Bikes, Blues, and BBQ and More

It is party time in Fayetteville with one of the biggest motorcycle rallies in the country about to open. I cruised Dickson Street on my way to work today just to enjoy the bustle of preparation that has been underway all week. Bikes, Blues, and BBQ will officially start this evening, but the Street is already busy with vendors setting up, BBQ pits smoking, music stages being given a final check over, and people crowding the sidewalks. I saw a pair of bicycle police setting up “Motorcycle parking only after 6 p.m.” signs. Their rides may be driven by leg power rather than a noisy engine, but they were enjoying the find weather of a beautiful fall day as much as anyone. A stand on the terrace at Colliers was offering free lemonade. Inflatable “bottles” advertising different drinks topped several buildings. More and more motorbikes roar past.

Their rumble is an ever-present reminder that this is BBB week. I can hear them clearly in my office as I write this. The excitement of such a big event is contagious, even if it is inconvenient at times. But it is hard to be too disgruntled over the various downsides of such a large and noisy gathering when you consider that it will help fund over 30 area charities, many of them benefiting children and youth, ranging from Horses for Healing to the Sheriff Ralph Baker Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Of course, Bikes, Blues, and BBQ is not the only thing going on this weekend.

September 30 – October 3 – The Rogers Little Theatre presents Nunsense (Winner of four Outer Critics Circle Awards including Best Off Broadway Musical in its original New York production, this show is a fund raiser put on by the Little Sisters of Hoboken to raise money to bury sisters accidentally poisoned by the convent cook, Sister Julia (Child of God).)

October 1-3 –Arkansas Apple Festival, Lincoln 

Saturday, October 2 – The Center for Non-Profits @ St. Mary’s Fall Festival, Rogers 

Here are just a few other activates from one of my favorite calendars. 

Friday, October 1, 2010

FPL Crimes and Clues Book Club – Fayetteville Public Library, Fayetteville

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Walk to Defeat ALS – Arvest Ballpark, Springdale

Lee Creek Clean-up – Devil's Den State Park, West Fork

Arkansas Gravestone Project –Newton County Library, Jasper

It is a busy week North of the Tunnel. Let me know if you see a biker with a bright orange Mohawk; I spotted him outside the Dickson Street Post Office Tuesday!

It’s All Fun and Games … in the Rogers Library Playspace

Rogers Public Library is one of my regular stops. It continues to astound me how busy the Library is. Not only are there many people using the Library for study and reading, there are lots and lots of programs for library fans of all ages. One particularly exciting one (in book terms anyway) is a “Conversation” with best selling author Carol Higgins Clark scheduled for October 9th. She will also do a Creative Writing Master Class for a select group of High School students and teachers the day before.

The Library has a vibrant children’s program. Thanks to KaBOOM, an organization that helps volunteers build playspaces for children, the small park across from the Library building now has a great play and activity space for their use – and for the rest of us as well.

I’ve enjoyed the park for some time. Recently there was some earth work underway that moved the lone picnic table into the middle of the park and I didn’t stop for several weeks. Then last Monday I drove by and saw delivery trucks, pavilions, other workplace amenities, and supplies appear on the spot. My curiosity was aroused. Thursday morning I drove by again (another trip to the drop box provided an excellent excuse). The street was reduced to one lane. People were busy all over the place. Excitement was as evident as the work underway. I did a little research on the project to improve the park, and that evening I went back to see the results of the day’s work. A lot had happened in a day!

Later I found that the new additions – play equipment, a stage, plenty of seating, lots of picnic tables – came from suggestions from kids! Who better to ask what to put there than the children the park is designed to please? What a good idea, and what a good addition to the Library and the city park system.

Have you seen good ideas in action lately?

Adventures Close-at-Hand

Some adventures are small, like getting this shot of the sunset on 540, some are large, and some are vicarious. Here are some not too threatening ones coming up in the next few days:

Do you enjoy the drama and excitement of the mountains or extreme sports? You can find stimulating adventure at the Banff Film Festival tour scheduled for this Friday (September 17) at the University of Arkansas Global Campus Auditorium located at 2 East Center Street in Fayetteville. This event is described thus: “From remote landscapes and mountain cultures to action sports, films in this year's world tour are sure to interest the explorer within.” Visit their WEBSITE For tickets or more information.

Maybe your tastes run more to things British. If you can’t book a flight to London this weekend, how about one of these events:

A Tea Tasting at The Trailside Café this Saturday

or

Brits in the Ozarks All British Car & Cycle Show, Agri Park, Fayetteville (on Hwy 112s, across from the University Farm and Whitaker Arena). It is sponsored by British Iron Touring Club of Northwest Arkansas.

If you want something that will feel more like a personal adventure, head for the Ozark Corn Maze in Cave Springs. Just don’t get lost, you might have to nibble your way out! If you can’t make it this weekend, it will be open through November 14, Thursdays through Sundays.

Have you had an adventure lately?

Visions of Ice Skaters and Sunsets

Labor Day weekend went like a flash. I did have several good experiences along the way. One was finding something to look forward to. Bentonville is building a Splash Park/Ice Skating Rink across from Compton Gardens. I remember noticing the construction when I last visited the Gardens, but I thought it was an addition to the branch bank facility across the street. How nice to be wrong! Instead we are getting something that will offer both summer and winter fun.

 Now we know the likely hood of me ever standing up on ice skates is about equal to my booking a trip to the International Space Station, but I can watch. I might even muster up the initiative to put on my swim suit and play in the water come next summer. At the very least, I have a new attraction to add to my list of places to go and things to do North of the Tunnel.

That list has to include natural phenomena. It won’t be long before we will see autumn shaking the folds of her multi-colored gown. And there is always the possibility of catching a dazzling sunset, like the one yesterday. It started out as pleasing and moved on to brilliant. The western sky simply glowed with molten color. I pulled off the road at the Bank of the Ozarks building at Pinnacle and took some very nice pictures, but they only hint at the grandeur of this heavenly bit of performance art.

What have you seen lately that took your breath away?

Washington County Fair: A Long Tradition

One of my Facebook Friends was lamenting the hot weather earlier in the week. It was too hot to take her brood to the fair on opening day! As she noted, the rest of the week should not present THAT problem, especially the lovely weekend the weather forecasters keep promising us.

I always enjoy fair week as I drive past the park and see the colorful rides on the midway against the sky. And, if I am late enough leaving town, they will be a twinkle with lights. While the exhibits, programs, food, and entertainment events are all part of the show, somehow nothing evokes a fair like the midway all alight and with the smell of popcorn and hot dogs in the air.

The Washington County Fair has been part of our community for a long time, 154 years to be exact. It began in 1857 (with a hiatus during World War II) and continues today in the tradition of excellence it has fostered over the years.

Are you ready for a cone of cotton candy and a ride on the Ferris wheel?