Blues, Hogs and a mule jump: What’s happening across Arkansas this weekend

The second weekend of October splits Arkansas in two.

The west and center of the state get a dry, summer-warm weekend with highs pushing 90 by Sunday. The east gets the leftovers of Hurricane Isaias, which came ashore on the Alabama-Florida coast as a Category 3 storm and will push showers and 45 mph gusts across the Delta on Saturday. That is the same day Bobby Rush headlines the King Biscuit Blues Festival on the levee in Helena.

Elsewhere: the Razorbacks host No. 15 Tennessee in Fayetteville. Mules jump a bar in Pea Ridge. Weiner throws its 50th Rice Festival. Yellville holds its 80th Turkey Trot. Texarkana eats pickles, Mount Ida cooks sorghum, Mena hunts Bigfoot and Hot Springs opens the oldest all-documentary film festival in North America.

Here is what is going on from the Delta to the Ozarks, Oct. 9 through Oct. 11.

Forecast first. The National Weather Service in Memphis has a wind advisory from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday for Clay, Craighead, Cross, Crittenden, Greene, Lee, Mississippi, Phillips, Poinsett and St. Francis counties, with northeast winds of 15 to 25 mph and gusts to 45 mph. Helena has an 80 percent chance of showers Saturday with a high near 72. Jonesboro is a 60 percent chance after 1 p.m. The rain is out by early Sunday, and Sunday is sunny and in the upper 80s across the east. West of there it is a different weekend: Saturday highs of 80 in Little Rock, 86 in Fayetteville, 88 in Fort Smith and 89 in Texarkana, then 87 to 93 statewide on Sunday with no rain. It is still dry ground. The Arkansas Forestry Division listed 50 counties under burn bans as of Friday morning and rated all 75 at high wildfire risk, so check with the county before any bonfire or campfire.

Northwest Arkansas

Razorbacks vs. No. 15 Tennessee, Saturday at 3:15 p.m. at Razorback Stadium, on SEC Network. Arkansas is 2-3 after a 34-7 loss at Texas A&M last week, its third loss of the year by 27 points or more. It is Razorback Foundation Appreciation day. The Hogs are off to Vanderbilt on Oct. 17.

Hillberry: The Harvest Moon Festival runs through Sunday at The Farm, 1 Blue Heron Lane in Eureka Springs. The camping festival, presented by Railroad Earth, has more than 40 acts on three stages. Friday is Old Crow Medicine Show, Leftover Salmon and Sierra Hull. Saturday brings Railroad Earth, Robert Randolph, Dirtfoot and Mountain Grass Unit. Béla Fleck closes Sunday with a second Railroad Earth set.

Pea Ridge Mule Jump, Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the field behind Pea Ridge Primary School, 975 Weston St. Mules jump from a standstill over a tarp-draped bar, a competition that started in 1985 with a record of 72 inches set in 1989 by a mule named Sonny. The day also has barrel racing, hog calling, a kids’ stick-mule race, vendors and food trucks. Adults $5, ages 6 to 12 $2.

Logic and G-Eazy with Juicy J play the Walmart AMP in Rogers on Sunday at 7 p.m. on the Endless Summer Tour Part II.

Crystal Bridges opens “Nature Adorned: The Artistry of Tiffany & Co. and the American Imagination” on Friday. The ticketed exhibition runs through March 29, 2027. Saturday is the museum’s free Second Saturday with family programming from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Vintage Market Days of Northwest Arkansas, Benton County Fairgrounds, 7640 SW Regional Airport Blvd. in Bentonville. Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The juried vintage and handmade market sells a $10 pass good all three days. Kids 12 and under free.

Bored Teachers “Is It Friday Yet?!” comedy tour, Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The same show plays Hot Springs on Friday.

Jude Brothers play an album-release show for “Dogwood Maiden Voyage” at George’s Majestic Lounge on Dickson Street Saturday night with Nick Shoulders and DJ Girlfriend. Doors at 7 p.m.

