The annual summer Pea Ridge Fair is being retired.
Begun in 1950 with the celebration of the Pea Ridge centennial, the fair continued for the past 65 years with various events, including a carnival. One feature that continued every year except 1986 was the Miss Pea Ridge pageant. Last year's event was renamed Pea Ridge Battle Days.
Pea Ridge Pageants
When: July 8 & 9, 2016
Age groups:
0-2: Cutest Baby, Boy and Girl, No entry fee
3-4: Teeny Tot, Boy and Girl, $5 entry fee
Going into Kindergarten: Tiny Tot, Boy and Girl, $10
6-7: Little Miss, Girls, $25
8-9: Princess, Girls, $25
10-12: Pre-Teen, Girls, $25
13-15: Teen, Girls, $25
Sophomore and Junior, Girls, $25
Senior, Girls, $50
Sign ups: 3 p.m. Sunday, April 17
Pea Ridge City Park
In recent years, more age categories have been added to the pageant festivities. The pageants will continue. They are scheduled for July 8-9.
"We just don't have enough community support to offset the cost of having any kind of 'fair,'" Sandy Fletcher, secretary for Beta Alpha, the sponsoring club, said. "We will still be doing the barbecue contest, the bingo tent, the pageants and the parade. But as far as the inflatables go, it costs us more money than we make."
Beta Alpha has sponsored the fair since 1971.
Events this year will be held at the Pea Ridge City Park in conjunction with a movie night. The barbecue contest and dinners and bingo games will be held at the park. A movie will begin at 8 p.m.
There hasn't been a carnival in recent years because most carnival companies want a guaranteed minimum of $10,000 to come, Fletcher explained, and the Pea Ridge Fair didn't generate that much revenue.
"We put a huge amount of work into an event that, other than the pageants, isn't supported well, which also means less vendor booths and other attractions," Fletcher said. "Unfortunately, we can't compete with Freedom Fest where everything they have is free. Freedom Fest is an amazing event and the community has gravitated towards that."
Sign-ups for pageants are this weekend at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 17, at Pea Ridge City Park. For information, contact Sandy Fletcher at 381-0198, Meghan Good at 270-3685 or Karen Kitterman at 236-4849.
Community on 04/13/2016