Jul/Aug 2011 Issue

Dive into fun at cardboard boat races in Heber Springs

Cardboard cradles our possessions when we move, encases our presents at Christmastime and safeguards the items that we ship across the country.

And in Heber Springs, Ark., it protects people from getting wet–at least for a little while.

The north-central Arkansas town annually hosts the World Championship Cardboard Boat Race each summer to showcase the beauty of Greers Ferry Lake, which some contestants get to experience up close as they sink into it. In its 25th year, the event will be held on July 30.

While the participants are only allowed to use cardboard as a building material, spectators will be amazed at the creations, from simple canoe-shaped designs to cruise ships and pirate galleons. There are adult and youth race divisions for one- and two-person boats and for teams with three or more rowers. There’s even a mechanical division in which the boats must still be made out of cardboard, but a mechanical device, like bicycle pedals, can be used to propel them.

Contestants not only race for speed, but they vie for other awards, including the Pride of the Fleet for innovative design, the Captain’s award for the best team theme and spirit, and even the Titanic Award for the most spectacular sinking. After the races, a demolition derby is held in the water, and the last boat floating wins.

In addition to the races, other activities include a tug-of-war, treasure dig, sand-sculpting contests, children’s activities, beach volleyball and more. The race day begins at 10 a.m. Admission is free but parking is $5 per vehicle. Festivities usually take place at Sandy Beach, but call ahead because the event may move to a different spot due to high lake levels.

Heber Springs is about 60 miles north of Little Rock. For details, call (800) 774-3237 or (501) 362-2444, or click on www.heber-springs.com.

Summer concerts flourish at New Orleans Botanical Gardens

At this time of year, every visitor to New Orleans knows how hot the weather can get, which is more than reason enough to cool off at the Thursdays at Twilight Garden Concert Series in the New Orleans Botanical Gardens.

A tradition of music and mint juleps, the concert series runs each Thursday evening now through October within the Pavilion of the Two Sisters, the centerpiece of the 12-acre botanical gardens at City Park. The musical offerings are varied, ranging from ragtime and chorus to folk and swing, and the gardens offer the perfect setting for the performances.

Originally known as the City Park Rose Garden, the garden opened in 1936. It is one of the few examples of public garden design from the Works Progress Administration and Art Deco Period remaining today.

Reborn as the New Orleans Botanical Garden in the early 1980s, the garden’s collections contain more than 2,000 varieties of plants set among the nation’s largest stand of mature live oaks. While Hurricane Katrina nearly destroyed the garden, volunteers and donors worldwide pitched in to help the garden reopen barely six months after the storm.

The garden’s entrance is located at the Pavilion of the Two Sisters on Victory Avenue in City Park, behind the New Orleans Museum of Art. Free parking is available along Victory Avenue and at the Tennis Center.

The upcoming acts in the concert series can be found at http://neworleanscitypark.com/nobgcal_mus.html. Gates open on Thursdays at 5 p.m., with the performances beginning at 6 p.m. Seating is limited to 400. Tickets are $8 for adults and $3 for children ages 5–12. Tickets can be purchased in advance at www.garden.neworleanscitypark.com. For more details, call (504) 483-9386.

Neighborhood fest signals summer’s end in Jackson

There’s no better place to close out the summer than at Bright Lights, Belhaven Nights, an annual street festival in the historical Greater Belhaven neighborhood in Jackson, Miss.

Highlighted by music, children’s activities, food and fun, Bright Lights, Belhaven Nights is an end-of-the-summer tradition that has been named in the past as a Top 20 Event by the Southeast Tourism Society. This year’s festival will be held Aug. 13.

Festival-goers will be enticed by five music stages featuring blues, jazz, rock, acoustical music and more. There will be a large children’s activity area with games and space jumps, as well as arts and crafts shopping venues for adults, and plenty of food and beverage booths.

Greater Belhaven–made up of the Belhaven and Belhaven Heights neighborhoods–is just north of downtown Jackson. Free festival parking is available at New Stage Theatre, along Belhaven streets and in the garage adjacent to Baptist Health Systems Medical Arts East at the corner of North and Carlisle streets.

The festival will be held from 5:30–9:30 p.m. and costs $6 for adults and youth 13 and older, and $1 for children 12 and under. For details, call (601) 352-8850 or click on www.greaterbelhaven.com.

Walk in Sam Walton’s footsteps in Arkansas

Just as retail giant Sam Walton updated his concept for the five-and-dime with the Walmart stores of today, the company has updated its visitor center in Bentonville, Ark., to bring it into the 21st century.

While the center has more emphasis on interactive technology to better tell Walton’s story and the history of one of the nation’s largest corporations, it maintains the feel of the original store that opened in the building in 1951. The expanded and renovated center, which debuted earlier this summer, is a compelling combination of old and new.

To have more room for exhibits, the center expanded into the adjacent Terry Block building, which is the oldest structure on the downtown square. Among the new elements are interactive digital displays, video and audio clips of company history, a timeline and a 32-seat theater.

There is also a working five-and-dime store, complete with vintage toys, games and candies. Visitors will see Walton’s pickup truck and his fully preserved office and desk. An expanded gallery features thousands of artifacts, including photographs, family mementos and more.

Visitors can have a snack in the new Spark Café, which sells baked goods, coffees and treats. The name is derived from the symbol at the end of the Walmart logo, representing a spark of imagination.

The center, located at 105 N. Main St., is open 6:30 a.m.–9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon–5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free. For details, call (479) 273-1329 or visit walmartstores.com.

Visitor center brings to life the Battle of New Orleans

When Gen. Andrew Jackson’s hastily assembled army defeated the numerically superior British forces at Chalmette Battlefield in the Battle of New Orleans, it was an exclamation point for the still-fragile Republic that is being remembered as never before in a new visitor center.

Located just downriver from New Orleans, the new museum at Chalmette Battlefield is the centerpiece of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve. Destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the new center is twice the size of the old one with new experiences.

Visitors will be enlightened by interactive displays; stories of pirates, generals and ordinary troops; and a variety of maps and artifacts, including period weapons. There are also new short films about the War of 1812, the Battle of New Orleans in 1815 and the effect that the American victory had on Louisiana, the United States and the world. The center’s gift shop has books, period music and more.

Admission is free. Ranger programs and visitor hours and days of operation vary seasonally. The battlefield is at 8606 West St. Bernard Highway. For hours and additional information, call the park at (504) 281-0510 or visit www.nps.gov/jela/new-chalmette-battlefield-visitor-center.htm.