The ASSDF has a yearly fall festival dance in a different Arkansas city, usually around the second weekend of October, which is usually on Columbus Day Weekend. There is a Trail-In Dance on Thursday night...then the Friday night dance features a National Caller for the Square Dancing...and Arkansas Cuers for the Round Dancing. Saturday activities feature fun dances, workshops, the ASSDF Delegates Meeting at 9am Saturday morning, plus the afternoon and evening dancing to Arkansas' Callers And Cuers. There will also be door prizes, plus a Teacup Auction, and a Silent Auction...plus possibly Split The Pot, at the weekend. Jim and Nancy Finney, plus Ted and Phyllis Keeney, are the Co-Chairs for the weekend, which will have a Circus Theme -- entitled Caddo Carnival. Juanice Chitwood is in charge of the decorations.
All clubs are requested to provide Gift Baskets for the dance, which will be auctioned off, with a minimum bid that they place on it. There will be also be a nice quilt, donated by
Treasurers Dan and Theresa Holley, to be given away in a drawing on Saturday night.
Of special note, there will be an
''all male fashion show, with female judges'' (take that for what it's worth...Caller Phil Moorehouse is heading this up!!
Plus, dancers will be able to sell square dance clothes, with 15% of the profit going to the ASSDF, and the club keeping the remaining 85%. There will also be a photographer at the dance, and he will provide photos for a nominal fee.
It's worth noting that ''While visitors will be able to watch the dance at no charge, the moment they step on the dance floor to dance, they become dancers...and will be expected to pay the at door registration fee (for Friday and Saturday), and, if they attend the Thursday night Trail-In Dance, a separate fee (payable at the door). If not, they will be asked to leave the dance floor, and the premises''.
Also, whether you dance for part or all of the weekend (Thursday night, Friday afternoon and evening, Saturday morning, afternoon, and evening...either individually (one day or evening), or all 3 days, you will be REQUIRED to pay the fees for the Trail-In Dance, Friday, and/or Saturday...the exact fee depending on which ones you attend.
There is ''no reduced fee'' for those who only make it for one evening session. Many festivals outside of Arkansas charge a much higher rate for a similar dance festival weekend schedule (no partial sessions). As an example, the registration fee for the National Square Dance Convention is well over $50 per person, with the registration fee for the Single Square Dancers USA Labor Day Dance A-Rama now around $50 per person (whether you attend 1 night, or the entire festival (this obviously doesn't include costs for transportation, lodging, and food)). Plus, with an increased cost for the hall this year, the ASSDF has to charge one fee for all sessions.
The bottom line is, that it's NOT fair to those dancers who have PAID THE FEE, and yet, someone is ''dancing for free'', or paying the full fee, and someone is dancing for a lesser amount...and, last but not least, because of liability and insurance issues.
Links to printable fliers for both, in Adobe PDF Format, are located here. The Fall Festival Delegates Meeting will be at 9am Saturday, October 13, at Betty's Big Country Dance Hall (this was CHANGED from the original location). Exact event times for the weekend will be posted as soon as possible.
Of note, we still need a club and location to host the 2019 ASSDF Fall Festival...this will be discussed and voted on at the Delegates Meeting on Saturday morning. With the declining number of clubs in Arkansas, there is the unfortunate possibility that the 70th year of the ASSDF may NOT have a Fall Festival... or even be in existence...if people doesn't ''step up to the plate'', as it were.
The original design for the Trail-In Dance was done by Ginny Short, with ''cleaning up'', and conversion to PDF format by Webmaster Daryl Stout. An updated Fall Festival flier was obtained from Editors Wayne And Lura Wade, and from the ASSDF Facebook Page, and it replaces the previous flier. Please feel free to download, print, and distribute these at your dances.
Wendys, Taco Bell, Waffle House, Fat Boys BBQ, The Mirage Sports Bar And Grill, TaMolly's Mexican Restaurant, Cracker Barrel, McDonald's, Subway, and up Highway 7 toward Lake DeGray State Park, is The Fish Net. There will be lunch and dinner breaks during the day Friday and Saturday.
Further information on hotels in the area (with pricing) is located at Hotels.com, but I've provided links of the individual hotels here, along with their address and phone numbers, for your convenience, should you wish to check the various amenities. Prices on their websites may be higher than at hotels.com. The less expensive lodging names are noted below with an asterisk (*). The possibly higher priced lodging is noted with a dollar sign ($). Please note the hotels policies on pets, smoking, etc. Most (if not all) hotels are NO SMOKING, and will either charge a fee for pets, or not allow them at all. Parking wise, do NOT park in a Handicapped Space without the appropriate license plate or hang tag...or you could be ticketed and have your car towed.
Also, it is wise to check the room (bedding, etc.) for the presence of bed bugs before you get settled in. Getting rid of them is an expensive process, and an extreme hassle...to put it mildly.
