PRAIRIE GROVE, Ark. — The Prairie Grove Clothesline Fair, put on by the Prairie Grove Lions Club, falls every year on Labor Day weekend. While folks are celebrating in 2024, the arts and crafts fair holds a rich history.
"The Clothesline Fair actually started when soldiers from the Civil War came back for reunions, and so the ladies would string clotheslines up between the trees to sell their handmade goods and quilts and things," President of the Prairie Grove Lions Club Doug Stumbaugh said.
The square dancing portion started in 1958. Over the years, the fair has adopted dance exhibitions and competitions for the kids. This year, 90 groups and over 700 kids between 4 and 18 years old participated in the exhibition and competition.
"When I first started doing 25 years ago, we had a total of 20 groups," Craig Battles, Square Dance Coordinator for the Prairie Grove Lions Club, said. "This is the largest square dance competition and exhibition in the United States, right here in Prairie Grove. There will be 5,000 people here when we start competition."
High school-age students can participate in the competition portion. The winners get a custom belt buckle and, of course, bragging rights for the year.
"When it gets competition time, it's electric here. The lights come on, the sun goes down. It's phenomenal," Battles said. "We have a lot of third and fourth-generation dancers too."
The "Cowboys and Can-Cans" are a group of 8 year olds who participated in the exhibition on Monday. A few have square dancing that runs in the family.
"My family used to do it. I just feel like I fit in with it," Witten Barthollomew, who's in Cowboys and Can-Cans, said.
"My brother used to do it until he was in fifth grade, and then they passed it on to me," Louis Doyle who's also in Cowboys and Can-Cans, said.
The group said they felt nervous to perform, but it was all worth it after. They said the hobby is a way to make new friends and support one another.
"I felt proud of myself, and I was happy," Evelyn Baltz said. "My favorite part is meeting new people and getting to have more friends."
"I like probably just getting to have fun with all the girls at practice," Cora Baumgardner said.
Stumbaugh said his favorite part of every year is the square dancing.
"Watching the little kids square dance because they're just kind of fun and entertaining. Trying to watch eight of them go in the right direction and do the same move and all of that," Stumbaugh said. "But then the bigger kids, I mean, that have been practicing since May. These competition groups all practice several times a week. You can tell they've worked at it."
However, the fair isn't just about dancing. Stumbaugh said it's the largest event the Lions Club puts on for a good cause.
"Last year, from the proceeds from the Clothesline Fair, we handed back out $21,000 back out to the community," Stumbaugh said. "We raise the money to put it back into the community, to help the community, to better the community."
This year, they've partnered with the Prairie Grove Backpack Program. The Lions Club is matching every donation up to $3,000.
"Prairie Grove Backpack Program is a volunteer group that feeds our school-age children on the weekends," Brea Gragg, who volunteers with the program, said. "We know a typical classroom can have anywhere from four to five students who are hungry on the weekends, who come back to school on Monday and have potentially not had anything all weekend."
Gragg said they will see donations from the community and the Lions Club impact the community directly.
"It's roughly $2,000 a month. We serve over 120 students in our school right now, and we're the lucky recipients of a matching grant from the Lions Club. So what we're doing this weekend is trying to raise money," Gragg said. "That would be a month's worth of food for 120 students."
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