Holiday in the Park proves fruitful

Holiday in the Park, which returned Tuesday for the first time since 2016, proved successful in gathering more than 1,200 pounds of food for Project HOPE Food Bank, an organizer estimated Wednesday.

“I still have four boxes out in town that have not been picked up, but I have six in my truck ready to deliver and they’re easily 200 pounds each,” said Steve Spakes, director of the Fun City Chorus.

According to officials with the food bank, two truckloads of food were delivered Wednesday.

“The response to the food drive was wonderful,” Ted Thompson, Project HOPE’s executive director, said in a news release. “Project HOPE Food Bank relies on the support of our community through food and fundraisers. These partnerships have helped us distribute 900,000 pounds of food to area children’s homes, pantries, crisis centers and feeding programs.”

Becky Chote, of Project HOPE, clarified Wednesday that the food bank does not charge for bread as Spakes said in an article in Tuesday’s edition of The Sentinel-Record.

The four remaining boxes, Spakes said, will be available for additional donations at Central Auto Sales, Rafter R Supply, The Atrium and The Hotel Hot Springs & Spa through Monday. In addition, more than $100 in cash donations were collected Tuesday during the seasonal choral event.

“I think it was a really successful night,” he said. “They had close to 1,000 chairs set up and there were maybe 100 empty seats. But really any time you have 130 fourth- and fifth-graders on stage, you’re going to have moms and dads and grandparents all there.”

The event was sponsored by Arvest Bank, Spakes said, with Community Bank President Don Gooch serving as emcee.

“We can’t thank Arvest enough — they paid for the (Hot Springs) Convention Center, and Don Gooch did a great job as our emcee,” he said. “Sandy O’Bier on piano did a great job and Sylvia Stems was excellent. The whole evening was really tremendous.”

Spakes said following this year’s success, he’s already preparing for next year.

“After you miss a year, it can be hard to pull (an event) back together after that; you tend to lose momentum,” he said. “But with the success of last night, I’m already thinking of sponsors for next year so we can get a date set and start planning earlier.”

The Sentinel-Record/Tanner Newton A child points out a Christmas tree to Santa at the Garland County Library on Tuesday before telling Jolly Old St. Nick what he wants for Christmas. Santa’s visit was part of a busy week at the library, which held its Pancakes with Santa event Tuesday morning. The Hot Springs Jazz Society presented its America’s Art Form series there Wednesday, and the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre on Tour will perform the play “Snow White” at the library at 6:30 p.m. Friday.