Going to this production will be great fun! The evening starts with dinner served at 7:00 P.M. and at 8 P.M. the production begins. Not only is Temperance Tantrums historical, it is also very funny. This is a hilarious musical spoof of an 1898 Temperance Rally. It contains music, singing, beautiful Victorian costumes, comedy improvisation, and plenty of audience participation. You can even sing along!

The performance will be held at the Grand Central Hotel and reservations are recommended. Call 800-344-6050 to reserve your space today. One performance will be held each evening May 14^th-16^th and costs $50.00 per person for the dinner and the show. Have fun!

Book lovers unite!  Books in Bloom is having its fifth annual event in Eureka Springs.  This year it is scheduled for Sunday, May 3^rd, from 12-5 P.M.  This event brings together accomplished authors, booklovers, and writers.  This is a free event and is presented by the Carroll and Madison Public Library Foundation.  Authors will read their work, make presentations, and sign books.  This year there will be seventeen authors and include such authors as Jack Riggs, Laura Parker Castoro, Jennifer Chiaverini, Marilyn Collins, Billy Higgins, Janis Kearney, Mary Kwas, Mara Leveritt, Robert Mainfort, Jr., Carla Killough McClaffery, Jack Riggs, Jory Sherman, Laura Shoffner, Doug Stowe, Lin Wellford, Eliot Young, and Barbara Youree.  

Bring your favorite book for the author to sign!  

The list is long and much detail will follow, but here is our choice for the top things to do in Eureka Springs in May.  Remember to join us Monday-Thursday and take advantage of our mid-week rates!

May Festival of the Arts – this is a month long event that can be enjoyed mid-week or weekends.

FREE music in Basin Spring Park – every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (May through October)

Gardeners Special continues for the month of May

Music at the Auditorium - Wonderful Music!

Gallery Stroll - 2nd Saturday of every month through December

Dance in the Park after Dark – May 1st - Outside dance opening with Porter Davis

PT Cruiser Show - May 1st-3rd – Checkout those PT Cruisers!

War Eagle Spring Arts & Crafts – May 1st-3rd – An abundance of various crafts!

Books in Bloom – May 3rd – Come and meet the authors

Temperance Tantrums - May 14th-16th – Original theatrical production

White Street Walk – May 15th – Artist exhibits, music, and more! 

Blues Weekend  - May 28th-30th – Blues, blues, and more blues!!

Currently we have the following “Orphans” awaiting your reservations, but do not wait too long as they are very popular and get adopted quickly!

• April 9th – Tree Top Suite – $219, plus tax
• April 23rd – Patio Suite – $119, plus tax
• April 23rd – Chantilly Rose – $129, plus tax
• May 25th – Chantilly Rose – $139, plus tax

Keep your eyes open for our Orphans!  They change every day and who knows…one could be the perfect match for your needs.  Also, get up-to-date information for other Orphans as they become available.

Other headliners appearing in The Auditorium and the 1905 Basin Park Hotel Barefoot Ballroom include EG Kight, Moreland & Arbuckle, Mary Flower, RJ Mischo, Lee McBee & the Confessors, Deanna Bogart and John Nemeth. Also, International Blues Challenge winner JP Soars & the Red Hots and Ozarks Blues Society Blues Challenge winners Oreo Blue and Kory Montgomery & Isayah Warford will be opening acts.

Thursday evening at THE Auditorium will feature Guitar Shorty. Six-time Blues Music Award nominee Guitar Shorty started his professional career at the tender age of 16, playing for Ray Charles. He recorded his first single under the direction of Willie Dixon the next year, and went on to play with greats such as T-Bone Walker, Big Joe Turner, Little Richard and Sam Cooke. Since then, Guitar Shorty has headlined festivals around the world, and won the Contemporary Album Blues Music Award in 2007 for “We the People”. Opening for Guitar Shorty will be International Blues Challenge winner JP Soars & the Red Hots. JP and his band bested over 100 bands in the 2009 International Blues Challenge, held by The Blues Foundation in Memphis, Tennessee. JP also won a custom Gibson guitar and a Category 5 amp for the Albert King Award for Most Promising Blues Guitarist. JP was raised in Cedarville, near Fayetteville, and looks forward to returning “home” for his first Arkansas performance.

