Two groups announce intentions to file suit to block a new law that they say would make it more difficult to circulate petitions to get initiatives on the general election ballot. Two area schools get recognized, one for ESL proficiency and the other for overall achievement. And the Joe Martin Stage Race gets underway, with cycling traffic set to peeve some motorists on certain area roads this weekend.
Ozarks At Large
Here is the key to our clips heard in this morning’s montage of famous cemeteries, graveyards and funerals in pop culture:
- Thriller by Michael Jackson. The most famous dance routine set in a graveyard.
- Opening moments from the original Night of the Living Dead.
- The original “graveyard smash”, "The Monster Mash" by Bobby Pickett.
- A wonderful Lee Marvin stumbles into a funeral in the underrated comedy, Cat Ballou.
- Gene Wilder and Marty Feldman have a rough night in the cemetery in Young Frankenstein.
- Opening moments from a 1940 film version of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town.
- Abe Vigoda and Al Pacino is a pivotal scene at Don Corleone’s funeral in The Godfather.
- Theme from the HBO series Six Feet Under.
- Reginald Owen as Scrooge in the 1938 film A Christmas Carol as he sees his own grave.
- The Crypt Keeper from an opening episode of the HBO series Tales From the Crypt.


We continue our series previewing this weekend's poetry festival at Nightbird Books. Katie Nichol grew up in St. Cloud, Minnesota and says she started writing poetry when she was about 12 years old:
Artosphere is just around the corner, and as a result, a full slate of activities are on the schedule at Walton Arts Center.
The Fifth Annual Celebration of Heroes event benefiting the Northwest Arkansas Chapter of the American Red Cross is next Saturday May 4. Today, we meet a local hero who saved the life of a three-year-old girl.
Emily Chase recently received a national honor for her thesis work at the University of Arkansas. She told us about the creation of her paper gowns.
Becca Martin Brown says that Fleetwood Mac, Little Big Town and Jewell are a few of the music acts to keep an eye out for in the coming days.
A Fort Smith homeless agency halts its plans to move to a homeless campus until certain criteria are met. Ozarks at Large’s Christina Thomas takes us on a tour of the organization and potential campus.

Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Ahead on this edition of Weekend Ozarks, the area's first green cemetery, plus a conversation and silly questions with Frank Tavares, whose voice can be heard reading underwriting announcements on NPR.
As a festival that celebrates local food and farmers, Dig In! Food and Farming Festival will return to Fayetteville tomorrow.
More information is available at www.diginfestival.com.
“Life in Technicolor” by Vitamin String Quartet (Tribute to Coldplay)
Michael Tilley from our content partner www.thecitywire.com discusses a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report about increase in the unemployment rate in Arkansas and Mississippi in 2011; a proposed one-cent tax extension in Fort Smith; the increase in sales tax collections in Fort Smith and northwest Arkansas; and more.
“Perpetual Self/What Would Saul Alinsky Do” by Sufjan Stevens
Becca Bacon Martin from Northwest Arkansas Newspapers and a special guest explain to Iti Agnihotri-Mudholkar the mystery of “Veggie Tales.”
“Hairbrush Song” by Veggie Tales
Dr. Eric Baker from the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith will present a lecture next week about the depletion of oil resources around the world and the consequences. The event “The End of the Oil Age: Peak Oil and Its Ramifications” will take place in the Gardener Building Lecture Hall on the UA-Fort Smith campus this Monday at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
“Bittersweet Symphony” by The Verve
Jodi Beznoska from Walton Arts Center talks about our entertainment choices for the month of March.