Pres Release

MusicFest on the Square is back!

Main Street El Dorado announces details about 33rd annual event

EL DORADO, AR,— Main Street El Dorado (MSE) is putting the "Fest" in MusicFest, which returns Saturday, October 2, to Downtown El Dorado with more music, more attractions, food and more fun!
Following a year's hiatus due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, organizers promise that MusicFest XXXIII will offer something for everyone including new activities and popular favorites!
"We're so excited! It should be the 34th MusicFest but it's the 33rd. We had to cancel several events in 2020 because of COVID," said Beth Brumley, executive director of Main Street El Dorado. "We only did a few events last year. MusicFest is one we did not do so we're excited to bring it back. It's going to be everything that everyone has come to know and love about MusicFest on the Square," Brumley continued. "We have tons of fun stuff on the schedule."
Festival-goers are in for a family-friendly atmosphere with a dizzying array of activities, starting Sunday, September 26 with the Cole’s Jewelers Miss MusicFest Pageant and capping off October 2 with a 5K/10K run and walk, two stages of live music, food and arts-and-crafts vendors, a beer garden, games, KidsWorld and plenty of attractions including a rock-climbing wall, four-man bungee jumping, a zipline, mechanical bull, vertigo ride and laser tag and tons of inflatables.

Admission is free to MusicFest on the Square. Vendors, competitions and some attractions have fees.

New to MusicFest — and to MSE — the Pupp's BBQ Rib Cook-off! The cook-off is a part of the Grill Wars series that has been incorporated into other MSE events that are presented throughout the year. Each installment of Grill Wars features a different food and theme. "We're going to try our hand at ribs. This will be our first rib cook-off," Brumley said. "This will be Grill Wars for MusicFest. We encourage our locals to participate."

MusicFest headliners

MSE ramps up the variety offering an array of amazing local and regional acts to fill the two stages of music on the Square!  Attendance to the shows on the Square is FREE!  Performers include, Cody Cooke and the Bayou Outlaws, Trey Gauthreaux, Jacob Flores, Militia, Second Hand Jacket (formerly Soulpranos), Tunesmith, Brody McKinney, Erick Meadows, Carmelo Brown and Mason Halstead.
The Murphy Arts District (MAD) takes on hosting the evening “headliners” that include country music star Frank Foster on Friday, October 1, and legendary rapper/actor Ice Cube, who will take the stage October 2.  Both of these shows will begin at 7 p.m. in the First Financial Music Hall, 101 E. Locust. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 870-444-3007 or visit www.eldomad.com.

Registration for various festival events:

• Cole’s Jewelers Miss MusicFest Pageant, September 26, 2 p.m., First Financial Music Hall.
The pageant is open to contestants, ages 0 - 18, who will compete in eight age divisions. Entry fee are $40 per child or $35 each for multiple contestants from one household.

The optional, Outfit of Choice (OOC) portion of the pageant has a registration fee of $15 per contestant. Only music-themed outfits are allowed (genre, era, artist look-alike). Get creative and have fun with this part of the pageant!  “Side awards” for Best Hair, Best Fashion and Best Personality will be judged during the OOC portion of the pageant ONLY.  If you do not registered for OOC, you will not be eligible for the “side awards.”
Photogenic Award winners will be selected for each division. Registration fee for the photogenic competition is $5 per photo submitted.
A People's Choice award-winner will also be announced. Admission into the pageant is $5 per person over age 6. Each contestant will receive a pass for one person with a paid entry fee. The deadline to enter the Miss MusicFest Pageant is Monday, September 20 at the $40 price.  The late registration fee is $60 per entry. Contestants may sign up from 10a.m. until 11 a.m. on the day of the pageant in the First Financial Music Hall.

• Medical Center of South Arkansas-MusicFest 5K/10K Run and Walk, October 2, Downtown El Dorado. Registration begins at 7 a.m. and the race starts at 7:35 a.m. at 214 N. Washington Avenue.

Early-bird registration is $25 until Friday, September 24 and includes a T-shirt! The registration fee increases to $35 from Saturday, September 25 until October 1. Day-of registration is $40 cash only.  
T-shirts are not guaranteed for those registering after Thursday, September 16!

Winners will be named for first, second and third place in male and female categories and in each age division along with Male and Female 5/10K Over-all winners!

• Pupp's BBQ Rib War, Saturday, October 2, Downtown El Dorado.

Contestants will vie for more than $4,000 in cash and other prizes, including a first-place prize of $1,500 cash and a trophy. Entry fee is $100 per team and $25 will get you in the pot for both “side awards” which is Best Team T-shirt and Best Music-Themed Cooking Area!
Rib samples will be available for a public-tasting. Tickets are $2 per sample (bone) and they will go on sale at noon, October 2, at the Chamber of Commerce Cook-off tent. Patrons will be able to go to any cook team they want with a purchased ticket to get the rib samples.

The deadline to sign up for the rib cook-off is noon, Monday, September 27!

Set-up cooking areas/pits from noon until 7 p.m. Friday, October 1 on Cleveland Avenue between Elm and Cedar streets. Cooking areas will be assigned on a first come, first served basis and grill teams need to check-in at the Cook-off tent located at the Chamber of Commerce, 111 W. Main before setting up. Check-in/final setup is scheduled for 7 a.m., October 2. A cooks' meeting will follow at 8 a.m. at the Chamber of Commerce.

• El Dorado Metals Cornhole Tournament, October 2, Main and Cleveland streets.
The entry fee is $50 per team. Download the SCOREHOLIO app in your app store to register!
Late registration is from 1-2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct 2. Practice starts at 2 p.m. and tourney kicks off at 3 p.m. Prizes are $1,000 for first place, $500 for second and $250 for third.

For more information on the MusicFest on the Square activities, call the Main Street office at 870-862-4747 or visit www.mainstreeteldorado.org/musicfest-2021 

MusicFest sponsors
Sponsors for MusicFest XXXIII are Main Street El Dorado, Lawrence Electric, Karl Malone Auto Group, Hepco-Budweiser, Delek US, Delek Logistics, Murphy USA, Medical Center of South Arkansas, Cole’s Jewelers, Entergy, Mac’s Tree Service, Standard Lithium, El Dorado Metals, Pupp’s BBQ, Glenn Mechanical, Brookshire’s, Noalmark Broadcasting, KTVE, Wholesale Electric Supply, Candlewood Suites, Union County Judge Mike and Phena Loftin, BancorpSouth, Arby’s, the Withrow Family, The Olde Towne Store, Sports Alley, Hog Wild Motorsports, Southern Bancorp, Mina Rea's Antiques and Embroidery, Diamond Nutrition, All About Flowers, Greg Harrison Financial Management-Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC.and The El Dorado A&P Commission.  

CONTACT

Beth Brumley with Main Street El Dorado

870-862-4747

director@mainstreeteldorado.org

www.mainstreeteldorado.org

Main Street El Dorado

Main Street El Dorado is a nonprofit, Main Street America™ Accredited program that is committed to continued downtown revitalization. Main Street builds on the total image of downtown with an incremental approach that utilizes four elements: organization/membership, design, promotion and economic vitality. Main Street El Dorado is among a national network of more than 1,200 neighborhoods and communities who share both a commitment to creating high-quality places and to building stronger communities through preservation-based economic development.  All Main Street America™ Accredited programs meet a set of National Accreditation Standards of Performance as outlined by the National Main Street Center.