Wildwood’s Fifth Annual HARVEST! Festival

Celebrate an Arkansas Autumn with Friends, CARE and American Images
October 13 – 14, 2012

(Little Rock, AR) – Wildwood Park for the Arts is serving up lots of family fun in October with its fifth annual HARVEST! Festival on October 13, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., and October 14, noon – 6 p.m celebrating the sights, sounds and traditions of autumn in Arkansas.

Festival-goers will access all the traditions they’ve come to enjoy during the autumn event – hay rides to Pumpkin Hill; antique tractors, miniature railroad and garden railroad displays; delicious, wholesome foods and artisan crafts for purchase; and the inspiring, energetic sounds of the Arkansas Pickin’ & Fiddlin’ Championship and other Americana music beside Swan Lake.

The weekend begins on Friday evening, October 12, when Ballet Arkansas debuts American Images, a dance concert blending athleticism and artistry in six newly commissioned works inspired by artworks, ideas and events from the American cultural landscape. Performances will also be held on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, indoors at Wildwood’s Lucy Lockett Cabe Festival Theater.

On Saturday, the two-day HARVEST! Festival kicks off with events the whole family can enjoy, even the family dog! Wildwood Park and CARE for Animals have combined race forces to host the Paws on the Pavement RunWILD 5K, a point-to-point, chip-timed race beginning at The Promenade at Chenal and finishing in Wildwood’s 105-acre green space. You’ll know the finish line is near when you enter Wildwood’s gate and become surrounded by a panoramic view of Swan Lake. Paws on the Path WILDFun Run is a 1K designed for two- and four-legged family members along the paved trails in Wildwood’s Butler Arboretum.

Performances scheduled throughout the HARVEST! weekend include Wildwood’s Arkansas Pickin’ & Fiddlin’ Championship on Sunday, bluegrass and Americana music all day Saturday, and Wildwood’s Art To Go tour of Lily & The Apple Seed which is touring to Arkansas elementary schools through November.

The apple is in fact the inspiration for the culinary competition, and an ornamental black-smithing and horseshoeing competition will add to the excitement of this HARVEST! weekend. Put your running shoes on Saturday morning and HARVEST! autumnal fun all weekend long!

HARVEST! Festival tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children ages six to 12, and children five and under are free. To purchase tickets or for more Festival information call 501-821-7275 or visit online at www.wildwoodpark.org.

Sponsors for the event include Bank of the Ozarks, Fox 16, Deltic Timber, Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, Arkansas Arts Council

Ballet Arkansas’s American Images tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for children (12 and under) for the Friday, October 12th Opening Night performance with Champagne Reception at 7:30pm. During the HARVEST! Festival on Saturday (4pm performance) and Sunday (2pm performance) tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for children (12 and under). To purchase tickets visit www.wildwoodpark.org or www.balletarkansas.org. Saturday and Sunday American Images ticket purchases include entry to the HARVEST! festival.

About Ballet Arkansas
Ballet Arkansas’ mission is to provide world-class dance performance to Arkansans through a permanent company of professional dancers.  They position the company as a pillar of Arkansas’s performing arts community and enable it to inspire and educate students across the state, educate the public about dance, and act as an ambassador for the State of Arkansas.

About Paws on the Pavement RunWILD 5k & Paws on the Path WILDFun Run 1K
Wildwood Park and Care for Animals have joined race forces to present west Little Rock’s only point-to-point race. The chip-timed 5K run begins at The Promenade at Chenal and ends with a finish line near Swan Lake at Wildwood Park. A shuttle will transport runners between the Park to The Promenade. The race begins at 8:00am and the last shuttle will take off from the Park at 7:30am.

Children and dogs, too, are welcome to participate in a WILDFun Run through Wildwood’s botanical gardens. The 1K race will kick off at 9:30 a.m. at the Park. Dogs must be on a leash and accompanied by an adult. Children ages five and younger participate for free.  5K registration fee includes participation in the 1K.

