Historic Washington State Park
Washington
The town of Washington was founded on George Washington’s birthday in 1824. Today, it’s a state park with more than 30 historic buildings that give visitors a glimpse of life during the 19th century.
The site’s largest event space is the 1940 gymnasium that was a Works Progress Administration project. The gym can accommodate 200 guests for a seated meal or seat about 350 people for presentations using the bleachers, said Sheila Little, park sales and marketing director.
Inside the 1914 schoolhouse, an auditorium can seat up to 100 for banquets, and two rooms across the hall can each accommodate meetings for about 25. The building also has a 12-person boardroom.
Williams’ Tavern, the on-site restaurant, will cater events in any of those venues, or groups of 20 can make reservations to eat in the restaurant.
During the day, a horse-drawn surrey offers driving tours of the park, but groups can also hire the surrey and driver for after-hours events, Little said.
Park staff can also arrange to have living-history programs or re-enactors at the park during events, something they often do for overnight or school groups. Groups can cook dinner in a Dutch oven over an open fire or watch 19th-century dancing demonstrations, for example.
By next fall, the site’s former jail will reopen as a bed-and-breakfast with several guest rooms, and the 1860 Brunson House is being converted into a dedicated venue for meetings and events.
www.historicwashingtonstatepark.com
Fort Smith National Historic Site
Fort Smith
The first soldiers arrived December 25, 1817, to establish the first Fort Smith, and this Christmas Day will kick off a yearlong, citywide bicentennial celebration of the historic fort and city.
Fort Smith National Historic Site is part of the National Park Service, so groups need to get a permit to hold events there, a process that isn’t difficult. Two venues at the site are available for events: the historic Frisco Train Depot and the main building, which has several spaces, said Michael Groomer, chief of interpretation and education who handles special-use permits.
The 1903 depot has high ceilings, original woodwork and leaded glass windows and can accommodate about 100 guests for banquets, he said. Although the depot doesn’t have Wi-Fi, the main building does. In the main building, three spaces can be used for events: The classroom can accommodate 47 people; the first jail can hold up to 77 guests; and the courtroom’s occupancy is 85.
Outdoor events, with or without tents, can use various places around the grounds, and historic Belle Point, the site of the first fort on a hill overlooking the Arkansas and Poteau rivers, is popular for weddings.
Planners can also arrange for guided tours, ranger talks or living-history re-enactments for attendees. Floyd and Sue Robison portray Judge Parker and his wife, Mary Parker, and “they’re amazing; they do stellar programs,” Groomer said.
The Aud
Eureka Springs
Construction of Eureka Springs City Auditorium, or “The Aud,” was completed just weeks before the stock market crash of 1929. And since opening nearly 90 years ago, the venue in downtown Eureka Springs has hosted the likes of Bo Diddley, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Merle Haggard, Jefferson Starship, Ray Charles, Dwight Yoakam and Arlo Guthrie, to name a few.
But one of The Aud’s biggest names and most-frequent performers is Willie Nelson, who “used to have a house here, he played here so many times,” said Rick Bright, finance manager for the city’s Advertising and Promotion Commission, who also handles the venue’s booking.
The stone building houses a performance hall with 986 fixed seats and a stage, and the front lobby is also available for events. Downstairs, the gym is a large open area with audiovisual components, including a screen and a projector, but the basement space isn’t ADA-accessible. The building also has high-speed Wi-Fi.
The Aud welcomes a wide variety of meetings, events and entertainment, such as training sessions for state associations and the recent Miss Gateway to the Ozarks Pageant.
The building is in the heart of downtown, so it’s within walking distance to art galleries, restaurants and shops.