On Friday, Grammy nominee, nine-time Blues Music Award nominee, four-time BMA winner and Blues Hall of Famer Hubert Sumlin will headline THE Auditorium. Raised in Hughes, Arkansas and after a stint in James Cotton’s band, at the age of 18 Hubert became Howlin’ Wolf’s guitarist. Sumlin’s licks are heard on hits like “Smokestack Lightnin’” and “Wang Dang Doodle”, and he has been cited by almost every major blues guitarist as one of their prime inspirations. Sumlin has been a featured artist in Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festivals and appeared in the films “10 Days Out”, “Lightning in a Bottle” and “Cadillac Records”. Eric Clapton and The Rolling Stone’s Keith Richard appeared on Sumlin’s “About Them Shoes”, another testament to his influence on today’s guitar greats. Hubert will be backed by The Buddy Flett Band, who also appeared in “10 Days Out”, Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s road-trip documentary.Opening for Sumlin will be Kory Montgomery & Isayah Warford, who represented the Ozarks Blues Society in the International Blues Challenge’s Solo/Duo competition. Also appearing will be Oreo Blue, who represented the Ozarks Blues Society in the International Blues Challenge’s Band competition.Also on Friday, BMA nominee John Nemeth and BMA winner Deanna Bogart will perform in the 1905 Basin Park Hotel’s Barefoot Ballroom. Nemeth has wowed crowds around the world with great vocals and harp playing, and simply blew away the crowd on the King Biscuit stage with Anson Funderburg & the Rockets after the passing of harp legend Sam Meyers. Deanna Bogart is one of the most musically gifted ladies on the planet. A “quadruple threat”, Deanna sings, plays piano and saxophone, and writes great songs.

Saturday afternoon at THE Auditorium features Grammy and Blues Music Award winner and two-time Blues Hall of Famer David “Honeyboy” Edwards. Honeyboy is the last of the original Mississippi Delta Blues guitarists. Unlike guitarists like Eric Clapton who say Robert Johnson influenced their music, Honeyboy actually played with Johnson! Honeyboy’s life has been intertwined with almost every major blues legend, including both Robert and Tommy Johnson, Charlie Patton, Big Joe Williams, Rice “Sonny Boy Williamson” Miller, Howlin’ Wolf, Peetie Wheatstraw, Sunnyland Slim, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Big Walter, Little Walter, Magic Sam, and Muddy Waters! In 1942, Alan Lomax recorded Honeyboy in Clarksdale, Mississippi for the Library of Congress. Since then, Honeyboy has recorded 14 albums and has appeared on 38 compilations, and has performed at hundreds of festivals around the world. Honeyboy also appeared as himself in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. Opening for Honeyboy are EG Kight and Mary Flower. Both ladies are multiple Blues Music Award nominees, and are known around the world for their singing and songwriting. They will also perform sets in the Basin Park Hotel Ozark Room on Friday and Saturday evenings respectively.Saturday will feature Multiple Grammy and Blues Music Award winner Joe Louis Walker. Joe Louis has been nominated for an astounding 39 Blues Music Awards, winning three times. Joe Louis is a true powerhouse guitar virtuoso, unique singer & prolific songwriter who has toured the world throughout his career and earned himself a legion of dedicated fans around the globe. He has recorded with the likes of BB King, James Cotton, Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Huey Lewis, Branford Marsalis, Steve Cropper, Shemekia Copeland & Ike Turner, with a discography that counts 19 solo albums, 2 live DVD’s, and countless compilations and guest appearances.Opening for Joe Louis Walker will be RJ Mischo’s Harp Meltdown, backed by Lee McBee & the Confessors. RJ has performed around the world, thrilling audiences with his mastery of the harmonica. Lee McBee is best known for his harp and vocal work with Mike Morgan and The Crawl, but shines on his own with one of the tightest bands in the Midwest, The Confessors.Also appearing on Saturday in the Barefoot Ballroom will be Moreland & Arbuckle and BMA nominee Candye Kane. Fairly new to the festival scene, Moreland & Arbuckle’s latest CD “1861″ was designated a “Pick to Click” on Bluesville. They have gained a large following with their Mississippi-style “Roots Blues” that are influenced by everyone from Little Walter to Led Zeppelin. Candye Kane has toured the world as part of RUF Records’ Blues Caravan, and is known for her outrageous costumes and high-energy shows.

This year’s Blues Weekend will be a fundraiser for The Blues Foundation’s Handy Artist Relief Trust and Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. The HART fund provides assistance to musicians in need, including acute, chronic & preventive medical & dental care, as well as funeral expenses. For more information, please visit http://www.blues.org/. Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge is located seven miles south of Eureka Springs on Highway 23. It provides lifetime refuge to abandoned, abused, and neglected “Big Cats”, with emphasis on tigers, lions, leopards, and cougars. Natural habitats have been built over the past decade to allow the “Lions, Tigers & Bears” to live in more natural surroundings. For more information, please visit http://www.turpentinecreek.org/.

In addition to the headliner shows, there will be music in Basin Spring Park and at area clubs and restaurants. For a complete schedule, more information or to volunteer, please visit http://www.eurekaspringsblues.com/, or call 888-855-7823.