Christmas Season is here! Eureka Springs is preparing for a spectacular Christmas Season. Lights are everywhere you look – buildings, store windows, parks, adorning handrails, hanging from light poles, wrapped around trees…you get the picture. Eureka Springs is on the Arkansas Trail of Lights and we want make sure guests enjoy our wonderful town in all it’s decorated glory. We have thousands and thousands of lights up and we hope you will visit to see them.

Some of the things going on this month are the the Pine Mountain Jamboree continues their Christmas Show, the Candlelight Tour of Homes, Christmas Forest, Photos With Santa in Basin Park, and the Christmas Ball.

We will be open for Christmas and New Year’s and already have some bookings so don’t be shy about asking for holiday dates. Unlike some places, we are open all year and we’d love to have you visit during the winter when it’s slower and more relaxed.

Enjoy all the extraordinary things Eureka Springs has to offer. Call us and make your reservations today!

SPECIALS

Horse-Drawn Carriage Rides are free for a limited time.

Enjoy a Eureka Springs Holiday treat. Eureka Springs homes and businesses will be decked out in their finest Christmas decorations.

Stay any night with us November 21 thru December 22
Get a Horse-Drawn Carriage Ride thru Festive Downtown Free
Rates start at $144 per night plus tax.
Stay additional nights at 10% off.
Good November 21 thru December 22
Based on availability, no other discounts apply.
Must mention this special when making your reservation, prior reservations excluded.

RECIPE

These are really so easy. Great for holiday cookies. Makes a nice, chewy cookie.

CAKE MIX COOKIES

1 yellow cake mix
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup oil
2 eggs
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Bake at 375 degrees on a greased cookie sheet 8 to 10 minutes.

DECEMBER EVENTS

December 3
Candlelight Tour of Homes. Tour Eureka’s Victorian homes presented by the Preservation Society.

December 3-9
12th Annual Christmas at The Crescent. Arriving at the doorstep of this delightfully decorated Historic Hotel of America, guests are swept in by the jubilant breeze of Christmas. A time to look and listen.a time to share with your fellow travelers memories anew and it all starts on Saturday, with the “Christmas Forest Tree Lighting Ceremony”.

December 3-31
Eureka Springs’ Christmas Forest. The formal garden area atop Crescent Mountain will be illuminated with more than two-dozen Christmas trees decorated by local charities as a fund-raiser for each. Visitors can stroll throughout the grounds and choose which one they think is best! Admission is free.

December 9
9th Annual Christmas Ball at the 1905 Basin Park Hotel Ballroom. Proceeds benefit the Eureka Springs Historical Museum. For more information call 479-253-9417.

December 10
Photos with Santa in Basin Spring Park from 1pm to 3pm.

December 10
2nd Saturday Gallery Stroll. The City’s art galleries are joining forces to stage a monthly “Celebration of the Art of Eureka” 6pm to 8pm. For more information call Quicksilver at 479-253-7679.

If you have questions or need more information about any of these events, email or call us toll-free.

Horse-Drawn Carriage Rides are free for a limited time.

Enjoy a Eureka Springs Holiday treat. Eureka Springs homes and businesses will be decked out in their holiday finest when the town’s Christmas decorating contest begins Nov. 23.

Stay any night with us November 21 thru December 22
Get a Horse-Drawn Carriage Ride thru Festive Downtown Free
Rates start at $144 per night plus tax.
Stay additional nights at 10% off.

Good November 21 thru December 22
Based on availability, no other discounts apply.
Must mention this special when making your reservation, prior reservations excluded.

Eureka Springs is an eclectic getaway town in the heart of the Ozarks famous for our art, architecture, unique, locally owned shops, outstanding restaurants, beauty, romance, & outdoor adventures.

The sights and sounds of the holiday season have already begun in this destination town. Three seasonal music shows run through Dec. 11.

Eureka Springs Christmas Festival really begins to snowball when two big events take place the day after Thanksgiving. Both “Santa in the Park” and the new “Find an Elf” contest will entertain visitors Nov. 26 from 4-7 p.m. in Eureka Springs’ historic downtown.

Eureka Springs annual Christmas Parade of Lights will begin downtown Friday, December 2nd at 6:00 pm. View lovingly restored Victorian homes filled with antiques at the 28th Annual Eureka Springs Preservation Society Christmas Tour of Homes Saturday, December 3rd.

Our Eureka Springs Bed and Breakfast is the perfect place to stay and enjoy all the holiday festivities.

Wow! November is here already. Sorry we didnt’ send out a newsletter last month. Things were just so busy around here taking care of our guests this past month.