Paws on the Pavement RunWILD 5K and Paws on the Path WILDFun Run 1K registration prices are below:
Individual – $25 Pre-Registration, $30 Race Day
5K Team/Family Rate – $20 per member (rate applies for a team/family of 4 or more people)
1K Individual – $20 Pre-Registration, $25 Race Day
1K Team/Family – $15 each per member (rate applies for a team/family of 4 or more people)
Sleep-In Saturday – $25

5K and 1K participants can register at CARE for Animals at 5516 Kavanaugh Boulevard in the Heights, Wildwood Park for the Arts at 20919 Denny Rd. in west Little Rock or online at www.racesonline.com, www.careforanimals.org or at www.wildwoodpark.org.
All proceeds from the Paws on the Pavement RunWILD 5K and Paws on the Path 1K go to support both non-profit organizations in their programming efforts throughout the year.

About CARE for Animals
Central Arkansas Rescue Effort for Animals, Inc. (CARE) was established in 1998 with the dual purpose of rescuing abandoned dogs and cats facing euthanasia as well as providing programs to help people spay or neuter their pets. From a group of four initial volunteers, CARE has grown into thousands of supporters who contribute their time and resources to its rescue and spay/neuter operations.
CARE’s Mission is to conduct animal rescue by providing medical care and placing animals facing impending euthanasia into foster and permanent homes, to increase awareness for the need to spay/neuter all pets, establish a mobile spay/neuter clinic, and to work with and advise animal shelters in central Arkansas on animal welfare issues.

About the Arkansas Pickin’ & Fiddlin’ Championship
The Arkansas Pickin’ and Fiddlin’ Championship attract musicians and fans from across Arkansas and the region. The competition was founded in 2008 with Wildwood’s first HARVEST! Festival. This year’s state Pickin’ and Fiddlin’ Championship will be on Sunday, October 14th of the HARVEST! Festival weekend.  Judges include Pete Brown, Adam Fudge and Roger Fountain for the competition; and EMCEE for the event is Dave Brancecum.

Rules, registration and more information about the Arkansas Pickin’ and Fiddlin’ Championship are available at
www.wildwoodpark.org and www.fiddlinarkansas.com.

About Lily and the Apple Seed
Wildwood Park for the Arts is traveling to elementary schools across Arkansas this fall with Lily and the Apple Seed, an educational tour created by Arkansas educator and artist, April Gentry-Sutterfield. The story focuses on Lily, a loveable but junk-food addicted protagonist, who hides in video games and tries to ignore her Grandma’s wishes to learn about eating healthy and living an active lifestyle. Throughout the play, Lily learns to love fresh fruits and vegetables, appreciate the miracles in life and nature, respect her elders, and make new friends, while nurturing her own self-esteem. Children enjoy the vibrant characters and adults appreciate the triumph of a nutritious diet and healthy lifestyle.
Wildwood is now booking shows and workshops. Workshops provide a variety of health and wellness learning activities as well as performance and communication skills. The Arkansas Arts Council may underwrite up to 40% of the performance fee for a public school, government entity or a 501 (c)3 nonprofit. The Arkansas Arts Council funds are on a first come, first served basis. Fee includes the performance, a fun actors’ Q&A with students and a study guide with worksheets, plus reading suggestions. Please call for workshop pricing information.

To book your school’s performance or learn more about Lily and the Apple Seed, contact Sheridan Posey, Education Programs Coordinator at 501.821.7275, ext 253 or email at [email protected]

About Wildwood Park for the Arts
Wildwood Park for the Arts, 20919 Denny Road, is home to Little Rock’s unique botanical gardens and Lucy Lockett Cabe Festival Theatre.  A center for the arts located in west Little Rock's Chenal Valley, Wildwood’s vision is to provide opportunities for lifelong learning, engage the imagination and celebrate the human spirit through encounters with nature and a full spectrum of the cultural arts: visual, performing, literary, horticultural, culinary and more.
The Park’s arts programming, educational projects, and the growth and maintenance of Wildwood’s gardens are made possible by the contribution of funds, time and energy of generous donors and volunteers throughout our community. Wildwood is supported in part by Deltic Timber, the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Rachael Montunnas
Wildwood Park for the Arts
Marketing and Public Relations
501-821-7275 ext 259

[email protected]
www.wildwoodpark.org