltonartscenter.org March 6 Ozark Mountain Swing Society The OMSS is a casual gathering of serious musicians who love Western Swing – and any style of swing. Rick Boyett, Mark Albertson, Tony Rupp, Rick Endel and Wesley Trout, with occasional guest artists, pick and sing together on the first Thursday of each month. 7-9 p.m. Warren’s Rec Room, Alma, Ark. Directions: Take U.S. 71 north from Alma. Turn left on Newberry Road by the KOA campground. Warren’s is on the left just after crossing cross Interstate 540. March 7 Roseanne Cash Roseanne Cash navigated her own path between country and rock, roots and pop. The eldest child of Johnny Cash, she joined her father and stepmother’s road show after high school before making her own musical history. Her new Roseanne Cash release is “The River and the Thread,” a back-to-roots personal journey. $29-$59. 8 p.m. Walton Arts Center, 495 West Dickson Street, Fayetteville, Ark. 479-443-5600 waltonartscenter.org

48-50_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 6:23 PM Page 49

MUSIC & PERFORMANCE March 10 UAFS Music Master Class Dr. Adam Booker, assistant professor of music at the University of Minnesota at Duluth, will present a master class. Topics will include the double-bass, electric bass, jazz music and careers in music. Free. 3-4 p.m. UAFS Breedlove Building, Room 105, 5210 Grand Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7536 uafs.edu March 11 UAFS Faculty Piano Concert Five members of the Alice Brooks Sanders family will perform together in concert. Sanders, a piano instructor at UAFS, will perform with Mary Sanders (soprano), Clara Sanders Marcus (piano), Isabel Sanders (horn) and Edward Sanders (vibraphone). Free. 7:30 p.m. UAFS Breedlove Auditorium, 5120 Grand Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7558

Charles L. Booker Jr. March 10 Charles Booker Farewell Concert Charles L. Booker Jr. is retiring as associate professor of theory and composition at the UAFort Smith. He will be joined by faculty and friends for a final concert showcasing his original compositions. His son, Dr. Adam Booker, will perform as a guest in this concert and also will present a master class on campus at 10 a.m. Booker composed one piece specifically for this occasion. “Crashin’ the Party” (“Sonata for Double Bass and Combo 2014”) will feature his son, along with Chris Cameron, Dr. David Carter, Dr. Matt Vangjel, Dr. Alexandra Zacharella, Joshua J. Knight, Don Bailey and Terri Bailey. Booker has spent most of four decades in music education and performance, including 16 years at UAFS, where he teaches conducting, music theory, orchestration and composition. Earlier positions at UAFS include director of bands, director of jazz studies and chair of the Department of Music. He has released five CDs. Booker is a former Army Bandmaster, serving 21 years in the Army as a trumpeter and conductor. This included service in the 5th Army Band in San Antonio; staff arranger for Army Field Band; conductor of Army bands in Louisiana, Germany and New York; and director of the Jazz Ambassadors in Washington. Booker’s 45-plus compositions and arrangements have been published by Alfred Music, Kendor Music, Southern Music Co., Wingert-Jones, Print Music Source and Booker Music. His music has been performed internationally by schools, universities and professional bands that include The United States Army Band (“Pershing’s Own”), The United States Army Field Band, the U.S. Military Academy Band (West Point), the U.S. Air Force Band of MidAmerica and the U.S. Air Force Academy Band. The concert is free. 7:30 p.m. UAFS Breedlove Auditorium, 5120 Grand Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7536 uafs.edu

March 11-16 Chicago One show-stopping song after another and astonishing dancing burst from this tale of fame, fortune and all that jazz. “Chicago” has been honored with six Tony Awards, two Oliviers, a Grammy and standing ovations across the globe. Seven performances. $35$73. Walton Arts Center, 495 John O’Hurley West Dickson Street, Fayetteville, Ark. 479-443-5600 waltonartscenter.org

March 14-16 Thoroughly Modern Millie A high-spirited musical romp has all of New York dancing the Charleston. Young Millie Dillmount has just moved to the city in search of a new life. It’s a New York full of intrigue and jazz – a time when women were entering the workforce and the rules of love and social behavior were changing. Based on the popular movie, the stage version has a full score of new songs and bright dance numbers. Filled with frisky flappers, dashing leading men and a dragon-lady of a villainess. $12 adults, $8 students/seniors, and children 5 and under are free. 7 p.m. March 14-15 and 2 p.m. March 16. Southside High School Auditorium, 4100 Gary Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-646-1179 March 18 Shrek the Musical The UAFS Academy of the Arts Extreme Teenz presents a preview of "Shrek the Musical," based on the Dreamworks film. Relive Shrek's daring quest to rescue Princess Fiona with the help of lovable, loudmouthed Donkey. Free. 6 p.m. Fort Smith Public Library, 3201 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-0229

March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

48-50_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 6:23 PM Page 50

MUSIC & PERFORMANCE March 18, 26 Elton John Million Dollar Piano Concert in Theaters Live from Las Vegas’ Caesars Palace, the concert experience features Elton’s greatest hits. Also, get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making of his 1973 album “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” Tickets and showtimes at Malco Cinema, 1200 South Waldron Road, Suite 140, Fort Smith, Ark. March 22 U.S. Navy Band Sea Chanters Chorus The Sea Chanters chorus sings music ranging from traditional choral songs, including sea chanteys, to Broadway musical hits. Admission is free; tickets required. Families may have up to six tickets. 7 p.m. Alma Performing Arts Center, 103 East Main Street, Alma, Ark. 479-632-2129 almapac.org March 29 Arlo Guthrie in Concert Folk music legend Arlo Guthrie is the son of America's beloved singer/writer/philosopher Woody Guthrie. Arlo grew up among the greats of folk music and now takes his place as one. $40 reserved; $30 general admission. Ozark Folk Center, 1032 Park Avenue, Mountain View, Ark. 870-269-3851 ozarkfolkcenter.com April 3-6; 9-13 Fort Smith Little Theatre: Boeing Boeing A romantic comedy set in the 1960s when jet travel was glamorous and new. American in Paris Bernard has three fiancees – all stewardesses for TWA. None of them is aware of the others. Speedier jets throw off risky schedule. Soon all three stewardesses are in town and he must scramble. Gala performance 7:30 p.m. April 3. Regular Boeing Boeing performances at 7:30 p.m. April 4, 5, 9-12; matinee performances April 6, 13. Opening night gala $30; regular performances $10. 7:30 p.m. Fort Smith Little Theatre, 401 North 6th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-2966

The Addams Family

April 5 The Addams Family The UAFS Season of Entertainment offers this smash-hit musical comedy that brings the darkly delicious world of Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Wednesday, Pugsley and Lurch to spooky, lunatic life. Tickets available online. 7:30 p.m. Arkansas Best Corp. Performing Arts Center, Rogers Avenue and South 9th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7300 uafs.universitytickets.com 50

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

51-54_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 9:41 PM Page 51

KIDS of CALENDAR events

March 1 Community Service Opportunities for Students Do you know students/teens looking for unique and fulfilling community service opportunities? The Sack Lunch Program will host a brown bag lunch/workshop led by Jean T. Kolljeski, Sack Lunch Program co-director. It will provide an overview of the program, a tour of the facility and describe community service opportunities that are available for students. Registration is required. Free. 11 a.m.-noon. St. John's Episcopal Church Office Building, 214 North 6th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-782-9912 March 1 Cuentos para Niños en Español Niños de todas las edades y sus familias están invitados a la Biblioteca principal a la hora de los cuentos gratis, incluiremos cuentos, historias, canciones, refranes y otras actividades divertidas en español. Ven y aprende acerca de la Biblioteca y lo que tiene para ofrecer a tu familia. Free. 2:30 p.m. Fort Smith Public Library, 3201 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-0229 March 1 Kids Day in Van Buren Celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday with games, crafts and cake. The Young Actors' Guild will be presenting a preview of their “Cat in the Hat” play. Free 10:30 a.m. Van Buren Public Library, 1409 Main Street, Van Buren, Ark. 479-474-6045

March 1 Piggy & Elephant Party Celebrate Read Across America with all things “Piggie & Elephant.” These two famous Mo Willems characters are loved by all ages. There will be food and games for all. Free 10 a.m.-1: p.m. Alma Public Library, 624 Fayetteville Avenue, Alma, Ark. 479-632-4140 crawfordcountylib.org

March 1-28 Helping Hands Writing Contest Presented by the Greenwood Writer's Group, this contest is open to all area students in grades 3-8. Students are asked to submit a 500-word or shorter essay based on the prompt outlined in the contest packet found online. Students have the chance to become published authors, as well as win some great prizes. All winners will be on hand to sign copies of their book at the Writers Unite Charity Event and Book Signing in the fall. Entry deadline is March 28. Free. 479-357-9248 writersuniteevent.wordpress.com

Andrew Lloyd Webber's “The Wizard of Oz” Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new production of The Wizard of Oz is an enchanting adaptation of the alltime classic, totally reconceived for the stage. Developed from the ever-popular MGM screenplay, this new production contains all the beloved songs from the Oscar-winning movie score, all the favorite characters and iconic moments, plus a few surprises along the way, including new songs by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Click your heels together and join Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, Dorothy and her little dog Toto, as they journey through the magical land of Oz to meet the Wizard and obtain their hearts’ desires. Watch out for the Wicked Witch of the West and her winged monkeys as you rediscover the real story of Oz in this fantastic musical treat for all the family. Call or go online for tickets. $35-$73. 7:30 p.m. April 1; 7 p.m. April 2-3, 8 p.m. April 4-5; 2 p.m. April 5-6. Baum Walker Hall, Walton Arts Center, 495 West Dickson Street, Fayetteville, Ark. 479-443-5600 waltonartscenter.org

1-6

March 3 Primetime Story Time: Chinese New Year Celebrate the Chinese New Year with special guest UAFS instructor Hui Wang Apple. This story time will include stories, songs, crafts, refreshments and special displays focusing on the Chinese New Year. Free. 6 p.m. Fort Smith Public Library, 3201 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-0229

March 4 Children's Science Club in Alma Children will study the March winds with kite and kite building. Free. 4-5 p.m. Alma Public Library, 624 Fayetteville Avenue, Alma, Ark. 479-632-4140 March 4 Mardi Gras Mask Day Wear your mask and have some King's Cake. Maybe you will get the small baby doll in your slice of cake and win a gift basket. Check out some books to earn some beads. Free. 8:30 a.m.-6:45 p.m. Van Buren Public Library, 1409 Main Street, Van Buren, Ark. 479-474-6045 crawfordcountylib.org

March 4-April 17 Mommy & Me Montessori A class for 18- to 36-month-old children and their caregivers is led by a consistent, experienced Montessori guide and creates a special environment in which to have fun with your child, meet other parents, build a parenting toolkit and try out the Montessori program. Class is limited to 12 participants and meets for six weeks, 30 minutes twice a week with 30 minutes of outside free play after class. Each child must attend with a parent or caregiver. Registration cost includes a copy of the books “How to Raise An Amazing Child The Montessori Way” and “Parenting With Love and Logic.” $95 per child. 10:25-11:30 a.m. The Montessori School of Fort Smith, 3908 Jenny Lind Road, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-646-7225 www.growgreatminds.com March 2014 Entertainment Fort Smith 51

51-54_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 9:41 PM Page 52

KIDS CALENDAR

Spring Breakin’ without breakin’ the bank

inter is headed out the door (thank goodness!), which means spring break is just around the corner. For many, that means beach vacations or ski trips with the family. For others, it's a trip to Grandma's or simply a few days off from school to sleep in and watch TV. Growing up, we didn't take long family vacations. My parents owned a business and being gone for more than a day or two was next to impossible, since they comprised half the staff. I know they feel guilty that we didn't travel a lot, but I don't think I missed too much. Spring break, winter vacation and summer were times where the pressure was off and we could simply be kids. I loved getting to play with my siblings and friends all day, and running around in my pajamas all morning. In summer, we spent hours swimming with our neighbors in their pool, then came home and ate popsicles. In the simplest of ways, Mom and Dad always managed to make our downtime a little extra special. While big trips are nice, they aren't the only way parents can make memories. Some of my favorite times as a kid were family "camping" trips. We would drive to Big Brushy near Y City and set up camp for the day. We would fish in the creek, ride Dad's ’70s model three-wheeler and grill hot dogs on the fire. At dusk, we would pack up and head home. Try it with your kids. Check out one of our many beautiful state parks. Most have lots to offer and at little or no cost: hike, fish, explore and play on the playground. Don't want to leave town? Pitch a tent in your own backyard. Make s'mores, roast weenies and spend a night under the stars. Since you won't be rushing to beat school traffic, make a morning of it and go out for breakfast. My dad, as a treat for his girls, would pack us up on some Saturday mornings before he went to work and take us to McDonald's for hotcakes. We would sit outside on the concrete benches and devour a plate of pancakes and jabber with Daddy. Thinking about it still puts a smile on my face and makes me crave maple syrup. Point is, it isn't about the miles you travel or the places you go. It is simply about spending that precious time with your children. Kids care less about the destination and more about being with you. Take advantage of those few extra days and do something out of the ordinary. Your kids will never forget it and neither will you. Guest Writer Brittany Ransom

