Calico Rock Museum benefits community

CALICO ROCK — The Calico Rock Museum and Visitor Center welcomed 18,291 visitors through the doors in 2016, a 22 percent increase over previous years. Over 49,000 visitors were served by the museum through its websites, including www.explorecalico.

com. This website lists every business that is licensed by the city of Calico Rock, at no cost to the business.

The museum displays and archives more than 1,000 items, documents, videos, books and photographs. The museum foundation owns six buildings, including the heritage center and archives, the education center, a warehouse, the Printing Press Cafe and the future art and science center.

The nonprofit Calico Rock Museum Foundation operates the museum, Artisan Gift Shop and the Printing Press Cafe. Every sale through the gift shop and cafe is taxed and generates sales-tax revenue for the city, county and state. In 2016, the museum foundation generated more than $136,000 in taxable sales. In addition to supporting the museum, every gift shop sale and cafe purchase help provide paved streets and roads, law enforcement, city parks, libraries and more.

The museum supports local businesses by attracting tourists, providing f ree advertising and sharing information with visitors. All of this is free to businesses. The museum conducts free educational programming for local students, Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, civic groups and others. Every visitor to town is encouraged to tour the museum’s exhibits, and admission is free.

The museum hosts the annual Bootlegger Daze, a commemoration of The

Bootleggers, the only major motion picture filmed in Calico Rock; the highly popular Mountain Man Rendezvous; and the Living Windows and Lighted Christmas Parade. All of these events are free.

The Calico Rock Museum and Visitor Center has an estimated annual economic impact of at least $500,000. The museum foundation had four full-time and four parttime employees in 2016. The museum benefits the local economy, serves taxpayers, welcomes visitors and makes a difference in the community.

To l e arn more about the museum, visit www. calicorockmuseum.com or call the museum at (870) 297-6100.