Making plans for fall festival for Bald Knob to support Foothills Lane of Lights

Ruby Suviaz believes a fall festival planned for late October “is going to be one of the best things that ever happened for Bald Knob, Ark.”

The first-year festival is being planned for Oct. 27-28 at the city’s ballpark as a fundraiser for the Foothills Lane of Lights, for which Suviaz is president, and a group of community gathered Monday night to get the ball rolling.

Suviaz said she believes the festival is an event “we will be able to do every year and as we do it, it will get better every year.”

“I don’t want to see our little town go by the wayside,” she said. “I see so many small towns that people get disinterested and I don’t want to see that for Bald Knob. Bald Knob is a really good little town with a lot of good people that live in it. We have good school and we have a lot to offer here and I just want us to make sure that we are the best that we can be.”

Suviaz said the festival will include a kickball tournament, a bail and jail and possibly a corn hole tournament. Duck calling and a turkey shoot will be offered as well. Other events will be a home run derby, a karaoke impersonator, a hole-in-one event, pumpkin’ chunkin’, a concession stand, a duck pond, a bounce house, a bean bag clown toss game, a balloon pop game and a ping pong fish game. Face painting will be offered, and homemade and handmade items will be sold.

Vendors will pay a $24 fee, she said.

“[Bald Knob City Councilwoman] Tammy Glaze has found us a really good band,” Suviaz said. “They are a country band and play up in places like Mountain View and places like that and we made a deal for them to come play for us Friday night. They’ve never been to Bald Knob but I would like for everyone to show up and give them a warm welcome.” Glaze said the band is out of Hot Springs and called Mike Mayberry and The Slow Hands.

Suviaz said there will be a $5 charge for admission Friday night and Saturday. “If you have a Friday night armband, that’s good for Friday night only,” she said.

Suviaz said there are kids in the community whose parents cannot afford that “and we don’t ever want to do something that the small children in the community cannot participate in because that’s the reason we’re doing this, to buy toys and have Christmas for the little guys.

“There’s 498 children at the [Bald Knob] school from kindergarten through fifth grade,” she said. So we want to sell enough armbands so [Superintendent] Melissa [Gipson] can hand out an armband to each and every child in elementary. Now when it comes to middle school and high school, they’re old enough to work. ... And I think we’re going to get that done. We’re working hard on it and we’re getting close on it.”

Suviaz said two banks, the city of Bald Knob, an insurance company and a collision company has been secured to “sponsor the games for the little guys, so when the little guys get in there, they don’t have to pay to play.”

The event also is receiving support from a couple of restaurants along with ARcare and NorthStar EMS, she said. A military veteran stepped up to sponsor some armbands, too, and did a paving company.

Supporting businesses will get their names on a sign.

Volunteers were recruited Monday by Suviaz to build stands or booths for the games. She said the booths would be just like the strawberry sheds used in the city’s past and they would be kept from year to year. “We plan to have this fall fest every year and then that’s things we can keep.” Suviaz said they will put a shelf and some tin on each booth.

Bald Knob City Council member Mary Lou Smith said volunteers are not expected to work all day long at the festival, but rather they could work maybe a couple of hours. They are taking care of the gun raffle and trophies.

The Velvet Ridge Church of God will run the car show and cakes and pies will be auctioned off. A silent auction will be another event, with items being gathered for that.

Lisa Moore and Cathy Christiansen will be coming up with a Facebook event page for the “fall festival.”

Clubs from the schools will also be helping with the fall festival. All volunteers will receive a Bald Knob Fall Festival T-shirt.

Exact times for the events are being determined.

For the turkey shoot, there will be a youth division and an adult division. The guns to shoot will be supplied.

Suviaz said she also was looking for small pumpkins to use for the event.

When asked how churches could be involved, Suviaz said they can play a big role and be in charge of a booth or they could donate some water or some soft drinks.

Suviaz said some churches would set up and sell things like barbecue sandwiches. Smith noted that someone will be selling tumblers and another person will set up to sell meat.

“I think the main thing is participation,” Bald Knob Police Chief Larry House, mentioning volunteering to help with parking or shuttling those attending back and forth.

What: Planning meeting held for first fall festival to benefit annual Christmas display

When: Fall festival to be held Oct. 27-29 at city ballpark

Includes: Kickball tournament, bail and jail, possibly corn hole tournament, duck calling, turkey shoot, home run derby, karaoke impersonator, hole-in-one event, pumpkin’ chunkin’, concession stand, duck pond, bounce house, bean bag clown toss game, balloon pop game and ping pong fish game

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