BRADLEY, Ark.-Governor Conway Days celebrates Bradley's connection to the first Arkansas governor with two days of family fun.
Today and Saturday, downtown Bradley hosts an arts and crafts festival for this 32nd anniversary of Governor Conway Days, complete with an array of vendors lined up to bring festivalgoers everything from baked goods to clothing, jewelry to plants and housewares.
"We will have probably 80 spaces rented of arts, crafts and food this year," said Joe Middlebrooks, president of the Bradley Chamber of Commerce. Activities generally run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.
No Governor Conway Days would be complete without old cars and impressive motorcycles.
"The motorcycle show is going to be big this year and it will be in front of the old senior citizen's center. The car show will be in front of the fire station," Middlebrooks said. It's an open car show, classic cars included, and open bike show. "We'll take them all," said the chamber president. Trophies are awarded Saturday.
The parade at 2 p.m. Saturday features fire trucks, beauty queens and more, Middlebrooks said. "It will roll right down Main Street in Bradley," he said, noting two featured participants in the parade are the Stompers Drumline from Texarkana and, with 97 members, the Booker T. Washington High School Marching Band from Shreveport, La.
"They put on a show," vowed Middlebrooks, saying the parade is the largest in Lafayette County. "We are excited. We've never had anything like this in our town," he said about have a big city marching band.
When it comes to live music, expect to hear some country and western bands. Scheduled to perform are Eddie Arnold's TwinCity Ramblers Band, Jerome Underwood and The Night Hawk Band.
Children's activities and games will entertain the kids. The Bradley Firemen's Auxiliary prepares a full Southern breakfast Friday and Saturday mornings from 6:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the firehouse.
As for festival fare, plenty of that's on hand to enjoy. "We'll have the usual: corn dogs and funnel cakes, things like that, barbecue and traditional festival food," Middlebrooks said. There's even grilled cream cheese-stuffed chicken breasts wrapped in bacon, he noted.
"We're going to have some great food here," Middlebrooks said.
For fishing enthusiasts, there's the Governor Conway Days Bass Classic Tournament, too, out at Lake Erling with a 5 a.m. to 7 am. registration and 3 p.m. weigh in on Saturday. First place is worth $1,000, said the chamber president.
He says Governor Conway Days may not compete with an event like the Jonquil Festival, but it does attract people from as far away as Kansas and Missouri to participate.
And there's that special connection to the Natural State's first governor, who married Mary Jane Bradley, whose family the city is named for. James Sevier Conway is buried at nearby Conway Cemetery State Park, a state park of only 11.5 acres situated on Conway's former plantation grounds.
(More info: 870-894-3935 for the motorcycle show, 870-894-6177 for the car show and 870-894-3534 for the bass tournament.)