The phrase "War Eagle" and I have a love-hate relationship

Every year, on the third weekend of October, northwest Arkansas is flooded with scads of crafters. There are (at least) three HUGE craft fairs that happen – with War Eagle being the original (and best, in my opinion). My “Tutu” lives up in Rogers, just a little ways from War Eagle Mill, so we almost always go together. The setting is just beautiful. This is the mill:

See all the people on the bridge? It gets crazy. Oh, while we're at it, how bout a view from the bridge?

The fairs start on Wednesday or Thursday, but I normally drive up to Rogers on Friday evening and Tutu and I make the rounds on Saturday morning. We get up super early (like 6 or 7), drive out to the farm and have breakfast at the mill. Now, there is a strategy to this early start. If you don’t get out to the farm before 9am, you have to sit in traffic for about two hours just to park. Then you have to wade through the thousands (yes, thousands) of people who got there before you in order to see anything. If, however, you are War Eagle experts like me and Tutu, you: get there early, park relatively close, have a freshly made, whole-wheat buttermilk biscuit with sausage, then wander the tents without having to move like you’re on a Tokyo subway car.

Now, you may be thinking “Why are there that many people at a craft fair?” This is a legitimate question if you are imagining the fair as a little area of a few tents with people peddling things like marshmallow guns and homemade candles. If that’s the case, you’re half correct…in that way that there are a few vendors with homemade candles. Otherwise, you’re way off. These fairs are gigantic and the vendors come in from all over selling everything from, yes, marshmallow guns to handmade wooden benches and gorgeous artwork.  

With War Eagle in particular, the fair is divided into “hobby” crafts and “professional” crafts. The professional section is grouped together on one side of the river and is judged. The hobby section is on the other side (and is a bit less organized). We normally start with the judged tents (there are 4 tents and a barn, each with four rows of about 15 booths). This year one of my roommate’s friends was in the judged tents. Her name is Autumn and her stuff is really cute…see? After a couple of hours, we head back across the river to briefly peruse the hobby tents. I have one tent that I visit every year, Vega Pottery. I buy one piece each time and I’ve built up quite a collection (Tutu got me started, my first few pieces were graduation presents). This year I also got Gigi some biscuits (with flavors like Blueberry and Steak and Mashed Paw-tater…she could care less what they’re called).

After the fair, Tutu and I normally have lunch. We opted out of fair food this year (everything from funnel cakes to Indian tacos to strawberry crepes) in favor of a tea room down on the Rogers square.

I then collected Gigi and we headed back to Fayetteville to meet up with some friends for the football game (we played Auburn) and Dickson St. Oktoberfest. This is only the second year they’ve done Oktoberfest, so it’s not very big yet, but there was a semi-entertaining brat eating contest (semi-entertaining…semi-really gross).

We went to Hog Haus to watch the massacre that was the football game (Auburn isn't THAT awesome...the dumb SEC refs just made it look that way...besides, they're schizophrenic, what does "War Eagle" have to do with Tigers anyway?), then spent the rest of the evening listening to an 80’s cover band at Jose’s. 

Long day, but good times with some of my favorite people. I should probably do homework now…*sigh*