The Christmas season is just around the corner. Eureka Springs is preparing for a spectacular Christmas Season. The city is asking for everyone to have their decorations up by the second weekend in November. Eureka Springs is on the Arkansas Trail of Lights and we want make sure guests enjoy our wonderful town in all it’s decorated glory. We have thousands and thousands of lights to put up in the next few days and we hope you will visit to see them.

Some of the things going on this month are the 64th Annual Original Ozark Folk Festival, the Pine Mountain Jamboree starts their Christmas Show, an Art Parade and Gallery Stroll, Fall Antique Show & Sale and the Eureka Springs Fall Art Show. Santa will be in Basin Park starting on November 25. Have your picture made with Santa and his Elves on November 26. The Eureka Springs Christmas Parade will be December 2nd. You won’t want to miss all the colorful entries.

We will be open for Thanksgiving and Christmas and already have some bookings so don’t be shy about asking for holiday dates. Unlike some places, we are open all year and we’d love to have you visit during the winter when it’s slower and more relaxed.

Enjoy all the extraordinary things Eureka Springs has to offer. Call us and make your reservations today!

SPECIALS

November Magical Sunday Special

Intrigue Theater Eureka Springs AR

2 Free tickets ($50.00 Value) are included when you book a Sunday Night on November 13th or 20th. Enjoy the newest show in Eureka Springs – “Intrigue Theater – The Ghosts Have Answers” at the 5:00 pm Sunday performance at the historical Eureka Springs Auditorium – Free with your Sunday stay on November 13th or 20th.

A unique experience reminiscent of 19th Century entertainment, Guests will witness magical demonstrations, feats of astonishing mental capabilities and Spirits may make their presence known with whispered answers and unexplained phenomenon.

Good on a Sunday stay in any suite or cottage on November 13th or 20th. Mention Sunday Special at time of booking. Not valid on prior bookings. No other discounts apply. Subject to availability.
No other discounts apply

RECIPE

(Yes, I know it’s lots of work, but it’s really worth it.)

CARAMEL ITALIAN CREAM CAKE

Brown sugar is the shortcut to quick caramel flavor in both the cake layers and the frosting.

3 cups shaved coconut
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
5 large eggs, separated
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
Quick Caramel Frosting
Cream Cheese Frosting

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Place shaved coconut in a single layer in a shallow pan. Plance pecans in a second shallow pan. Bake coconut and pecans at the same time 5 to 7 minutes or until coconut is toasted and pecans are lightly toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.

Beat butter and shortening at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; gradually add granulated and brown sugars, beating well. Add egg yolks 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Add vanilla, beating until blended.

Combine flour and baking soda; add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in pecans and 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut.

Beat egg whites at high speed until stiff peaks form and fold into batter. Pour batter into 3 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans.

Bake at 350 deg F for 23 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove pans from racks and cool completely (about 1 hour).

Prepare Quick Caramel Frosting. Immediately spread frosting between layers and on top of cake. Spread Cream Cheese Frosting over sides of cake; press 2 cups toasted shaved coconut onto sides of cake.

QUICK CARAMEL FROSTING

Like the classic caramel frosting, this one hardens quickly, so cool the cake layers before you start to make it.

1 cup butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Bring first 3 ingredients to a rolling boil in a 3 1/2 quart saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly (about 7 minutes)

Stir in cream and bring to a boil; remove from heat. Pour into a bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer. Gradually beat in powdered sugar and vanilla at medium speed, using whisk attachment; beat 8 to 12 minutes or until thickened. Use immediately.

TIP: Don’t panic if you overbeat the frosting. Thin to a spreadable consistency by adding 1 to 2 teaspoon hot water.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Beat 1/4 cup butter, softened and 4 ounces cream cheese, softened at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add 2 cups powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended; stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

We love decorating for fall with the orange leaves, pumpkins, cornstalks and scarecrows. This year, we let guests judge from the jack-o-lanterns to pick their favorite.

Weekends are pretty full, but we still have some weekday vacancies and we’d love to have you stay with us at our Eureka Springs Bed and Breakfast and enjoy the scenery that only comes around once a year.

What better place to visit with ghosts of the past than in a Cemetery? The Eureka Springs Historical Museum hosts its 3rd annual “Voices from Eureka’s Silent City” cemetery tour this year on October 14 and 15, and 28 and 29. Here’s your chance to hear from historical characters of Eureka Springs past, featuring live actors in period costumes playing early citizens of Eureka Springs reminiscing about their past. Some of the characters were pillars of the community and some were figures whose colorful, outrageous or scandalous behavior helped shape the history and the myths of the town.

