Big Smith

The Valley of the Vapors Independent Musical Festival began today at the Low Key Arts Center.  The center, housed in an old warehouse, is a favorite of many of the younger artistic types in town. I thought it would be a fun and different adventure for the day.

The opening act, Big Smith from sourthern Missouri, has been a favorite bluegrass band for me since I saw a documentary about them and heard them perform several years ago. Several friends met us for breakfast at the crowded Colonial Pancake and Waffle House before we ventured further north to listen to the band.

It was nice to run into Amy and her dad enjoying the excellent musicians.

 Cissy and Kay seemed to enjoy the outing though I worried this might not be Cissy's cup of tea!

The venue is small and the seats are limited. There was an eclectric group of young and old and all seemed to enjoy the sound.  Why the younger group stood in front of the older seated people the entire time I will never understand.  Maybe it is just a generation thing!



Tiptoeing thru the tulips again!

Garvan Gardens Woodland Gardens

The tulips are breathtaking each year.





The redbuds blooming above the daffodils in the distance made a nice view.









Always progress being made at Garvan Gardens



Happy St. Patrick's Day

Yes, that really is the official name of the parade!!! It takes place on Bridge Street which has been proclaimed as the shortest street in the United States. The parade is 98 feet long!

Right off the bat I run into three high school classmates! What a treat.

There was a sea of green on Bridge Street and Ned was spotted giving the channel 7 weather .. even without him we knew it was perfect!

The Spa City Pacers entertained us before the parade started as if we cared what was under their kilts .. they have no shame!

We parked near the end of the parade and hopped up on the tool box in the truck for front row seats!

Why there come Pat and Butch! They seem to make all the parades.

I was impressed with the lucky librarians and their bookcarts .. kinda quirky .. kinda in keeping with the theme of the parade .. it just gets quirkier each year.

OMG! Is that really Clyde? Why yes it is!

There were even several nice floats. 

Amy hoola hooped through town.. she looked mighty festive in her green.

When you are a championship coon dog and have been to major dog shows then you don't have to walk. Elvis recently won best of breed at the Westminster Dog Show!

As dusk descended along came a group representing our sister city Hanamaki, Japan.

And who was on the front row but Joy and Chris. I bet they had that much fun in Japan also.

The crowds remained in town for a street concert which was a really big hit!

John Corbett was the grand marshal for the parade and then the John Corbett Band entertained afterwards. It all made for a fun evening on the city streets. We are already looking forward to the 9th next year!

Springing forward with flowers

We took advantage of a beautiful sunny Saturday to go to Garvan Gardens and see the daffodils. And perhaps we would see a few tulips blooming.  Just the opposite seemed to be the case. We did see some daffodils but the tulips were approaching peak. So many different colors and varieties all blended to perfection.

I don't recall ever seeing such a pretty arrangement of pastel hyacinths. The are one of my springtime favorites.

If the daffodils are past peak here they must be still blooming profusely on Wye Mountain as it is advertised on TV as being the first weekend of the daffodil festival in Little Rock. The enjoyable part was taking this dirt road across the top of Wye Mountain for many miles through the Ouachita National Forest.

And there it was. A large field full of daffodils with almost as many people. There was a small crafts barn and food to eat. I had never been to Wye, Arkansas. It amazes me how you can be in the city one minute and in the country in such short order. Leon would not stop for me to photograph a nearby property that was not so pretty because he thought I might get us shot.

For a few dollars you can even pick some daffodils or buy a clump.

Having your picture taken among the daffodils seemed to be the most popular thing to do. So we did!

Then we explored the Pinnacle Mountain State Park and visited Maumelle Corps of Engineers Campground situated alongside the Arkansas River in case we ever want to vacation in Little Rock. We took the less traveled roads back home coming back through Ferndale and Congo.