Arts & Amusements, Aug. 9 edition

The George Brothers and the Ozark Mountain Hoe-Down will host a free show on Thursday, Aug. 9 at 7:30 p.m. to benefit school children in Olive, Okla., whose lives have been devastated by the recent wildfires. Donations of money and clothing will be taken at the door. For more info, visit their websites at www.georgebrothers.net and www.hoedown.net or call 800-468-2113.

The Holiday Island Theater Guild is holding an open casting audition for its fall play, "Harvey," to run Nov. 1-3 at the Holiday Island Clubhouse. There are 11 cast members: five female and six male adult roles available. Auditions will take place Sunday, Aug. 12, at 2 p.m. in Room A, lower level of the Holiday Island Clubhouse at 1 Country Club Drive. Scripts will be available at the audition. For more information, call director Elise Buchman at 347-852-5389.

The August Gallery Stoll at Eureka Thyme will follow the theme for the month of Cool Galleries, Hot Art. One of our hottest artists is Charles Chappell. Charlie has lived in Carroll County most of his life and is married to his childhood sweetheart, Cynthia. He is a master woodworker but has always felt the pull of photography. Since 2009, he has been working full time at this passion. His specialties are wildlife, sports, landscapes, and night shots. We will be featuring his night shots on August 11, when he will be with us from 1-4 p.m. and again during the regularly-scheduled stroll from 6-9 p.m. Visit our cool gallery and be refreshed while you view this fine photography and visit with Charles and have a cool drink.

First United Methodist Church at 23S in Eureka Springs will hold an ice cream social on Saturday, Aug. 25 from 4 -- 8 p.m. to benefit their adult and youth mission programs. Refreshments will include home-made cookies and ice cream with toppings, and musical guests will be Al Anderson and Arkansas Red Donations are welcome.

Eureka Springs' 2012 Annual Bluegrass festival will take place August 17 -- 19 in Basin Spring Park in downtown Eureka Springs. It begins with the traditional Watermelon Social at 5:30 p.m. with free watermelon and ice water for all and a performance from Tulsa-based string band Grass Crack, followed by the HillBenders.

On Saturday, free music will take place again in Basin Spring Park from 1:00 -- 7:00pm with Deadman Flats, Spring Street, the Buffalo City Ramblers, and a second set by Grass Crack.

This year's Saturday night headlining acts are both rising stars of the "NewGrass" movement. Florida-based Dread Clampitt's influences range from bluegrass, rock & roll, blues, jazz and Louisiana Bayou funk complete with three part harmonies and pinch of southern humor thrown in for good measure. Folk Soul Revival is a harmony drenched, rowdy, Americana band from the Appalachian Mountains. The performances begin at 7:30 p.m. at The Auditorium, located at 36 South Main Street. Reserved tickets are now on sale at www.theaud.org. Advance tickets are $20 for orchestra seatingand $15 for balcony seating. Tickets purchased online before August 1 can use the PromoCode: EurekaBluegrass and receive 15-percent off the order.

Free music in Basin Spring Park will continue on Sunday, Aug. 19 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Glory Mountain and The Bushwhackers will close out the weekend with traditional Gospel music.

For more information call 479-253-7333

Take a spiritual journey through art with Jody Stephenson's "Abstracting the Landscape" workshop on Monday, Aug. 13 - Friday, Aug. 17 at Eureka Springs School of the Arts. Learn how to construct an abstract painting featuring landscape elements, using mixed media techniques, and finishing with oil paints.

In addition," Hand Papermaking" with Leandra Spangler and "Glass Beadmaking" with Doug Powell workshops will be offered during the month of August. For more information and to register for these upcoming workshops go to ESSA's website at www.ESSA-art.org or call 479-253-5384.

"Intrigue Theater - An Illusionist & A Medium" had planned to shut down for the month of August to prepare for the fall season, but due to the strong response and the fantastic audiences this summer, Sean-Paul has decided to continue shows for the month of August.

Intrigue Theater performances will be Thursday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m. and will continue to take place at the Historic Gavioli chapel located at 80 Mountain St. on the historic loop. For more information, please go to www.intriguetheater.com or call 479-244-7028.

Writing workshops will begin Saturday, Aug. 25, at the Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow with "The Elements of Craft," a basic introduction to writing. It's the first planned course in the Community Writing Program, launched July 21 by Alison Taylor-Brown. It will be an all-day course, starting at 9 a.m. and ending at 4 p.m. with an hour break for lunch.

