Easter Egg Hunt, Bull Riding, Benefit Concert, MS Walk and Community Sale This Weekend

Easter weekend is full of fun for the entire family in and around the Texarkana area. There are several egg hunts to attend with the kids. Win a 4-wheeler at the bull riding event in DeKalb, Texas. Attend the MS Walk at Bobby Ferguson Park, shop at benefit yard sales and enjoy a concert for St. Jude's at the Oaklawn Opry. You can adopt a dog at Petsmart too.

Check out all of the events happening this weekend and in the upcoming weeks.

Announcements:

The animal shelter needs dog and puppy food desperately! The Texarkana, Arkansas Animal Care and Adoption Center located at 203 Harrison and is open Monday through Saturday from 10AM to 5PM. Call for more information 870-773-6388. If you do not want to haul bags of food, just stop by Tractor Supply Company on Stateline and purchase a gift card. Volunteers will purchase dog food with the cards and take them to the shelter. The volunteers are able to get a discount as well as tax-exempt status so the gift cards go further. Please remember to SPAY AND NEUTER your pets. Our local shelter is always over-crowded with homeless dogs and cats. Don't ask for gifts on your birthday this year, have an animal spayed or neutered instead. Dog Bathers, dog walkers and volunteers are also needed to help the animals get ready for adoption. Anyone can help, ages 16 and up. You can make a difference by giving a dog a bath or helping a potential adopter walk a dog.

Get your booth space before they are all gone for the Spring Community Garage Sale on Saturday, April 28 at Spring Lake Park. Register for 20x20 booths at the Parks and Recreation office inside the Southwest Center at 3222 W. 7th Street for only $15. First come, first serve. Hurry, booths will go fast! All items are welcome for sale except animals, firearms, weapons of any kind, or food. Shopping will be from 8AM to 3PM on April 28. For more information, please call the City of Texarkana, Texas Parks & Recreation Department at 903-798-3978 or email lmitchell@txkusa.org.

The Texarkana Association of Legal Assistants is selling raffle tickets for their yearly fundraiser. This year's recipient is H.I.P. Mentoring Children of Prisoners (HIP stands for Hope, Inspiration, and Protection). H.I.P. is an organization with individuals who mentor children between the ages of 4 and 18 who live in Southwest Arkansas and Northeast Texas. Prizes include a Sony camera, weekend getaways, dining packages and much more. The drawing will be held on April 15. To purchase tickets or find out more information call Shedera at 903-792-7080 or email Marilyn at muddy4@cableone.net.

If you have room in your heart and your home for one more person, the Educational Merit Foundation High School Exchange Program is seeking volunteer families to host high school students from France, Germany or Norway for five or ten months starting this August. EMF students are carefully screened and arrive with everything they need, including medical insurance and spending money for their stay. All you have to do is add a seat at your dinner table, provide a bed and your family's unique American way of life. Give a student the chance to learn firsthand about America! Call now for more information and to learn how your family can experience the rewards of hosting a student: 1-800-HOST EMF. That's 1-800-467-8363.

Local Events This Weekend and beyond:

Friday, April 6:

The 3rd Annual Mike White Bull Riding at the DeKalb Indoor Arena, DeKalb, TX.

A Benefit Concert for the Fall Gathering of Authors is happening Friday, April 6 at the Oaklawn Opry in Texarkana, Texas. Musicians and singers will perform including Dee Bell and little 8-year old Helen Claire Keith. Admission is $8 for adults and children 12 and under will be admitted free of charge. Door prizes! Proceeds from this event benefit St. Jude's Children Research Hospital. For more information contact Tammy Thompson at 903-701-1205.

Saturday, April 7:

The 3rd Annual Mike White Bull Riding at the DeKalb Indoor Arena, DeKalb. Silent auction 9AM to 2PM at the DeKalb Industrial Park. There will also be an Easter egg hunt for children 10 and under and a giveaway of TWO 4-wheelers.

Easter egg hunt at 10AM at the Atlanta First United Methodist Church. The younger kids go first, then the older kids. There will be over 2,000 eggs with prize eggs too. The Easter egg hunt is open to all in the community and will be a great time for all of the children to gather for a great time of fun and fellowship. Here are the directions to the church.

The National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society - Texarkana, Arkansas group will hold their yearly MS Walk at Bobby Ferguson Park on Saturday at 11AM. People can participate in the Walk MS individually or as a team. Volunteers are also needed! To register or for more information, call 1-800-344-4867, visit www.walkMSarkansas.org or send an email to Lisa Finkbeiner. Walkers can also register on the day of the event beginning at 10AM. Click here to read more about this event.

Muttley Crew Rescue will have German Shepherd Dogs for adoption at Petsmart in Texarkana, Texas from 11AM to 4PM. These dogs have been spayed or neutered, micro-chipped, crate trained and had some obedience training. Two of the dogs are fully house-trained. They love children too. There will also be other local dog rescues at this event with small, medium and large breed dogs available for adoption. Come by and see these great dogs. Dog food donations, blankets and crates are always welcome. The rescues go through a lot of resources to get the dogs ready for adoption. If you would like to volunteer for one of the rescues stop by and sign up. To find out more about this event go to Facebook or the website MuttleyCrewRescue.net.

