For the weekend
This year’s featured speaker for the Union County Master Gardeners’s annual Dirt Friends Festival will be Paul James, known as the Gardener Guy. The Dirt Friends Festival will include vendors, door prizes and refreshments and promises a morning of gardening fun hosted by Union County Master Gardeners.
The festival will begin with registration at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday at College Avenue Church of Christ, 1817 N. College Ave., El Dorado. From Tulsa, Oklahoma, James hosted HGTV’s “Gardening by the Yard” from 1996 to 2009. He was the creator, writer and senior producer and recorded most of the show from his backyard. In the late 1980s, he began a gardening show for a Tulsa CBS station.
Everyone is invited to attend the Dirt Friends Festival and “bring all your gardening questions for the guy who knows how to make gardening fun.” There will be a $10 admission fee.
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“The Addams Family, a New Musical Comedy,” will debut at 7:30 today at the South Arkansas Arts Center, 110 E. Fifth St., El Dorado. The musical is a “hilarious romp through an evening with everyone’s favorite ghoulish family of goofballs as they wine and dine daughter Wednesday’s new ‘ normal boyfriend’ and his parents. This show is full of singing, dancing and hilarious antics perfect for the whole family.”
“The Addams Family” will also be held at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday and 7:30 p.m. on March 9, 10 and 11.
After the opening night production today, members of the cast will have a meet and greet in the Price and Merkle Galleries and there will be photo opportunities with characters in the comedy so those attending are encouraged to “bring your selfie-stick.”
An “After Life Party” will be held at 10 p.m. after the show on Saturday and there will be a $5 charge to attend the party, to be paid at the door.
Tickets to the event are $5 for students, $15 for SAAC members and $25 for the general public. The box office is open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The production is being sponsored by SAMA Healthcare, Teague Auto Group and Southern Bancorp. For more information, call the arts center at 870-862-5474 or visit the website at www.saac-arts.org.
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An artist’s reception for Tammy Swarek, portrait photographer and creator of the Shelter Pets Project, to raise money for the Union County Animal Protection Society, will be held at the South Arkansas Arts Center from 5 until 7 p.m. today in the arts center, 110 E. Fifth St., El Dorado. Her photos will remain on exhibit in the Lobby Gallery through March 29. For more information, call the arts center at 870-862-5474. Everyone is invited to attend the reception.
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The Southern Bridal Expo will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday at the El Dorado Golf and Country Club and is designed to be a “one stop shop” for south Arkansas brides. Local and area brides will be able to sample cuisine from local caterers, visit with florists, learn about local venues, bridal boutiques and anything else that a bride could need for her special wedding day. Brides will be treated to champagne, cake tasting, food courtesy of the El Dorado Golf and County Club and music from deejays and local wedding singers, according to a spokesperson for the El Dorado-Union County Chamber of Commerce. Tickets to the event are $10 in advance and $20 at the door. To order tickets in advance, call the chamber at 870-863-6113.