Workshops have been broken into several categories and will be held at the Colony at 515 Spring Street in Eureka Springs. Fiction workshops will be taught by Taylor-Brown and Mike Hancock.

The poetry classes will be offered on Sunday afternoons from 2-5 p.m. at the Writers' Colony. Taylor-Brown hopes to have three established poets lead one workshop each.

Future workshops include children's literature, young adult, romance, mystery/thriller, fantasy/science fiction, travel writing, songwriting, screenplays and graphic novels.

For more information or to sign up for a workshop, contact Taylor-Brown via email at alison@writerscolony.org or call her at 479-970-0090.

There is a hootenanny every Friday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the 302 in the Grand View Hotel on the Berryville Square.

Ozarts is looking for musicians to perform in the Grand View Ballroom on Thursday nights, Saturdays and Sundays. This is a chance to play. No pay, but musicians may put up a tip jar and Ozarts will help you promote your event. Musicians are welcome to videotape their music and Ozarts will add original music videos to our website and YouTube to help you promote your band or act. Check it out at (870) 654-3952 or www.Ozarts.org.

Eureka Springs artists Carol Dickie and Betty Johnson, both of whom show at Eureka Thyme, have had paintings accepted into the 18th Annual Regional Art Exhibition at the Arts Center of the Ozarks in Springdale. The exhibit will be shown Aug. 2 -- 30. A special reception will be held Aug. 11, 1 -- 3 p.m. See it and Carol's two paintings, "Stormy Day" and "The Last Stand," when you attend this well-respected show throughout the month of August.

The Eureka Springs Bluegrass Festival kicks off on Friday, Aug. 17 in Basin Spring Park with the traditional Watermelon Social at 5:30 p.m. with free watermelon and performances from Tulsa-based string band Grass Crack followed by the HillBenders.

On Saturday, free music will take place again in Basin Spring Park from 1 to 7 p.m. with Deadman Flats, Spring Street, the Buffalo City Ramblers, and Grass Crack back for a return set.

This year's Saturday night headlining acts are both rising stars of the "NewGrass" movement, Dread Clampitt and Folk Soul Revival. The performances begin at 7:30 p.m. at The Auditorium. Reserved tickets are now on sale at www.theaud.org. Free music in Basin Spring Park continues on Sunday, Aug. 19 from 1 to 5 p.m. with Glory Mountain and The Bushwhackers performing traditional Gospel music.

The Holiday Island Art Guild is pleased to announce its 24th Annual Art Show and Sale to be held Labor Day Weekend, Aug. 31 -- Sept. 2 at the Barn on Holiday Island.

The judge this year will be Judy Maurer of Springdale, a signature member of the Pastel Society of America and the Artists of Northwest Arkansas and a member of the Plein Air Painters of the Ozarks.

Cash prizes will be awarded. Please contact Joan Hirnisey (479) 253-6285 or Barbara Robinson (479) 253-1839 or email robinson29@cox.net for an entry form or more information. Entries are due on Aug. 24 at The Barn on Holiday Island.

The Carroll County Library System now has eBooks and audiobooks available to download from your library's website. Library card holders can check out and download digital media anytime, anywhere by visiting berryvillelibrary.org or eurekalibrary.org. Click on Library2Go! to get started.

For help call the Eureka Springs (479) 253-8754 public library. This service is free for patrons with library card.

ARTifacts Gallery of American, Art Aug 1 - 31 presents a "Roomful of Roosters." Find collectable cocks during the month of August by gallery artists Denise Ryan, Bert Seabourn, Diana Smith, Jimmy Leach, Bill Garrison and Gloria Garrison. Open every day 10 - 5 and until 4 on Sunday 37 Spring Street, Upstairs, Eureka Springs. (479) 636-6660. See more at artifactseureka.com.

What: Blues Challenge, a competition sponsored by the Ozark Blues Society of Northwest Arkansas in affiliation with the International Blues Challenge presented each year by the Blues Foundation.

When: Thursday, September 13, 2012, 6 p.m. -11:30 p.m.

Where: Fayetteville, Arkansas at George's Majestic Lounge, 519 W. Dickson Street.

Deadline: August 17.

Details and application can be obtained at www.ozarkbluessociety.org/Blues Challenge. Submissions can also be sent to: The Ozark Blues Society of NWA, P.O. Box 2004, Bentonville AR 72712. Questions may also be emailed to webmaster@ozarkbluessociety.org.