Shamrockin’ on the Square was considered “a huge success” for Main Street El Dorado and the group is hoping for a similar outcome with other events that have been planned throughout the year.
Shamrockin’, a St. Patrick’s Day celebration that is hosted by MSE, was held March 13.
It was the first large event the group has hosted this year and the second since the Downtown Holiday Lighting Ceremony and other holiday activities last November and December.
“We had a great turnout. We had great weather and it was after (Gov. Asa Hutchinson) had opened up (coronavirus/COVID-19) restrictions for (large outdoor events),” MSE Executive Director Beth Brumley said during a board meeting April 13 in reference to Shamrockin’.
In February, Hutchinson announced new directives that had been issued for events in which more than 100 attendees were expected.
Plans for such events had to be submitted to and approved by the Arkansas Department of Health.
The directive previously applied to events with more than 10 people in attendance.
Brumley said there was a maximum capacity of 400 people within the event area for Shamrockin’, per the plan that was approved by the ADH.
For the event, Main Street encouraged attendees to practice social distancing and wear face masks.
Counters were also on hand to clock the number of people who entered the event area in downtown El Dorado.
“We still monitored that. You could tell people were glad to be out and they were still conservative,” Brumley said.
“People kept to their pods. Some had on masks, some didn’t, but when they did things like go up and order food, they did mask up,” she continued. “We had, at the most, 200 to 300 people at a time. We still had the mask requirement and the mask supporters said they felt comfortable.”
Shamrockin’ included food, live music, a scavenger hunt/prize giveaway, The Union County Rock Paper Scissors Championship, games and other activities, one of which was axe-throwing demonstrations.
Brumley said downtown merchants reported posting their best sales in a while during Shamrockin’. She said there was also a good turnout for the First Thursday event April 1.
First Thursday is hosted by the Downtown Business Association to help boost foot traffic in downtown shops and to promote downtown El Dorado.
The event includes games, food, sales and/or discounts, all based on a theme, and merchants remain open later, typically until 7 p.m., during the day.
Main Street is looking to replicate the response to Shamrockin’ and First Thursday for May on Main, which is set for May 1 and will complement the Mayhaw Festival and a concert featuring The Allman Betts Band, both of which are scheduled the same day.
The Mayhaw Festival, which is presented by the South Arkansas Historical Preservation Society, will be held from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. in the area surrounding the Newton House Museum and The Allman Betts Band, a Murphy Arts District event, will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. in the First Financial Music Hall, a part of the MAD entertainment complex.
May on Main will stand in the gap that day in a partnership with the Mayhaw Festival.
May on Main activities will kick off at 12:30 p.m. with live music in downtown El Dorado.
The event will include a motorcycle poker run, chili cook-off sanctioned by the International Chili Society, big wheel races with children and adult divisions, a Baggo tournament and more.
Holly McDonald, executive assistant for Main Street, said the four teams who have already signed up for the cook-off are all from out of state.
Brumley said Main Street is also ramping up promotion of the poker run.
The event will be posted on the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage of Tourism Calendar of Events and the group is reaching out to motorcycle riders who are on an existing list of contacts for Bugs, Bands and Bikes.
BBB was formerly hosted by Main Street each spring to highlight crawfish season, live music and motorcycle culture.
The event was last held in the early 2010s. An effort to revive BBB in 2020 was squashed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brumley said the May on Main poker run will start at the Mayhaw Festival and wind its way through downtown and outside city limits to the Murphy USA Sumac Mart in Smackover and the Arkansas Welcome Center, just south of El Dorado on U.S. 167/Junction City Highway.
On April 1, the El Dorado Advertising and Promotion Commission approved a funding request of $4,370 to help promote May on Main.
Brumley said Main Street hopes crowds will float from event to event on May 1 and end up at The Allman Betts show that night.
“We’re super excited and we hope to get heads in beds for a two-day weekend,” Brumley said. “We hope people come in Friday for the all-day events on Saturday. We’re also excited about what the numbers are going to look like for the hotels.”
Weddings will be the theme for the next First Thursday event on May 6, she said.
The event will double as a wedding expo, with downtown businesses who offer applicable services giving away goodie bags and hosting a drawing for grand prizes that will include discounts on wedding accommodations, including venue rentals, flowers, beauty/spa, etc.
One downtown business, All About Flowers, will host a watch party that will include food and announcements of the winners in the different prize categories.
Other events
Brumley said Main Street is also working to plan its summer events, including Showdown at Sunset, Summer Concert Series and Grill Wars, all of which were canceled in 2020 due to COVID.
Brumley said most of the actors for Showdown are returning this year.
Showdown is a long-running historical re-enactment that depicts a shootout that occurred in El Dorado in the early 1900s.
The shooting punctuated a long-running feud between the Tucker and Parnell families and left three men dead.
The Tuckers are antecedents of former Arkansas Gov. Jim “Guy” Tucker.
“We still probably won’t set out bleachers. It’ll probably be just bring your own chair. With bleachers, it’s kind of hard to (socially) distance,” Brumley said.
Looking ahead to the fall, Brumley said amusement rides have already been booked for MusicFest, which is set for Oct. 2.
Main Street, which started the festival in 1988, partners with MAD to present MusicFest.
Main Street focuses on the “festival” side of the event with ancillary activities — food and arts and crafts vendors, games, Kids World and live music on outdoor stages on the downtown square —, while MAD books the musical headliners.
The fourth annual Airstreams on the Square will be held Oct. 21 - 24.
The event draws campers from around the country to promote the RV lifestyle and support small businesses.
Brumley said 14 participants have already signed up for the event.
Campers set up around the Union County Courthouse and allow public tours of their RVs and host a fundraiser for a local charity.
Main Street is looking into alternate locations for a potential overflow of RVs, saying that the courthouse square can accommodate about 30 RVs.
Holiday events are also on Main Street’s 2021 calendar.
Scare on the Square is scheduled for Oct. 30 in time for Halloween and the dates have been set for Christmas activities, including the Downtown Holiday Lighting Ceremony, Nov. 18; Holiday Open House, Nov. 21; and Shop Small Saturday, Nov. 27.