Accent: Dine on the Line will add Oktoberfest,
Homebrewers and professionals alike will participate in beer garden
This year’s Dine on the Line on Saturday, Oct. 6, aims to make you feel right at home with a blend of state line dining, live music, unique shopping, kid’s activities and, as a new addition this year, an Oktoberfest celebration.
Held at State Line Avenue in front of the Downtown Post Office from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., this year’s Dine on the Line, the 4th annual Main Street Texarkana fundraiser, features dinner prepared by Verona, an Italian restaurant downtown.
But good food is not the only treat to be enjoyed. There are tasty beverages, too, both nonalcoholic and otherwise. Both professional brewers like Redbone Magic and local homebrewers Four States Fermenters will participate in the Oktoberfest beer garden.
The theme is “There’s No Place Like Home.” The event coordinator is Stacy James Mayo, former Miss Texas and a proud Texarkana native.
Dinner, which happens along the state line on a long series of tables, starts at 6 p.m. Diners need reservations to partake of that meal, as the number of available tickets is limited. But people don’t have to do dinner if they don’t want to.
A special toast across the state line is part of that transstate line dinner, conducted with both Texarkana mayors.
“I think first of all dining on the line is so unique to us
because we are a two-state city,” Mayo said. She enjoys bringing people together to celebrate the community.
Vendors total 56, which is triple what “Dine on the Line” has seen in the past, she said. They’ll bring vendors closer together, too, so they’re nearer to the stage and tables. A Corvette club will attend to showcase their cars. Admission to the live music and vendors area is free.
Both the Texas-side and Arkansas-side farmer’s markets will participate, as will nonprofits, boutiques, bakeries and much more. “It’s a huge variety of local stuff … it will really fill up the side behind the tables more so than it has in the past, which I think is a great deal,” Mayo said.
Oktoberfest participants also include Pecan Point Gastropub & Brewery, Diamond Bear Brewing Co. from Little Rock and BackStory Brewery from Sulphur Springs. About the local homebrewers group, Mayo said, “They are passionate about it and they are legit. They are so good. They are serious about it.” Once people have paid for a beer garden wristband ($10), they can then purchase tastes, cups and bottles of beer.
Discovery Place Interactive Museum will host a Kids Corner. “You can go drop your child off in there, one way in, one way out,” Mayo said. The museum will have its staff on hand and many children’s activities so they can have fun while their parents shop. It’s a $5 admission for the children.
A lineup of area musicians will perform: Mark Meadows, Jase Bryant, Caroline Joyce, Randy Altenbaumer and the Texarkana Jazz Orchestra. Silvermoon Children’s Theatre will perform a preview of their upcoming “Annie” production.
TJO will be the main music playing once dinner is served. “We’re calling the dinner Dinner Through the Decades because they’re going to play music from different decades,” Mayo said, noting Altenbaumer will perform on the keyboard during a fall fashion show, too.
On-stage entertainment will be ongoing throughout the event.
“Main Street does an incredible amount of work for downtown. They just rejuvenate businesses that are already there. They help give loans out. They help incorporate new designs and things for businesses,” Mayo said, noting she’s impressed with the growth and potential of downtown she’s seen in the past five years, although there is more to be done.
“This fundraiser benefits that, downtown,” Mayo said. “It stays local and goes towards our downtown.” Even for someone who isn’t a “downtown person,” she recommends they support what Main Street Texarkana does.
“Texarkana is made whole and made better if we have a sustainable downtown that is thriving,” Mayo said.
(Tickets: $30 for an adult dinner or $15 for children. Buy tickets online at MainStreetTexarkana.org or via EventBrite.com. Or call the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce at 903-792-7191.)