Daniel Prince
Racing, coon hunting events are among major tourism draws to the county
The Union County Events Committee met for lunch Wednesday afternoon. They invited several groups from the community who plan events to share information about their upcoming events. The takeaway is that there is a lot that happens in Union County, and there will be plenty to do in 2023. In the world of racing, the Union County Dragway is bringing back the Pro Modified class and will offer a steady stream of racing events to bring people into the community. One of their big events is scheduled for May 20-21. Brown said on some of the open dates, he would like to open the track up to host community events. Mid East Racing has four events scheduled in Union this year so far. The Pea Ridge Hare Scramble will be February 11-12, Pines on Nine will be February 25-26, Charner’s Run will be June 10-11, and The Gobbler will be June 17-18. Henry Turner said GNCC Racing will return to Big Buck Farm starting with Big Buck on February 18-19 followed by the Tiger Run on April 1-2. He said a group from Florida came in and installed a WiFi mesh system in the Big Buck parking lot that will allow events to be streamed there at high quality and for a lot of people. He said he hopes to host more events at the farm other than just the two races. He said he would like to host a music festival there and other events, as well.
Steven Stone with the Coon Hunters Association said his group has grown through the years from hosting a single event to hosting 5 events last year. He said the 50th anniversary of the Southeastern Treeing Walker Days will be coming to the fairgrounds on February 23-25. He said they saw a record crowd last year for the event and expect even more this year due to the special anniversary. He said he expects to sell out hotels from Union to Greenwood for the event. The county will also play host to a national qualifying event on April 21-23, something Stone said he just found out about minutes before the meeting. He noted the group hosted a world qualifier last October. He thanked everyone who had a part in helping with the association’s events, including the Union County Sheriff’s Office, Union County Tourism Commission, the Union County Detention Center, Union County Fair Board, and the City of Union, among others.
There are many more events scheduled, and we will cover more in tomorrow’s newscast.