Highland Hills Baptist Church is hosting a Community Wide Garage Sale on Saturday from 9AM till 1PM. Space rentals are available for $10. Spaces will be available for rental through April 4. For more information and to register your space call 870-773-1291.

Garage Sale Fundraiser to benefit Texarkana Animal League this Friday & Saturday at 217 Dodd Street in Nash, Texas from 7AM to 4PM. Clothing, toys, furniture, crafts and more!

Sunday, April 8:

The 74th Annual Kiwanis Easter Sunrise Service is happening at 6:30AM on Sunday at Camp Preston Hunt at the Texarkana Boy Scout Camp. Leading the Services will be Rev. Sam Martinez from the Central Assembly of God. Music will be provided by Amy Freedman and Kevin Lusk, Fouke High School Band Director. For more information call 870-774-7525.

Easter Egg Hunt Event at the Ashdown City Park starts at 2PM with games for the kids. The egg hunt will have 3 age groups and begins at 3PM with over 5,000 eggs to find. Don’t forget to bring your camera, because the Easter Bunny will be there too. The Ashdown City Park is located at 1211 Gordon Drive. For more information call the City of Ashdown at 870-898-2622.

Tuesday, April 10:

A & M Texarkana Concert and Fish Fry, doors open at 6PM. Fish fry is $5 (free to students) and concert by Son of a Bad Man and Buffalo Child.

Thursday, April 12:

'Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory’ presented by Face to Faith Productions at First United Methodist Church, Cabe Center at 6th & Laurel- April, 12-14th. This musical play directed by Missy Lyda, will feature 71 cast members from around the Texarkana area including Chip McAfee-Grandpa Jones, Alec Rommel-Charlie, and Ruth Arnold as Willy Wonka. Tickets for this Dinner Theater type show are only $12 and includes dinner. There will be evening performances each day and a matinee show on Saturday, April 14th which will feature only desserts. Showtimes are April 12, 13, 14th 7pm (doors open 6pm). Matinee Show 2pm (doors open 1pm) Saturday, April 14th. A limited amount of seats available for this show so get your TICKETS now by calling Mandi at 903-306-0579 or Missy at 501-626-6778. Proceeds for this show will be donated to a local charity.

Friday, April 13:

Scout-O-Rama 2012 at Spring Lake Park is Friday-Sunday, April 13-15. This family event will feature Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Venturing Scouts from around the ARK-LA-TEX taking part in celebrating the scouting adventure. Scouts will be showing off their skills, talents and spirit to our local community. For more information, contact the Parks Department at 903-798-3978.

Saturday, April 14:

Annual Redwater Volunteer Fire Department Bass Tournament is Saturday at Wright Patman Lake in Sportsman’s Cove. All proceeds from our tournament help to purchase much needed equipment in order to protect our local community. Raffles and fun for the entire family. For more information or to download entry forms visit redwatervfd.org.

Lights Out Baseball Bash Saturday at the Ashdown City Park. League Teams Only: T-Ball for 7 to 12 year old children. One day, double elimination tournament with a $150 entry fee. For more information call Nick 903-490-0420 or Jason 903-276-0330.

Sunday, April 15:

Friday, April 20:

Need dental care? Visit the office of Dr. Jeff Atkinson DDS in New Boston, TX on Friday to receive free dental services. Care will be offered on a first come, first served basis beginning at 7AM. For more information call 903-628-5436.

Saturday, April 21:

9- Hole Night Golf 4-Man Scramble at the Hope Country Club benefiting Junior Auxiliary of Hope on Saturday. Registration is $35 per person and will include dinner, t-shirt and glow in the dark golf balls.For more information or to get a registration form they may call Casey at 870-703-2421.

Thursday, April 26:

Zumbathon 6PM to 8PM at Liberty Eylau High School Media Center on Leopard Drive. Join a Zumba party like you have never seen! Featuring 2 full hours to benefit Domestic Violence Prevention in Texarkana. Exciting music and a silent auction. For more information call 903-293-3647. You can purchase tickets from your Zumba instructors. For tickets call Katina Levingston at 903-293-6860.

Friday, April 27:

The Texarkana Animal League Golf Tournament is at the Texarkana Golf Ranch. Lunch and sign-in at 11:30AM; shotgun start at 1PM. To find out more visit TexarkanaAnimalLeague.org.

Saturday, April 28:

The City of Texarkana, Texas Parks & Recreation Department is hosting the Spring Community Garage Sale from 8AM to 3PM on Saturday at Spring Lake Park. Many different items will be available for sale through each booth except animals, firearms, weapons of any kind, or food. For more information, please call the Parks and Recreation Department at 903-798-3978 or email lmitchell@txkusa.org.

We want to hear about your upcoming events! To have your church, group or civic organization announcements listed here please send an email and include the who, what, where, when and why. Please include contact information for the event.