We have invited guest writers to share their parenting experiences. 52

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

March 6 Kids Craft Day in Cedarville It will be spring before you know it. Make a hanging planter for all your new plants. Free. 3:30-4:30 p.m. Cedarville Public Library, 737 Pirates Way, Cedarville, Ark. 479410-1853 crawfordcountylib.org March 6 Harlem Ambassadors Basketball The high-flying slam dunks and comedy basketball stunts of the Harlem Ambassadors will be on view when the professional show team plays the Crawford County Dawgs, a locally-organized opponent for this just-for-fun game. All the proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of Van Buren and Alma. The Harlem Ambassadors' show is designed for families and appropriate for kids of all ages, who may get pulled into the game for some fun. The players sign autographs after the game and encourage kids to follow their drug-free lifestyle. $10 adults; $5 for children under 12; free for kids 4 and under. 7 p.m. Van Buren High School Arena, 2221 Pointer Trail East, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-474-9401 bgcofvb.org March 6-8 Growing Kids Sale More than 2,000 River Valley families sell their gently used children's clothing, shoes, toys and baby equipment at bargain prices. Free. 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Kay Rodgers Park, 4400 Midland Blvd., Fort Smith, Ark. 479-420-9699 www.growingkidssale.com

March 9-15 Tech Savvy Selfie Contest for Teens Are you a tech savvy teen? Post a selfie pic of you holding your favorite book on the Fort Smith Library Facebook page between March 9-15 for prizes. Every participant will get a candy surprise and be entered into a drawing to win an iTunes gift card. This contest is for teens ages 13-17; stop by any Fort Smith Public Library location to pick up your prize. Free. Fort Smith Public Library, 3201 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-0229 www.fortsmithlibrary.org March 10 Grace Place Preschool Open House Tour of the preschool and register for the summer or next school year. Children ranging in age from 3 months to 12 years are welcome for the summer. Children ranging in age from 3 months to 5 years are welcome during the school year. 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Grace Place Preschool, 4001 Brooken Hill Drive, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-646-6503 March 10 Teen Tech Week in Alma Celebrate with a special program. Free. 4-5 p.m. Alma Public Library, 624 Fayetteville Avenue, Alma, Ark. 479-632-4140 crawfordcountylib.org March 10-14 Teen Tech Week in Mulberry Tweens and teens are invited to use the library to qualify for the drawing to win a “techie” prize. The winner will be drawn at 5 p.m. March 14. Free. Mulberry Public Library, 220 North Main Street, Mulberry, Ark. 479-997-1226 crawfordcountylib.org

March 10-15 Teen Tech Week - QR Code Scavenger Hunt Think you know the library? Show off your library skills by completing a QR code scavenger hunt. Tweens and teens can stop by the front desk for their questions and use their smart phones and tablets to complete the quest. Once finished, participants can turn in their questions and answers to win a prize. Free. Miller Branch Library, 8701 South 28th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-646-3945

March 10, 24 Laptime Story Time A love of reading starts early. Babies and their caregivers are invited to this special story time geared toward children birth-24 months old. There will be rhymes, songs, simple stories and lots of interactive fun. The story time will last about 20 minutes, with time for casual interaction following the program. Free. 10:30 a.m. Miller Branch Library, 8701 South 28th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-646-3945 March 11 Dr. Seuss Story Time in Alma Children are invited to celebrate Dr. Seuss by playing games and making crafts. Free. 4-5 p.m. Alma Public Library, 624 Fayetteville Avenue, Alma, Ark. 479-632-4140 crawfordcountylib.org

51-54_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 9:41 PM Page 53

March 12 St. Patrick’s Day Story Time Preschoolers are invited to this special seasonal St. Patrick’s Day story time. Kids will enjoy stories, crafts and snacks. Free. Dallas Branch Library, 8100 Dallas Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-484-5650

March 13 DIY Tech Craft for Teens Teens 13-17 are invited to show off their crafty side using discarded computer parts and tech recyclables. Make projects using provided materials or take your own ideas and materials to share. Free. 3-5 p.m. Fort Smith Public Library, 3201 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-0229 March 13 Teen Tech Week: DIY Bookmarks Learn to create do-it-yourself bookmarks integrated with QR codes. Free. 4 p.m. Windsor Branch Library, 4701 Windsor Drive, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-785-0405

March 13 Movie Time in Cedarville The whole family is invited to enjoy this thrilling sequel. Flint Lockwood battles deadly, but delicious, hybrids to save the world. Free. 3:30-4:30 p.m. Cedarville Public Library, 737 Pirates Way, Cedarville, Ark. 479-410-1853 crawfordcountylib.org

March 13 After-School Activity for All Ages You will be ready with your green after making a St. Patrick's Day craft. Free 3:30 p.m. Van Buren Public Library, 1409 Main Street, Van Buren, Ark. 479-474-6045 crawfordcountylib.org

March 14 Medical Careers Presentation Ms. Chris from UAMS will be the special guest. Teens are invited to hear her presentation regarding career possibilities in the medical field. Free. 4 p.m. Cedarville Public Library, 737 Pirates Way, Cedarville, Ark. 479-410-1853 crawfordcountylib.org March 14 Wii Games in Mulberry Tweens and teens, ages 10-17, are invited to try some new Wii games. Free 3:30-4:30 p.m. Mulberry Public Library, 220 North Main Street, Mulberry, Ark. 479-997-1226 crawfordcountylib.org

March 17 St. Patrick's Day Treasure Hunt Hunt for a Pot of Gold hidden at the library. Find a pot full of chocolate coins, but please limit yourself to one per person. There will be cookies, too. Free. Van Buren Public Library, 1409 Main Street, Van Buren, Ark. 479-474-6045 crawfordcountylib.org March 17 Drop-in Craft Day Celebrate St. Patrick's Day at the library. Supplies will be out to make a St. Patrick's Day craft. Free. 10 a.m.4 p.m. Van Buren Public Library, 1409 Main Street, Van Buren, Ark. 479-474-6045 crawfordcountylib.org March 17 St. Patrick's Day Movie Enjoy a fun family-friendly movie and be part of a gnome-quest and kidnapping at the library. Call for the title. Free. 3:30-4:30 p.m. Mulberry Public Library, 220 North Main Street, Mulberry, Ark. 479-997-1226

KIDS CALENDAR

March 20 Tween & Teen Book Lover’s Club Kids ages 9-17 are invited to take a book or books to share with the group and have fun discussing what you’ve been reading. Snacks provided. Free. 4 p.m. Dewey's Cafe at the Fort Smith Public Library, 3201 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-0229 March 20 Teen Time Craft in Cedarville Make a photo frame from things you have at home. Free. 3:30-4:30 p.m. Cedarville Public Library, 737 Pirates Way, Cedarville, Ark. 479-410-1853

March 20 Movie Time in Mulberry The whole family can enjoy this movie about a wily old codger who matches wits with the King of the Leprechauns and plays matchmaker for his daughter. Free. 1:30 p.m. Mulberry Public Library, 220 North Main Street, Mulberry, Ark. 479-997-1226

March 21 Bingo in Mulberry Do you prefer a game of Picture Frame or Straight Line Bingo? Enjoy a few games at the library. Free. 3:30-4:30 p.m. Mulberry Public Library, 220 North Main Street, Mulberry, Ark. 479-997-1226 March 21-23 Cold Blooded Critter Weekend Turtles, frogs, and snakes abound at Lake Fort Smith State Park. Welcome them back from hibernation with a weekend full of great programs. Free. 4 p.m.-noon. Lake Fort Smith State Park, 15458 Shepherd Springs Road, Mountainburg, Ark. 479-369-2469

March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

51-54_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 9:41 PM Page 54

KIDS CALENDAR

March 22-29 Spring Break Events The River Valley Nature Center will offer daily, fun events for spring break. March 22: Hunters Education class, a guided hike, canoes and kayaks, and a Critter Crunch animal feeding. March 23: Critter Crunch and Archery. March 25: Instructional kayaking program (ages 12 and over), scavenger hunt hike, canoes and kayaks, Nature Music Hour, Critter Crunch and paracord bracelet craft. March 26: Duck dog demonstration, upcycling make and take craft, canoes and kayaks, rock climbing wall, Turtles of Arkansas, Critter crunch and fishing. March 27: Fly fishing, living history program, canoes and kayaks, bird-watching for youth, Critter Crunch, backyard birds make and take craft. March 28: T-shirt bleaching (take a dark-colored shirt), BB gun competition, canoes and kayaks, turkey calls make and take craft, Critter Crunch, meet a snake, Nature Break and Part 1 of Frog Listening Workshop. March 29: Guided hike, Part 2 of Frog Listening Workshop, canoes and kayaks, What's in the woods?, Critter Crunch and laser shot. Free. 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center, 8300 Wells Lake Road, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-452-3993 March 24 Movie Time in Mulberry Character Ernest P. Worrell returns in this film as a school maintenance man seeking to obtain a high school diploma. Call for the title. Free. 10 a.m. Mulberry Public Library, 220 North Main Street, Mulberry, Ark. 479-997-1226 crawfordcountylib.org

March 24 Monday Matinee at the Library Kick off your spring break with a family movie time. Take your blankets and pillow if you desire. Free. 1:30 p.m. Van Buren Public Library, 1409 Main Street, Van Buren, Ark. 479-474-6045 crawfordcountylib.org

March 24 Family Forts in the Library Take your blankets to build a fort for your family. A fun game of hide ‘n’ seek will end the evening. Free. 6:30 p.m. Van Buren Public Library, 1409 Main Street, Van Buren, Ark. 479-474-6045 crawfordcountylib.org

March 25 Teen SYS (Swap Your Stuff!) Teens are invited to take stuff they no longer want (books, DVDs, CDs or games) and swap items for a 1:1 exchange for something that someone else has brought. Items for trade will be in the Youth Services Department. Please only take items that another teenager would want. Free. 2-4 p.m. Fort Smith Public Library, 3201 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-0229 www.fortsmithlibrary.org

March 25-27 Girl Scouts Explorer Spring Day Camp Join the Girl Scouts for three full days of excitement. Girls will exercise with “Drums Alive,” learn how to handle an emergency from a real EMT while earning a First Aid badge and make new friends and learn about themselves as they dive into the Girl Scout Journeys. Daisy, Brownie and Junior (K-5th grade) Scouts may attend. $30 registered Girl Scouts; $45 non-registered (will be registered). Aides $10; adults free. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Girl Scouts Burnham Woods, 5705 Gordon Lane, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-452-1290 girlscoutsdiamonds.org 54

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

March 26 Make & Take Spring Craft Day Drop by the Youth Services Department to celebrate the coming of spring with a day of crafting. This openhouse style program is open to kids and teens and their families. A variety of spring-themed crafts will be available to make and take home with you. Free. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Fort Smith Public Library, 3201 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-0229 March 26 Spring Break Craft in Alma Take a break to create crafts. Free. 11 a.m. Alma Public Library, 624 Fayetteville Avenue, Alma, Ark. 479-632-4140 crawfordcountylib.org

March 26 Teen Game Day in Alma Enjoy an assortment of board games and video games. Free. 3 p.m. Alma Public Library, 624 Fayetteville Avenue, Alma, Ark. 479-632-4140

March 27 Movie Matinee: Escape from Planet Earth (PG) A fun afternoon at the movies presents an animated adventure comedy. Astronaut Scorch Supernova finds himself caught in a trap when he responds to an SOS from a notoriously dangerous alien planet. Take your own snacks or purchase goodies at Dewey’s Café. Free. 2 p.m. Fort Smith Public Library, 3201 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-0229

