Eureka Springs

Mardi Gras Parade  
       The Annual Day Parade will roll on  Saturday, February 18th at 2 p.m.
          Contact Dan Ellis for information at 479-981-9551 or Dan@Ureeka.Org  – www.Krazo.Ureeka.Org
 
Mountain Home

 Arkansas Craft School Showcase
Mondays and Wednesday – Friday 10:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m., Tuesdays 10:00 a.m. –  8:00 p.m., Saturdays  10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. and Sundays 1:00 p.m. – 5:00  p.m.The exhibit will be showcased through  February 29,  2012.


 MOUNTAIN VIEW
ARKANSAS CRAFT SCHOOL SESSION III COMMUNITY CRAFT CLASSES

 It’s not too late to sign up for community craft classes which begin March 5, 2012 at  the Arkansas Craft School.Session  III courses include Pottery with David Dahlstedt, Introduction to Jewelry Making  with Dona Sawyer and Glass Bead Making with Beau Anderson.Pottery classes will meet once a week  from 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. on Thursday afternoons. Jewelry Making will also meet on  Thursdays, but from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.; and Glass Bead Making will meet from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday evenings.All classes will be held at the Craft School’s studios on Main Street in  Mountain View.This will be the  final nine-week winter session for the Craft School, which in May will resume  week-end and week-long craft workshop scheduling. 
Tuition for all classes will be  $225.00, which covers nine weeks of instruction.Scholarships for tuition are available  to financially qualifying students.Class registration forms, scholarship applications and further  information on these and other class offerings of the Arkansas Craft School may  be found on the website: www.arkansascraftschool.org.Students  may also sign up for classes by  calling Terri Van Orman at (870) 269-8397.

Ozark Gateway Visitors Guide Released
The  2012 Ozark Gateway Visitors Guide is now available. The annual publication  provides information about attractions and activities in the eight-county Ozark Gateway region:  Fulton, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Lawrence, Randolph, Sharp, and Stone. It will help you navigate the region; choose the communities,
state parks, and attractions to visit; and plan memorable family trips. Free copies of the 54-page publication are available at all fourteen of the Arkansas Welcome Centers and at restaurants, hotels, gas stations, businesses, state parks, and other locations in all eight counties.  The guide can also be downloaded at www.ozarkgateway.com and will be mailed upon request. The Ozark Gateway website, www.ozarkgateway.com, is updated constantly to provide the most current information about happenings around the region. The website also features a Restaurant Review section to make your dining selections
easier.
 Our region is defined by its natural beauty, enriched by the creativity and generosity of its residents, and enjoyed by thousands of visitors each year. From the spontaneous jam sessions on the courthouse square in Mountain View to the annual Ozark Foothills FilmFest in Batesville, the region is dotted with activities your family will enjoy.  Our towns offer an eclectic selection of shops, art galleries, and restaurants.  Outdoors enthusiasts have a variety of rivers, lakes, and streams to choose from, along with hiking and mountain biking
trails, caves and caverns, and well-kept campgrounds. A detailed regional map is included in the Visitors Guide which will lead you to historic sites, state parks, museums, and downtownhistoric districts. Some of the most popular sites include Blanchard Springs Caverns in the Mountain View area, Old Independence Regional
Museum and the Batesville Area Arts Council Gallery in Batesville, the Ash Flat Veterans Memorial in Sharp County, and the Wings of Honor Museum in Walnut Ridge. Six state parks dot the region: Historic Davidsonville in Pocahontas,Jacksonport in Newport, Lake Charles in Powhatan, Mammoth Spring in Mammoth
Spring, Historic Powhatan in Powhatan, and the Ozark Folk center in Mountain View.      
  Each county is represented in the guide by a detailed narrative and color photos which outline what to expect when visiting. The county sections also include calendars listing the year’s events; a complete, full page regional calendar of events is also included. Feel free to contact us for additional information about events, lodging, restaurants, and shopping. Our goal is to make your visit affordable, enjoyable, and memorable. 
The Ozark Gateway region also attracts retirees and others looking to relocate in a relaxed, affordable, easy-going community. Many of the realtors in our region are members of Ozark Gateway and place ads in the guide. Executive Director Cathy Drew can point you in the right direction. Call 1-800-264-0316 or email
gateway@ozarkgateway for a FREE guide. 

By Joyce Hartmann

Photo: Artist Ellen Kelly  helped hang the North Central Arkansas Artist League
 "Sunflower Spectacular"  exhibit Monday at the Ozark Medical
Health Center. She stands next to her oil  painting "Sunshine Basket", which is
one of the more than two dozen sunflower  paintings displayed. The free exhibit
is open to the public.

 If  you like  sunflowers, then you’ll really enjoy “Sunflower Spectacular”, a new  art exhibit  at Ozark  Health Medical Center . The exhibit includes more than  two  dozen sunflower paintings by 24 area artists, all members of the North  Central  Arkansas Artist League. 


Each  piece is  unique and original. Sunflowers are featured in vases, in fields, in roadsides,  buildings and even in coiffures. One artist used wax as well as paint to get the  texture she needed, and another painted each individual sunflower petal and  assembled them into a bright three-dimensional collage bouquet. There are rustic  paintings on barnwood, abstract intaglios, impressionist watercolors, lush  acrylic sunflower landscapes, decorative oil paintings, and more. 
 
Interesting,  too, are the titles; only one is called “Sunflower”. There’s “Wild Thang”, “Sun-stenance” , “The Birds’ Surprise Gift to My Garden”, “Kansas Delight” for Kansas ’s state flower and “ Iowa ’s Noxious Weed” as Iowa has proclaimed it.  It’s all in the eye of  the beholder, and NCAAL members hope all the beholders enjoy this exhibit with  an open mind and a carefree heart.
 
Artists  participating in this exhibit are Ellen Kelly, Joyce  Hartmann , Pamma Henderson, Charlotte B. Rierson, Pauline Sears,  Rosalie Musial, Kathleen Hadley,  Jeanne Homuth, D. G. Hendrickson, Louise Shaw, Judy Lebestky, Jan Cobb, Ruby Krimm, Connie Hood, Raylene  Finkbeiner, Diana Foote, Jane Huner, Karen Kleman, Mary Shelton, Michelle Bry,  Judy Shumann, Bonnie Hookman, Doris Sexson, and Freda May. 

The public can  view the 39 total art works during normal business hours from now through April.  The exhibit is free. Art work is for sale, with purchases
helping to support  projects by the Hospital Auxiliary. The hospital is located on Highway 65 in  south Clinton.

For information about NCAAL call President Connie Hood, Fairfield Bay, 884-3283.For more information about this exhibit,  call Hospital
Exhibit Coordinator Joyce  Hartmann , Choctaw, 745-6615.