Heard on the Street

RAILROAD DAYS FESTIVAL

Hearken back to the days when Springfield's prosperity rode in on the rails during the Railroad Days festival June 23-24 on Commercial Street. The two-block-long outdoor festival, from Jefferson to Washington avenues, will be free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors can ride speeder cars, watch a pedal tractor pull, see the model train display, antique cars and tractors, marvel over a working steam engine, listen to storytellers, and wander through booths featuring arts and crafts. The festival is sponsored by the Commercial Club and the Urban Districts Alliance. Artists and craftsmen who wish to display their wares may obtain applications at the UDA office at 304 W. McDaniel, or for more information, call Shellie Jones at 831-6200.

SOUP'S ON!

A 662-gallon bowl of soup dreamed up by Noble & Associates, which markets and advertises Wyler's Soup Starter has made it into the Guinness Book of World Records, according to Jennifer Cline of Noble. The bowl was made by Precision Stainless, while the Clystar protective covering was provide by DuPont. Both companies also are Noble's clients. The record-breaking bowl of vegetable beef soup measured 10 feet in diameter and 22 inches in depth and was created to celebrate Wyler's 70th anniversary. It is on display at Wyler's plant in Northbrook, Ill., just north of Chicago. Proceeds from the sale of the soup went to Catholic Charities of Chicago and St. Stanislaus, which runs a soup kitchen.

PICKIN' AND GRINNIN'

If you've got a hankering for some good old Ozarks music, head to West Plains for the seventh annual Ozark Heritage Festival during the weekend of June 16-17. A $10 admission fee entitles festival goers to hear the headliner, Grammy-winning Nashville Bluegrass Band, as well as singer, songwriter, storyteller and autoharp master Bryan Bowers; Comer "Moon" Mullins, winner of the Merle Travis thumb-picking contest; and Jim Curley, national title holder for clawhammer banjo and mountain dulcimer. For more information, call the West Plains Council on the Arts at 417-256-1981 or e-mail the council at arts@townsqr.com.

HOSTAS ON DISPLAY

If you have a "black thumb" i.e., you kill more plants that you grow consider the lovely, perennial hosta. More than 300 of the shade-loving plants will be on display June 2 at North Town Mall when the Greater Ozarks Hosta Society will host a hosta contest. Society vendors will be on hand with plants available for sale, too. Hostas boast spectacular foliage, dependable flowering, great hardiness and durability for decades in shade gardens where many other plants die for lack of sunshine.

LUNCH WITH THE ARTISTS

Bring a sack lunch and learn about art when a panel of six artists get together and talk 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. May 30 at the Keyes Gallery, 229 S. Market Street. The idea is that talking about art can enhance one's involvement with art. Panel members will be Dr. Marty Rosenberg, Tom Parker, Butch Hulett, Jorge Leyva, Dwayne Hughes and Gray Flenner, all holders of masters degrees in fine arts. For more information, call 417-866-2851 or e-mail info@keyesgallery.com.

SLICE OF NICE

The fund-raising golf tourneys just keep on a-comin'. Take, for instance, the four-man scramble June 2 at Silo Ridge Golf and Country Club in Bolivar. The event will benefit the Citizens Memorial Health Care Foundation Medical Excellence Scholarships program, and students interested in pursuing health careers and returning to the Bolivar area. More than 100 students have been aided by the scholarship program. The team entry fee is $500, with prizes in three flights. Tee times are 7:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. For more information call the golf course at 417-326-7456, or CMH at 417-328-6546 or 417-328-6406.

The same date, Ozarkers tee-off in a two-woman scramble against breast cancer at the Ozarks Rally for A Cure Golf Tournament at Hidden Valley Golf Links in Clever. The event will benefit The Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. For more information, to register or to sponsor call Connie Alberty at 417-743-2860.