32nd Annual Dogwood Days Festival Coming to Horseshoe Bend
HORSESHOE BEND, AR (April 26, 2018) – The 32nd annual Dogwood Days Festival, hosted by the Horseshoe Bend Area Chamber of Commerce, will take place on Saturday, May 12, 2018. This event is free to attend and will provide family friendly fun all day long!
The Kiwanis will host their Pancake Day at the United Methodist Church from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., then at 8:00the Chamber will host a 5K fun run/walk. Participants will meet at the Chamber Office, located at 707 Third Street, where the race route will start and end. It is $20 to pre-register or you may arrive at 7:30 a.m. to register on race day for $25. Children ages 10 and under cost just $10. Though the race is not timed, prizes will be awarded to the first, second, and third person to cross the finish line for each age division. There will also be a trophy awarded to the overall fastest male and female.
Vendors will open at 9:00 a.m. in the lower parking lot of the Diamond B Mall, and DJ Dustin Chapman will be ready to play your favorite tunes. Performers will entertain the crowd from the gazebo, so bring a lawn chair and stay for the day. The first act will be Erica Roark from Magic Moments. Erica is multi-talented, but will likely impersonate Princess Leia during a Meet and Greet before the new Star Wars movie comes out. “Leia” will take the stage at 10:00, so bring your Star Wars fans by for free pictures.
The next act will be the ICC Cougar Choir at 11:00, and the Loft Line Dancers will perform at noon. 2016 Arkansas State Fair vocal solo champion and contestant on the Voice, Austin Pool, will take the stage at 1:00 p.m. Austin will soon be moving to Nashville to pursue a career in country music, so take advantage of getting to enjoy his deep, dulcet tones in person.
The last performers of the day, Penny Wolfe and Garrett Duncan, will delight the crowd from 2:00 until you can’t dance anymore! In addition to live entertainment, there will also be free pony rides and kids games taking place throughout the day. The second leg of the Drug Store “Triple Crown” Terrapin Race, sponsored by Horseshoe Health and Medicine, will kick off at 1:00 p.m. Registration begins at 12:30 and there will be prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in each heat. There will also be an overall grand winner. Bring your terrapin and be the overall grand winner at Melbourne’s Pioneer Day, Horseshoe Bend’s Dogwood Days Festival, and at Salem’s Homecoming and you’ll win $500!
Last, but not least, this year’s Dogwood Days Festival will offer Bingo at 5:00 p.m. at Our Place, located in the lower level of the Diamond B Mall. For more information about this event, please call 870.670.5433 or email: horseshoebendarcc@yahoo.com<mailto:horseshoebendarcc@yahoo.com>. You can also send a message via Facebook at www.facebook.com/hsbacc<http://www.facebook.com/hsbacc>.
Cathy Drew is a lifelong resident of the region that she loves to promote. She was born in downtown Batesville in the late ’60s, located in one of the eight counties she now enjoys encouraging people to visit.
Drew became associated with the Ozark Gateway Region in 1990 while working at the ad agency (The Media Market Inc.). The agency handled marketing for the regional association, where she and her co-workers produced an annual tabloid publication. She began working as the Ozark Gateway Region director in June 2000.
After Drew became director, she took the region to the next level by helping the tourism organization create a new website and moved it from the old newspaper paper tabloid publication to a color magazine format. She helped open a visitor center for the Ozark Gateway, allowing visitors to pick up information from the entire state 24/7. Over the years, Drew has helped the organization meet new marketing goals, such as in- and out-of-state marketing, assuring that all 100,000 copies of their magazines are distributed each year.
In 2016, she assisted in creating the first Ozark Gateway Region Golf Classic. The tournament continues to grow each year, allowing the organization to expand its co-op program and helping each county have dedicated promotion. Drew stays busy at Ozark Gateway as the ad sales manager, magazine editor, day-to-day office operations, trade show representative, and magazine distribution representative, all while ensuring that the region is represented all over Arkansas and southern Missouri.
Drew was featured in several local and statewide publications over the years, as well as the 1997 cover of the Ozark Gateway Region tabloid, along with her then 4-year-old son, Jon. She has received several awards, such as the Batesville Rotarian of the Year in 2010 and a three-time Paul Harris Fellow.
She also has served as an Independence County election commissioner for several years. She now serves as their co-election coordinator, helping with behind-the-scenes management of voting equipment, day-to-day election deadlines, and poll worker training.
Drew is Batesville Rotary Club Past President, and is the Rotary Clubs’ current membership chair.
In March of 2018, Drew was honored with induction into the Arkansas Tourism Hall of Fame for her many years of dedicated service to the tourism industry.