Sad Daddy, National Park Radio and Cosmic Cream play the Victory Theater, 116 S. Second St. in Rogers, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The theater reopened this year after the 2024 tornado.

Outstanding in the Field sets its long table at the Momentary in Bentonville on Saturday from 3 to 7:30 p.m. with guest chef Micah Klasky of The Hive. $390.

“The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe,” Arkansas Classical Theatre’s room-to-room immersive show at Headquarters House, 118 E. Dickson St. in Fayetteville. Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.

Also: Oktoberfest at Mount Sequoyah Center in Fayetteville, Friday from 5:30 to 8 p.m., with a German buffet. The first Homestead Hootenanny at Full Faith Ministries, 7090 Arkansas 23 in Eureka Springs, Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Outback in the Ozarks 205-mile relay leaves Eureka Springs at 6 a.m. Friday and finishes Saturday at Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park. Michael Carbonaro brings “Wonderboy” to Ozark Music Hall in Fayetteville on Sunday, doors at 6 p.m. Tammy Pescatelli headlines the Grove Comedy Club in Lowell Friday and Saturday. Berryville’s second Harvest Festival is set for Saturday from 1 to 8 p.m. on the square. Farmland Adventures in Springdale runs its corn maze and pig races Friday evening and all day Saturday and Sunday. Midnight Movies Haunted House in Gravette and Nightmares Haunted House in Bentonville are open Friday and Saturday nights.

Central Arkansas

CabotFest turns 48. Downtown Cabot, Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the carnival open Friday night from 6 to 11 p.m. Matt Stell headlines Saturday night. Cliff & Susan, the Arkansas Entertainers of the Year for a third straight year, play earlier in the day. There is a morning 5K and, at 6 p.m., the cricket-spitting championship. The festival started in 1978, two years after the tornado that leveled much of the town. Free.

Old Fashioned Day, Benton, Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Saline County Courthouse square. The 52nd edition has more than 100 vendors, a pancake breakfast, antique tractors, a beard-and-mullet contest, Copper Flats and Casey Penn on stage and an expanded kids zone. Proceeds go to the Benton Senior Activity and Wellness Center and the Saline County Council on Aging. Free.

Argenta Dogtown Throwdown, the last one of the year, closes Main Street in North Little Rock from Broadway to Fifth Street. Friday from 4 to 10 p.m. and Saturday. Saturday brings the Blessing of the Animals at noon, a kids zone and mobile adoptions from the North Little Rock Animal Shelter. Free.

Little Rocktoberfest, Argenta Green Park, Saturday evening. The Central Arkansas Fermenters homebrew club’s annual fundraiser pours commercial and homebrewed beer from Arkansas breweries. Tickets from $10.

Rison in the Fall, downtown Rison in Cleveland County, Saturday. Bryan White headlines the 36th festival, with Ward Davis, Wyatt Putman, Cori Kennedy and Whoa Dakota. Last year’s edition was cut short by storms. Free.

2nd Friday Art Night in downtown Little Rock, Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. The Old State House Museum opens “In Hot Water: Betting on the Spa City,” on the gambling history of Hot Springs, with music by Easton Thomas. The Historic Arkansas Museum holds its reception for “Painting the Arkansas Parks.” The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts opens “The Age of Anxiety: German Expressionism in Art and Film,” which runs through Jan. 10, and closes “Will Barnet: Seasons of Life” on Sunday.

Vintage Military Vehicle Show, MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, 503 E. Ninth St. in Little Rock, Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The 13th annual show fills the parade grounds behind the museum with restored jeeps and trucks, 87th Troop Command displays and living-history exhibitors. Free.

“Come From Away” closes its run at Actors Theatre of Little Rock, staged at Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church, 1601 Louisiana St. Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m.

Haunted 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon, Two Rivers Park in Little Rock, Saturday at 8 a.m. Costumes encouraged. No race-day registration.

