GRAVETTE - The City of Gravette will celebrate birthday number 120 in style this weekend, Aug. 8, 9 and 10, with a big bash of activities for every age, and fun for all.
Sponsored by the Greater Gravette Chamber of Commerce, there will be everything from helicopter rides to pony rides, a pancake breakfast to a Dutch oven cook-off, a horseshoe tournament and an archery match, a classic car show and a motorcycle poker run,volleyball, basketball, softball and band competitions, a pet parade and a street dance. And the annual Gravette Day parade is termed one of the best small-town parades in the area.
Crowning of Miss Gravette 2013, of course, is one of the highlights of the celebration, as well as selecting winners ofpageants for children of all age groups.
Simply stated, there will be something for everyone. And everyone is invited to come and enjoy all the activities.
Damon Wallace, Gravette Days chairman, and several event sponsors, have worked doubly hard to make this year’s celebration outstanding. A complete schedule of activities, and their locations, is printed in the special section insert in this issue of the Westside Eagle Observer.
Many of the activities will be held in Old Town Park, just eastof the downtown area. There will be plenty of parking and a special unloading site for persons who may require such service. Vendors with food and drinks, crafts, games and other surprises will be set up there. The Farmers’ Market will alsobe in operation, with a variety of home-grown veggies, handcrafts and other goodies available.
Thursday and Friday
According to the printed schedule, activities will begin Thursday with a 3-on-3 basketball tournament in Kindley Memorial Park, helicopter rides in Pop Allum Park and a pet parade in Centennial Park.
Friday will see even more fun and competitive games, with softball and volleyball tournaments scheduled in Pop Allum Park and more helicopter rides. A battle of bands will surely liven Kindley Memorial Park, and the Miss Gravette pageant will get underway in the high school Performing Arts Center with a lively production, starring the contestants, and their fi nal judging. Admission is free in the air-conditioned auditorium.
Saturday - A Full Schedule
Saturday is the big day, with a full schedule of activities that begins with the Kiwanis pancake breakfast, a 5-K run, the poker run and archery competition. A new addition this year will be a Dutch Oven cook-off, with participants from several states expected to compete for cash prizes. The classic car show registration begins at 10 a.m., the same time as the Gravette parade in downtown Gravette. The queen contestants will join the various fl oats and entries, the band, bikes, fire trucks and entries of every type. The parade always boosts the celebration spirit to new highs as help celebrate and renew memories from their days in the hometown.
Crowning Miss Gravette
Immediately following the parade, the announcement and coronation of Miss Gravette 2013 will be held in Old Town Park, along with pageants for children from ages one through 15.
The softball tournament will continue, and horseshoe pitchers will get to show their skill in Old Town Park. A new addition this year will be Texas Hold ‘em competition, sponsored as a fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Club.
A street dance on Gravette Main, which starts about 6 o’clock that evening, will bring the threeday celebration to a close.
Those who don’t wish to dance can lean back in their lawn chairs and enjoy the music and revelry.
Lawn chairs are being encouraged for many of the events.
As Gravette’s 120th birthday party draws to a close, it is the hope of the Chamber of Commerce that everyone who attends the many events will feel the real hometown spirit that Gravette offers as “the heart of hometown America” and that they will plan to return often, as well as for birthday number 121 scheduled the second weekend in August next year.
Late Announcement of more activities
The Gravette High School Parent-Teacher Organization announced it will sponsor fun activities in Pop Allum Park on Saturday. Activities include a bungee run, bouncy box, inflatable twister, pedestal joust, junior bounce house and a water slide. Proceeds will go toward scholarships, academic awards and other PTO-sponsored activities.
It travels a route lined with hundreds of spectators.
A special feature of the parade each year - and this year is no exception - will be parade entries by several Gravette High School classes, as former grads “come home” to
News, Pages 1 on 08/07/2013