RISON - Everyone from bargain hunters to crafters to antique dealers are expected to descend upon southern Arkansas this weekend for The Great South Arkansas Junk Hunt to be held this Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 12-14.
Jennifer Via started the Junk Hunts by organzingin the very first event back in March 2016. That one was called the Historic Hwy. 35 Junk Hunt, which followed Hwy. 35 from Benton to Sheridan to Rison to Monticello.
"That first year was supposed to be a one-shot wonder," Via said, but the locals had other ideas.
Due to the success of the Hwy. 35 event, Via said residents along Hwy. 63 wanted in on the action so the Hwy. 79/Hwy. 63 Junk Hunt Loop was created for the fall of that same year. That route went from Pine Bluff to rison to Fordyce to Warren and back to Pine Bluff along Hwy. 63 through Cleveland County.
Those first two Junk Hunts were a big hit for both the sellers and buyers. Some vendors in Cleveland County generated thousands of dollars in sales over that first three-day event.
As word spread through social media about the success people were having, Via said other communities expressed an interest in getting on the route and the Great South Arkansas Junk Hunt was born.
This newest version of the Junk Hunt incorporates much of the south-central region of Arkansas. The boundaries for the South Arkansas Junk Hunt extends along Hwy. 79 from Pine Bluff to Magnolia, along Hwy. 82 from Magnolia to Crossett, and along Hwy. 425 from Crossett back to Pine Bluff. In also includes Hwy. 63 as well as all the state highways within that area.
Within Cleveland County, the Junk Hunt will include Rison, Kingsland, New Edinburg and all the communities along Hwy. 63: Randall, Woodlawn, Calmer, Rowell, Pansy and Rye. Regionally, the new route will include Fordyce, Camden, Magnolia, El Dorado, Crossett, Hamburg, Warren, Monticello and Star City.
"This is a dealer's paradise," ...
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