FALL IN LINE
From Bikes and Blues to a Food Truck Festival, the cooler months ahead have plenty to offer
September is when things fall — leaves fall, fall, fall, the temperature falls ( but not much), and newspapers plop on the porch. Labor Day drops on Monday, circus clowns go whoopsyboom, and bronc riders take a tumble. But things pick up too: fall festivals, fall arts and crafts shows, and the main thing to pick up — more leaves. 1 Better Breakfast Month starts the morning with ice cream, chocolate cake and leftover pizza — the breakfast of chomp- ions.
GIDDY LAPS
National Championship Chuckwagon
Races through Sept. 4 at that Bar of Ranch, Clinton. Trail rides and a concert Sept. 1; races Sept. 2- 4. Details at chuckwagonraces.com. Call ( 501) 745- 8407.
TOOT SWEET
Hot Springs JazzFest through Sept. 5, various venues, downtown Hot Springs. Details at hsjazzsociety.org. Call ( 501) 627- 2425.
FIDDLE IN THE MIDDLE
Smoke on the Mountain gospel musical comedy through Oct. 8 at Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, Little Rock. Details at murrysdp.com. Call ( 501) 562- 3131.
CLOWNS AROUND
2 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey
Circus Xtreme through Sept. 4 at Verizon Arena, North Little Rock. Details at verizonarena. com. Call ( 800) 745- 3000.
HOMETOWN BOOMERS
Arkansas Travelers’ last home game of the season, with Pyro in the Park fireworks show, 7: 10 p. m. at Dickey- Stephens Park, North Little Rock. Details at travs. com. Call ( 501) 664- 1555.
CLOTHESPIN INTEREST
3 Clothesline Fair, arts and crafts through Sept. 5 at Prairie Grove Battlefi eld State Park near Fayetteville. Details at arkansas. com. Call ( 479) 846- 2990.
RING- A- DING FLING
4 How to celebrate Newspaper Carrier Day: with thanks to the guy who brings news on the fly.
QUITTIN’ TIME
5 Labor Day: once a day of mighty speeches in praise of hard work, as when Daniel Webster called for labor to be “intelligent, manly, independent.” And one thing he didn’t say — outsourced.
RAIL, RAIL, THE GANG’S ALL HERE
Jesse James’ birthday, 1847. Gentlemen, surrender your wallets. Ladies, give up your jewelry. Grocery shoppers, hand over the artisan cheese.
PROJECTED ASSETS
6 Fayetteville Film Fest through Sept. 10, downtown Fayetteville. Details at fayettevillefilmfest.org. Call ( 479) 259- 2266.
MOUNTAIN O’ LOVE
7 Legacies and Lunch talk with author William B. Jones about his young adult book, Petit Jean: A Girl, a Mountain, a Community, noon at the Central Arkansas Library System’s Main Library’s Darragh Center, Little Rock. Details at butlercenter.org. Call ( 501) 320- 5700.
WITH A CHIC CHICK HERE
8 How to celebrate Chicken Month: Fly the coop.
AND A CHICK CLIQUE THERE
9 The Dixie Chicks, 7: 30 p. m. at Verizon Arena, North Little Rock. Details at verizonarena. com. Call ( 800) 745- 3000.
SKY’S THE LIMIT
Arkansas Hot Air Balloon Championship through Sept. 11, Harrison. Details at arkansasballoonfest.com. Call ( 870) 741- 2659.
TODDLER CODDLER
Tyke and Moppet studio show for toddlers, through Sept. 16 at Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre, Little Rock. Details at arkansasartscenter.org. Call ( 501) 372- 4000.
PUTTER THERE, PAL
Tired Iron of the Ozarks antique tractor and engine show through Sept. 11, Gentry, in Northwest Arkansas. Details at tiredironoftheozarks.org.
GET THE DRIFT
10 Little Rock Paper Airplane Championship, 10 a. m. at Clinton Presidential Park, Little Rock, benefi ts the Lymphomaniac Society for cancer survivors. Details at lrpaperairplane.com.
ME- MAW, GRAN’PA HOO- HA
11 Grandparents’ Day. Candy for Mother’s Day, a necktie for Father’s Day, but what for grandparents? For Dwandma and Dwampa, Grams and PapPap, Bubie and Dadoo, Mumsy and PeePaw, Grampoo and Papster — for them, a moment’s dignity.
ALL THE MOOS FIT TO PRINT
12 Chocolate Milk Shake Day — when the cow jumps over the spoon.
THANKS A TRILLION
13 Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton made history on this day, 1789. What he did was: ( A) posed for his picture on the $ 10 bill; ( B) finagled the federal government’s first bank loan, or ( C) coined the expression, “A penny saved makes an awful noise in the dryer.”
Answer at Sept. 26.
ON AND DOFF
14 Fall Hat Month — and a tip of the bowler to bonnets, boaters and berets, ten- gallons, turbans, toques and tams, and a happy fez to every deer- stalking, hat- haired one of us.
MARCO!
