Boat Tours and Fishing Expeditions on the Horizon in Hot Springs

Lake Ouachita Boat Ramp

             Lake Catherine State Park, Lake Ouachita State Park, Mid-America Science Museum and the 3^rd Annual Fishing Challenge in Hot Springs offer summer activities involving fish, fishing or boat tours. With three major lakes in the Hot Springs area, Lake Catherine, Hamilton and Ouachita, there seems to always be an event about or on the water.

            At Lake Catherine State Park from 9:30-10:30 a.m. starting Friday, July 26, and on weekends through Aug. 24 the Park offers a relaxing cruise on Lake Catherine to enjoy the morning breezes and explore Lake Catherine nestled in the Ouachita Mountains. For a schedule or reservation information, go to www.lakecatherine@arkansas.com.

At a sister park, Lake Ouachita State Park, two opportunities await for boat tours on the lake starting July 26 with a Bird Island Tour and an Island Adventure Tour. Bird Island is a habitat for migrating birds including purple martins, egrets, herons and ibises. Two Bird Island Tours are available each weekend July 26- Aug. 31at sunrise from 5:30 a.m.-7:15 a.m. and at sunset from 7:15-9 p.m. Island Adventure Tours begin July 26-Aug. 24 and include boat rides out to some nearby islands and shorelines. Check the website for dates and reservation information at www.lakeouachita@arkansas.com.

Mid-America Science Museum Exhibit: “Amazon Voyage: Vicious Fishes and Other Riches” takes visitors to seven ports of call along the Amazon where they can see piranhas, anacondas, stingrays and pink dolphins. The hands-on activities include multimedia presentations, computer interactive, storytelling, live fish in uniquely designed tanks, original artifacts, dance, music and live demonstrations. The exhibit will be available through Aug. 10. For more information contact Cara Matthews at 501.767.3461 or go online to caram@midamericamuseum.org.

Last but not least, another exciting event in the Hot Springs area is the 3^rd Annual Fishing Challenge on Lake Catherine and Hamilton through July 31. Visit Hot Springs CEO Steve Arrison said, “The prize for catching Big Al, the top-money fish, is $10,000. And we have increased the total number of tagged prize fish placed in Lake Hamilton and Lake Catherine from 53 to 60. For rules and regulations, go to www.agfc.com/fishing/pages/fishingregulations.aspx or call Steve Arrison for more information on the event at 501.321.2027.

So many of the events around Hot Springs involve one of the three beautiful lakes in the area. Lake Catherine is partially-situated in the Diamondhead Resort Community. Many of the houses are lakefront or lake view lots with picturesque views of the water. Other lots back up to the beautiful golf course. We have a wonderful lifestyle at Diamondhead with the gorgeous lake, great golf course, Olympic-size swimming pool, children’s playground, tennis courts, park for picnics and the best neighbors you can find anywhere. For more information on Diamondhead give us a call at 501.520.9201 or 501.262.9310. We’d love to answer your questions or give you a tour of Diamondhead in Hot Springs.

Hot Springs Gallery Walk to Celebrate 25-Year Anniversary

Gallery Central

            One upcoming event which will be celebrated in the Arts District in Hot Springs is the 25^th Anniversary of the monthly Gallery Walk. To mark this important milestone, the fine art galleries will be hosting special events throughout the weekend Aug. 1-3. The Gallery Walk is a monthly event that takes place at the Hot Springs art galleries the first Friday of each month in the evening from 5-9 p.m.

The kickoff for the 25^th Anniversary event weekend on Aug. 1 includes opening receptions at all downtown Hot Springs galleries from 5-9 p.m. Wine samples from The Wine Rack and previews of artwork for “Paws in Prison” fundraiser will be at Gallery Central. Justus Fine Art Gallery has an opening of a special exhibition celebrating the 25^th Anniversary of Gallery Walk and the Gallery’s 10^th anniversary.

