LITTLE ROCK — It would risk giving offense to kid around about the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, which Arkansas and other states South and North are marking this year through 2015 with an array - grouches might call it a plethora - of events in an aptly serious vein.
But the 175th anniversary of Arkansas statehood, another anniversary on this year’s calendar, is evidently a safer occasion for a splash of humor.
That was reflected in the lighthearted tone at a recent state Capitol event during which Tourism Director Joe David Rice unveiled the tongue-twisting official name concocted for the statehood celebration.
It’s “septaquintaquinquecentennial,” presumably pronounced more or less as spelled.
“Some of us just call it the 175th birthday,” Rice joked to an assembled audience of tourism employees.
Not intended as a joke - although its exhaustive length seems ripe for joshing by wags doubtful that a relatively small state could boast so many stellar attractions - is the list of 175 Top Places to Visit put together by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism as part of the statehood whoopee.
Arkansans are encouraged to go to arkansas.com/175 and vote for their favorite destinations on the list, which was compiled based on the volume of search activity at the online tourism site.
Voting runs through Wednesday. The 10 attractions that get the most votes will be announced June 15 on the state’s official birthday.
For list lovers in the audience, here are all 175 candidates in alphabetical order, broken into tidy 10-attraction paragraphs, with five to spare at the end. If you can think of an attraction even remotely worth a detour that is not already listed, consider yourself an authority on the obscure allures of the Natural State:
Arkansas & Missouri Railroad, Arkansas Air Museum, Arkansas Arts Center, Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame, Arkansas Governor’s Mansion, Arkansas Historic Wine Museum, Arkansas Post National Memorial, Arkansas Railroad Museum, Arkansas River Trail, Arkansas Rock ’N’ Roll Highway Museum;
Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame Museum, Arkansas Capitol, Arkansas State University Museum, Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, Bathhouse Row, Belle Grove Historic District, Big Dam Bridge Pedestrian and Bicycle Trail, Big Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Blanchard Springs Caverns & Recreation Area, Blue Mountain Lake;
Botanical Garden of the Ozarks, Buffalo National River Boxley Valley Historic District, Camp Nelson Confederate Cemetery, Central ArkansasNature Center, Central Delta Depot & Museum, Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site, Clinton House Museum, Clinton Presidential Library & Museum, Collin Raye Museum, Cove Lake;
Crowley’s Ridge Nature Center, Daisy Airgun Museum, DeGray Lake Resort State Park, Delta Cultural Center, Delta Heritage Trail, Delta Rivers Nature Center, Devil’s Backbone Civil War Battlefield, Devil’s Den State Park, Dickson Street Entertainment District, El Dorado Downtown Historic District;
Eureka Springs Downtown Historic District, Fayetteville Underground, Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge, Forrest City Downtown Murals, Fort Chaffee Barbershop Museum, Fort Smith Museum of History,Fort Smith National Historic Site, Fort Smith Regional Art Museum, Four States Auto Museum, Gangster Museum of America;
Gann Museum of Saline County, Garvan Woodland Gardens, Grant County Museum & Heritage Square, Guachoya Cultural Art Center, Hampson Archeological Museum State Park, Haw Creek Falls, Headquarters House Museum & Garden, Heifer International’s Heifer Village, Helena Museum, Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum & Education Center;
Herman Davis Memorial State Park, Historic Arkansas Museum, Historic Perot Theatre, Historic Washington State Park, Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area, Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge, Hot Springs Mountain Tower, Hot Springs National Park, Jack R. Rhodes Lake Front Park,Jacksonport State Park;
Jacksonville Military History Museum, Jenkins’ Ferry Battlefield State Park, Jerome Historic Marker, John H. Johnson Museum, Josephine Tussaud Wax Museum, Junction Bridge in Little Rock, Lake Catherine State Park, Lake Charles State Park, Lake Chicot State Park, Lake Dardanelle State Park;
Lake Fort Smith State Park, Lake Frierson State Park, Lake Leatherwood Park & Cabins, Lake Ouachita State Park, Lake Poinsett State Park, Lake Saracen Walking Trail, Lakeport Plantation, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, Little Rock Nature Center, Little Rock Zoo;
Log Cabin Museum, Logoly State Park, Louisiana Purchase State Park, Lower White River Museum State Park, MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, Magic Springs Water and Theme Park, Mammoth Spring State Park, Mark Martin Museum, Marks’ Mills Battlefield State Park, Martha Mitchell House;
Massard Prairie Civil War Battlefield Park, Maynard Pioneer Museum & Park, Mc-Collum-Chidester House, Mid-America Science Museum, Millwood State Park, Mississippi River State Park, Moro Bay State Park, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, Mount Magazine State Park, Mount Nebo State Park;
Museum of Contemporary Art at the Ozark, Museum of Native American History, Museum of the Arkansas Grand Prairie, National Park Aquarium, North Central Arkansas Art Gallery, Oaklawn Racing and Gaming, Old Hardy Town,Old Independence Regional Museum, Old Jail Museum, Old State House Museum;
Osage Creek Performing Arts Center, Ozark Folk Center State Park, Ozark Heritage Arts Center & Museum, Ozark Medieval Fortress, Ozark Military Museum, Parkin Archeological State Park, Pea Ridge National Military Park, Pedestal Rocks Scenic Area, Peel Mansion Museum & Heritage Gardens, Petit Jean State Park;
Pillow-Thompson Victorian House, Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Historical Museum, Pinnacle Mountain State Park/Arkansas Arboretum, Plantation Agriculture Museum State Park, Poison Spring State Park, Powhatan Historic State Park, Prairie Grove Battlefield Historic State Park, Quapaw Quarter Historic District, Queen Wilhelmina State Park, Quigley’s Castle;
Reed’s Bridge Battlefield, River Market District, Rohwer Internment Camp Historic Marker, Sam Walton’s Five & Dime Wal Mart Visitor Center, Saunders Memorial Museum, Scott Joplin Mural, Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, Shoppach House Historic Park, South Arkansas Arboretum State Park, Southern Tenant Farmers Museum;
Southland Park Gaming and Racing, St. Francis County Museum, State Line Avenue, Subiaco Abbey, Academy and Retreat Center, Susan Morrison Signature Gallery, Texarkana Museum of Regional History, Texarkana Regional Arts Center, The New GreatPassion Play, The Old Mill, The Painted House Movie Set;
Thorncrown Chapel, Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park, Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, USS Razorback, Van Buren Downtown Historic District, Village Creek State Park, Walton Fine Arts Center, War Eagle Mill, Wegner Quartz Crystal Mines, White Oak Lake State Park;
White River National Wildlife Refuge, Wild River Country, Wild Wilderness Safari, Withrow Springs State Park, Woolly Hollow State Park.
Style, Pages 49 on 06/05/2011