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Out for a walk one afternoon enabled an opportunity to catch a little art-in-action at a location not readily apparent.  It is one of those places you have to know about, or be on a quest to discover.  Indeed, I had no idea Rewind Video even existed any longer, yet there it is, on the back of the building, getting a fresh coat of paint by none other than Sike Style. The new art is just the beginning of the story.  While the sign itself is a nostalgic nod, what lies beneath and beyond is a brilliant new chapter for the location.   "Rewind Video" is not the video tape rental shop from years gone by, but a basement dive bar, serving up a 1990's vibe through Capri Sun mixers and analog gaming consoles.  All of this will undoubtedly prove itself a fun, adults only gaming diversion.

  A random invitation led to attending a different sort of performance, put on by another local puppet troupe at Mid-Continent Public Library North Oak Branch. What if Puppets of Kansas City  offered up the intriguing little story " How to Snag a Sea Monster " about a sea creature and a giant baby that washed up on the shores of Barnacle Bay in Cape Cod.  The performance enthralled and amused a wide age range of attendees on Saturday morning, transforming a routine weekend morning into an imaginative voyage and an opportunity for a fresh look at one of the newer library locations.

A warmer than usual November evening set the stage for a different sort of performance from Stone Lion Puppet Theater than had been done in previous expositions. The drive- through was abandoned, eliminating an evening of wandering about observing the glowing puppets up close. We had expected that and set our course accordingly, first enjoying a good meal from Los Alamos before securing optimal parking at the site of the event . Instead, we found ourselves with a lot of time on our hands, waiting in anticipation.  The urge to give up on the two-and-a-half-hour wait was real, as there was little more to do beyond a handful of vendors and poorly organized food trucks. It was nearly impossible to figure out where one line began and the other ended.  That challenge was only outranked by the viewing angle from the terrace below the stage.   We endured the wait though, with the help of a good sound system surrounding us on the stairs, and a little Spiced Chai fr...

A visit to Searcy found the Riverview Raiders stumped and unable to vanquish the invading Panthers from Heber Springs.  They held fast in the second half, only permitting another 7 points and gain 6 for themselves in the last few minutes of the same.  Most of the game was a brutal beating for them though, with the Panthers scoring goal after goal. We were there for the music though, believe it or not.  A close friend was playing for the Heber Springs Marching Band, and we pounced on the rare opportunity to hear them play.  The opposing team put up on fairly fantastic half-time performance that kept the stands pinned down to their seats.  

Passing through northwest Nebraska quite literally demands a stop at what is undoubtedly one of the more interesting art-historical landmarks in the region.  There is likely nothing more intriguing in the area, and for the same reason it was created, why not! Carhenge is a larger-than-life piece created by Nebraska native Jim Reinders.  A seven-year stint in England as a petroleum engineer inspired the creation that leverages an array of random vehicles to replicate the original Stonehenge. Complete in 6 days, using 25 cars, during a family reunion, it was dedicated on the date of the Summer Solstice in 1987. The work continues to evolve and inspire beyond the original "Carhenge of the West" too, with the very first Carhenge Mural Festival held this year.  Multiple artists joined in transforming the gray canvas cars into a vivid and impactful displays that paired nicely with blue skies and other vehicular transformations on site.