GRAVETTE -- A brief shower in midafternoon was the only interruption to the 2018 Gravette Day activities. The town's 125th annual celebration brought hundreds of folks to the city to enjoy a variety of events. The theme of this year's celebration was "Looking Back, Moving Forward," and parade floats, window displays and booth decorations all reflected the theme.
Members of the Kiwanis Club began serving breakfast at 6:30 a.m., and many hungry diners came out to enjoy the pancakes and sausage, coffee and orange juice. Governor Asa Hutchinson, Representative Kim Hendren, Congressman Steve Womack and Mayor Kurt Maddox were spotted among the crowd during the morning. Kathleen Griffin was the winner of the quilt raffle benefiting Kiwanis service projects.
Teams entered in the sixth annual Dutch oven cook-off lit their fires and began cooking early in the day. When awards were given in the afternoon, the Pot Rasslers team from Farmington won first place; Culvercreek Posse, of Joplin, Mo., won second place; and All Fired Up, from Gravette, won third place. Another Gravette team, the Pot Stirrers, won first place in the novice division and also earned the people's choice award.
Exhibitors in the Gravette Day art show began displaying their works at 8 a.m. and continued until 2 p.m. Michael Kelley, organizer of the show, displayed his paintings and did sidewalk chalk art. Other artists displaying their works included painters Karen Lynn of Bentonville and Charlotte Childs of Bella Vista and members of the Northwest Arkansas Beading Society. Angela Perrine, 16, of Gravette, displayed her drawings in her art show debut.
The Gravette High School football team entertained Lion fans with a scrimmage game at Lion Field from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
The annual car show benefiting Imagine Before and After School Care drew 61 entries, and trophies were awarded in eight divisions. Noted artist Ben "Drag Daddy" Mitchell was on hand drawing car show scenes, and Sean and Tammy Bailey of Branson, Mo., displayed Eastbound and Down, Sheriff Buford T. Justice's '77 Pontiac Lemans and the black '77 Pontiac Trans Am from "Smokey and the Bandit." A screening of the popular movie was shown on the car show grounds at nightfall.
The Gravette Day parade was held at noon, with Lura Mae Kemp, 94, Gravette's oldest resident, as grand marshal. Gravette police and area fire trucks, emergency and rescue vehicles led the procession, followed by the Gravette High School marching band and contestants in the Miss Gravette, Miss Teen Gravette and other afternoon pageants. Several churches, businesses and classes holding reunions entered floats. Heritage Baptist Church received a trophy for best civic float in the parade, the Gravette Gym was awarded best business float; and Mary Bourn, of Noel, Mo., won Best Car for her "Hum Bee" electric car.
The Gravette High School band kicked off opening ceremonies in Kindley Park at 1 p.m., followed by Mayor Kurt Maddox, who gave a welcome and led the pledge of allegiance to the flag. Choir members sang a musical number. Maddox presented the award to Brian Blumenthal, of Plano, Texas, and Robin (Wilmoth) Hall, of Grapevine, Texas, for traveling the farthest to attend the pageant. Sue Woods, 85, of Bentonville, won the award for the oldest person attending the celebration; and Charlotte "Charli" Clair King, the seven-week-old daughter of Taylor Bradley and Kameron King, won for youngest person present. The popular area band, Joe Giles and the Homewreckers, performed on the main stage from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Pageants for various age groups began at 3:30 p.m. and continued through 7:30 p.m. Tiffany Wheeler was crowned Miss Teen Gravette, and Darlene McVay was crowned Miss Gravette 2018 to conclude the pageant events. See separate article in this issue for other winners.
Community on 08/15/2018