It is festival time in Northeast Arkansas and with such a rich history, comes some diverse and long-standing festivals that have unique histories of their own.
Although there are several festivals this time of year, these upcoming events are some of the older festivals in the area with origins ranging from the American Legioneers catching turtles for an unusual race, to a church slinging barbeque for their community and from a company picnic that grew into a community affair to women whose rice dishes inspired a festival.
The Terrapin Derby
The 92nd Terrapin Derby will be held on Saturday, Oct. 1, on Main Street in Lepanto.
The Terrapin Derby is held on the first Saturday in October every year, attracting visitors since 1930.
Lepanto Fire Chief Eric McGhee said on Tuesday that it was founded by American Legioneers who caught the turtles off the river.
“Money was hard to come by at the time,” he stated. “So, the American Legion started the derby to help bring money into the community.”
According to an article on the Encyclopedia of Arkansas website, originally called the Annual American Legion Turtle Derby, the Terrapin Derby was the creation of the Willie Lamb Post 26 of the American Legion as a fundraiser for its various community projects.
The turtle racers were charged an entry fee and would then race their turtles down a 60-foot course toward a finish line that was lined with slices of watermelon.
The top three finishers shared in a cash prize.
Desperate for a diversion from the Great Depression, residents flocked to Lepanto and by the 1937 the derby brought more than 4,000 people from Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee to witness the event, plus more than 350 entrants.
The American Legion would continue to successfully host the event until 1981, when the Lepanto Museum took it over. It again switched hands in 1999 when the Lepanto Fire Department took over hosting the event.
McGhee said that the fire department now utilizes the event to raise money for training and equipment.
Even though it only lasts about 15 to 20 minutes, he said that the turtle race is still a major part of the Terrapin Derby, except now the turtles are rented and then returned.
“The first three turtles to cross the line are the winners,” McGhee laughed.
The festival also includes a carnival, bands and a parade, plus between 80 to 100 vendors and the crowning of the Terrapin Derby Queen, which McGhee said goes whoever sells the most tickets.
The festival draws several thousand people to the town each October for the festivities, he stated.
“We have people from all over the U.S., as far away as California,” McGhee boasted, noting that, to his knowledge it is the only terrapin race in the region.
Blessed Sacrament Fall Festival
The 42nd Blessed Sacrament Fall Festival will be held on Saturday, Oct. 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, located at 1107 E. Highland Drive in Jonesboro.
The Blessed Sacrament Fall Festival is an annual fundraiser held the first weekend in October, which supports the parish and the Jonesboro community.
Fall Festival board member Tamara Roberson said on Wednesday that the festival started downtown at their old church location as a way for the church to bring the community together.
“It was a way to serve the community,” Roberson said, noting that the church moved to East Highland a few years ago, but the been Blessed Sacrament Church has been a part of the Jonesboro community since the 1930s.
According to Roberson, the funds raised help support many local non-profits including the Blessed Sacrament Church, the Blessed Sacrament School, the Helping Neighbors Food Pantry, the Jonesboro Church Health Center, the Kairos Prison Ministry, Motherhood of Jonesboro, the Pregnancy Resource Center and the Society Of St. Vincent De Paul.
“We are excited. This will be our first time to hold the festival in two years because of the pandemic,” she stated.
“We will have live entertainment, carnival games and inflatables,” she said. “Plus the Craighead County Public Library Bookmobile, pony rides and a petting zoo.”
The live entertainment includes music, cloggers, dancers and even karate demonstrations.
They also have a variety of food booths including their famous barbecue sandwich booth; Hispanic, Filipino and Venezuelan food booths; as well as barbecue chicken and Tea Room Desserts in the Parish Hall, Roberson said.
According to Roberson admission is free, however food prices vary.
Carnival tickets will also be available to purchase or armbands will be $30, she said, noting they will be accepting cash or check.
She also noted that there will be a St. Bernards shuttle bus available to transport attendees to the festival grounds.
“It is a good way to have everybody get together and have fun with family and friends every year,” Roberson said.
Prior to Saturday’s festivities, barbecue sandwiches will be available on Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and those who have pre-ordered Boston butts and tamales will be able to pick them up between 4 and 7 p.m. Friday evening.
Wild Duck Festival
The 39th Trumann Wild Duck Festival will be held on Friday, Oct. 7, and Saturday, Oct. 8, in Trumann.