Volunteers in period clothing host and lead the tours. This is an approximately one hour walking tour that includes five-minute stops with each “citizen.” Tours are scheduled to start around 5:30 p.m. and will leave every twenty minutes, the last one beginning at 8:00 p.m. After dusk, participants will be led by guides with lanterns, the path will be softly illuminated with garden lights and torches will mark the way all creating an atmosphere befitting the tales.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under, and can be purchased at Cornerstone Bank, Greater Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce, the Historical Museum and at the event. Free parking and shuttle service will be available at the former Victoria Inn located on US 62 East. The tour is a fundraising project of the members of the Eureka Springs Historical Museum. Proceeds are used to finance daily operations, special exhibits and on-going restoration projects. For more information, call the Museum, at 479/253-9417

There’s only two weekends in October where you can stay at our Eureka Springs Bed and Breakfast and visit this wonderful tour. Don’t wait, book today!

Congratulations Eureka Springs! Each year, Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel magazine celebrates the great small towns with the “Coolest Small Towns in America” competition. Readers of the magazine nominate the most interesting towns they know with populations of less than 10,000. Voters then choose among the nominees for the coolest small town. Eureka Springs is proud to have been voted #4 in the U.S. overall! Voted for having great B&B’s, Victorian architecture, the monumental 67-foot-tall hilltop Christ of the Ozarks, Branson-style shows, and hunting for ghosts in the historic downtown. Also noted for the thriving Artist Community, the current of creativity bubbles up just about everywhere, if you look hard enough. We would love for you to visit and experience this wonderful Victorian retreat for yourself.

This month, the highlights of events are the Banjo Rally International Labor Day Weekend, the annual Antique Automobile festival and Bank Robbery Re-enactment is September 9 and 10. Wood Carvers Jamboree and the 2nd Saturday Art Gallery Stroll is the same weekend. Don’t miss Scooting in the Ozarks, Jazzy Weekend, and the Second All American Weekend and of course, Bikes Blues and BBQ is the last weekend of the month in Fayetteville. There’s always plenty to do and enjoy in Eureka Springs.

Don’t miss Free concerts in Basin Spring Park Fridays and Saturdays, weather permitting in Eureka Springs. We’d love to have you visit and enjoy all the extraordinary things Eureka Springs has to offer. Call us and make your reservations today!

RECIPE

PECAN-PEACH COBBLER

12 to 15 fresh peaches, peeled and sliced*
3 cups sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2/3 cup butter
2 boxes refrigerated piecrusts (4 piecrusts total)
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/4 cup sugar
vanilla ice cream

Combine first 4 ingredients in a dutch oven and let stand 10 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Bring peach mixture to a boil over medium heat, reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat, add vanilla and butter, stirring until butter melts.

Unroll 2 pie crusts. Sprinkle 1/4 cup pecans and 2 tablespoons sugar evenly over 1 piecrust, top with other piecrust. Roll into a 12-inch circle, gently pressing pecans into pastry. Cut into 1 1/2 inch stips. Repeat with remaining 2 piecrusts, 1/4 cup pecans and 2 tablespoons sugar.

Spoon half of peach mixture into a lightly greased 13×9 inch baking dish. Arrange half of pastry strips in a lattice design over top of peach mixture.

Bake at 475 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Spoon remaining peach mixture over baked pastry. Top with remaining pastry strips in a lattice design. Bake 15 to 18 more minutes. Serve warm or cold with vanilla ice cream.

*2 (20 ounce) packages frozen peaches may be substituted. Reduce sugar to 2 cups, flour to 3 tablespoons and nutmeg to 1/4 teaspoon.

Note: To make ahead, let baked cobbler cool, cover and freeze up to 1 month. Thaw in refrigerator overnight. Uncover and reheat at 250 degrees for 45 minutes.

There will be performance opportunities for players at local venues, institutions and other facilities; evening shows at the Best Western Convention Center and “jam sessions” at all hours of the day and night. A vendor room offering opportunity to see and acquire quality instruments, instrument accessories, sheet music, instruction materials and access instrument maintenance services and advice from experienced luthiers and players. Public evening shows are held on Friday and Saturday nights with quality performers and very reasonable admission prices. The public shows begin at 7:00 pm and last until they are over. After the evening shows, “jam sessions” usually breakout in every nook and cranny of the convention center and evening show attendees are welcome to linger and enjoy these sessions too.

The Rally will feature The New Orleans Krewe, an intriguing trio comprised of banjoists Barry Foulon and Mike Gentry and tuba player Danny Rubio. The legendary Don Van Palta, Sgt. Ron Hinkle, and many other outstanding performers will also entertain.

Public events begin Wednesday, Aug 31 at 5:30 p.m. when Bear Mountain Riding Stables and Dude Ranch hosts a barbecue and banjo jam. Admission is $10 per person for the barbecue; pickers and listeners are all welcome at the free jam.

