Tap Into History event slated for Saturday

SILOAM SPRINGS — Tap Into History returns from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday at The Park House Kitchen + Bar.

The event combines a history lesson offered in the form of a play with drinks in honor of Oktoberfest. The play will center around the founders of Siloam Springs. There will also be silent auction with items donated by area businesses, according to Park House Owner Alma Sanchez.

HISTORY AND A MEAL

The history lesson is provided by the Siloam Springs Museum in conjunction with the Siloam Springs Center for the Arts, while Park House will provide the food and Bentonville Brewing Co. will offer several beers which will each be paired with a particular dish, Sanchez said.

Tickets for the event will be $45 or $80 for two and will be available for purchase at eventbrite.com or by scanning a QR code, Sanchez said.

Attendees will be seated at tables of four or eight, and food will be served family-style, Sanchez said. Along with beer there will be other drinks available so anyone who wants to go nonalcoholic can, Sanchez said.

This year’s Tap Into History came about because Mary Nolan, the director of operations for the museum, approached the Siloam Springs Center for the Arts about coming together to do a fall fundraiser, Sanchez said.

“They haven’t been able to host their Tap Into History in a couple of years,” Sanchez said. “I think last year they still hosted it, but it was socially distanced. … It was like come in, read some stuff, get a little cooler with some tokens, cash them in at participating businesses.”

Sanchez said this year’s Tap Into History will be stationary instead of walking around, which she felt left a lot of people out. Nolan said for many people a walking tour is difficult. This year, participants will not have to visit different businesses, Nolan said.

A LIVE-ACTION HISTORY LESSON

The history lesson centring on Siloam Springs’ founders will be given in play format. Jeremy Kelly of the Center of the Arts wrote a script which will feature Brad Burns, Jan Lauderdale, Keith Rutledge, Kevin Simpson and Abby Trinidad playing the different founders, Sanchez said.

Founders that will make an “appearance” of Fred Bartel, Caldene and Nancy Ward Gunter, John Valentine Hargrove and Simon Sager, Sanchez said. There will also be a surprise character for the audience to enjoy, Sanchez said.

Sanchez did not say who the character would be but it would be in keeping with the founders theme. There will also be a history lesson provided by Don Warden and a brief history of The Park House building, Sanchez said.

Since this year’s Tap Into History will be presented as play, there will not be a quiz this year, Nolan said.

“So it’s kind of a twist on something we’ve done in the past,” Nolan said. “We’re taking it in a whole new direction this year.”