15 Polo! The Venetian explorer was born on or about this day, 1254, and went on to go on and on.
WANNA BE YOUR BAND
16 Beatles at the Ridge with the Liverpool Legends and Fab Fourtheme music and activities through Sept. 17, Walnut Ridge near Jonesboro. Details at beatlesattheridge.com. Call ( 501) 412- 6497.
THE MOUTH THAT ROARED
17 Lip Sync Battle 2016 contest benefi ts the American Cancer Society, at Ron Robinson Theater, Little Rock. Details at relayforlife.org/lipsyncbattlear. Call ( 501) 603- 5200.
GOUDA GOOD, CHEDDAR BETTER
18 Cheeseburger Day is when nothing else looks so goo’ed on the plate.
PIRATES- ARR- US
19 International Talk Like a Pirate Day, and how to use pirate talk in today’s thievin’ business world: Avast: A vast difference between the pirates of the Caribbean and the pirates of Wall Street. One kind drives a Cutlass and the other drives a Porsche. Bilge: A bill full of numbers that nobody can understand. m Swab: Tired of swimming with sharks? Talk retirement with Charles S( ch) wab.
BACK TO BACH
20 How to celebrate Classical Music Month: in a major key.
HEAPS AND BEEPS
21 Petit Jean Fall Antique Auto Swap Meet, Open Car Show and
Military Vehicle Rally through Sept. 24 at Museum of Automobiles on Petit Jean Mountain near Morrilton. Details at museumofautos.com. Call ( 501) 7275427.
HARLEY PARLEY
Bikes, Blues and BBQ through Sept. 24 on Dickson and Block streets, Fayetteville. Details at bikesbluesandbbq.org. Call ( 479) 5279993.
WHEREFORTH ART
Acansa Arts Festival, exhibits and performances through Sept. 25, various venues, Little Rock and North Little Rock. Details at acansaartsfestival.org. Call ( 501) 6632287.
KNOCK- KNOCK EQUINOX
22 First day of fall, Elephant Appreciation Day, and beware of falling elephants.
BALANCED REPORT
23 LIBRA ( Sept. 23- Oct. 23): Is today your birthday? If so, the scales of justice weigh in your favor, even if the bathroom scale doesn’t. Libras seek a balanced life — half sleeping, half shopping. Spend the day like Kevin ( Hercules) Sorbo, 58 on Sept. 24 — lifting weights.
AQUAMAN IN HOT WATER
Spa Con comics and pop culture convention through Sept. 25 at Hot Springs Convention Center, Hot Springs. Details at spa- con. org. Call ( 501) 321- 2277.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day through Oct. 9 at Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre, Little Rock. Details at arkansasartscenter.org. Call ( 501) 372- 4000.
IT’S A WRAP
24 Main Street Food Truck Festival, 11 a. m.- 5 p. m. on Main Street and Capitol Avenue, downtown Little Rock. Details at mainstreetfoodtrucks.com. Call ( 501) 375- 0121.
BEAT GOES ON
Depot Days rock ’ n’ roll celebration and barbecue with Sonny Burgess and Ace Cannon, Newport. Details at depotdays.org. Call ( 870) 5233618.
RHIZ AND SHINE
Central Arkansas Iris Society rhizome and plant sale, 8 a. m.- noon at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. Call ( 501) 416- 6390.
KNAP TIME
Native American Day and arrowhead-making, noon- 3 p. m. at the Melinda and Karl Pfeiffer Museum and Study Center, Piggott. Details at pfeifferfoundation.com. Call ( 870) 5983228.
REMEMBER SEPTEMBER
Ozark Memories Day, pancake breakfast, parade and car show in Dover near Russellville. Call ( 479) 8573477.
STICKY AROUND
25 National Honey Month, National Rice Month — the splot thickens.
I. O. U. WHEEEE- EW
26 Quiz answer: ( B). The government borrowed about $ 20,000 to get by. Today’s national debt is close to $ 20 trillion. Write account number on check, mail payment.
KITTY SITTIN’ PRETTY
27 How to celebrate Happy Cat Month: with a social affair for single felines — a meow mix.
SILVER MEDALISTS
28 Arkansas Senior Olympic Games through Oct. 2, Hot Springs. Details at srsports.org. Call ( 501) 3211441.
IT’S A DUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
29 Day after National Good Neighbor Day — time to put the fence back like it was.
FAIR FANFARE
A Fair to Remember, Arkansas Hospice fundraiser, 6: 30 p. m. at the Metroplex/ Team Summit, Little Rock. Details at afairtoremember.org. Call ( 501) 748- 3300.
NEVER TOO LATE, BUT OFTEN TOO LITTLE
30 Self Improvement Month — just like me, only better.
Coming next month: October! Call ( 501) 399- 3633, write to Ron Wolfe, Arkansas Democrat- Gazette, 121 E. Capitol Ave., Little Rock, Ark. 72203, or email by Sept. 15 to suggest October calendar entries or how to celebrate October as National Pizza Month, such as: any way you slice it. Each event requires a phone number that is answered during business hours or by an answering machine that identifi es the event or its sponsor.