March 27 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (PG-13) Check out a book and enjoy “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” Katniss and Peeta embark on a victory tour while President Snow plots a deadly new Hunger Games that could change Panem forever. A few lucky winners will score some “Hunger Games” library swag. Free. 3 p.m. Windsor Branch Library, 4701 Windsor Drive, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-785-0405 March 27 Game Day in Van Buren Take the family for an afternoon of fun with new games at the library. Free. 1:30-3:30 p.m. Van Buren Public Library, 1409 Main Street, Van Buren, Ark. 479-474-6045 crawfordcountylib.org March 28 Spring Break Games Day Enjoy an afternoon with family and friends playing Wii games, board games and card games at the library. Test your gaming abilities and battle it out for bragging rights while making awesome spring break memories. Free. 1-5 p.m. Fort Smith Public Library, 3201 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-0229 March 29 Children's Bingo 4 Books in Alma Free. 4 p.m. Alma Public Library, 624 Fayetteville Avenue, Alma, Ark. 479-632-4140

April 5 Spring Fling Obstacle Run A one-mile or two-mile fun run for individuals and families challenges participants to race over obstacles such as mud pits, trenches, climbing walls and tires. For ages 10 and up. Race registration includes snacks and prizes for placing. Register online. 9 a.m. East Side Baptist Church, 2710 Massard Road, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-452-1481 www.myeastside.tv

55_Layout 1 2/22/14 9:46 PM Page 55

56-73_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 9:41 PM Page 56

CALENDAR of events

March 1 Brown Bag Lunch Service Opportunity Workshop Are your students/teens looking for unique and fulfilling community service opportunities? The Sack Lunch Program will host a brown bag lunch/workshop led by Jean T. Kolljeski, Sack Lunch Program codirector. It will provide an overview of the program, a tour of the facility and describe community service opportunities that are available for students. Registration is required. Free. 11 a.m.-noon. Skinner Building (St. John’s Episcopal Church Office Building), 214 North 6th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-782-9912 March 1 Miss UAFS Scholarship Pageant Student competitors will take the stage in the Miss University of Arkansas-Fort Smith Scholarship Pageant for a night that caps several months of pageant preparation in interview skills, performance, poise and academic achievement. Besides the crown, participants compete for scholarships. The pageant awarded more than $22,000 in cash and scholarships last year. Younger girls will be involved through the pageant’s Princess Program, where they will have participated in a tea party and other pre-pageant experiences and will be attending the official pageant. $10. 7 p.m. Arkansas Best Corp. Performing Arts Center, Rogers Avenue and South 9th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7300 uafs.universitytickets.com

SKYWARN Storm Spotter Training A two-hour class sponsored by the Sebastian County Department of Emergency Management and the Fort Smith Area Amateur Radio Club, with help from the National Weather Service, will present information about how to become a Storm Spotter. Learn how storms develop and what to watch for in an extreme weather event. SKYWARN is a volunteer program with nearly 290,000 trained severe weather spotters nationwide. These volunteers help keep their local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service. Since the program started in the 1970s, the information provided by SKYWARN spotters, coupled with Doppler radar technology, improved satellite and other data, has enabled NWS to issue more timely and accurate warnings for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and flash floods. SKYWARN® storm spotters are part of the ranks of citizens who form the Nation’s first line of defense against severe weather. There can be no finer reward than to know that their efforts have given communities the precious gift of time – seconds and minutes that can help save lives. The National Weather Service encourages anyone with an interest in public service and access to communication such as HAM radio to join the program. Volunteers include police and fire personnel, dispatchers, EMS workers, public utility workers and private citizens. Training includes learning the basics of thunderstorm development, fundamentals of storm structure, how to identify potential severe weather features, what information to report, how to report it and basic severe weather safety. Free. 7 p.m. National Guard Armory building, 8400 South Zero Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 918-427-1431 nws.noaa.gov/skywarn/

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

March 1 Run 4 the Stars 5K Support the 8-year-old Stars softball team by running or walking in this first-ever 5K race. The first 75 runners to register online will receive a T-shirt. 8 a.m. registration; 9 a.m. race start. $25 registered; $30 day of race. 9-11 a.m. Ben Geren Softball Complex, 7200 Zero Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-652-6684

March 1 Tea with the Girl Scouts Join other women committed to bettering our community for tea and cookies as the life-changing opportunities available for volunteers through Girl Scouts are presented. This event is for those interested in becoming volunteers. Free. 10 a.m. Girl Scouts Burnham Woods, 5705 Gordon Lane, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-452-1290 girlscoutsdiamonds.org

March 1 Hike to Rough Canyon and Robbers Cave Trails TrailBlazers Hiking Club will hike two trails: Rough Canyon Trail and Robbers Cave Trail for a combined distance of 3.75 miles rated easy to moderate at Robbers Cave State Park. The cave is a huge rock outcrop that allows for lots of fun exploring in and around the area. There is also a Nature Center, Heritage Center and Gift Shop to check out after the hike. Meet at Home Depot parking lot to carpool/caravan. Free. 8 a.m. Robbers Cave State Park, Oklahoma 2 North, Wilburton, Okla. 479-646-9562 thcfs.com March 1 Shantytown: SHS Habitat for Humanity Fundraiser Southside High School students have the chance to experience what it is like to live in a “shantytown” during this fundraiser. The goal is to raise at least $15,000 and increase awareness for poverty housing. A shantytown is a section of a city or town characterized by shanties and crudely built houses. Students will spend the night outside of the school, living in their self-constructed shantytown built from cardboard and duct

56-73_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 9:41 PM Page 57

CALENDAR OF EVENTS tape. Other limited supplies will be on hand. While staying in their makeshift shelters, participants will try to gain pledges from their churches, peers, parents, and others in the community. Check-in for participating students begins at 5 p.m. at Southside High School. A soup kitchen-style dinner will be provided for participants Saturday. There will be opportunities for participants to earn “luxury items” such as hand warmers, hot chocolate, flashlights and tarps based on their fundraising efforts. To donate, drop by the Shantytown during the event. 5 p.m. March 1- 9 a.m. March 2. Southside High School, 4100 Gary Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-420-4650 habitatfs.org March 1-2 Orchid Show and Sale Enjoy beautiful orchids. Tickets are available online or at the door. $5. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Botanical Garden of the Ozarks, 4703 North Crossover Road, Fayetteville, Ark. 479-750-2620 bgozarks.org March 1-30 Valentines: The Art of Romance This sweet exhibition offers a wide selection of St. Valentine’s Day greeting cards, postcards and elaborate three-dimensional fold-outs from the United States and Europe. Ranging from the early 19th century to the 1930s, this exhibit showcases the development of the Valentine, from the simple hand-designed card, to the extravagant and exquisite lace paper valentines. Approximately 100 fine examples of embossed designs will be on view. Free. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Fort Smith Regional Art Museum, 1601 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-784-2787 fsram.org

March 1-31 Miller Branch Artist of the Month: Julie Mayser Greenwood artist Julie Mayser has studied art at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Carl Albert State College in Poteau, Okla., and Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla. She has studied with leading art teachers in the United States and Europe. Her award-winning paintings are shown in private, public and corporate collections across the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. Mayser said her reason for being a painter comes down to a few basics: her love of nature, the positive beautiful glimpses of life and wanting to share these personal visions and joy with the viewer. Free. 9 a.m. Miller Branch Library, 8701 South 28th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-646-3945

March 1-May 31 Building a Region: A Century of Local Architecture Beginning with noted Fort Smith architects Alonzo Klingensmith and Chester Nelson, this exhibit touches on the history of the many architectural firms in the city. Visitors may view a 1912 Klingensmith drawing of a Fort Smith residence, Nelson drawings of noted buildings such as Goddard Methodist Church, the Wheeler Avenue Boys Club, the Booneville Sanatorium, several University of Arkansas at Fayetteville buildings and Fentress Mortuary which won national recognition in 1931 for design. Engineer’s drawings of the “Million Dollar Free Bridge” constructed between 1919 and 1922 are included. An 1899 drawing on linen of an elevator designed for a local building is intriguing as research continues to discover the building’s location. $5 adults, $2 children, under 6 no charge. Fort Smith Museum of History, 320 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-7841 fortsmithmuseum.com

March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

56-73_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 9:41 PM Page 58

CALENDAR OF EVENTS attend the sessions and learn to run or walk, then enter the Women Can Run 5K graduation in Conway on May 10. The final 5K is for women only. Men can volunteer as pacers. The program offers training for any level of walker or runner of any age, from those who have never run to those who want to return to the routine. Trainers are volunteering to help anyone who wants to exercise reach their goal. The goal: get fit and build confidence to reach your life goals. Register online at the Women Run website before March 3. 6 p.m. Western Arkansas Runners Building, 7308 Ellis Street at Chaffee Crossing, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-650-0766 womenrunarkanas.net March 3-7 Crawford County Library Week: History Trivia Complete a Crawford County Library System history trivia quiz during the week to be entered into a drawing March 7. Free. Alma Public Library, 624 Fayetteville Avenue, Alma, Ark. 479-632-4140

Bringing the Outside In: Diane’s Living Room Photo Show Often, in the presence of great natural beauty, librarian Diane Holwick is conflicted as to whether to take a picture or just experience the moment. Encouraged by her friends, she more often than not does take the shot. Holwick doesn’t think of herself as a photographer but rather someone who is inspired by the woods, water and light and just can’t keep it to herself. Stop by to experience autumn in Arkansas, summer in the Rockies and other views from the outdoors both big and small. Holwick is the assistant director of the Fort Smith Public Library. When she isn’t writing press releases, creating posters or leading the Book Lover’s Club, she most likely can be found in the woods accompanied by her two dogs. Free. 9 a.m. Fort Smith Public Library, 3201 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479783-0229 fortsmithlibrary.org

1 30

March 1-April 30 Photography Exhibit featuring P.J. Williams P.J. Williams, computer services librarian at the Fort Smith Public Library, has been interested in photography since 1956, when she was given a Brownie camera to document her family’s Disneyland vacation. Her current collection focuses on Arkansas scenery and landscapes, specifically the different seasons of Arkansas. Photographs spotlighting the Fort Smith Public Library also will be on display. Free. 9 a.m. Dewey’s Cafe at the Fort Smith Public Library, 3201 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-0229

March 2-28 Stout Hearted Men of Art: Bill Hart and George Kountoupis Exhibit Bill Hart and George Kountoupis, lifetime friends and professional artists, will display their works in both Main and Studio galleries. An opening reception will 58 Entertainment Fort Smith March 2014

be 1-4 p.m. March 2. Free. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. TuesdayFriday. Center For Art & Education, 104 North 13th Street, Van Buren, Ark. 479-474-7767 art-ed.org

March 3 Introduction to Essential Oils As a natural medicine, learn which oils might help you in this basic introduction to essential oils and how you can use them in your daily life. Adult class and free! Free 10-11 a.m. Alma Public Library, 624 Fayetteville Ave., Alma, Ark. 479-632-4140 crawfordcountylib.org

March 3-May 10 Women Run Arkansas Clinics Begin Women (and men) of all ages who want to walk or run but don’t know how to get started are invited to the Women Run Arkansas annual clinic. The 10 weeks of training clinic and camaraderie are free. Now open to men, as well. The commitment of all entrants is to

March 3-31 Monday Night Dance Lessons If you would like to “Dance Like The Stars,” this is where you need to be. Lessons change each month to a different dance. Mike and Lisa Lawrence teach beginners and advanced dance lessons in foxtrot, waltz, cha-cha, rhumba, tango, bolero, salsa, merengue, samba, west coast swing, east coast swing, paso doble and polka. Membership not required. $5. Advance lessons 6:30-7:30 p.m.; beginners lessons 7:30-9 p.m. Eagles Ballroom, 3321 South 66th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-674-2578

March 4 Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (PG) The Fort Smith Public Library will feature this documentary in support of the UAFS Read This! program featuring Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried.” This classic HBO documentary features reenactments of actual letters written by American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines during the Vietnam War to their families and friends back home. The letters are read by the well-known voices of Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox, Robin Williams and others. Archive footage of the war and news coverage thereof augment the firstperson “narrative” by men and women who were in the war, some of whom did not survive it. Free. 6:30 p.m. Fort Smith Public Library, 3201 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-0229 fortsmithlibrary.org

March 4 Symphonic Band Concert at UAFS In an early celebration of spring, the UAFS Symphonic Band presents a concert with selections ranging from classic repertoire to pastoral music to lively tunes. Free. 7:30-9 p.m. UAFS Breedlove Auditorium, 5210 Grand Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7972 March 4 Mountainburg Library Mardi Gras Drop-in Drop in at the library, grab some beads and celebrate Mardi Gras with King’s Cake and punch. Free 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Mountainburg Public Library, 1300 U.S. 71 North, Mountainburg, Ark. 479-369-1600