Although the event started out as a Singer Company Barbecue in 1948, it transformed into a massive festival for the town after the closing of the old factory in 1982. The people still wanted their festivities, so in 1983 the Trumann Wild Duck Festival was officially born.
The 39th Trumann Wild Duck Festival, which is hosted by the Trumann Area Chamber of Commerce, will be the largest in years with a locally-owned carnival and over 70 vendors, according to Chamber of Commerce Executive Director James Sowell.
According to Sowell, the Trumann Wild Duck Festival is an annual festival held on the second weekend of October and its roots run deep for the town.
“Trumann at the time was almost a company town, so the picnic brought out most of the residents, as well as county and state dignitaries,” Sowell said, noting the annual Singer Barbecue, which was held each fall for the employees, was the brainchild of local facility manager Alfred Carlson.
He said that more than 500 people attended the first event in 1948, and later events were said to have garnered several thousand attendees.
“Cooking would begin two days ahead of the event to prepare enough meat to feed the crowd,” Sowell stated. He added that Carlson eventually ordered the construction of a bean oven to cook the hundreds of pounds of baked beans needed for the crowd and a large barbecue pit for the event that measured exactly 99 feet in length because Carlson reportedly said that no one needed 100 feet of barbecue pit.
Sowell said that the barbecue was held at the company’s Community House, which was a facility built in 1927 to meet the social and recreational needs of the company’s employees.
After the participants ate, they were treated to live music, games and several levels of beauty pageants that featured the children of Singer employees. In the evening the crowd would gather for a fireworks display and a dance.
Today, the historic Community House is managed by the nonprofit Trumann Community House Foundation and is available for community events and meetings.
Sowell said that the Singer Company closed its facility in Trumann in 1982, which marked the end of the beloved annual barbecue that the townspeople had anticipated and enjoyed for over 30 years.
However, by the following year, the Trumann Area Chamber of Commerce decided to create a new event for the residents.
“Drawing on the region’s popularity as a duck hunter’s paradise, the Wild Duck Festival was born,” Sowell said. “Over the years, it has grown from a city-wide event to a well-known regional celebration that brings in many visitors.”
He said that the event is now held at the Trumann Sports Complex and includes several activities such as vendors, rides, food, music, a duck calling contest and more.
“It will be a weekend of fellowship, food and fun,” Sowell said.
Many of the vendors are nonprofits and first responders, Sowell said, noting free rental locations are offered to law enforcement, military and disaster response organizations.
He also said that the Trumann High School ROTC Cadets always help with the festival as part of their community service project each year.
Sowell said an attendance of more than 8,000 is expected for the 2022 Wild Duck Festival.
Arkansas Rice Festival
The 46th Arkansas Rice Festival will be held on Saturday, Oct. 8, in Weiner.
The Arkansas Rice Festival is held annually on the second weekend in October in conjunction with National Rice Promotion Month to celebrates the rich heritage of rice farming in Arkansas and the rice harvest.
Jeremy Kimble, the 2022 Arkansas Rice Festival president, said on Wednesday that the Rice Festival has a rich history, which began back in 1976 when a group of local women decided they wanted to promote the rice industry.
“They would travel all over the state sharing some of their favorite dishes with people, including politicians at the state capitol,” he boasted, noting that the ladies loved Bill Clinton and he made numerous guest appearances over the years.
“Now people travel from all over the U.S. to visit friends and just have a lot of fun in Weiner,” Kimble said.
According to the Arkansas Rice Festival website, the first Arkansas Rice Festival was held in October of 1976 as a group of people in the busy little town and some of the surrounding areas decided it was time to celebrate what they were all about … rice farming.
Rice had a direct impact on everyone in the area, as the majority of the residents either farmed or worked at the rice mill or at some type of grain or fertilizer industry.
The festival also celebrates the history of rice farming as people can hear the stories and watch demonstrations that show how rice was threshed in the earlier days when farmers didn’t have the big tractors and combines they have now, plus they can learn how the farmers harvest rice today with new equipment and technology.
The festival is a free event, which includes entertainment, rice tasting and more he said, noting that there is everything from contests to food to crafts.
Contests will include the Arkansas Rice Festival 5K Rice Walk/Run, a Wiener Dog Race, the first Arkansas Rice Festival Dog Pageant with several dog divisions, a parade, an Antique Tractor Show, the yard decoration contest, a fishing rodeo, art and photo contests, the Miles Greeno Karaoke Contest and, of course, the annual Arkansas Rice Festival Cook-off.
There will be vendors, as well, and the festival will end with the annual street dance that evening.
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