Also: Arkansas Chamber Singers open their season with “A Pale Blue Dot” Friday at 7:30 p.m. at St. James United Methodist Church in Little Rock and Sunday at 5:30 p.m. at Morgan Hall. Hendrix hosts Centenary in Conway Saturday at 1 p.m., the only college football home game in the region, with UCA on the road and UAPB on a bye. Bella White plays the Rev Room Saturday night. Chiodos, Hail the Sun and Emery play The Hall on Sunday. Drew Baldridge is at Stickyz on Friday. Pumpkin patches at Motley’s in Little Rock, BoBrook Farms in Roland, Schaefers & Collins in Mayflower, Roseberry Farms in Benton and Hicks Family Farms in Lonoke are open all weekend. Haunted Hotel of Arkansas, The Reaper in North Little Rock, Fear Factory 501 in Jacksonville and Creepy Works in Conway are open Friday and Saturday nights. Benton’s Royal Haunted House does not open until Oct. 15.

Hot Springs

Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival opens Friday for its 35th year and runs through Oct. 17. The oldest all-documentary festival in North America is headquartered at the Arlington Resort Hotel, 239 Central Ave., with the opening-night gala at the Oaklawn Event Center: champagne at 6:15 p.m. and the film “Wild Inside” at 7 p.m. Passes and single tickets are on the festival site.

Birding Festival of the South wraps up Saturday at the Hot Springs Convention Center. The first-year festival sold out all 500 weekend passes to birders from some 30 states. Saturday’s schedule has the vendor hall from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., live African penguins from the Little Rock Zoo at noon and a raptor demonstration at 5 p.m. at the Arlington. Two pieces are free and open to anyone: bird origami at Hollywood Park from 1 to 2 p.m. and a bird-themed fashion show at Steam City Records in the Arlington basement at 9:30 p.m.

Hot Springs Water Festival, Arlington Lawn in Hot Springs National Park, Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The park’s rangers and hydrologists run spring-water taste tests and booths, and this year adds a stage with science demonstrations, music and a spring-water tasting competition. Free.

Sorghum Festival, Heritage House Museum of Montgomery County, 819 Luzerne St. in Mount Ida, Saturday. Cane squeezing and syrup cooking, sorghum on hot biscuits, blacksmithing, rope making, flint knapping, antique machinery and live music. Free.

Magic Screams at Magic Springs, Saturday from 2 to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 2 to 9 p.m. The daytime Booville trick-or-treat trail runs until 6 p.m., then the haunted houses and scare zones open. No re-entry after 6 p.m.

Ouachita Baptist homecoming, Tigers vs. Southern Nazarene, Saturday at noon at Cliff Harris Stadium in Arkadelphia. Henderson State is on the road at Northwestern Oklahoma State.

Also: Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder at the Woodlands Auditorium in Hot Springs Village, Friday at 7 p.m. Bored Teachers at Horner Hall in the convention center, Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Hot Springs Concert Band’s fall concert at the Woodlands, Sunday at 3 p.m., $15. “Wait Until Dark” closes at the Pocket Theatre, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Haunted History Tours leave 430 Central Ave. nightly at 8 p.m., $20. Hardway Haunt on McArthur Street runs Friday and Saturday from 7 to 11 p.m. Lake Ouachita State Park runs a scenic lake tour Saturday at 2 p.m. and DeGray Lake Resort State Park on Sunday at 2 p.m., $14 for adults and $8 for ages 6 to 12, reservations required.

River Valley

Van Buren Fall Festival fills historic Main Street Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with vendors, food trucks, a pumpkin patch and photo stops. Free.

Arkansas Tech homecoming, Wonder Boys vs. East Central, Saturday at 4 p.m. at Thone Stadium in Russellville.

Arkansas Marathon and October Daze, Booneville, Saturday. The 58th running of the Boston-qualifier marathon starts at 123 N. Broadway, and the October Daze fall festival follows from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Broadway Memorial Park with music, shopping and food.

