The 41st Annual Dogwood Festival will be bringing familiar attractions and new adventures to Siloam Springs this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
More information about the festival is available in the special section of today's paper.
From the wildly entertaining bed races to helicopter rides, music, food and one-of-a-kind craft items, the Dogwood Festival has something for everyone. The annual festival usually draws an estimated crowd of between 25,000 and 35,000 people, according to Patti Eiland, Siloam Springs Chamber of Commerce director of public relations.
The number of craft vendors attending the festival is growing this year, according to Mary Staneart, director of Chamber operations. By Tuesday, 191 vendor booth spaces had been reserved, compared to 177 in 2014. Craft vendors come from across the country -- from as far away as California and New York -- to sell their goods at the festival.
A total of 22 food vendors will offer longtime festival favorites as well as exciting new flavors. Food vendors will be scattered throughout City Park and Bob Henry Park. A second seating area has been added in Bob Henry Park near the Kid Zone which will provide families with a place to sit down and enjoy a meal, Staneart said.
The always popular bed races will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning. Competitors will push homemade beds on wheels down Broadway Street, stopping several times to change bathrobes and positions.
Ten-year-old EmiSunshine and her band, the Rain, are featured entertainers at this year's festival. They will take the stage in City Park from 5 to 7 p.m. on Saturday. Other entertainment highlights will include folk music by South of 59, with Catie Holt and Oliva Myers and bluegrass music by the Sherman Mountain Boys, Staneart said. A variety of entertainers and local musicians will also be performing on the stage in City Park throughout the event.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's mobile 1,500 gallon fish aquarium will be on display throughout the entire festival at the intersection of University Street and Mt. Olive Street. The aquarium is home to a number of fish native to Arkansas, including largemouth bass, bluegill, redear sunfish and crappie, as well as some massive catfish, gar and buffalo.
Kid Zone, located in Bob Henry Park, will include games and rides for all ages such as the bungee quad jump, pony rides, helicopter rides, an inflatable obstacle course, a rockin-and-rollin water feature, mechanical bull and rock climbing wall. New this year will be horse and wagon rides, Staneart said.
Ken Gutierrez and Rob Headly are serving as co-chairs of this year's event for the third year in a row.
"It takes a lot of volunteers to pull the Dogwood Festival off," Staneart said.
At least 18 people serve on the Dogwood Festival committee along with Chamber ambassadors, board members and interested community members.
"It's our biggest effort and biggest event of the year," she said.
General News on 04/22/2015