* Quality Inn, 136 Valley Street (870) 246-5592
$ Holiday Inn Express, 7 Frost Road (870) 403-0880
* Econo Lodge, 150 Valley Street (870) 464-1570
$ Hampton Inn, 108 Malvern Road (870) 403-0800
* Motel 6 106 Crystal Palace Drive (870) 246-6333
* America's Best Value, 141 Valley Street (870) 246-5855
* Days Inn, 137 Valley Drive (870) 246-3031
* Super 8, 118 Valley Street (870) 246-8585
* Comfort Inn, 100 Crystal Palace (870) 246-3800 (this is the Host Hotel)
Also, due to extensive late winter and early spring flooding in 2018, at Lake Degray State Park, DeRoche Ridge is CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. However, all of the other facilities at DeGray State Park are OPEN. For up to date information, please call the park directly at (501) 865-5801, or check the website. This is current as of Aug. 11, 2018. Note that if another several weeks of heavy rainfall and flooding occur, this is likely to change again.
As a side note, some points of interest, hotels, and other information are located here -- locations are relative to the Arkadelphia Amtrak Station. The station is located several miles south of Interstate 30.
Also nearby are the Caddo Valley Flea Market, and Caddo Valley River Canoeing...with the Crater Of Diamonds State Park 45 minutes away in Murfreesboro...where you can hunt for, and KEEP any diamonds that you find...it's the only place of its kind in the world.
There is a small airport southwest of the Arkadelphia Amtrak Station, but it's likely for private planes only. The closest airports are at Little Rock, and at Texarkana...airlines and flights may vary. Please allow extra time for checkin with your airline, and at the TSA Security Checkpoint.
Arkadelphia is served by Amtrak's Texas Eagle passenger train. However, as noted here, the station does NOT offer ticketing, or checked baggage. The closest Amtrak Stations with full service...including ticketing and checked baggage are at Little Rock, Arkansas, and at Longview, Texas. Due to low passenger boardings, there is no longer any station agent, ticketing, or checked baggage at Texarkana. Plus, stations at Malvern, Arkansas plus Hope, Arkansas...as well as at Marshall, Texas are just like Arkadelphia, Arkansas...with NO TICKETING OR CHECKED BAGGAGE SERVICE. While this may be noted differently in the timetables, this is from the Station Advisories section from the Service Alerts And Notices section on the Amtrak Website.
Schedule wise, IF The Texas Eagle is ON TIME, the train arrives southbound daily at 4:20am, from Malvern, Little Rock, and Walnut Ridge, Arkansas...Poplar Bluff and Saint Louis, Missouri...plus Alton, Springfield, Bloomington/Normal, Joliet, and Chicago, Illinois...along with other intermediate stops. The train arrives northbound at 10:02pm from Hope, and Texarkana, Arkansas...and from Marshall, Longview, Mineola, Dallas, Fort Worth, Cleburne, McGregor, Temple, Taylor, Austin, San Marcos, and San Antonio, Texas, along with other intermediate stops. A printable schedule for The Texas Eagle, in PDF format, is located here. You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view/print the file. Full schedules, reservations (which are required for travel), and other information can be found on the Amtrak Website, or by calling 1-800-872-7245 -- (1-800-USA-RAIL). The lines are open 24 hours a day. You can book up to 11 months in advance of departure. Note that cancellation and refund policies do apply...contact Amtrak for details.
Weather wise, Caddo Valley is between Arkadelphia, and Lake DeGray State Park, at Bismarck, Arkansas. Caddo Valley is in Clark County, while Lake DeGray State Park is in Hot Spring County (not to be confused with the city of Hot Springs, which is in Garland County).
For weather conditions for Caddo Valley, from the National Weather Service in Little Rock, Arkansas, click here.
Prices for the ads are as follows:
Full Page Ad: $35 for ASSDF members, $40 for non-ASSDF Members
Half Page Ad: $20 for ASSDF members, $25 for non-ASSDF Members
Quarter Page Ad: $15 for ASSDF members, $20 for non-ASSDF Members
Booster Ads: $10 for either ASSDF or non-ASSDF members.
Send the ad copy to Phyllis Keeney, 1807 Nubbin Ridge Road, Royal, AR 71968. Send your check for the ad, payable to ASSDF, to Theresa Holley, 390 Woodvine Trail, Higden, AR 72067. Your ad will NOT be published until payment is received.
Note that as an INCENTIVE to purchase ads, those who do will receive FREE ADVERTISING on the ASSDF Website, detailing their information for their business, ad, etc. from just after the Fall Festival (posted on the website in mid-October), through September of the following year.
A flier with a registration form, is located here. You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view/print the file.
If you are unable to print the file, please send your name(s), address, city, state, zip code, phone number (and email address if applicable)...plus your check or money order, payable to ASSDF (please do NOT send cash), for $20 per dancer, to Theresa Holley, 390 Woodvine Trail, Higden, Arkansas 72067. There is an ''early registration drawing'', in that dancers who register by a deadline (to be announced); if their name is drawn at the dance on Saturday evening, their registration fee will be refunded. It is likely that the ASSDF Officers will be INELIGIBLE for this drawing.
