For Immediate Release
Contact person: Bill Dailey (501) 315-7373 cell: (501) 416-4657
Email: purplehull@juno.com
Web site: www.purplehull.com
There is no park in Emerson, Arkansas.
It’s long been a dream for many in this town, population 359, to change that.
For years, a park facility has been the principal goal of the annual PurpleHull Pea Festival, which is this weekend.
Now a park in Emerson is on the precipice of becoming a reality.
Thanks to the contribution of property by the Bennie Emmert family, the PurpleHull Pea Festival now has land with which to make the dream come true.
“We can’t say thank you enough to Bennie and all the Emmert family,” said
PurpleHull Pea Festival Chairman Mildred Beene. “I appreciate them. The
committee appreciates them. It’s wonderful what they’ve done.”
The donated property is approximately one acre in a prime location: the southeast corner of the intersection of U.S. Highway 79 and Arkansas Highway 98, in the heart of Emerson.
Those involved with the festival will tell you this has been a long journey.
“When Linda Mullins was festival chairman way back in the mid-90’s, she suggested in one of our meetings that we use the funds generated by the festival to create some sort of park,” said festival spokesman Bill Dailey. “Heaven knows we’ve had a lot of false starts and hiccups since then.
“What’s great is the fact that the Emmert family donated the land, and that allows our funds to be directed more to the development of the park,” added Dailey.
The festival committee plans to investigate the best ways to begin the park’s development. The proposed name of the facility is “PurpleHull Pea Festival Park.”
“Hopefully it won’t be too long before we have a something going,” said Dailey. “At least it won’t be another 10 years.”
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