March 4 Van Buren Library Scrabble Club The Scrabble Club provides an informal atmosphere to test your word knowledge. Free 1-3 p.m. Van Buren Public Library, 1409 Main Street, Van Buren, Ark. 479-474-6045 crawfordcountylib.org

56-73_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 9:41 PM Page 59

March 4, 11 Boosting Your Web Site: SEO Gain many great ideas to create a web presence designed to increase and attract new customers for a small or home-based business. SEO, or search engine optimization, is a fancy way to say “get noticed” by potential customers as they browse the web. Learn the secrets to making them come your way from Aaron Price, a leading internet marketer in the region. $30. 6-8 p.m. Tuesdays. UAFS Center for Lifelong Learning, 5318 Kinkead Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7220 uafs.edu/lifelonglearning

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

For Fort t Smith A Star ar on the Border St tar Border March Events Discover The Dinosaurs

Arkansas River Valley Lawn & Garden Show

12th Annual Grape Escapes Clayton House Presents A&M Train Excursions

2 Check out our calendar of events for more info on these and other events!

479-783-8888

Steven Wise: A Decade of Painting 2003-2013 This exhibition is from the artist’s “alpha/beta projects,” in which Wise is working on 26 projects – one per year – that correspond to each letter of the alphabet. Projects include 10 canvas paintings for the letter B, 12 paintings of abstract faces for the letter F and “portrait paintings of rednecks” for the letter R. Wise earned his master of fine arts from the University of Iowa. His work has been shown in a number of solo and group exhibitions, including the Annual Delta Exhibition at the Arkansas Arts Center and the Arkansas Arts Council’s Annual Small Works on Paper Exhibition. Free. 8 a.m.-6 p.m. SmithPendergraft Campus Center, west hallway gallery, 800 North 49th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7300

1 15

March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

56-73_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 9:41 PM Page 60

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

AETN Documentary: Champion Trees of Arkansas Surviving the ravages of nature and man, the champion trees of Arkansas are the largest of their species in the state. With lives spanning hundreds of years, these silent sentinels have watched history unfold around them. “Champion Trees,” an original 60-minute documentary, explores these natural wonders and how they influence and inspire the people around them. Viewers will experience these giants through various seasons in Arkansas, from the magnificent blooms of the champion Southern Magnolia tree in Texarkana during the summer to the snow-covered champion Northern Catalpa in Prattsville. They will also learn about the rich history associated with the trees, including Dardanelle’s 350-year-old White Oak dubbed the Council Tree by Native Americans. Also featured will be Linda Williams Palmer of Hot Springs who draws Arkansas’ champion trees with the ultimate goal of interpreting each tree according to the season of observation, location, historic context and human connection. She developed this series over a period of five years, driving approximately 7,000 miles to document and artistically interpret selected Arkansas Champion Trees. Palmer opened her first art studio and gallery in Fort Smith in 1985. A companion website for the film, aetn.org/championtrees, will feature a map of champion trees in Arkansas, a photo gallery, video clips and additional information on Palmer’s work. The program airs at 7 p.m. March 3 on AETN.

March 4- April 29 Danse Orientale: Belly Dance For Fitness Belly dance is an exquisite way to build strength, gain flexibility and long life infused with the mystique of feminine grace and movement. This class offers a thorough warm-up, basic belly dance technique breakdown, drills, finger cymbals and choreography to bring it all together. The eight-session classes are inspired by the Suhaila format. Instructor Shannan Rose has experience in American Tribal and Fusion Belly Dance for more than a decade. $65, music provided. 7-8 p.m. Tuesdays. UAFS Center fro Lifelong Learning, 5318 Kinkead Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7220 uafs.edu/lifelonglearning

March 5 Day in the Life: County Coroner – Short Lecture A coroner was a position used in medieval England to represent the ruler of the time but many know the description through film and television characters. Who can forget the Munchkin coroner declaring the witch dead, or Quincey, M.E., or, more recently, “Crossing Jordan” depicting the coroner in action. But what does a coroner really do and when? Sebastian County Coroner Cindy Ducker will share a view of her day. $7. 1-2 p.m. UAFS Echols Conference Center, 504 North Waldron Road, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7220 uafs.edu/lifelonglearning 60 Entertainment Fort Smith March 2014

March 5 Lunch & Learn: Overcoming Joint & Arthritis Pain Jody Bradshaw, M.D., orthopedic surgery/sports medicine, will give an educational talk on overcoming joint and arthritis pain. Registration is required. Free. Noon-1 p.m. Shuffield Education Center, 1001 Towson Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-709-3627 or 877-709-DOCS sparkshealth.com

March 5 Film: The Rape of Europa Crystal Bridges Museum screens “The Rape of Europa,” the epic story of the systematic theft, deliberate destruction and miraculous survival of Europe’s art treasures during the Third Reich and the second World War. The film begins and ends with the story of Gustav Klimt’s famed Gold Portrait, stolen from Viennese Jews in 1938 and now one of the most expensive paintings ever sold. Joan Allen narrates this breathtaking chronicle through seven countries, and tells the story of the young art professionals and ordinary heroes who made extraordinary efforts to safeguard, rescue and return the millions of lost, hidden and stolen treasures. Admission is free; tickets are required for reservations. Available online or at the guest services desk. 6:30-8:30 p.m. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, 600 Museum Way, Bentonville, Ark. crystalbridges.org March 5-17 Basic QuickBooks 2010 Learn to manage a company’s account using QuickBooks Pro. This hands-on approach shows how to create invoices, pay bills and track customers using QuickBooks. $80, includes textbook and flash drive. 5-7:55 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays. Fort Smith Adult Education Center, 501 South 20th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-785-1232 adulteducationfortsmith.org

March 5-17 Digital Literacy A first introduction to the computer teaches terminology, using the mouse and some common programs. Free. 5-7:55 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays. Fort Smith Adult Education Center, 501 South 20th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-785-1232 adulteducationfortsmith.org

March 5-April 30 Floral Design Classes Faye Laufer will teach floral design. Call for class reservations and supply list. 1-3 p.m. Wednesdays. Hobby Lobby in-store classroom, 5900 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith. 479-217-1219

March 6 Informed Businesses: Navigating the Affordable Care Act Small businesses have new health insurance options and requirements. Get an overview of key small business provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the new Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace. Learn about new IRS reporting and employee notification requirements for businesses; available tax credits, potential rebates, and premium reduction programs; and penalties for noncompliance. Presented by the Arkansas Tech Small Business and Technology Development Center. Funded through Arkansas Health Connector. Call or go online to register. Free. 3-5 p.m. Fort Smith Public Library, 3201 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-356-2067 asbtdc.org/training/russellville-events/ March 6 Qigong for Beginners Qigong (Chi Kung), meaning “to work or exercise the vital life force (qi)” is the 5,000-year-old Chinese system of self-healing exercises and deep breathing techniques. Qigong’s gentle exercises and mental techniques may help maintain good health, produce healing for illness, injury and stress, and significantly improve quality of life. Suzanne Parnell teaches gentle but powerful Qigong exercises that can be used daily to create and maintain health and vitality. No athleticism required. This short class can be combined with the meditation workshop for a new, healthy and balanced lifestyle. $29. 6-9 p.m. UAFS Center for Lifelong Learning, 5318 Kinkead Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7220 uafs.edu/lifelonglearning March 6 Beers of Belgium Discover the remarkable history of Belgian breweries and their rising popularity in today’s exploding craft beer industry. Learn about this region’s historic and eclectic styles and flavors, as well as the brewing processes of Belgium’s versatile artisanal breweries. Then immerse yourself in the very beers you learned about with a Bel-

56-73_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 9:41 PM Page 61

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Harlem Ambassadors Basketball The Harlem Ambassadors will perform unique high-flying slam dunks, dazzling ball-handling tricks and hilarious comedy routines. The team is comprised of talented male and female basketball players that are drug-free, collegeeducated and positive in appearance. The group provides family-friendly entertainment, serving as positive role models for kids. A team of local celebrities, known as the Crawford County Dawgs, will compete against the Ambassadors in a special game, meant for fun and laughs. Following the game, the audience will have the opportunity to meet the Ambassadors during a special autograph session. All proceeds will benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Van Buren and the Boys and Girls Club of Alma. Tickets are available online or at the door. $10 adults; $5 for children under 12; free for kids 4 and under. 7 p.m. Van Buren High School Arena, 2221 Pointer Trail East, Van Buren, Ark. 479-221-1361, 479-474-9401 crawfordcountydawgs.brownpapertickets.com

gian beer tasting. Must be 21 or older to participate. Class will be held at the Blue Lion at UAFS Downtown. $35. 6-8 p.m. UAFS Center for Lifelong Learning, 5318 Kinkead Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7220 uafs.edu/lifelonglearning

March 6-27 The Garden Club Class Sponsored by Deputy 5 Farm, professional organic gardener Liz Preston will teach the basics of prepping, testing and tilling soil. Sign up at the front desk. Fee applies. 5:30-6:30 p.m. Thursdays. BrickCity Emporium, 3215 South 74th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-434-5858 brickcityemporium.com

March 6-8 Growing Kids Sale More than 2,000 River Valley families sell their gently used children’s clothing, shoes, toys and baby equipment at bargain prices. Free. 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Kay Rodgers Park, 4400 Midland Boulevard, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-420-9699 GrowingKidsSale.com

Where do we find all the great happenings

What’s going on? Submit your events to

that fill our Calendar of Events? From you, our readers! Along with emailing, faxing or mailing in the notice of your event, you may enter them online at our website, www.efortsmith.com. Click “Add Event” at the top our home page. From there you’ll see easy

at www.efortsmith.com

instructions about submitting an event. (Your submission is subject to editing before it appears.) March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

56-73_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 9:41 PM Page 62

CALENDAR OF EVENTS posit at registration. Lodging and five meals included. $175; $120 commuters. St. Scholastica Retreat Center, 1205 South Albert Pike, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-7831135 stscho.org/retreat-registration

Castleman COIN Installation The COIN installation by artist Dayton Castleman is inspired by “Coin” Harvey, creator of the lost resort town of Monte Ne, Ark., designed by Harvey and his followers in 1928. An eccentric philosopher, Harvey predicted the imminent demise of the human race and constructed an amphitheater as an entrance for a 130-foot pyramid he intended to build on the site. The solid concrete pyramid was to be a time capsule to assist in the future rebuilding of civilization should a human remnant survive the impending economic collapse he prophesied. Harvey exhausted his personal resources in the construction of the amphitheater, failed to find financial backers for construction of the pyramid and died penniless in 1936. Until the amphitheater was inundated by the creation of Beaver Lake, locals used the Monte Ne amphitheater for picnics and gatherings. Every decade or so, lake levels drop low enough to reveal the ruins of Monte Ne. Projected onto a large model of the sunken Monte Ne amphitheater, a video meditation interprets both the sculpture and the story it represents.Texts and images are quoted from Harvey’s works “The Pyramid Booklet,” “The Book” and “Common Sense.” Opening reception will be 5-7 p.m. March 6. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; Sunday 1-5 p.m. Free. Fort Smith Regional Art Museum, 1601 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-784-2787 fsram.org

6 25

March 7-9 Weekend Retreat: The Gift of Self Compassion Contrary to common belief, self-compassion is not an indulgent, self-centered orientation. Rather, self-compassion is essential for a healthy, loving relationship to God, self and others. Writer, international retreat leader and conference speaker Joyce Rupp invites participants to reflect on self-compassion in the life of Christ and in their own lives through conferences, creative communal prayer, quiet reflection and integrative dialogue. Register by Feb. 21. $50 non-refundable de62 Entertainment Fort Smith March 2014

March 7 Night Photography Explore the opportunities for photography at night using a digital camera with noted area photographer J.P. Bell. Explore the use of natural light in the photography of architectural and landscape subjects. The class will take a walking photographic excursion on the UAFS campus, where each student will be able to take night images of campus architecture. Tripod is preferred. $20. 6-9 p.m. UAFS Center for Lifelong Learning, 5318 Kinkead Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479788-7220 uafs.edu/lifelonglearning

