Fair deals, free salsa, $1 Wednesday and free music downtown.
Good morning.
If the Arkansas-Oklahoma State Fair is somewhere on your list this week, the day you go can make a pretty big difference.
Monday is Family Night. Tuesday and Thursday are discount ride days. Wednesday has $1 admission until 5 p.m.
Outside the fair, Fort Smith Public Library is starting a new Anime Club Monday, UAFS has free salsa dancing Tuesday, Wednesday has a free crafts-and-cookies stop, and Mexicuba takes over The Bakery District Thursday night.
One weather note before we get into it: Wednesday and Thursday are the days to keep an eye on. The current forecast turns wetter around midweek, with rain and thunderstorms increasingly in the picture.
Here’s what I’d have on your radar.
WEEK AT A GLANCE
MONDAY
🎡 $5 admission for Family Night at the fair.
🍜 Fort Smith Public Library holds its first Anime Club meeting.
TUESDAY
💃 Free salsa dancing and food at UAFS.
🎭 Mrs. Doubtfire comes to Alma.
WEDNESDAY
🎟️ $1 fair admission until 5 p.m.
🍪 Free Crafts & Cookies at the Dallas Street Library.
THURSDAY
🎵 Mexicuba plays a free Levitt AMP concert at The Bakery District.
✏️ Free figure drawing at RAM.
PLAN AHEAD FOR FRIDAY
🎬 Free Nosferatu at Miss Laura’s, but seating is limited.
🎸 Peacemaker Music Festival opens on the riverfront.
MONDAY
Illustration created for Sweet Home River Valley.
Pick Monday if you want the fair deal
Monday is Family Night at the Arkansas-Oklahoma State Fair.
Gate admission is $5 for everyone, and unlimited-ride armbands are $27 when purchased in person that day.
That makes Monday a pretty easy choice if the fair is on the family calendar and rides are part of the plan.
The fair continues through Saturday, so you have other chances. They just won’t all cost the same.
Monday • Kay Rodgers Park • Fort Smith
The library is trying something new for teens
The Main Library holds the first meeting of its new Anime Club Monday from 4:30–5:30 p.m.
It’s for teens who are into anime and manga, with anime and Japanese snacks on the schedule.
No registration is required.
Monday • 4:30–5:30 p.m. • Main Library • Fort Smith
TUESDAY
Illustration created for Sweet Home River Valley.
Salsa under the Bell Tower
UAFS celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month Tuesday night with the fifth annual Salsa at the Bell Tower.
The evening includes free dance instruction and food, so you do not need to show up already knowing what you’re doing.
UAFS is also giving away two scholarships during the event.
It runs from 6–9 p.m. at Bell Tower Plaza and is open to the campus and community.
Tuesday • 6–9 p.m. • UAFS Bell Tower Plaza • Fort Smith
Or spend Tuesday with Mrs. Doubtfire
The touring musical Mrs. Doubtfire comes to Skokos Performing Arts Center in Alma Tuesday night.
The show is based on the 1993 movie, with the story reworked as a stage musical about Daniel Hillard and the lengths he goes to in order to stay close to his children.
The curtain goes up at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are still available through Skokos.
Tuesday • 7:30 p.m. • Skokos Performing Arts Center • Alma
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WEDNESDAY
Get to the fair before 5
If Monday is the family ride night, Wednesday is the cheap gate day.
Admission to the Arkansas-Oklahoma State Fair is $1 until 5 p.m.
It’s also Kids Day. The fair lists a 3-credit ride discount for ages 18 and under from 10 a.m.–7 p.m.
Then PRCA Xtreme Bulls starts at 7:30 p.m. and is included with paid gate admission.
If your schedule lets you get there early, Wednesday gives you a lot of fair for a dollar at the gate.
Wednesday • Kay Rodgers Park • Fort Smith
The Dallas Street Branch Library has an all-day September Crafts & Cookies drop-in Wednesday.
The library will have autumn-themed crafts set up, plus cookies.
It’s free and open to all ages.
No grand production here. Just crafts and cookies at the library, which seems like enough of a sales pitch.
Wednesday • All day • Dallas Street Branch • Free
THURSDAY
Levitt moves to The Bakery District
The Levitt AMP Fort Smith series changes locations Thursday night, with Mexicuba taking the stage at The Bakery District.
Music starts at 6 p.m. and admission is free.
If you’ve been mentally filing Levitt under “riverfront concert,” this is the week to double-check the location before heading out.
Thursday • 6 p.m. • The Bakery District • Fort Smith • Free
Bring a pencil. RAM has the rest.
Fort Smith Regional Art Museum hosts another Drawing From the Figure session Thursday from 5:30–7 p.m.
Artist Amy Holmes Scoggins leads the class using a live, clothed model.
It’s free, supplies are provided, no registration is required, and the program is open to ages 16 and older.
Thursday • 5:30–7 p.m. • RAM • Fort Smith • Free
And SOCKtober starts Thursday
The Miller Branch Library begins its month-long SOCKtober drive Thursday.
They’re collecting new socks throughout October to support community partners.
If a pack of socks happens to land in the cart this week, Miller Branch has a place for it.
CIVIC THIS WEEK
Monday is the busy civic night.
The Fort Smith School Board meets at 5:30 p.m. in the FSPS Service Center Building B Auditorium.
The Van Buren City Council meets at 5:30 p.m. at the Van Buren Municipal Complex.
The Greenwood Water & Wastewater Commission meets at 6 p.m. at Greenwood City Hall.
Official meeting pages are linked below for the latest agendas and materials.
ONE THING TO PLAN BEFORE FRIDAY
Nosferatu is free, but the seats are not unlimited
Miss Laura’s is screening the 1922 silent-film classic Nosferatu Friday evening in partnership with the Fort Smith Public Library.
Admission is free, but seating is limited and reservations are encouraged.
The screening runs from 6–8 p.m.
If that sounds like your kind of Friday night, this is one I wouldn’t leave until Friday afternoon to figure out.
Friday • 6–8 p.m. • Miss Laura’s • Fort Smith • Free
And Friday also starts Peacemaker Music Festival on the Fort Smith riverfront. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. Friday, and the festival continues Saturday.
We’ll have the full weekend rundown Thursday morning, but Peacemaker is worth having on the calendar now.
THAT’S THE WEEK AHEAD
The fair gives you a few ways to save money this week, Tuesday has a couple of very different ways to spend the evening, and Thursday brings another free night of live music downtown.
Keep an eye on the weather as Wednesday gets closer, especially if your plans involve the fair or anything else outdoors.
THE FULL CALENDAR
Looking for more?
We picked the highlights. The full Sweet Home River Valley calendar has everything we've found happening around Fort Smith and the River Valley.