May 1996

SUNDAY BEER, SINGERS TO GREET RIVERFESTERS Date: 05-12-96 Category: STYLE Page: 4E ERIC E. HARRISON, Democrat-Gazette Critic at Large Three female country stars opening their nationwide tour and first-time-ever Sunday beer sales will mark this year's Riverfest, May 24-26, in Julius Breckling Riverfront Park, along the Arkansas River in downtown Little Rock. The Kraft Country Tour '96, featuring Lorrie Morgan, Pam Tillis and Carlene Carter, will start its 33-city trek May 24 at the Riverfront Park Amphitheatre. The Commodores will be the headline pop act May 25. And the festival will close May 26 with, as usual, a fireworks display sponsored by the Jcnnings Osborne family -- following a performance by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. There will be no additional charge for the concerts beyond the $2 admission to the festival (children 6 and under get in free). Beer will flow on Sunday for the first time in the 19-year history of the Memorial Day Weekend arts and entertainment festival. The state Legislature passed a law in 1995 allowing holders of picnic beer-and-wine permits to also sell beer on Sunday. The law took effect Aug. 1, 1995. Prudhomme's Cajun Kitchen will be among the new food vendors this year, joining the purveyors of corn dogs, funnel cakes, Greek gyros and pizza. New at the soft drink dispensaries will be Coke and Diet Coke in 20-ounce bottles and 12-ounce cans of MinuteMaid apple juice, pink lemonade and fruit punch. The Olympic Torch Relay, which will be making its way through Arkansas toward Atlanta for the Summer Olympics, will stop by the park at 12:27 p.m. May 26. The Airmen of Note, an Air Force jazz ensemble, will perform as part of the ceremony. Wayne Martin, all-pro football player for the New Orleans Saints, and Darrell Walker, former Arkansas Razorbacks basketball star and now coach of the NBA's Toronto Raptors, will meet fans and sign autographs May 25. The theme at the M&M/ ars KidstuffArea will be "Creative Hands Around the World," featuring crafts and customs of other countries and peoples. Youngsters can make masks from Russia, Mexico and France, Spanish coins and Indian turquoise bracelets; they will be able to dig for "dinosaur" bones, tour a fire safety house and have their faces painted. Festival organizers cite the variety of events throughout the weekend. "Of course, Riverfest is a family festival -- we don't want to lose sight of that," says Riverfest Executive Director Jane Rogers.

LR TO SEE OLYMPIC TORCH Date: 05-26-96 Category: NEWS Page: 1B Riverfest concludes today as the Olympic torch is brought to Little Rock on its way to Atlanta for the summer Olympic games. At 12:27 p.m. the torch will be carried through Riverfront Park. At 6 p.m. the two finalists in the Bud Light/Riverfest Invitational Pro Beach Volleyball Tournament will compete for the $800 first prize award. The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra performs at 8 p.m. And at 9 the festival ends with a fireworks display put on by Little Rock businessman Jennings Osborne.

Return To In The News Main Menu

[ HOME ] [ FAMILY STORY ] [ BARBECUE ] [ CHRISTMAS LIGHTS ]
[ FIREWORKS ] [ GRACELAND ] [ DISNEY ] [ RAZORBACKS ] [ QUESTION OF THE DAY ]
[ PHOTO ALBUM ] [ CARTOONS ] [ FREE PHOTOS! ] [ FAVORITE LINKS ]
[ HOMES & TOYS ] [ VIP ] [ CALENDAR OF EVENTS ]
[ SIGN GUESTBOOK ] [ VIEW GUESTBOOK ]