The 12th Annual Grape Escapes is Bost Human Development Services’ signature fund-raiser. Bost serves more than 1,000 individuals with mental, physical and developmental disabilities in 34 counties in Arkansas. Mingle to the tunes of the Dave Holland Ensemble featuring vocalist Tabitha Graves, while sampling more than 350 wines from around the world and tasting delicacies from 13 area restaurants and caterers. The popular “Wine Pull” allows patrons to buy a numbered cork and receive the corresponding numbered bottle. An outstanding door prize sponsored by Sykes will be a $3,000 John Mays Jewelers shopping spree. Auctioneer Tim Dunn will offer for bidding a stunning piece of Hearts on Fire jewelry, a Dallas Cowboys Skybox package and a stay for six in a private villa at Barton Creek in Austin, Texas, among other auction items. $100. 6-11 p.m. The Epicenter by MovieLounge, 7607 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-478-5554

The 5th Annual 5 X 5 Gala is an evening of hors d’oeuvres, dinner and an open bar benefiting the Center for Art & Education. Every ticketholder will leave with an original 5x5 work of art. The exciting “dash for art” is a highlight of the evening as guests hasten to see and select their 5x5-inch original canvases. Featured artists include Ernest Cialone, John P. Lasater IV, Peter Lippincott, Maggie Malloy, Greg Palmer, Jason Sacran, Richard Stevens, Winston Taylor, Suzanne King and several other notable regional artists. $75. 6 p.m. Fort Smith Convention Center, Rogers Avenue and South 9th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-474-7767 art-ed.org

March 7 Dervish Ballroom Dance This is a fun dance that features an array of music oriented toward ballroom, Latin, swing and polka dancers. A local DJ will provide the music for your dance enjoyment. The dress attire is a relaxed dressy casual. $5. 7-10 p.m. Eagles Ballroom, 3321 South 66th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-674-2578 March 7 Crawford County Library Week Patron Appreciation Day In appreciation of library patrons and their continued support, this day of celebration and appreciation includes cake and refreshments for all library users. Free. Alma Public Library, 624 Fayetteville Avenue, Alma, Ark. 479-632-4140 crawfordcountylib.org

March 7, 21 Crochet and Knitting Class in Van Buren Learn to crochet or knit. People with all levels of experience are welcome. Take yarn, a G or H hook for crochet and a willingness to learn. Free. 10 a.m.-noon. Van Buren Public Library, 1409 Main Street, Van Buren, Ark. 479-474-6045 crawfordcountylib.org

March 7-9 Friends of Project Compassion Spring Classic Tennis Tournament A benefit tennis tournament for the Friends of Project Compassion, which provides care and special items to nursing home residents offers men’s and women’s singles and doubles; senior women’s and combo mixed doubles divisions. Prizes will be awarded to winners, runner-ups and consolation winners. First

56-73_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 9:41 PM Page 63

CALENDAR OF EVENTS National Bank will grill hot dogs and hamburgers on Saturday and each player will receive a T-shirt. Registration deadline is noon March 5. USTA members can register online at Tennislink Tournament ID No. 70005112. Entry fees $21-$36. 8 a.m. Creekmore Park Tennis Center, Rogers Avenue and South 31st Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-2273 projectcompassioninc.com March 8 Junior League of Fort Smith Reach Out & Run 5K/10K Both the 5K and 10K courses are USATF-certified and will be chip timed by JAYMAX Race Timing Services. This is a fundraiser for the Junior League of Fort Smith, which provides assistance to support our mission of helping area kids who are aging out of the foster care system. Register online. $25; $20 each for groups of four or more. 8-10 a.m. Chaffee Crossing, 7020 Taylor Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-3930 jlfs.org/jlfs/reachoutandrun March 8 St. Paddy’s Day 5K Lace up your tennis shoes and put on your best St. Patty’s costume for this fun run. It is a chip-timed event and early registrants will receive a T-shirt and medal. There will also be awards given for each age division, best costume and more. 9 a.m. Patrick Lynch Public Library, 206 South McKenna Street, Poteau, Okla. 918-647-3833 918-839-4785

March 8 Big Bluff Hike TrailBlazers Hiking Club will hike to Big Bluff, a 440foot bluff that overlooks the Buffalo River. It is a strenuous, 5.5 mile round trip to the ledge where there are lots of interesting rock formations and great views of the river valley. Going in is easy but coming out requires a 1,000-foot elevation gain in 2.75 miles – not steep enough for switchbacks, just a continuous uphill trek. Meet at Cloverleaf Plaza parking lot in Van Buren to carpool/caravan. 8 a.m. Buffalo National River, Arkansas 43 North, Ponca, Ark. 479-646-9562 thcfs.com

March 8 Herbal Bonsai and Topiary Event The Herbal Adventures Committee of the River Valley Master Gardeners will examine different techniques used to shape and trim herbal bonsai and topiary. This workshop will be hosted by Carol McKinney. Plants will be provided or participants may take their own. Plants to trim and shape will be available for purchase. Take garden clippers and pruners. Refreshments will be provided. $20. 9:30 a.m.-noon. Reynolds Cancer Support House, 3325 South M Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-782-2014

March 8 Subiaco Academy Spring Carnival The carnival will feature games such as bingo, Country Store, various children’s games and inflatables. Raffle tickets for a 2014 Ford Fiesta will be for sale. There will be live and silent auctions filled with items such as furniture, Razorback tickets and jewelry. Entertainment will include the Subiaco Academy Jazz Ensemble. Local wineries will be hosting a wine tasting and, of course, there will be a food court offering an array of savory items. Free. 4-9 p.m. Subiaco Academy Spring Carnival, Subiaco Academy, Subiaco, Ark. 479-934-1000

Arkansas’s Community Bank now in 22 more communities. 1 1

1 1

Siloam

1 2 Van Van Buren Bu

7 1

1 1

1 3

1 4 2

2 1

1 5

1 3 1

2 8

Download our free mobile app for locations near you.

MY100BANK.COM | A Home BancShares Company (Nasdaq:HOMB)

March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

56-73_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 9:41 PM Page 64

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

March 9 UAFS Simplifies Financial Aid: Countdown to College The complex process of applying for financial aid for college will be simplified with the assistance of the UA-Fort Smith’s guidance. Anyone interested in the applying for federal and state financial aid, including scholarships and the Arkansas Academic Challenge, may attend. Those who intend to attend should register for a Personal Identification Number (PIN) at www.pin.ed.gov at least a week in advance and take that information to the event. In order to get assistance in filling out the FAFSA form, attendees should have the following information: 2013 W-2 forms, a copy of their own or their parents’ 2013 federal income tax return, parents’ and student’s Social Security numbers, amounts of untaxed 2013 income, amount of child support received or paid, checking and savings account balances and knowledge of the worth of other family assets. More information will be presented about the admissions process. Free. 2 p.m. UAFS Math Science Building, Room 101, 720 North 49th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7090 uafs.edu March 10 Guns of the Frontier Learn about three guns that were part of the legendary, and often mythical, frontier period of American history in a four-part lecture series hosted by the U.S. Marshals Museum. Guns of the Frontier, a series overview, will be presented by Robert Pickering, director of curatorial affairs at the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Okla., and former deputy director of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyo. Pickering will discuss the role guns played in settling the frontier and

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

in the building of the nation, the types of guns that were most popular, and myths versus the realities of gunslingers. Commemorative monograph included with the purchase of lecture package. Light refreshments will be served. Cash bar available. Call fo reservations. $10 per lecture or $25 for all four. 6:30-7:30 p.m. UAFS Blue Lion, 101 North 2nd Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-709-3766 usmarshalsmuseum.com

March 11 Knit, Stitch and Crochet Today All ages of people who knit, stitch, or crochet – or want to learn, are invited to take their own needles, hooks and projects for an afternoon of crafting with others. Yarn, extra supplies and plenty of help will be available for anyone who wants to learn. Free. 4-6 p.m. Fort Smith Public Library, 3201 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-0229 fortsmithlibrary.org

March 11-April 17 Microsoft IT Academy Achieve the premier Microsoft Office certification, which is globally recognized as the standard for demonstrating desktop skills. The Office Specialist program is helping meet the demand for qualified and knowledgeable people in the modern workplace. Free. 11 a.m.-12:25 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Fort Smith Adult Education Center, 501 South 20th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-785-1232 adulteducationfortsmith.org March 11-April 17, March 31-April 9 Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 Integrate graphics, video and music into your presentations to teach or sell to your audience. $80, includes

textbook and flash drive. March 11-April 17 9:3010:55 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. March 31-April 9 5-7:55 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays. Fort Smith Adult Education Center, 501 South 20th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-785-1232 March 11-21 RAD for Women The Rape Aggression Defense system is a program of realistic self-defense tactics and techniques for women. It is a comprehensive, women-only course that begins with awareness, prevention, risk reduction and risk avoidance, progressing to the basics of hands-on defense training. RAD courses are taught by certified instructors and provide each student with a workbook manual outlining the entire program for reference and continuous personal growth. Must be 16 or older to attend the four-session class. $45. 6-9 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. UAFS Center for Lifelong Learning, 5318 Kinkead Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7220 uafs.edu/lifelonglearning March 11-April 17 Microsoft Word 2010 Learn the basics of word processing using Microsoft Word including formatting, tabs, graphics and tables. End the frustration when creating simple documents. $80, includes textbook and flash drive. 8-9:25 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Fort Smith Adult Education Center, 501 South 20th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-785-1232 adulteducationfortsmith.org March 12 Finishing Strong: Bringing Meaning to Your Life Now is the time to contemplate the “meaning of life”

56-73_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 9:41 PM Page 65

CALENDAR OF EVENTS and not later toward the end of life. Dr. Charles Saulsbery will speak on motivating yourself to create a legacy for your families, communities and maybe even the world. There is always time to take action and define your legacy, as Joseph Campbell said, “Life is without meaning. You bring meaning to life.” $7. 12 p.m. UAFS Center for Lifelong Learning, 5318 Kinkead Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7220 uafs.edu/lifelonglearning

March 12 Discover the Internet Learn basic web-related tasks and learn to navigate and understand the address bar, URLs and hyperlinks. Buy goods online, find a job and understand basic security. $20; $15 partners. 9 a.m.-noon. UAFS Center for Lifelong Learning, 5318 Kinkead Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7220 uafs.edu/lifelonglearning

March 12-April 9 Fiber Show Quilts, knitting, loom work, and any hand made fiber work. Free. Mena Art Gallery, 607 Mena Street, Mena, Ark. 479-394-3880 menaartgallery.org March 13 Authors in the Afternoon with Freda Lattimore Oklahoma author Freda Lattimore will sign copies of her book “Bits ’n Pieces: Musings of an Oklahoma Girl.” Charletta “Charlie” Chastain’s life was forever changed when she was in the sixth grade and her father was killed in Afghanistan. Even now, at 17, she continues to be haunted by that moment so long ago when her resolve finally gave way. Funny, heartwarming and real, “Bits ’n Pieces” goes from early-day cattle drives to the Boston Marathon bombings, dealing with issues such as anorexia, drug addiction and poverty. It challenges readers to disregard everything they thought you knew about people from Oklahoma. Copies of the book will be available for sale at the open-house style event. Free. 3:30-5:30 p.m. Fort Smith Public Library, 3201 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-0229 fortsmithlibrary.org

March 13 That Thursday Night Thing: Irish Melodies with Bill & Nancy Carpenter Enjoy a festive Irish evening with the singing of Bill and Nancy Carpenter. They met at the Summer Opera Workshop in Hot Springs, Ark., under the tutelage the great Metropolitan Opera star Marjorie Lawrence. The two soon married and have been teaching, preaching and singing their way through life together ever since. This program includes a variety of Irish melodies, including “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling,” “Mother Machree” and “My Wild Irish Rose.” Free. 7 p.m. Miller Branch Library, 8701 South 28th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-646-3945 fortsmithlibrary.org

March 13 Noble Cause Awards Annual Reception Honoring the 2012 Award Recipients: Tom Jakobs with Be Extraordinary and Charolette Tidwell with Antioch Youth & Family. The Noble Cause Awards are sponsored by Arthur J. Gallegher & Co. to acknowledge and honor those who are making their world a better place. Donations accepted for the honored organizations but not required. 5-7 p.m. Fort Smith Convention Center, Rogers Avenue and South 9th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-649-0033 noblecauseawards.com

March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

56-73_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 9:41 PM Page 66

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

March 13, 20 Knitting for Men Men, make a bold statement and follow in the paths of sailors, cowboys and surgeons. Yes, they all knitted on the job and so can you. Show the traits of a modern man and learn the basics in this two-session class. Needles and yarn provided. Complete a basic project. Accept the challenge to learn a new skill where the benefits are manual dexterity, concentration, stress relief and the admiration of home-ec teachers everywhere. Rachel Townsend instructs. $35. 6-8 p.m. UAFS Center for Lifelong Learning, 5318 Kinkead Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7220 uafs.edu/lifelonglearning