Ozark Square Gathering, downtown Ozark, Saturday. The 54th gathering opens with sunrise yoga at 7 a.m. on the Depot Museum lawn, and the Charlie Battery Chili Cook-Off returns to the square at 9 a.m. after a long break.

Also: Frank Foster at the Majestic in Fort Smith, Friday at 7 p.m. A Kiss of Fall Market at the Fort Smith Convention Center, Friday and Saturday. Brookstock Music Fest V in Dover, Saturday at 5 p.m., with Jesse Kramer of “America’s Got Talent.” St. Boniface Catholic Church in Fort Smith holds its 138th Lawn Social Saturday at 5 p.m. Clarksville has a downtown car cruise-in Saturday at 6 p.m. and Trick or Trinket on West Cherry Street from 5 to 7:30 p.m.

Southwest Arkansas

Pickle Fest Texarkana, Front Street Festival Plaza in downtown Texarkana, Ark., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The second annual festival drew an estimated 15,000 people in its first year. It adds a car show this year and the Run for the Spear of It 5K at 7:30 a.m., with pickle-juice stations on the course. Live music on the Loading Dock stage, pickle contests, a pet costume contest, cornhole, pickleball and a beer garden. Free.

Arkansas Youth Expo runs through Sunday at the Four States Fairgrounds, 3700 E. 50th St. in Texarkana. About 1,000 4-H and FFA students from across the state show cattle, sheep and pigs for more than $100,000 in prizes. The sixth annual expo is in Texarkana for the first time. The champions program is Sunday at 4 p.m. Free.

Flatland Cavalry plays First Financial Music Hall at the Griffin in El Dorado’s Murphy Arts District Saturday, doors at 7 p.m. and show at 8 p.m., with Aiden Logsdon and the Outlaws.

Ouachita Bigfoot Festival and Conference, The Blue Zipline and Farm in Mena. Friday from noon to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Speakers on Bigfoot and the Fouke Monster, guided expeditions, live music, vendors, ziplines and camping.

Prescott Fall Festival, Nevada County Courthouse square, Saturday, with a 5K at 7:30 a.m.

Also: The Monster Truck Nitro Tour is at Texarkana 67 Speedway on Saturday. UA Monticello hosts Oklahoma Baptist for homecoming Saturday at 2 p.m. Southern Arkansas is on the road at Southwestern Oklahoma State. “1968: A Folsom Redemption,” a Johnny Cash exhibit at the Gallery of History Museum in El Dorado, is open Friday and runs through Oct. 23. Queen Wilhelmina State Park has a solar system hike Friday at 4 p.m., a Wonder House tour Sunday at 10 a.m. and a Lovers’ Leap hike Sunday at 1 p.m., all free. The Gateway Farmers Market in Texarkana is open Saturday from 7 a.m. to noon. Taste of Texarkana is Tuesday at the fairgrounds.

Northeast Arkansas and the Delta

King Biscuit Blues Festival, downtown Helena, through Saturday. The festival has run on Cherry Street and the Mississippi River levee since 1986. Friday: the Harmonica Kings tribute to Sonny Boy Williamson with Mark Hummel, Magic Dick of the J. Geils Band and Wallace Coleman at 5:15 p.m., Paul Thorn at 7 p.m. and Chambers DesLauriers at 8:45 p.m. Saturday: Bob Corritore with Willie Buck, Bob Stroger and Jimi “Primetime” Smith at 3:15 p.m., Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets at 5 p.m., three-time Grammy winner Bobby Rush at 7 p.m. and John Primer at 8:45 p.m. Single-day passes are $50 at the gate. The festival is rain or shine, and Saturday will test that: showers, a high near 72 and gusts to 40 mph on the river.

