Cane Hill Festival Adds New Features

PRAIRIE GROVE -- The 33rd Cane Hill Harvest Festival, set for Sept. 21-22, will have several new features on its schedule this year: an Instagram photo contest, a doubles horseshoe tournament and educational, informative programs.

The festival also will serve as the debut for a pottery exhibit called "Men of Earth: Nineteenth Century Potters of Northwest Arkansas," and a book about Cane Hill history by Bobby Braly, executive director of Historic Cane Hill Inc.

Cane Hill Harvest Festival

7 a.m. — 5 p.m., Sept. 21

7 a.m. — 4 p.m., Sept. 22

14219 College Road

Cane Hill, Ark.

Traditions that are a part of the festival will continue as in the past: the country breakfast, quilt show and raffle, sorghum making and hominy making on the grounds, live music, a kids' zone, and arts, crafts and food vendors.

Visitors will be able to walk through the restored Historic Cane Hill College, Historic Cane Hill Museum and enjoy Cane Hill's historic grounds.

Jim Lewis, chairman of the festival's planning committee, said new features are being added to the weekend to create interest.

Informative programs that will be held during the day Sept. 21 include "Cane Hill's Past, Present and Future," tatting, overview of spinning, history of quilting and Cane Hill's role in the Civil War.

The session on Cane Hill will not only be about the past, but what is happening with Cane Hill now and what does the future hold, Lewis said.

"They do have a long-term plan," he said, noting that presently, Historic Cane Hill is renovating Cane Hill Presbyterian Church.

The other informative programs, such as tatting and the history of quilting, are topics that Lewis thought might be interesting to some people.

"Being a former educator, I just like the idea of keeping everybody informed," said Lewis, who retired from education as superintendent of Lincoln Consolidated School District.

The Cane Hill Festival Photo Challenge, assisted with a Hot Spot provided by PG Telco Co., will give younger people an interactive, fun way to connect to the harvest festival, Lewis said.

The contest will be held 7 a.m.. to 2 p.m. Sept. 21 on the grounds with two divisions, contestants ages up to 12 and those ages 13 and older.

Those interested will fill out an entry form available at the festival and then take photos of what they see. Contestants can hastag their favorite and best photos to upload to Instagram, #canehillfestival2019A for the younger division and #canehillfestival2019B for the older division. The photos that receive the most likes will be named winners.

Cash prizes, donated by PG Telco, will be handed out for first-third place for both divisions, with the first place prize $75 for ages 12 and under and $100 for ages 13 and up.

"We're very appreciative to Prairie Grove Telephone Co.," Lewis said. "A little bit of money makes it more interesting."

The doubles horseshoe tournament will start at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, and continue until it's over, Lewis said. The first place team will win $70, second place $50 and third place $30.

On Sunday, Sept. 22, the traditional Church on the Grounds service will be held at 10 a.m., followed by gospel music. This year, churches from Cane Hill and Clyde will jointly sponsor that church service.

Another change this year, Lewis said, is that any proceeds from the festival will be used to help local cemeteries and to establish a new scholarship for Lincoln graduates.

The committee makes money through the country breakfast, held on Saturday and Sunday mornings, T-shirt sales, a quilt raffle and selling sorghum. The committee tried to reduce some of its costs this year so it would have money to donate to several causes.

"We decided if we're going to do all this work, we need to make a little money so we can contribute back to the community," Lewis said.

This is Lewis' first year as committee chairman and he said, "Actually, it's been good."

He expressed his appreciation to everyone who has helped, noting there are still opportunities for volunteers to help over the weekend.

"The more help we get, the easier it is for everyone. But it also gives a lot of pride in the community when you contribute," Lewis said.

One of his personal goals has been to involve more young people and he said several new, younger volunteers are coordinating some of the activities over the weekend. This is necessary, Lewis said, so the younger generation can continue the festival as older volunteers have to retire.

For more information or to volunteer that weekend, contact Jim Lewis at [email protected] or call 479-313-3332.

General News on 09/11/2019