March 14, 28 Benefit Dance for Children’s Charity This is a benefit dance hosted by the Eagles Club and sponsored by the Eagles Ladies Auxiliary to raise money for the Arkansas Autistic Foundation benefiting local children. A local DJ is providing gratis entertainment and his dance music will be oriented toward rock ‘n’ roll, country, waltz, cha-cha, line dances and dance mixers. Adult beverages are available and you must be at least 21 to attend. Enjoy good music, a smoke-free environment and the largest dance floor in the River Valley. Don’t let lack of a dance partner keep you from attending; there are usually single dancers available. Donations accepted. 7-10 p.m. Eagles Ballroom, 3321 South 66th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-674-2578 March 14 The Dallas Branch Book Club This is a fun, relaxed discussion about your favorite

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

reads. There is no required reading for this club; read whatever you like and share your opinions. Free. 2 p.m. Dallas Branch Library, 8100 Dallas Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-484-5650 fortsmithlibrary.org

March 14 Redwork & Embroidery Club This redwork and embroidery club stitch-in is for beginners, as well as experienced embroiders. Free. 13 p.m. Van Buren Public Library, 1409 Main Street, Van Buren, Ark. 479-474-6045 crawfordcountylib.org March 14-16 Photography Workshop: Two Days with J.P. Bell Improve your photography skills under the direction of noted local photographer J.P. Bell in this two-day workshop, located in the beautiful surroundings of Eureka Springs. There will be many shooting opportunities, whatever your specialty – architecture, foliage, portraits and people. Hands-on instruction and the ability to critique each other’s work under the instructor’s tutelage will provide valuable experience in improving your skills. Accommodation and three meals are included in the fee. Limited to 12 participants. Students will make their own way to Eureka Springs and provide their own equipment. $315, includes lodging and meals. UAFS Center for Lifelong Learning, 5318 Kinkead Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7220 uafs.edu/lifelonglearning

March 14-16 46th Annual Old Washington Jonquil Festival Celebrate a tradition at Historic Washington State Park. This three-day festival heralds the arrival of spring in southwest Arkansas. Thousands of jonquils

welcome craftspeople, entertainers and visitors to the town of Historic Washington. Unique crafts and delicious foods are just part of the attractions from 9 a.m.5 p.m. March 14-15, then again from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. March 15. Tours of the park, historic homes, and museums are available at regular price. $5 festival admission. Historic Washington State Park, Washington, Ark. 870-983-2684 historicwashingtonstatepark.com March 15 The William S. Paley Collection: A Taste for Modernism Crystal Bridges Museum opens its new exhibit featuring selections from the extraordinary private collection of William S. Paley, the late founder and guiding spirit of CBS. The exhibition features more than 60 works of art, including paintings, drawings and sculpture, some of the most striking by French modern masters. Highlights include works by Paul Gauguin, André Derain, Henri Matisse, Paul Cézanne and Edgar Degas, most created between 1880 and 1940, at the height of French Modernism, as well as Pablo Picasso’s “Boy Leading a Horse.” At Crystal Bridges, The Paley Collection complements the earlier exhibition of modern works shared with Fisk University, The Artists’ Eye: Georgia O’Keeffe and the Alfred Stieglitz Collection, and presents a rare opportunity for guests to view these masters of European Modernism that inspired many American artists. A free audio tour is available for check-out at the entrance to the exhibition. A dropin guided tour featuring selected highlights from the exhibition is offered at 1 p.m. Thursdays. Admission to the Paley exhibit is $8 for adults; free for members and those 18 and under. There is no cost to view the museum’s permanent collection. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon-

56-73_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 9:41 PM Page 67

CALENDAR OF EVENTS day and Thursday; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday and Friday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, 600 Museum Way, Bentonville, Ark. 479-418-5700 crystalbridges.org

March 15 12th Annual Kiss a Pig Gala This black-tie affair features fine cuisine, live and silent auctions and over-the-top entertainment as the community’s most talented leaders compete for the chance to kiss a pig to thank it for producing the first source of insulin for people with diabetes. Proceeds benefit the American Diabetes Association of Northwest Arkansas in its work to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of those affected by type 1, type 2, gestational and prediabetes. 6-11 p.m. John Q. Hammons Convention Center, 3303 Pinnacle Hills Parkway, Rogers, Ark. 479-464-4121 March 15 27th Annual Spiro Mounds Family Kite Flite Day A family fun day at Oklahoma’s only prehistoric Native American archaeological site open to the public. Take a kite or make one at the Boy Scout kite-making booth. The day includes demonstrations by professional kiters and hourly drawings of donated kites. At 2 p.m. is an archaeologist-guided tour of the site. A treasure dig area and bubble area are set up for children. Arts and crafts and food booths will also be onsite. Free. 9-5 p.m. Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center, 18154 1st Street, Spiro, Okla. 918-962-2062

March 15 Sustainable Beekeeping Principles: Essential Oils Beekeepers or future beekeepers interested in keeping all-organic, chemical free, natural beehives are welcome. A lecture includes sustainable techniques and recipes on how to maintain healthy beehives using only essential oils and experience. Guest lecturer sponsored by the Western Arkansas Eastern Oklahoma Beekeepers Association. Advance registration required. Free. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Extension Office, 105 Pointer Trail West, Van Buren, Ark. 479-285-4402, 479-474-5286 uaex.edu/Crawford March 15 River Valley Equality Center Fundraiser Event features area drag queens, True Grit & Grind Burlesque Revue and comedic stylings of Aaron Ray. There also will be a silent auction and cash bar. Call for tickets. $35; $65 per couple; $350 for a table of 10. 7-11 p.m. MovieLounge, 7601 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-769-4750 March 15 Friends of NRA Banquet The evening includes live and silent auctions, raffles and games. The National Rifle Association is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. $30. 5:30-10 p.m. Fort Smith Convention Center, Rogers Avenue and South 9th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-831-7057

March 15 Area 51 Testimony Watch a video presentation of an Air Force veteran with extraordinary claims about his duty at Dreamland in the infamous Area 51 during the 1960s during this open meeting of the Arkansas Mufon West Central Section of Mutual UFO Network. Free. 10:30 a.m.noon. Fort Smith Public Library Community Room, 3201 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-0229 March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

56-73_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 9:41 PM Page 68

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Garvan Woodland Gardens Tulip Extravaganza Garvan’s 135,000 vibrant tulips put on their show during the gardens’ famous Tulip Extravaganza. Even before the tulips begin their showy bloom, tens of thousands of fragrant hyacinths and daffodils put on a spectacular spring show. Later, in April, hundreds of red, pink, violet and white azaleas and thousands of delicate dogwood blossoms will be on center stage for a show like no other in the Natural State. Bloom times vary according to temperatures and rainfall. Check the Gardens’ Facebook page for current photos of its blooms. $10 adults; $5 ages 6-12. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. daily. Garvan Woodland Gardens, 550 Arkridge Road, Hot Springs, Ark. 800-366-4664 garvangardens.org

15 19

March 15 9th Annual 5K Run-Walk with the Knights King Elementary in Van Buren hosts this event each year to raise funds to take all King fourth-grade students to a three-day, two-night camp. This camp is used to teach outside of the classroom and to provide the students with unique outdoor experiences. FourthGrade C.A.M.P. (Children Achieving Maximum Potential) over the past eight years, has allowed well more than 400 students from King to experience an educational outdoor camp, which most students would not have had an opportunity to enjoy. Entry forms are available on the school website and at the school. $25 adults; students (18 and under) $10. 8:30 a.m. King Elementary, 411 North 20th Street, Van Buren, Ark. 479-474-2661 vbsd.us/king

March 16 Fern Gully Hike TrailBlazers will hike at Fern Gully. This gully is more accurately a canyon with nicely formed sandstone ledges, impressive bluff lines and boulders as large as a house. After an easy short hike into the canyon, hikers will explore the bluffs and crevices. Meet at Cloverleaf Plaza parking lot in Van Buren to carpool/caravan. Free. 1 p.m. Ozark National Forest, Arkansas 215, Fern, Ark. 479-646-9562 thcfs.com March 16-April 15 Third Sunday Artist Reception at Michael’s Mansion Join local artists for the opening reception of a March show. Demonstrations of painting and refreshments will be provided as artists celebrate the change of seasons with new works of art. Meet the newest exhibiting artist, Melody Smith, and visit with gallery artists Patricia Lappin, Jimmy Leach, Barbara Loftin, Julie Mayser, Lorrie Bridges and Cindy Sugg. The gallery is open during business hours, Tuesday through Saturday. Free. 1-4 p.m. Michael’s Mansion, 2900 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-883-8336 March 17 March Bracket Madness: 20th Anniversary of the 1994 National Championship Game Relive the 1994 Arkansas Razorbacks’ defeat of Duke University for the NCAA national championship. $25. 5:30 p.m. Sisters Bistro, 719 Main Street, Van Buren, Ark. 479-414-0804, 479-474-4949

March 17 Railroads of South Sebastian County The South Sebastian County Historical Society presents well-known train enthusiasts Mike Condren and John Dill who will discuss the development and history of rail in South Sebastian County. The presentation will cover the Frisco, Missouri Pacific, Midland Valley and Rock Island Lines and will include seldomseen photos. Free. 7 p.m. Farmer’s Bank Community Room, 71 West Center Street, Greenwood, Ark. 479-996-6357 greenwoodmuseumonline.com March 17 Beautify Fort Smith Arbor Day Tree Planting Beautify Fort Smith will plant 20 trees for Arbor Day on the campuses of Cavanaugh Elementary and Chaffin and Ramsey junior high schools. This event was made possible through a $1,500 grant received from the Arkansas Flower and Garden Club. “Kids for the Canopy” is a hands-on learning experience where the students will help participate in planting the trees. Free. 2 p.m. Fort Smith Public School District, 3205 Jenny Lind Road, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-785-2501 68

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

56-73_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 9:41 PM Page 69

March 17 The Execution of Cherokee Bill The Fort Smith National Historic Site will offer an especially interesting execution program about Crawford Goldsby, alias Cherokee Bill, one of the most notorious criminals ever to be hanged at Fort Smith. In 1894, deputy marshals arrested Goldsby for the murder of Earnest Melton in Indian Territory. After standing trial, he was found guilty of murder and Judge Parker sentenced him “to be hanged by the neck until you are dead” at the gallows. Though the Supreme Court was considering an appeal of his case, Goldsby attempted to escape. The unsuccessful escape attempt ended with jail guard Lawrence Keating murdered. To ensure that Goldsby would receive the death penalty, the Fort Smith Federal Court tried Goldsby for the murder of Keating just in case the Supreme Court did not uphold the previous decision. However, the first case did not receive an appeal and Goldsby paid the ultimate price for Melton’s murder. The program will take the visitor through the jail where Cherokee Bill attempted to escape and end outside at the reconstructed gallows where he spent the last moments of his life. Free. 11 a.m. Fort Smith National Historic Site, 301 Parker Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-3961 nps.gov/fosm March 17 Jim Warnock’s Hike of the Ozark Highland Trail TrailBlazers Hiking Club member Jim Warnock will share his experience and pictures from his recent hike of the 165-mile Ozark Highland Trail. Refreshment and social time will follow. Free. 7 p.m. River Valley Nature Center, 8200 Wells Lake Road, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-646-9562 thcfs.com

March 17-April 16 Digital Literacy The class introduces the basics of terminology, using the mouse and some common programs used on a computer. Free. 9:30-10:55 a.m. Mondays and Wednesdays. Fort Smith Adult Education Center, South 20th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-785-1232

March 17 -April 16 Intermediate MS Word 2010 Designed for students who have completed or have knowledge of the topics covered in the Basic Word Class. Learn working with styles, sections and columns, formatting tables, printing labels and envelopes and working with graphics. $80, includes textbook and flash drive. 8-9:25 a.m. Mondays and Wednesdays. Fort Smith Adult Education Center, 501 South 20th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-785-1232

March 17-April 16 Microsoft IT Academy Achieve the premier Microsoft Office certification, which is globally recognized as the standard for demonstrating desktop skills. The Office Specialist program is helping meet the demand for qualified and knowledgeable people in the modern workplace. Free. 2-3 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays. Fort Smith Adult Education Center, 501 South 20th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 4797851232 adulteducationfortsmith.org March 17-April 16 MS Publisher 2010 Learn how to create and edit publications, arrange text and pictures, work with master pages, and create and format tables using Microsoft Publisher 2010. $80,

