RISON - A countywide bicycle race being dubbed as "Cruisin' Cleveland County" is currently in the works by a number of groups affiliated with the Kickstart Cleveland County Community Development Initiative.
Members of Kickstart Cleveland County met Monday evening with County Judge Jimmy Cummings, Rison Mayor Charles Roberts and special guest Darren Austin, a parks and recreation director from Central Arkansas who has experience in organizing bike races, to discuss the race and other upcoming events.
Roberts and Cummings have been working with Austin to plan an inaugural cross-county bike ride that will be called "Crusin' Cleveland County." The race is tentatively set for this June.
Kickstart Cleveland County's groups of Rison Shine, Kickstart Kingsland, Re-New-ing Edinburg, Wake Up Woodlawn and the Pioneer Village are set to promote and facilitate the event.
Plans are underway to begin and finish the ride at Rison's Pioneer Village. Proposed routes would take bicycle riders through areas of Woodlawn, Kingsland and New Edinburg, if possible.
Kickstart members would need volunteers from local churches, youth groups, volunteer fire departments, and Extension Homemaker clubs to help set up at various stations throughout the race routes.
Roberts has planned an interest and planning meeting for the bike ride for next Monday, March 27 at 6 p.m. at the Hall-Morgan Veterans Building in Rison.
Anyone interested in helping plan or set up along the ride are encouraged to attend.
Additional activities to coincide with the event may be planned.
Elsewhere during the quarterly meeting, each Kickstart group gave an update on their upcoming plans for events throughout 2023.
Kickstart Cleveland County President Stacy Walz shared updates for groups unable to attend, noting that Cleveland County Youth Sports is gearing up for its baseball and softball seasons, and Wake Up Woodlawn is being rejuvenated with involvement through the Woodlawn High School EAST Lab students.
Walz also represents the Cleveland County Community Theater and announced plans for a production of "Meet The Creeps," directed by Dana Edwards. Auditions are set for April 2 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds with a targeted show debut in June.
John Appleget shared with the group that the Cleveland County Fairgrounds will host the Arkansas Homesteading Conference this weekend on March 25, and a barrel race on April 29. More information will be announced soon.
Sharon Crosby said Kickstart Kingsland organizers are looking to host more festivals and jam sessions, which would follow recent successful events including the all-school reunion.
Trenna Kemp represented New Edinburg and highlighted their spring events and announced the group’s plans for an Easter Egg Hunt for children 12 and under Saturday, April 1 at 10 a.m. at the New Edinburg Community Center. Following the egg hunt, there will be snow cones, a cake walk, bean bag toss, egg relay races and various other games. The event is free. The group will also have events for later in the summer.
The Pioneer Village at Rison and Rison Shine are also cohosting a Cleveland County Egg Hunt Saturday, April 1 beginning at 9 a.m. with Breakfast with the Easter Bunny followed by the egg hunt.
Rison Shine President Celeste Beatty said they need donations of candy to fill eggs with for the hunt. Candy can be dropped off at the Cleveland County Herald office.
Beatty also said planning meetings will be announced soon for the Rison Farmers Market for early summer.
Looking ahead to fall, Rison Shine’s Douglas Boultinghouse, organizer of the Rison in the Fall Festival, said he is actively seeking sponsorships from businesses and individuals for this year’s festival. He said he hopes to set the entertainment budget by mid April so that he can lock in the performers and set the date for October.
Both Rison Shine and the Pioneer Village are looking at additional events for the summer they expect to announce later in the spring.
County Extension Agents Danielle Watson and David West were also in attendance, sharing some of their upcoming activities include a canning workshop on April 6. Plans are also being made for a Mental Health Awareness Walk and a Community Resource Fair.