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The Group Travel Leader Going on Faith Select Traveler

Diversity on Display in Arkansas’ Museums

Fort Smith Museum of History

Fort Smith

Fort Smith was established in 1817 when the first soldiers set up on Belle Point overlooking the Arkansas and Poteau rivers. The Fort Smith Museum of History was established in 1910, and “we have been in continuous operation ever since,” said executive director Leisa Gramlich.

The museum got its start when a group of women rallied to save the city’s oldest building from demolition. In 1979, the museum moved into its current home: a four-story former hardware warehouse that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Groups of up to 150 people can reserve the museum’s meeting room, which has original hardwood floors and exposed brick walls. The museum’s soda fountain is both an event space and “a working exhibit,” Gramlich said. The soda fountain came from a drugstore in a neighboring town, and the walls are lined with historic inventory and deadstock from former Fort Smith drugstores. The space can hold up to 50 people and can be used in conjunction with the meeting room. And, yes, they do serve ice cream and old-fashioned fountain drinks.

Event attendees are welcome to explore the museum, which is now updating its exhibits. In April, “On the Air” opened; the new exhibit covers the city’s radio and broadcasting history. One of the most popular artifacts, though, is an 1862 cannon that was used by Union troops in the Civil War.

www.fortsmithmuseum.org

Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum

North Little Rock

The Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum is in North Little Rock, just across the Arkansas River from its sister city of Little Rock. But technically, the museum is in the Arkansas River.

The museum, which opened in 2005, is a collection of military vessels, including the historic USS Razorback submarine, the USS Hoga tugboat and the USS Arkansas battleship.

Groups can book the museum for meetings, receptions and banquets outside normal operating hours, Wednesday through Saturday. In the entry barge, groups will find artifacts and exhibits, as well as an indoor event space with seating for up to 36 people for meals or meetings, said maintenance chief Jim Gates. The area also has two flat-screen televisions that can be hooked up for presentations and is popular for lunch meetings, he said.

The museum’s largest event venue, however, is outdoors atop one of the museum’s three barges that are tied together. The barge has a covered area with seating for about 40 people but is large enough to host events for up to 150 guests, Gates said.

Guides lead group tours through the ships but limit each tour to 10 people because many of the spaces are small. However, docents can rotate larger groups through over several tours.

Planners can also arrange for a one-of-a-kind souvenir for their attendees: The museum will punch personalized dog tags for guests on its 1951 dog tag machine, Gates said.

www.aimmuseum.org

South Arkansas Arts Center

El Dorado

El Dorado is closer to Louisiana than it is to the Arkansas capital; the Louisiana border is only 16 miles due south of the city of 20,000 residents. That’s why visitors will find a performing arts center and an art museum dedicated to showcasing the best of south Arkansas and north Louisiana.

The South Arkansas Arts Center includes three gallery spaces, a full theater with a stage, a ballet studio, a scene and costume shop, classrooms and a photography studio. The center showcases monthly gallery exhibits, community theater productions, concerts and classes in visual arts, ballet, photography and drama.

Groups can reserve the center for events and mingle in the three galleries. The Lobby Gallery is a long galley space of about 950 square feet. It connects to the 830-square-foot Price Gallery, which leads into the largest of the three: the 1,950-square-foot Merkle Gallery. The center hosts exhibits by local and regional artists, such as “Finding My Way: An Exploration in Art” by Louisiana-based artist Robert Fogel, which ran through September.

The Lobby Gallery acts as the central space separating the galleries from the Callaway Theatre, which has 207 fixed seats in the auditorium and a stage. The center also has a kitchen and a ballet studio.

www.saac-arts.org