El Dorado will be buzzing with the activity of several family-friendly events today, starting with the opening day of the Murphy Arts District Farmers Market and the annual Mayhaw Festival, both of which open at 8 a.m.
The Farmers Market will take place at the MAD Amphitheater pavilion, located at 105 E. Locust St. This year, the Union County Master Gardeners will join other vendors at the market for their annual Spring Plant Sale, which will feature plants like Black-eyed Susans, a reblooming yellow Iris, elephant ears, Confederate Rose, Texas Star Hibiscus and more.
Vendors at opening day will include Long’s Natural Farm, Senn Family Farm, P & L Farm, Sister Sister, Webster’s Woodworking and Creative Ideas, Erinaela, Perfect Little Farm, Second Season Soapery, Sweet Surprises by Mandie, the Old Grey Goose, Cates Cuts, Oh How Sweet Cotton Candy, McGees Bees and Dee’s Kitchen.
Social distancing guidelines will be in place at the market, and face masks are encouraged, though not mandatory.
“We love that our market is located outdoors so that everyone can move around freely yet still feel safe while shopping the market. Everyone is very optimistic about the upcoming season and we are excited for people to be able to shop local growers and makers in our community,” said Joanna Benson, MAD marketing coordinator.
The MAD Farmers Market will be open from 8 to 11 a.m.
The Mayhaw Festival, presented annually by the South Arkansas Historical Preservation Society, will be centered around the Newton House Museum at 510 N. Jackson St., and admission is free.
The staple Mayhaw Biscuit breakfast will start the day off; mayhaw jelly biscuits will be available, including sausage biscuits and biscuits and gravy.
Throughout the day, festival-goers will have the opportunity to visit the Classic Car and Bike Show in the Murphy USA building parking lot; listen to local musicians at the Mayhaw stage on the Newton House lawn or the Picking Porch on the South Arkansas Historical Preservation Society (SAHPS) lawn from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; or participate in “old-fashioned games” like a three-legged race, said Darrin Riley, curator at SAHPS.
There will also be a number of food and craft vendors from throughout the ArkLaTex on hand, he said.
“We’ve got tons of vendors that will be here,” he said. “We do also have an ‘Antique Alley’, so there will be some of that for people who like antiques as well.”
Riley said there will also be activities for children, like “cool color by numbers” with Mike Means, an instructor at the South Arkansas Arts Center; sidewalk art; and face painting. Additionally, SHAPS will host a “hoops challenge,” with small prizes for winners.
The Mayhaw Festival will also feature interactive events, including historical reenactments at the Newton House and tours of first responder vehicles throughout the festival area.
“Our first responders will be there — police and a K9 unit, the fire department with a fire truck, EMS with a ProMed ambulance to explore,” he said. “We will have live recreations featuring historic El Doradoans in the Newton House, live reenactment tours.”
New this year is the “world’s slowest 5K,” Riley said.
“It is a ‘Mayhaw Crawl”, a 5k as slow as you want to take it, and it incorporates a little passport you can go and get stamped by participating businesses or vendors and come back for a prize once you make it,” he explained. “No time clocks on this one.”
The Mayhaw Festival will take place on Jackson Street from Peach to East Sheppard and on Faulkner Street from Jackson to North Madison. It will continue until 3 p.m. Riley said organizers encourage attendees to take reasonable COVID-19 precautions, such as wearing masks and social distancing.
Meanwhile, at 12:30 p.m. in downtown El Dorado, May on Main, a festival organized by Main Street El Dorado to complement the Mayhaw Festival, will kick off with live music. Performances by the Karla Case Band, Black Strap, Zach Abbott and Brody McKinney are scheduled through 6:30 p.m.
The event will also include a chili cook-off that is sanctioned by the International Chili Society, featuring teams from Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma, and attendees will have the opportunity to sample the chilis made for the competition. Other food vendors will also be on-site.
A mini-poker run, which will start at the Mayhaw Festival, is also part of May on Main festivities; it will stretch from the Sumac Mart in Smackover to the Arkansas Welcome Center in Junction City and end back in downtown El Dorado.
Also on tap for the event are a Baggo tournament and a Big Wheel race with both children and adult divisions.
MSE is encouraging the public to adhere to COVID-19 safety and health guidelines, though such measures, including wearing face masks and social distancing, will not be enforced.
Hand-sanitizing stations are set up downtown and event organizers will make sure that tables are wiped down and sanitized throughout the day.
Following the day-time activities, MAD will present a concert from the Allman Betts Band, with opening act Jackson Stokes taking the stage at 7:30 p.m., followed by the headliners. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. at the First Financial Music Hall.
The concert was originally scheduled for May 2, 2020, to coincide with the Southern Wine & Food Festival; both were postponed last year in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the first MAD events to be put off.
Allman Betts Band includes Devon Allman (son of Allman Brothers Band founder Gregg Allman); Duane Betts (son of Allman Brothers Band founder Dickey Betts); Berry Oakley Jr. (son of Allman Brothers Band bassist Berry Oakley); Johnny Stachela (slide guitar); keyboardist John Ginty (Robert Randolph/Dixie Chicks; and percussionists R. Scott Bryan (Sheryl Crow) and John Lum, according to a press release.
Tickets are still available online at eldomad.com. The MAD box office will open at 3 p.m. today and will sell tickets up until showtime. The box office is located at 101 E. Locust St. or can be reached by phone at 870-444-3007.
Tickets range from $55 - $85 and will be seated socially distanced by groups.
Information for the story was contributed by Tia Lyons of the El Dorado News-Times.
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Family-friendly events scheduled all day - El Dorado News-Times
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