CALENDAR OF EVENTS includes textbook and flash drive. 11 a.m.-12:25 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays. Fort Smith Adult Education Center, 501 South 20th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-785-1232 adulteducationfortsmith.org

March 18 Rain Barrel Workshops Barrels of Fun with Katie Teague and Jane Maginot. Make your own rain barrel. Class size is limited to 20 per session. Registration is required. Two workshops offered: 4-5 p.m.; 5:30-6:30 p.m. $30. Botanical Garden of the Ozarks, 4703 North Crossover Road, Fayetteville, Ark. 479-750-2620 bgozarks.org/events/

March 18 Archeology Talk: New Research at Spiro Mounds Ceremonial Center Ongoing research at the Spiro Mounds will be the top of a presentation by Dr. George Sabo III, director of the Arkansas Archeological Society. “Renewing the World, New Research at the Spiro Ceremonial Center” is a presentation summarizing the research being performed at the site while outlining plans for a new collaborative effort between the Arkansas Archeological Survey, the Oklahoma Archeological Survey and the Caddo and Wichita Indian nations. Exciting interpretations are being discovered about American Indian religious beliefs and rituals in the centuries just before contacts with Europeans, Sabo said. The Spiro Mounds is an important Mississippian archeological site, rich with information to be deciphered by researchers. Free. 7 p.m. Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center Reynolds Room, 800 North 49th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7812 uafs.edu

March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

56-73_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 9:41 PM Page 70

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

March 18 Is Your Data Safe? Learn to use most available applications to create backups, schedule backups and restore data. $15. 6-8 p.m. UAFS Center for Lifelong Learning, 5318 Kinkead Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7220 uafs.edu/lifelonglearning

March 19 Healthy Nutrition: CLL Short Lecture Series Learn which foods and cooking methods are best for your heart and even sample some tasty delights as Sparks’ dietitian Lacey Anderson and chef Tessa Bell show how easy it is to prepare a heart healthy meal. $7. 1-2 p.m. UAFS Echols Conference Center, 504 North Waldron Road, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7220

March 20 Jewelry Making: Wire Wrap Pendant Learn the various tools and wire gauges to manufacture wire wrap earrings, pendants or bracelets. $55, includes materials. 6-9 p.m. UAFS Center for Lifelong Learning, 5318 Kinkead Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7220 uafs.edu/lifelonglearning March 20 Meditation Techniques Meditative techniques lead you to still the mind, emotions and nervous system during meditation, thus relieving day-to-day stress and bringing the physical body to a deep state of relaxation and rejuvenation. $29. 6-9 p.m. UAFS Center for Lifelong Learning, 5318 Kinkead Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7220 uafs.edu/lifelonglearning

Don’t Discuss Your Bloomers: Rules for and Rights of Women in the Clayton Home Peer into the life and times of Mrs. Florence (W.H.H.) Clayton and her six daughters with this presentation at their restored, circa 1882 family home by women’s rights history enthusiast Sheryl Flanagin and historic re-enactor Sue Robison. In celebration of National Women’s History Month, Flanagin will share in a slideshow the general restrictions of women in the 1800s – from their lack of most rights to rules regarding the “unfettered liberty of bicycling” – and information on the National Women’s History Project. Robison will look at the organizational barriers Fort Smith women faced in the late 1800s when starting our library and other projects. The family of William H. H. Clayton, who served as the U.S. Attorney for Judge Parker’s court, lived in the now authentically restored home at 514 North 6th Street from 1882 to 1897. The historic house museum – Fort Smith’s only Victorian home open to the public – provides tours Wednesday through Sunday that feature Fort Smith’s frontier era and the life of this Victorian family. Each room in the Italianate mansion is filled with period furnishings. The not-for-profit Fort Smith Heritage Foundation has operated the museum since its restoration in the 1970s. Preceding the 2 p.m. presentation will be refreshments and a piano performance beginning at 1:30. Seating is limited; reservations may be made by calling the museum. A suggested $5 donation helps with the continued preservation of the home, which is listed in the National Geographic Guide to America’s Great Houses. 1:30 p.m. The Clayton House, 514 North 6th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-3000 claytonhouse.org

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

March 20-21 Vernal Equinox Walks Special archaeologist-guided tours of the Spiro Mounds site focus on the ceremonies and culture of the mound builders who created the mound site between A.D. 800 and 1450. Hear how and why the mounds were created and why some of the mounds line up with the Solstice and Equinox sunsets. Each walk will be about one mile of easy walking on paved trails and last about two hours. $3 for adults; $2 for children, plus regular admission to the site. 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 7 p.m. Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center, 18154 1st Street, Spiro, Okla. 918-962-2062 March 20-23 3-Day Retreat: Centering Prayer Meets the 11th Step For those who want to learn about and/or deepen their practice of centering prayer. There will be opportunities for those in 12-step programs to learn how to use centering prayer in the 11th step. “Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening” by Cynthia Bouregault and “Breathing Under Water” by Richard Rohr will be helpful reading before the retreat. Register by March 6. $50 non-refundable deposit at registration. $235, includes lodging and meals. St. Scholastica Retreat Center, 1205 South Albert Pike, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-1135 stscho.org/retreat-registration March 21 Diamond Ballroom Dance featuring Elvis Presley & Patsy Cline The T&T Combo Band will perform and their music is oriented toward ballroom, Latin and swing dancing with an occasional polka included. The theme of this dance is 1950s sock-hop so dress accordingly. If you don’t want to dress the ’50s style, the attire is semi-formal to formal. Elvis Presley and Patsy Cline are expected to make a showing and sing some of their latest hits. $10. 8-10:30 p.m. Eagles Ballroom, 3321 South 66th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-674-2578 March 21 Dealing with Dragons: Learning to Work with and Manage Difficult People March is National Social Work Month. The National Association of Social Workers, Arkansas Chapter, Western Branch, presents Charles Saulsbery, PhD, in a lecture on learning to work with and manage difficult people. Saulsbery is the pastoral and social services coordinator at Peachtree Hospice of Fort Smith. Three-hour CEU are available for social workers. $10. 1-4 p.m. Mercy Hospital, Sicard Room, 7301 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 1-800-797-6279 naswar.org

March 21 Food For Thought: Storm Chaser Justin Gibbs Growing up in the River Valley, media storm chaser and extreme photographer Justin Gibbs with KNWA Fox 24 has seen a lot of severe weather. Gibbs will talk about storm chasing and severe weather safety and bring his custom storm chasing vehicle to be seen. Take a lunch or pick one up at Dewey’s Café. The library provides drinks and dessert. Free. Noon. Fort Smith Public Library, 3201 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-0229 fortsmithlibrary.org

56-73_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 9:41 PM Page 71

March 21-23 22nd Annual Arkansas River Valley Lawn & Garden Show The show is Fort Smith’s official start of the gardening season. Meet local experts on landscaping, plant care, designing outdoor living spaces and shop for gardening products. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. March 21-22; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. March 23. $5. Fort Smith Convention Center, Rogers Avenue and South 9th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-285-0148 fslawngardenshow.com

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

March 22 Reptile Mania! Join snake enthusiasts Brad Birchfield and Jeremy Sloan as they present reptiles from their extensive collection of native venomous and non-venomous snakes and a rescued juvenile alligator. Free. 1-3 p.m. Lake Fort Smith State Park, 15458 Shepherd Springs Road, Mountainburg, Ark. 479-369-2469

March 22 Encaustics: Advanced Techniques Instructor Mary Spears builds on prior workshops to offer more practice in using the techniques of encaustics. Design, create and complete new works in this daylong workshop. It is suggested that students have taken either previous encaustics courses or have some encaustics experience. Fee includes most materials, supply list provided. $75. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. UAFS Center for Lifelong Learning, 5318 Kinkead Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7220 uafs.edu/lifelonglearning March 22 Pancake Breakfast The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Chapter 1156 is hosting a pancake breakfast fundraiser at its chapter club house. The airfield is available for landing or drive in. Donations accepted. 8-11 a.m. Etna Airport, EAA Chapter 1156 Club House, Arkansas 23, Airport Road, Etna, Ark. 479-674-2578

March 22 Piney Loop Trail Hike TrailBlazers Hiking Club will hike at Lincoln Lake for about 4 miles on the Piney Loop Trail. The trail follows the lake north and goes by many great rock formations. It crosses the dam where there is a wide view of the lake and a good place to spot eagles. Meet at Cloverleaf Plaza parking lot in Van Buren to carpool or caravan. Free. 8 a.m. Lincoln Lake, North West Avenue, Lincoln, Ark. 479-646-9562 thcfs.com

March 22 Gathering at the Labyrinth This is a gathering for people interested in speaking peace. These people span all faiths and cultures. Join with others as they talk of peace then walk a traditional Chartres design in the river rocks and pine mulch in a serene woodland setting. Enter the monastery at the service entrance on Albert Pike Avenue and drive toward the greenhouse. Free. 6-8 p.m. St. Scholastica Monastery, 1301 South Albert Pike Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-5750

March 23-26 Connoisseurs’ Excursion to New York The Center for Art & Education has engaged master artist Timothy Clark and his wife, Marriott, to guide guests on an insider’s look at the New York art scene, including art lectures while enjoying cocktails, a guided tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and its uptown museum, The Cloisters. Guests also will be led through the Guggenheim Museum and three of New York’s top galleries of contemporary art and American masters. The final evening includes a tour and parting toast at the exclusive National Arts Club. Price includes lodging, breakfast each day, travel costs from organized activities in New York, including airport shuttle and museum tickets; one dinner, one lunch and two evenings of refreshments and cocktails. Total cost (excluding airfare) is $1,412 per person. Center for Art and Education, 104 North 13th Street, Van Buren, Ark. 479-474-7767 art-ed.org March 26 Free Lunch & Learn Workshop: Mobile Technology for Small Business The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center will present this workshop that will show business owners how to use technology. Topics will be: using wireless innovation to move from paper to productive; GPS and time/data capture; barcode scanning; fleet and work-flow monitoring; pop-up networks, and processing mobile payments. Seating is limited; call or go online to register. Free. Noon-1 p.m. Fort Smith Public Library, 3201 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-356-2067 asbtdc.org/training/russellville-events/

March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

56-73_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 9:41 PM Page 72

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

March 26 Sandwich Seminar: Colon Cancer Awareness March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month. Find out more about how to prevent colon cancer at an educational event presented by Dr. Joe S. Padilla Jr. Noon1 p.m. Summit Medical Center Conference Room, East Main and South 20th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-709-3627 summitmedicalcenter.net

March 26 Community Blood Drive in Van Buren Hosted by the Van Buren Public Library and the Arkansas Blood Institute. Each donor will receive a free mini physical that includes a cholesterol screening. To prepare, eat a good lunch and take your ID. Donors will be given a refreshment afterward. Must be 16 or older; parental consent required if under 18. Walk-ins are welcome. Free. 1:30 p.m. Van Buren Public Library, 1409 Main Street, Van Buren, Ark. 479-452-5880, 479-474-6045 March 27 Welcome Neighbor Women’s Book Club The book “Sycamore Row” by John Grisham will be reviewed. Any woman is welcome to attend and enjoy the discussion. Free. 12:30-1:30 p.m. Dewey’s Cafe, Main Library, 3201 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-459-1603 welcomeneighborftsmith.com

March 27 Dewey’s Café Open Mic Participants will have up to 15 minutes to perform one or more piece; acoustic music only, please. Sign-up will open at 6 p.m. Showcase your talent, or just come and listen. Music or poetry does not have to be original work. Free. 6:30 p.m. Dewey’s Cafe at the Fort Smith Public Library, 3201 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-0229 fortsmithlibrary.org March 28-29 Julie Mayser Pastel Workshop Artist and teacher Julie Mayser will hold a two-day pastel workshop studying the fundamentals of classic painting. A supply list available upon registration. Fee applies. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Creative Arts Network, 7408 Terry, Chaffee Crossing Historic District, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-357-9079

