“We were also able to secure Nashville country artist Jeff Bates on Friday night, so we try to step up our musician talent every year, get bigger and better names for our residents and our locals in the county and surrounding areas,” Gorham said. “So 90 Proof will be opening up for Jeff Bates on Friday the 20th.
“Then on Saturday, we have been able to throw some nice additions in as well with Amp Motor Sports adding a demolition derby as well as six megatrucks. We’ve had four in the past. We’ve had years when we had two or three, but we were able to secure six as well as the autocross racing from the four cylinders, sixes and eights and the demolition derby as well.” Musical performances start at 2 p.m. Saturday “and go up until the Jonathan Hussman Memorial Fireworks Extravaganza shot by the Rose Bud Volunteer Fire Department,” he said. A parade has been added to Saturday morning, rather than Friday night. “That way we’ve got more people able to attend it,” Gorham said. ”That will kick off at 10 o’clock and it will end at the car show at the ballpark complex where we’ve added more awards, more categories to our car show based off of the feedback from the people that enter it and the people attending Summerfest. We will listen to what people want and if we’re able, we try to make it happen.” The parade will start at the Rose Bud Baptist Church on Arkansas Highway 36 then go east to the Rose Bud School District, “which right behind it is where Summerfest is held at 124 School Road at the city ballpark complex, so it will circle the wagons at Summerfest and it will ultimately end at the car show.” He said registration to be in the parade isn’t required. “All you have to do is show up at the Rose Bud Baptist Church at 9:30 a.m., and again we will pull out and head east at 10 o’clock.” Candy will be thrown out during the parade, and “the bouncy houses will be going.” A full-access, three-day pass to Summerfest costs $20 per person while a one-day pass is $15 per person. Kids 3 and under get in free. For those who enter the cornhole tournament Thursday night, “that is your one-day pass to get in,” Gorham said. “That way, you’re not having to pay and get into the ballpark.” He said the full-access pass “gets you everything in the ballpark complex. We have our carnival coming back that was able to secure bigger and better rides this year for the kiddos all the way up to the teenagers. That full-access pass, thanks to our sponsors, does cover unlimited carnival rides. ... You can ride the carnival rides, listen and attend all the concerts. You get one free ride in the Mean Machine monster truck as well as [being able] to attend all the autocross races, the megatruck races and the demolition derby, the car show, everything in the ballpark.” There also will be a “huge water slide” Saturday. All the activities can be found on townofrosebud.com or on the Rose Bud Arkansas Inc. Facebook page. “You can purchase tickets online,” Gorham said, “at either of those sites. You can purchase them in person at Rose Bud City Hall, Cowboy Chevrolet in Heber Springs or on site at the event. Cash or card pay options are available as well as PayPal as well as some of the other sources.” AMP Motor Sports with Greg Price and Constable Dusty Betts are taking care of the autocross races and the demolition derby and book the monster trucks and megatrucks when the city has those, Gorham said. There will be a megatruck pit party from noon-2 p.m. next Friday at Grumpy’s Getaway in Rose Bud and at Sherwood Tractor, just outside of Rose Bud. Autographs will be signed. T-shirts are $12 this year and are available in town. He said the shirt is an America, patriotic theme with white carnival swings in it and the fireworks display in the background. “There’s a lot that goes into that t-shirt design,” Gorham said. “We start planning it as soon as we flip the calendar into January and we try to put a little bit of everything we’ve got going on. The pic represents the music, the flag represents the freedom that we have [and] the fireworks represent in my opinion one of the best displays in the heart of Arkansas, and it goes back to when we had a local fireman that was very much a part of the first few Summerfests and helping us get the fireworks going with the volunteer fire department. He passed away way too early, so we named it the Jonathan Hussman Memorial Fireworks Extravaganza in honor of him and it will always be known as that.” He said that the theme of Summerfest this year is “Glory Days, as voted on by the Rose Bud city employees.” “You know this is a Fourth of July event,” Gorham said. “It started out where it was the weekend before the Fourth. We wanted to be the first one. We will always be two weeks before the Fourth of July. We always kind of want to do a military tribute.” “Our volunteer fire department is 10 percent in charge of it. Their specialty is normally putting out fires but they definitely set fires off and light them up good as well. They put on a fireworks show that is second to none. You’re right on top of things is what people love about it the most because we set them off right behind Ballfield 2 and, of course, we keep people as far back as needed to be safe, but you’re still right on top of the action. It’s a Greers Ferry Lake-type show but you’re right underneath it rather than being a long ways away.” Comments are closed.
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