Youth performances, water games on tap for season’s final Summer on Square

The final Summer on the Square of the year is today, and Main Street El Dorado, the South Arkansas Arts Center and the South Arkansas Symphony Orchestra have a full day of activities lined up for local residents.

Admission for the event, which this month will double as a back-to-school bash celebrating the start of area schools, is free.

Summer on the Square will kick off with registration for Grill Wars from 9 to 10 a.m. at the intersection of Jefferson and Elm streets.

This month’s Grill Wars theme is “Campfire

dogs and S’mores,” and MSE board members are encouraging entrants to get creative with their recipes and make samples available to the public.

“Hopefully, they’ll come up with creative toppings and use hotdogs, sausages — anything that you can use to make a hotdog,” said MSE Executive Director Beth Brumley.

This month’s competition will also include a children’s division for those up to 15 years old. Children must be accompanied by a parent to compete.

Entry fees for Grill Wars are $40 for the adult hot dog/sausage division; $15 for the children’s hot dog division; and $15 for s’mores (children and adults).

First-, second- and thirdplace winners in each category will receive cash prizes, including:

• Hot dog (adult) - $250 for first place, $125 for second and $75 for third.

• Hot dog (kids) - $100 for first place, $50 for second and $25 for third.

• S’mores (adults) - $125 for first place, $75 for second and $50 for third.

• S’mores (kids) - $100 for first place, $50 for second and $25 for third.

At 11 a.m., the Fun Zone, which includes bouncy houses and other children’s activities will open. Fun Zone will also be host to water activities this month, and those who attend are encouraged to bring their swimsuits and a towel. Children may also bring their own water guns and MSE will provide a station to refill the guns.

Vendors will begin serving customers at 11 a.m.

From 12:30 to 2 p.m., the Arkansas Moo Duk Kwan Martial Arts school will provide a demonstration on the east side (Jefferson Street) side of the Union County Courthouse.

From 2:30 to 3:30, Carmelo Brown and Mason Halstead, two local students, will perform on the east side of the courthouse.

The Cruise Night Classic Car Show will open at 4 p.m. on Washington Avenue.

From 4 to 5:30 p.m., local student Brody McKinney will be playing live music on the courthouse stage.

At 5:30, the Grill Wars winners will be announced and prizes awarded at the courthouse.

Also, from noon to 5:30, the production staff for SAAC’s upcoming production of “Clue: On Stage,” will host “Clue and Coffee,” where people can engage in friendly games of Clue at PJs’ The Spot. Attendees will also have the opportunity to learn more about “Clue” auditions, which are scheduled for August 30 and 31.

The “Clue” team will hold a raffle drawing for a family game-night gift basket; one can enter by visiting the “Clue and Coffee” event.

At 6 p.m., “Clue” directors Hannah Faith and Rhett Davis will help lead the cast of Showdown at Sunset in a live El Dorado version of Clue, and the audience will be invited to answer the question, “Who dunnit?”

At 6:30 p.m., the Showdown at Sunset cast will recreate the infamous Tucker-Parnell feud for the last time this summer. One of the flashpoints in the long-running feud between the two local families was a gunfight, which took place on the streets of the downtown square in 1902 and left three men dead. The gunfight is re-enacted in Showdown.

The South Arkansas Symphony Orchestra will close out the evening with a performance starting at 7 p.m. Featured will be music from “Wicked,” “Frozen” and “Americano,” as well as classical overtures. Aiden Poling and Maddison Gilcrease, a tenor and soprano, respectively, will also be featured.

For more information about Grill Wars or Summer on the Square, visit www.mainstreeteldorado.org or call the MSE office 870-862-4747.