March 28-29 U.S. v. Ed Stein, Tom Lee and William Davidson In March 1886, the notorious Lee Gang had their day in court before Judge Isaac C. Parker. Many believed members of this gang murdered 40 people. They stood trial for the murder of four lawmen who died trying to arrest Jim and Pink Lee. Fort Smith National Historic Site will re-enact an abridged version of this trial. During the early 1880s, cattle rustling plagued ranchers in Cook County, Texas, near the border of Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory. It was not long until rancher Jim Roff discovered some neighbors who lived in the Indian Territory by the names of Jim, Pink and Tom Lee were the culprits. As this fell under the jurisdiction of the federal court at Fort Smith, Roff reported his findings to Deputy Marshal James Guy. On May 1, 1885, Guy gathered a posse of about 12 cowboys and tracked down Jim and Pink Lee to a ranch in Chickasaw Nation. Guy and his posse approached the house where seven people were believed to be inside. Initially, the officers surrounded the house while Guy tried to talk the Lee brothers into giving up. Jim Lee asked Guy to come around to the front of the house to discuss things and when he did, 72 Entertainment Fort Smith March 2014

a hail of gunfire erupted from inside, leaving Guy and three of his posse instantly killed. The posse returned fire rapidly and retreated from the house. Finally, deciding the outlaws could not be captured, the posse gave up the pursuit. Later, Jim and Pink Lee were killed in a gunfight with Deputy Marshal Jim Taylor and Heck Thomas. The three men who ended up in Judge Parker’s court were believed to be in the house during the gunfight. Phone reservations are required. $5. 7 p.m. March 28; 6 p.m. March 29. Fort Smith National Historic Site, 301 Parker Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-226-3723 nps.gov/fosm March 28-30 21st Annual 2014 Spring Coin Show Look, learn, buy, sell or trade coins, currency, gold, silver, stamps, tokens, sports cards, medals, foreign coins, jewelry and more. Hosted by Border Town Coin Club. 3-7 p.m. March 28, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. March 29 and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. March 30. Free. Columbus Acres, U.S. 71 South and Brooken Hill Drive, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-5881 bordertowncoinclub.org

March 29 Mulberry Edamame Festival The first Mulberry Edamame Festival to promote the edamame, or immature, green soybean – its uses, health benefits and positive impact on Arkansas. In addition to many food and craft/product vendors, family-oriented activities include helicopter tours, carnival rides, a car show, bass tournament, 5K run, disc golf tournament, edamame bean shelling contest and the “edamame experience” featuring several different edamame recipes for tasting. Free. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mulberry City Park, 419 U.S. 64 West, Mulberry, Ark. 479-997-1321 facebook: Mulberry City Limits March 29 Viva Las Vegas The “Lost in the ’50s” singers give a tribute to Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, Patsy Cline and 10 other timeless acts of the ’50s. The three-hour show of Oldie Goldie music includes a patriotic tribute to all the veterans attending. Reserve seats by phone. $10. 6 p.m. King Opera House, 427 Main Street, Van Buren, Ark. 479-649-8803

March 29 Vietnam Veteran Appreciation Day The Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 467 and VFW 8245 will hold an appreciation day for Vietnam War veterans and all veterans with a poker run and day of activities. The poker run begins at 10 a.m. registration with 11 a.m. start, at $10 per rider/per hand. The museum will be open, food and refreshments are available and door prizes and raffles will be held. Taking lawn chairs is recommended. Attendees are encouraged to take a canned food item for a church food bank. 10 a.m. Vietnam Veterans Museum, 12112 Redwood Drive, Chaffee Crossing, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-414-7334 vvachapter467.com

March 29 Rock City Trail Hike TrailBlazers Hiking Club will hike trails at Mount Kessler near Fayetteville. Begin on the Rock City Trail, an area known for its stunning rock formations, then follow one of the loops for a total distance of 5-6 miles rated moderate. Meet at Cloverleaf Plaza parking lot in Van Buren to carpool/caravan. Free. 8 a.m. Mount Kessler Greenways, 2185 Smokehouse Trail, Fayetteville, Ark. 479-646-9562 thcfs.com

March 29 Strawberry Planting Class A class given by the River Valley Master Gardeners will promote all aspects of strawberry growing in home gardens. Learn how and when to plant strawberries, how to fertilize and water, and how to prune to promote larger berries and more yield. This will be a hands-on class where participants will be actually planting strawberry plants, so wear gardening clothes. Each participant will receive 10 strawberry plants to take home for planting in their own garden. Class will be limited to 20 participants. Download a copy of the application from thelearningfields.com and send with registration fee to: Isaac Witt, 14216 Country Ridge Way, Fort Smith 72916. Make the check payable to The Learning Fields. Registration deadline is March 1. $15 must be paid in advance. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. The Learning Fields at Chaffee Crossing, 7300 Gardeners Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479 285-0148 thelearningfields.com

March 29-April 19 Landscape Photography with Larry Millican Capture the beauty of nature in photographs. Learn how shutter speed, lens aperture and film speed (ISO) relate to each other and interact to create stunning photos of the world around us. You will be taught how to create the illusion of depth through composition and lens selection. develop an idea and learn about information resources as well as learn to scout and find natural locations. Camera, lens and accessory equipment you need will be discussed. An intro to post processing and software is included. A digital SLR and tripod is required. Four Saturday sessions. $65. 9 a.m.-noon. UAFS Center for Lifelong Learning, 5318 Kinkead Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7220 uafs.edu/lifelonglearning March 31 Introduction to the Computer For people with little or no knowledge of computers. There will be a question-and-answer session and demonstrations. Register at the circulation desk or call. Free 7-8 p.m. Van Buren Public Library, 1409 Main Street, Van Buren, Ark. 479-474-6045

March 31-April 21 Plotting a Novel Develop your writing skills by learning the basics of plot mechanics, how to analyze plot structure in literature and cinema and how to develop a riveting character-driven story line. Create a novel-length story with three-dimensional characters and interwoven themes. Four Monday sessions. $60 includes textbook. 6-8 p.m. UAFS Center for Lifelong Learning, 5318 Kinkead Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7220 uafs.edu/lifelonglearning April 1 Project Compassion 2014 Designer Showhouse Ball There will be entertainment by Don Bailey, a live auction, assorted wines and dancing on a ballroom-sized dance floor. Purchase tickets by sending a check payable to ADSPC, P.O. Box 1164, Fort Smith, AR 72902. $65; $650 table for 10. 5:30-9:30 p.m. Fort Smith Convention Center, Rogers Avenue and South 9th Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-462-4893 April 2 Ecco-Partners Making a Difference: CLL Short Lecture Series Randy Hall will speak about the Sebastian County Re-

56-73_Master Facing Pages 2/22/14 9:41 PM Page 73

CALENDAR OF EVENTS gional Solid Waste Management District and Eccopartners to teach you and your neighbors to effectively recycle. $7. 1-2 p.m. UAFS Echols Conference Center, 504 North Waldron Road, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-788-7220 uafs.edu/lifelonglearning

April 2-30 April Designer Showhouse Daily Tours Tour a beautiful Fort Smith home where local interior designers have each decorated a particular space or room in splendid style. A fundraiser for Project Compassion. $12 per person; group rates available. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 1-6 p.m. Sunday. Berry Hill Road, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-783-2273 projectcompassioninc.com

April 4 Murder in Fort Smith Mystery Dinner Dinner guests are transported to the late 1800s for a sumptuous meal and entertainment followed by an after dinner “murder” that must be solved. Will you be the victim? Will you learn you are the murderer? Period costumes are encouraged to enhance the evening. Tables of guests will deduce together using clues and descriptions. There will be prizes for the table who identifies the killer; for the murderer who conceals his or her guilt and for best costumes and more. Proceeds support the Community Services Clearinghouse, the non-profit, United Way Community Partner serving clients with needs for better food security and emergency financial assistance. The Clearinghouse also coordinates the Meals for Kids backpack program, preparing and distributing about 2,700 backpacks of weekend food per week for kids in seven surrounding counties. $50; table of eight for

$400; table of $10 for $750. 6:30 p.m. Fort Smith Museum of History, 320 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-782-5074 csclearinghouse.org

April 5 Elks Lodge Spring Benefit Bazaar All profits from the bazaar will benefit Elks youth and veterans charities. Booth spaces are now available for rent. Booths rent for $25 for a 10x10 space and $30 if table(s), chairs and/or electricity are needed. Planners will strive to not duplicate merchandise categories. Call to reserve booth space. Free admission. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Fort Smith Elks Lodge, 5504 Massard Road, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-739-6568 elks.org April 5 Hanging Judge Hamfest Fort Smith Area Amateur Radio Club presents its annual Hamfest, a daylong meeting of HAM vendors and individuals offering new and used amateur radio equipment for HAM enthusiasts. Amateur radio forums and VE testing for licenses and upgrades go on throughout the day and radio-related amateur forums are held. $10 entry fee and two tickets for hourly prize drawings. 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Columbus Acres, 10203 Columbus Acres Road, Fort Smith, Ark. 918-427-1431 hangingjudgehamfest.com

April 5 Super Heroes for Autism 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run Autism now affects 1 in 88 children and is the fastestgrowing developmental disability in the nation. Hosted by Developmental Wings, this is a great excuse to dress up as your favorite super hero and raise money to directly support children with autism in our com-

munity. $25 for teens/adults; $10 for kids. 7 a.m. registration; 8 a.m. race starts. Chaffee Crossing, near Wells Lake and the River Valley Nature Center, 8300 Wells Lake Road, Fort Smith, Ark. 479-225-0758 developmentalwings.com/super-heroes-5k

April 5 20th Annual Wine & Roses Gala The annual gala benefitting the free programs and services provided to patients through the Donald W. Reynolds Cancer Support House is chaired in this 20th year by Deborah and Scott Clark. Along with the event committee, they have planned an evening to enjoy works of art, wines from around the world, gourmet dining and, of course, spectacular bouquets of roses displayed in tribute to many special people. Music will be performed by harpist Hollye Dickinson and singer Johnathan Karrant. Whether present at the black-tie event or not, ticket holders for a special drawing may be the winner of a Rolex watch valued at $8,700 donated by Newton’s Jewelers. Tickets for the Rolex drawing can be obtained by calling the support house. A lively wine auction of bottles of special reserves and vintages will be gaveled by the team of Jim and Michael Hadley of In Good Spirits, which is also providing complimentary wines as refreshment throughout the evening. This year’s caterer is River City Deli and chef Jason Haid. Original artworks by distinguished local artists will include paintings, sculpture, glass, pottery, fine arts photography and more. $100 per person or sponsorship packages with reserved tables and rose bouquets are available. Donald W. Reynolds Cancer Support House, 3324 South M Street, Fort Smith, Ark. 47-782-6302 reynoldscancersupporthouse.org

March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

74_Layout 1 2/22/14 9:45 PM Page 74

75-77_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 9:50 PM Page 75

Nomination Form RestauRant PaRtneR

touRism PaRtneR of the YeaR

Lodging PaRtneR

Proactively draws people to Fort Smith through custom sales and outreach; delivers quality service to visitors, tourists and conventions groups; shows community involvement

hometown hosPitaLitY heRo

attRaction PaRtneR

PoLLY cRews hosPitaLitY PeRson of the YeaR

Shows community involvement, positively promotes Fort Smith, delivers quality service to visitors, tourists and convention groups

good work deserves recognition! the fort smith convention & Visitors Bureau created the grit awards (giving Recognition in tourism) to thank and highlight tourism partners for going beyond expectations to encourage and support tourism in fort smith. the public is invited to nominate candidates. the nominees will be notified to attend a public awards ceremony in april. nominate your choices. mail by march 22.

Miss Laura’s Visitor Center 2 North B Street Fort Smith, AR 72901

DINING

Holds events to promote itself and Fort Smith; continually improves and refreshes facilities, programs or exhibits to create an exciting experience for visitors; demonstrates pride in Fort Smith heritage

Demonstrates vision and leadership in the business community about Fort Smith’s tourism future. Seeks to engage and support the Fort Smith tourism community. Positively promotes and represents Fort Smith.

Selected by A&P staff from heroes highlighted throughout the year in the City of Fort Smith Focus newsletter. Vote for a candidate who has been highlighted.

Just plain awesome. Goes above and beyond to positively promote Fort Smith. Demonstrates leadership and vision in the business community about Fort Smith’s tourism future.

March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

75-77_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 9:51 PM Page 76

DINING GUIDE

Entertainment Fort Smith

March 2014

75-77_Master Facing Pages 2/23/14 9:51 PM Page 77

DINING GUIDE

March 2014

Entertainment Fort Smith

78_Layout 1 2/22/14 9:45 PM Page 78

79_Layout 1 2/22/14 9:44 PM Page 79

80_Layout 1 2/22/14 9:44 PM Page 80