Arkansas is home to numerous captivating festivals and time-honored social traditions. The Arkansas Traditions project comprises oral histories of the various festivals, suppers, and community gatherings that are distinctive to Arkansas. Each event showcased in the collection presents the history of the tradition as narrated by the individuals who actively preserve them within their communities.
#1: Traditions across the state
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#2: Ticket to the 1994 Gillett Coon Supper
© Photo courtesy of Misty Nichols Fox
#3: Warren water tower; June 2024
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#4: Bobby Rush (left) with Sonny Payne at the Bobby Rush Appreciation Day event, which was held at Southbound Pizza during the King Biscuit Blues Festival; Helena, Arkansas, 2016
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#5: Pryor Center executive director, John C. Davis, conducts an audio interview for the Gillett Coon Supper Oral Hstory Project; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2023
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#6: Bruce and Lou Anne Anderson
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#7: Blind Mississippi Morris performs at the King Biscuit Blues Festival; 2016
© Eric Gorder 2017; egorder@gmail.com
#8: Pink Tomato Festival VIP tomato-eating contest; June 2024
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
