46th Old Fashioned Day was a big success; Thousands attended

Thanks to everyone who volunteered for months, for everyone who came out for a day, and for everyone who loves Old Fashioned Day! 😀 Thanks to our sponsors, Red Robin, Luminate Media, CADC and MySaline.

@arkansasshelli #OldFashionedDay was awesome this year and the very young band #AlmostGuilty ♬ original sound – Shelli Poole

We had two great bands playing yesterday. The Some-Timers kicked it off and Almost Guilty carried us through the afternoon, we had Batman and Wonder Woman come and stay for hours to take pictures with kids (and adults).

We had Everyone Knows It’s Megan out to yarn bomb the gazebo with the most beautiful spider webs. We had Wildt Leather showing how to work with leather. The Saline County Library team played yard games with kids. We had Til It’s Gone BBQ & Crissy’s Pub Style food trucks and Zoe’s Lemonade Stand serving the crowd of about 3000.

We held a mullet contest, a beard contest, a bonnet contest, a mustache contest, and a hair bun contest. We also held a skillet throwing contest and a sack race.

Here are the winners:

• Bun Contest – Aryanna Sevilla
• Beard Contest – Larry James
• Mustache Contest – Billy Davis
• Bonnet Contest – Rose Cox
• Mullet Contest – Christian Boykin
• Sack Race – Little Ones – Jenna James
• Sack Race – Big Kids – Olivia Cheatham
• Skillet Throwing Contest – Landon Ruckman

Benton Animal Control Shelter was there with several super cute dogs available for adoption. John J. Archibald brought his model T for people to have a hands-on experience with – and I heard several “ah-oo-gahs” that day. We also had Terry Parsons with his Amish buggy to get your picture with.

And then there were the 90+ booths covering the courthouse lawn from Market to Main Street with arts, crafts, fashion, furniture, toys, patches, candles, wreaths, kitchen items. I can’t even think of everything else that was out there. There was also a quilt raffle.

As the announcer for the contests, I needed to walk from the stage area to the gazebo and back several times and I had to bob and weave to get through the crowd! My heart is full that this event was a success. It nearly didn’t happen because of the disappointment of having to cancel twice during the pandemic years. I’m proud of this team that came together and worked on it! I hope everyone will consider coming back next year and coming for the first time next year.

Special thanks to all these very important people that were on the planning team with me: Sherry Parsons, Paul Wells, Steven Stringer, Dustin Parsons, Heather Shelton, Kim Morrella, Candy Webb, Lorena Moody, and Chris & Deborah Sredin.

Thanks to County Judge Jeff Arey for allowing us to host the event at the Saline County Courthouse, Benton Mayor Tom Farmer and the Benton Street Department for allowing us to close streets and making sure the sidewalks were clean for pedestrians, Toby Hirscheider and Matt Thibault for helping us get started, Heavenly Trash for providing their purple cans and trash service for the day. Thanks to all the vendors for making this a great fundraiser for the Benton Senior Activity Center. Thanks to the musical performers. Thanks to the youth volunteers from Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council and Rural Community Alliance. I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone in the thank yous.

We would love to see everyone next year. Please follow the Facebook page for updates: www.facebook.com/oldfashionedday. ❤️

PREVIOUSLY:

Old Fashioned Day is back in 2022 for its 46th annual festival in Downtown Benton. Organizers didn’t have it for a couple of years due to the pandemic, but they are ready to put on a brand new old experience. Benton’s oldest festival will be on Saturday, October 15th, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on the Saline County Courthouse lawn. Main and Sevier Streets outside the courthouse will be closed to traffic as well. 

Expect fun contests, games, rides like the Amish buggy, food trucks, car clubs and more. See below for vendor and contest info.

There will be live music. There will be superheroes. We’ll ask political candidates to talk about their campaign – but only for as long as they can keep their hands in the bucket of ice! The Saline County Library will host an activity zone for kids. We’ll have a skillet throwing contest, best beard, mullet, mustache, bonnet & bun. There will also be a quilt raffle. This is going to be so much fun!

Sign up 👇 as a vendor 👇 or contestant! 👇

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VENDORS:

This is the first year that online vendor applications are available. The whole theme is “old fashioned,” but that doesn’t have to apply to everything. OFD is now accepting applications for booth vendors ($50), food concessions ($100), and rides/inflatables/other (varies). Register online at…

👉 THIS VENDOR LINK.

NOTE: When you get to the end of the form, click the link to pay online – but make sure you click submit on the form.

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CONTESTS:

There are SIX contests this year! Some are new and some have been around for decades. You can enter yourself or your child in any or all of the following 6 categories:

1. Mullet contest – $10 – any length
2. Beard contest – $10 – short or long any style
3. Mustache contest – $10 – any style or length
4. Bonnet contest – $10 – sew one yourself and model it or get a model
5. Bun contest – $10 – get creative with your hair in a bun any style
6. Skillet throwing contest – $10 – throw it the farthest

Click to register for any contest or all 6. The entry fee is $10 each. All ages are invited to enter! Sign up at…

👉 THIS CONTEST LINK.

NOTE: Use one form per person, but each person can enter multiple contests on a single form. Ex: Joe uses 1 form to enter 2 different contests. His kids, Jack & Jill, each need separate forms for entering their contest(s). When you get to the end of the form, click the link to pay online – but make sure you click submit on the form. 

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THE PURPOSE:

We’re all here to have fun but also, Old Fashioned Day is a fundraiser for the Benton Senior Activity Center. This money helps the center provide important services to our senior community.

Share and save this page since we will update with more info. Meanwhile, there is a Facebook page where you can follow for updates and contact organizers directly. Follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/oldfashionedday.