EACC Fine Arts Center Check out this year's Performance Season! Conveniently located just off of I-40 in Forrest City, East Arkansas Community College's Fine Arts Center is an important component of the cultural landscape of Eastern Arkansas. Since the Center’s opening in April of 2010, patrons and visitors have discovered a unique facility designed to meet the diverse needs of both the performing arts and the community. The 33,000 square foot Center is designated as a ‘Class A’ performance hall and is currently one of only three located in the state of Arkansas. Features include an 1,100 seat Auditorium, a 2,900 square foot state-of-the-art Stage, a large Banquet Hall and Catering Kitchen suitable for hosting meetings, banquets, receptions, seminars and more, a Black Box Theater, and an Art Gallery for art exhibitions. The building design provides flexible seating options to accommodate many different seating and table configurations as well as hosting multiple events at the same time.
Museum The St. Francis County Museum is located at 603 Front Street in the heart of the historic downtown Forrest City. Exhibits in the museum trace the development of St.Francis County through the use of artifacts, photographs, fossils and documents. The St. Francis County Museum & Rush-Gates Historic Home is the perfect place to begin to learn about the history of St. Francis County and Eastern Arkansas. The 7,000 square foot historic home is also a designated Visitor Center on the Crowley’s Ridge National Scenic Byway.
VillageCreekState Park Arkansas' largest state park is located 13 miles North of Forrest City on State Highway No. 284. The park offers camping facilities, hiking and horseback trails, fishing lakes, and cabins. There are 75 picnic areas, 8 tennis courts, softball fields, aVisitors Information Center, and many other facilities for your complete family outdoor enjoyment. A 27-hole championship golf course was recently completed. The visitor center complex offers an excellent audiovisual theater and "Discovery Room" with exhibits on the geological history of Crowley's Ridge. Lakes Dunn and Austell at Village Creek are delighting fishermen with a steady yield of big, Florida-strain large-mouth bass. Residents enjoy showing Village Creek off to relatives and friends.
Parkin Archeological State Park Parkin Archeological State Park is on the north edge of the City of Parkin at the junction of Highway 64 and 184. Parkin is 12 miles north of Interstate 40 on Highway 75, 23 miles west of Interstate 55 on Highway 64. The 17-acre site on the St. Francis River was occupied by Native Americans from AD 1000 to 1550. It was surrounded by a moat and a log palisade wall for protection. Agricultural fields (for growing corn, beans, and other crops) were located outside the moat. A large platform mound, on the bank of the river, remains there today. The site is important for understanding the history and pre-history of northeast Arkansas.
In conjunction with the founding of the State Park, a Research Station has been established at Parkin by the Arkansas Archaeological Survey. Station archaeologists are conducting long-term excavations and research at the site, providing visitors with a unique opportunity to learn about the past.
Visitors can watch research in progress and see firsthand the results of careful excavation and laboratory analysis. Archaeology can tell us much about the site and its inhabitants that we could not know otherwise. You are invited to join us in this process of discovery. Schools and groups may request programs to meet specific interests. Hunting and Fishing Hunting and fishing are enjoyed year around. Deer, ducks, squirrel, turkey, doves, quail and rabbits are plentiful around the area. Excellent fishing lakes are within a few minutes drive in any direction.
Bear Creek and Storm Creek lakes and public hunting areas located in the St. FrancisNational Forest are only a 30-minute drive south of Forrest City.
The White River National Wildlife Refuge, only an hour's drive away, is popular with hunters and fishermen.
Sports We have two beautiful country clubs that offer golf, swimming, tennis, and other activities. Both clubs accept reciprocating memberships. They are the Forrest City Country Club (870) 633-3380 and Ridgecrest Country Club (870) 633-9863. Our Municipal Sports Complex features facilities for softball, baseball, basketball, soccer, and flag football. Little League and Adult Softball League programs keep our ballfields busy. For more information, please call the Forrest City Recreation Department (870) 633-3667.
The Sports Complex is also home to the Larry S. Bryant Multi-Purpose and Wellness Center. This spacious facility provides a wide range of activities, including meeting and banquet space, an indoor walking track, a gymnasium, fitness equipment and a game room/lounge. After-school and summer programs are available for youth. Membership is required. Temporary and one-day memberships are available. Forrest City's Mightymite Triathlon is an annual summer event that draws athletes from all over the country. The race is sanctioned by Triathlon Federation U.S.A. and serves as the South Midwest Regional Championship. The course runs along beautifulCrowley's Ridge. The swimming, biking and running event provides competitive opportunities for persons 14 and older.
General Forrest City also has other entertainment activities, including the 4-screen Broadway Cinema, which shows first run movies, and The Skating Star, a skating rink.
Forrest City's Public Library is located at 421 S. Washington Street (633-5646). Library cards are free to residents living inside the Forrest City limits. Those living outside the city limits can get a card for $15.00. This fee covers an entire family for one year. Library cards are required to use the computers or check out materials.
For residents who occasionally want a break from small-town life in order to pursue big-city pleasures, Memphis is less than an hour away with fine dining, opera, symphony, live theater, Blues on Beale Street, museums, art galleries, and a zoo. Southland Greyhound Park in West Memphis offers daily races, and several casinos are located on the Mississippi River just south of Memphis in Tunica, Mississippi.