            Other gallery events include:

            Alison Parsons featuring “Art and Architecture in the Spa”

            American Art Gallery featuring the work of Valerie Hanks Goetz

            Legacy Fine Art Gallery featuring live music and interpretive painting

            Artists’ Workshop featuring an exhibition opening

            Taylor Bellott Nature Gallery featuring an exhibition opening

            Linda Palmer’s Gallery featuring colored pencil drawings and paintings

            Fine Arts Center showcasing the Finalist Exhibit of Regional Art Competition

            On Saturday, Aug. 2 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. special events are planned in the galleries including “Women’s Paint Out” at Gallery Central; “The Creative Power of Depth of Field, Aperture, and Shutter Speed” by Taylor Bellott; silk scarf painting; Jennifer Lee discussing “How to Start Collecting Art” at Justus Fine Art Gallery; and additional special addresses by local and guest artists at several galleries.

On Sunday from 1-4 p.m. some of the events include an afternoon tea, trunk show and

Alison Parsons Gallery

special sale at Legacy Fine Art; Paws in Print fundraiser at Gallery Central; demonstration on multiple image-making in dry media at the Artists’ Workshop Gallery along with more events throughout the afternoon. This should be a fantastic weekend celebrating the arts in Hot Springs. For more information and a schedule of events contact Dolores Justus at 501.321.2335 or hotsprings.org.

            Fine arts in Hot Springs is alive and well and the 25^th Anniversary looks to be an exciting event weekend with a myriad of events planned by local artists and local art galleries. If you’re attending the weekend events and have extra time, we’d love to have you visit our picturesque development at Diamondhead Resort Community. We enjoy a wonderful lifestyle with a gated community including Lake Catherine, a great golf course, Olympic-size swimming pool, friendly neighbors, special events throughout the year and an all-around fun place to live, work and play. For more information on Diamondhead in Hot Springs or to schedule a tour, please give us a call at 501.520.9201 or 501.262.9310.  

Hot Springs Celebrates July 4 All Around Town

            Hot Springs knows how to celebrate and July 4 not only brings out the patriotic in all of us, but the city has parties and fireworks throughout the day in several areas. Our Diamondhead community has events planned for the entire day starting at 10 a.m. with a parade beginning in the pool parking lot. At 11:30 fire trucks are on display at the clubhouse parking lot with hot dogs provided by the Lake Hamilton Fire Department. At noon, a helicopter will land and the dunking booth takes place until 1 p.m. At 12:30 a watermelon eating contest, watermelon seed spitting contest and face painting is sponsored by the Youth Committee at the Kiddie Korral. At 1 p.m. a water truck display begins at the clubhouse parking lot with a nine hole golf tournament kicking off at 2 p.m. Then at 8:30 p.m. a fireworks display is available on the practice green by the front pond. As you can see, we have a full day of events planned without leaving Diamondhead Resort Community.

            Our neighbor, Lake Catherine State Park offers a celebration of independence from 2-4 p.m. in the Park at the Nature Cabin with yard games, lake activities, watermelon and a chance to sample delicious Dutch oven apple cobbler. At 3:30 participants will have an opportunity to meet Elvis the snake and learn about how beneficial snakes are to our ecosystem. For more information call 501.844.4176.

            Also around Hot Springs, Oaklawn Infield at Oaklawn Park hosts Spa Blast July 3 with several events beginning at 4 p.m. concluding with a fireworks show featuring the Air National Guard Band of the Southwest at 9:15 p.m.For more information call 501.623.4411 ext. 497. Magic Springs hosts a concert with “Tesla” at 8 p.m. July 4 followed by fireworks. For more information go to www.magicsprings.com. Also, Gregg Orr Marine will sponsor a fireworks show at the Hwy 7 South Bridge on July 5 with displays set to begin at dusk.

            In our great country, we have so much to be grateful for and so much to celebrate. If you’re in Hot Springs during the weekend of the fourth, check out some of the wonderful events throughout the city. If you have some extra time, we’d love to have you come out to Diamondhead and celebrate with us. We’d love to give you a tour and tell you about the wonderful community we live, work and play in and celebrate the birthday of our nation. For more information on Diamondhead in Hot Springs, please give us a call at 501.520.9201 or 501.262.9310.