Interesting
Facts About Arkansas
Vacation
Spots in Arkansas
 El
Dorado is a city in Union County, Arkansas, USA. According to 2006 Census
Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 20,467. The city is the
county seat of Union County, and home to the headquarters of Murphy Oil
Corporation, Deltic Timber Corporation, and Lion Oil Refinery. The city
hosts a community college, South Arkansas Community College ("Southark"),
as well as a symphony and an arts center. Most recently, El Dorado has
become a community of education with the January 2007 announcement by Murphy
Oil Corporation of the El Dorado Promise, a scholarship program that allows
all El Dorado High School graduates who have been at the school since at
least the ninth grade to attend any college in the country of their choice.
El Dorado is the site for
several annual events, including the Mayhaw Festival hosted by the South
Arkansas Historical Foundation the first Saturday of each May (with a crawfish
boil the same weekend), a Fantastic Fourth Celebration during July (including
a 5k run, an antique car show, and fireworks), the SouthArk Outdoor Expo
in September, the two-day MusicFest: a music festival in October (with
pop, rock, blues, and country performers, among other events), and various
winter holiday events, including the largest Christmas parade in the state.
The above mentioned Crawfish Boil has become so much more. It now hosts
a "Battle of the Bands", a bike show/one day motorcycle rally, a motorcycle
parade, a pool tournament, and much more. The official name of the event
is "Bugs, Bands and Bikes".
MusicFest El Dorado takes
place the first weekend in October each year. The event takes up eight
city blocks and features over 30 acts on five stages. 2009 headliners included
Blues Traveler, Jack Ingram, Joe Nichols, Patrice Pike and Trout Fishing
in America. The event received the Festival of the Year Award in 2009 by
the Arkansas Festival & Event Association in 2008. Past headliners
have included Toby Keith, the Charlie Daniels Band, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts,
Tracy Lawrence, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, John Anderson, Eddie Money et al.
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