Thursday, 10 a.m.- noon is a jam session at Pine Mountain Village. Open to the public and free. Thursday night 7 p.m. is a pool party and jam at Best Western Inn of the Ozarks, which is also open to the public.

Friday, Sept. 2, 5:30 p.m., the Grand Banquet and Show take place at Best Western Conference Center, with banquet and show tickets priced at $28 each; the show only is $10.

Saturday, Sept 3, Basin Spring Park is the site of a free concert from 1-3 p.m.; the action moves back to the Best Western at 5:30 p.m. for another banquet and show, at $25 for both, and show only at $10 per ticket.

Reservations must be made a day ahead for the banquets; contact the rally organizers prior to August 29 by e-mail or postal mail. After that date, contact the Best Western Inn at 800-552-3785 or 479-253-9768. Shows start at 7 p.m. There are no reserved seats for the shows, and no reservations taken for show only.

So come, make it a getaway and enjoy yourself at our Eureka Springs Bed and Breakfast, a wonderful place to relax and enjoy your time in Eureka Springs.

Eureka Springs Bluegrass Festival

Schedule:
2011 Annual Bluegrass Celebration in Basin Park! Rain or Shine. This is a Free Event!

Fri: 1 p.m.- Mountain Sprout. 2:15 p.m.-Backroads Bluegrass Band. 3:30-Steve Jones’ Band. 4:45- Cletus Got Shot.
6-8 p.m. – Watermelon social and open jam. All pickers invited!

Sat: 1 p.m.-Mountain Sprout. 2:15-Arkansas Red. 3:30-Backroads Bluegrass Band. 4:45-Hogscalders. 6:00-Hogeye Ramblers.
7:15 Headliner! Blackberry Winter, the musicians featured on the soundtrack of the film Winter’s Bone.

Sun: 1-3 p.m. Gospel-themed ensembles from Pine Mtn.Theater and Ozarks
Mtn. Hoe-Down, plus special guest.

Enjoy a relaxing getaway at our Eureka Springs bed and breakfast and don’t miss this free event!

We hope you are faring well in this summer heat. We’ve had to water our plants daily to keep them from dying since we haven’t had any measurable rain in weeks . Hopefully the worst is behind us and cooler days will be arriving soon. We’ve had many visitors from Texas in the last few weeks that come to the Ozark Mountains for a respite from the sweltering heat. The evenings have been pleasant with temperatures in the 70’s and a few guests have chosen to have breakfast outside to enjoy the cool mornings. Kids will be going back to school soon and we hope you’ll take some time for yourself to relax in Eureka Springs.

There’s always plenty of things going on in Eureka Springs and this month is no exception. Events this month include the 17th Annual Yards and Yards of Yard Sales. Hosted August 5th and 6th, Yard Sale bargains will be all around town. Maps will be available at the Chamber of Commerce so you can locate the sales in our city-wide sale. New this year, the Eurekan Biking-swimming-foot race triathlon, with lots of activities for family members of the athletes, August 12-14. Participate or come watch the athletes compete for the title of THE EUREKAN. Join us for our 2011 Annual Bluegrass Celebration August 19-21! Rain or Shine. Bluegrass groups such as Mountain Sprout, Backroads Bluegrass Band, Steve Jones’ Band, Cletus Got Shot, Arkansas Red, Hogscalders, Hogeye Ramblers, Blackberry Winter and Gospel-themed ensembles from the Pine Mountain Theatre and the Ozark Mountain Hoe-Down will perform. The 19th Annual Volkwagen weekend will be August 26-28 featuring all things VW. There’s even a Banjo Rally featuring banjos from all over the US. Sounds like great fun!

Don’t miss Free concerts in Basin Spring Park seven days a week, weather permitting. Eureka Springs. We’d love to have you visit and enjoy all the extraordinary things Eureka Springs has to offer. Call us and make your reservations today!

RECIPE

CRESCENT ROLL BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

1 tube crescent rolls
6-8 slices of thickly sliced or grated pepper jack cheese
4 eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons dried onion or minced green onion
6 slices bacon (fried and crumbled) or thinly sliced ham
salt and pepper

Separate & press dough in sprayed 9×13” pan. Press into bottom and 1” up each side of pan, sealing seams. Place cheese slices over the dough, sprinkle with bacon. In a small bowl, combine eggs, milk, salt and pepper, pour over cheese slices. Cover loosely with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until tested done. 6-8 servings.

Visit the dozens and dozens of sales all over town and try out your picking skills. You never know what valuable items will be found at rock-bottom prices. Antiques Roadshow is waiting to hear about how you found something exquisite in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.