65th Annual Fulton County Homecoming Festival – May 23 – 24
The 65th Annual Fulton County Homecoming Festival will be held in Salem Arkansas May 23rd -24th. The festival, held on the Fulton County Court House Square, will get underway Friday, May 23rd. The Salem Senior Life Center will have a Fish Fry to benefit programs for seniors beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Senior Center. Salem VFW Post 9777 will have bingo at the post home on Hwy 395 north on Friday night starting at 6:00 p.m. The First National Banking Company Street Dance will start at 8:00 p.m. on the south side of the court square. Steel n Country will provide music for the dance which draws people from a wide area of Northern Arkansas and Southern Missouri.
Saturday’s activities start on the court square with registration for the Bank of Salem Mark Thomas Memorial Apple Pie 5K Race from 6:45 to 7:30 am. The 5K has divisions for all age groups for runners and walkers. Race participants are encouraged to register online at https://www.register-wizard.com/register/?ID=1260 and save on the registration fee. The online registration fee is $15.00 and it will be $20.00 on the day of the race. For those who do not have access to a computer or need information on the 5K Race, contact Sherry Jackson at 870-895-6226. The Race will start at 8:00 am. The first 20 people that cross the finish line will receive a home-baked apple pie compliments of Town & Country Super Market. A traveling trophy will be awarded to the business that has the most race participants.
Visitors and residents of Salem and Fulton County are reminded that streets that are in the race route will be closed from 8:00 to 8:45 a.m. and again from 10:00 to 10:30 a.m. for the Squirt Race.
The Open Street Market will be held on the court square and vendors will set up at 6:00 to 7:00 am. A wide variety of food and craft booths will be set up at the market. Tonya Franks, 870-371-0887, is the chairman of the Street Market.
Registration for those attending the festival will be set up on the courthouse square. Everyone is encouraged to stop by and register from 8:30 to 11:00 a.m. KSAR Radio will sponsor attendance awards for the Oldest Woman, Oldest Man, and those traveling the longest distance from the east and the west. Festival t-shirts will be for sale at the registration table. Winners will be announced during the All Class Reunion.
Registration for the North Arkansas HomeCare Squirt Race for children age 10 and under will start at 9:15 a.m. on the north side of the court square. For information on the Squirt Race contact Carrie Frazier or Carla Bassham at 895-2273. The Squirt Race will start at 10:00 a.m. The Salem medical community sponsors this popular event for children.
The Hills Auto Sales Car, Truck, Motorcycle and Antique Tractor Show will be held at 10:00 a.m. on the south side of North Arkansas Electric Cooperative. Trophies will be awarded in Antique Car, Antique Truck, Antique Tractor, Late Model Car and Late Model Truck divisions for the show. Trophies will also be awarded for Modern Cycle, Modified Cycle, and Antique Cycle. A People’s Choice Award will also be awarded. Contact David Mott at 870-371-2182 for information.
Registration for the Guiltner Heating and Cooling Terrapin Race will start at 10:30 am. on the south side of the court square and the race start time is at 11:30 am. Contact Charles Owens at 870-895-5022 for information on the Terrapin Race.
Wavelinx Horseshoe Pitching will start at 11:00 a.m. and it will be held behind the Salem Cablevision Office on the southeast corner of the square. Trophies will be awarded for winners. For more information on the Horseshoe Pitching contact Tonya Franks at 870-371-0887.
Fulton County Hospital will have a Kiddie Parade prior to the main parade. Line-up will be at 12:00 pm. at the North Arkansas HomeCare parking lot (old Orr Lumber Co.) on the northeast corner of the square and the parade will roll at 12:30 pm.
The Monty McCullough Memorial Homecoming Festival Parade line-up is at 12:15 p.m. and floats and beauty queens will line-up at Preacher Roe Park. Cars, antique tractors, and motorcycles will line-up at 12:15 p.m. at Burch’s Custom Butchering and horses and buggies will gather in the old rodeo arena area. The parade will be at 1:00 p.m. Contact Janie Flynn at 870-895-3207 for information on the parade.
The Fulton County Heritage Foundation will have an All-Class Reunion at the Old Main School on North Street from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. All former Salem School students and teachers are invited to attend. The Heritage Foundation will have Music and Memories, Tours of the Old Main Renovation Project, and Video History Recordings, and Awards. Several classes will have reunions at Old Main in the afternoon. For information contact Carol Langston at 501-607-3767.
The Ozark Mountain Music Makers will have their regular show at the Music Barn, just off Hwy. 62 south of Salem on Saturday night at 7:30 pm.
Salem VFW Post 9777 will have a Veterans Memorial Service at the post home on Hwy. 395 north on Monday, May 28 at 11:00 a.m. Contact Amie Thompson at 895-3465 for more information on the service.
Plan to be in Salem, Arkansas Memorial Day Weekend for a weekend of fun and memories. For additional information on the Fulton County Homecoming Festival contact Mary Sanders, at 870-895-2591 or call the Salem Chamber of Commerce at 870-895-5565.