Arkansas Rice Festival turns 50. Weiner, Saturday. The festival began in 1976 as a bicentennial rice exhibit and has drawn Bill Clinton, Dale Bumpers and David Pryor over the years. A 5K at 8 a.m., opening ceremonies at 10 a.m., the parade, old-time rice threshing, a rice cook-off and tasting, antique tractors, a car show, wiener dog races, free train rides, bands into the night and fireworks. Free.

Bryan White plays the Ritz Civic Center in Blytheville Friday at 7 p.m. before heading to Rison on Saturday.

Jonesboro Fall Fest, downtown Jonesboro, Saturday. Vendors, live music, a pumpkin tree and family activities from the Downtown Jonesboro Alliance. Free.

LickSkillet at the Depot, Central Delta Depot Museum in Brinkley, Saturday. A 6 a.m. fun run on the rails, the LickSkillet breakfast at 7 a.m. and activities from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the Bucktown Homecoming Ball at the Brinkley Convention Center at 8 p.m.

Also: Jackson Farm Pumpkin Festival in Black Rock, Saturday. Pumpkins at the Pavilion in Paragould, Saturday from 3 to 6 p.m., where kids 12 and under decorate and take home a pumpkin, free. Fright Nights at Exofear in Harrisburg, Saturday from 7 to 10 p.m. Arkansas State is idle Saturday after its Thursday night game against South Alabama.

North Central Arkansas

Yellville Turkey Trot turns 80. The Marion County courthouse square, Friday from noon to midnight and Saturday from 10 a.m. to midnight. The Mid-Marion County Rotary festival traditionally includes the parade, the national turkey-calling contest, the Miss Drumsticks pageant, a lip-sync contest and live music. Free.

Stringband Music and Arts Festival, Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View, Friday and Saturday. Shows in the Ozark Highlands Theater Friday evening and Saturday afternoon and evening, with Murphy Campbell, John Depew and the Riggsville Ramblers among the players. A ticket includes the Craft Village and the Heritage Herb Garden.

Burning in the Mountains, Mountain Home’s second hot sauce festival, Saturday from 9 a.m. at 446 S. Hickory St. Hot sauce tastings, a pepper-eating contest and a spicy pizza competition.

Demolition derby, Northwest Arkansas District Fair, 1400 Fairgrounds Road in Harrison, Saturday at 7 p.m. Adults $10, ages 6 to 18 $5, gate only.

Also: Greers Ferry Lake Fest Fall Market at Greers Ferry City Park, Friday and Saturday. Plein On Main, Batesville’s ninth plein air festival, shows and sells the week’s paintings at Gallery 246 on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., free. Howl-o-ween Scary and Hairy Fest at ASU-Mountain Home, Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a zombie run and pet adoption fair for Lucky Dawg Rescue. Heber Springs October Market, 301 W. Main St., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Still running

“Where the Wind Lives,” the kinetic sculpture installation at Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs, through Nov. 1. “Keith Haring in 3D” at Crystal Bridges through Jan. 25. The Arkansas250 exhibit “Before Us, Beyond Us” at the Old State House Museum through Dec. 11. Magic Screams at Magic Springs on weekends through Nov. 1. Haunted season is open at the Haunted Hotel of Arkansas in Little Rock, Nightmares in Bentonville and Hardway Haunt in Hot Springs.

Farmers markets run Saturday morning in Little Rock, Fayetteville, Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale, Fort Smith, Hot Springs, Jonesboro, Batesville, Siloam Springs, Van Buren and Texarkana.

Looking ahead

The Arkansas State Fair opens Oct. 16 in Little Rock for a 10-day run with local acts in place of national headliners. The War Eagle Fair runs Oct. 15 through Oct. 18 near Rogers. Hillcrest HarvestFest and Central Arkansas Pride are both Oct. 17 in Little Rock. The Mid-South Music Festival is Oct. 16 and 17 in Arkadelphia. The Razorbacks play at Vanderbilt on Oct. 17. Mountain View’s Bean Fest and championship outhouse races are Oct. 23 and 24.