Trains don't take center stage at the Frisco Fest very often, in spite of the name.
This weekend, visitors to downtown Rogers can watch everything from Ballet Westside performances to a BMX stunt show and listen to music by the Trumann Rail Boys, Dr. Nola & the Soul Shakers and Vintage Pistol, dine on barbecue and shop a selection of locally made crafts.
FAQ
Sugar Creek Model Railroad Show
WHEN — 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday
WHERE — Rogers Historical Museum Annex, 120 W. Poplar St.
COST — Free
INFO — 621-1154
FYI
Frisco Festival
Schedule
Today
5 p.m. — Festival opens
5:30 p.m. — Ballet Westside, Frisco Stage
6 p.m. — Ballet Folklorico, Frisco Stage
7:30-10 p.m. — Calle Soul, Frisco Stage
Saturday
9 a.m. — Car show, Third Street
10 a.m.-2 p.m. — Whistle Stop Cafe, First United Methodist Church
11 a.m. — Ballet Westside, Frisco Stage
1:30 p.m. — Southern BMX stunt show, First & Poplar
3 p.m. — Trumann Rail Boys, Frisco Stage
3:30 p.m. — Southern BMX stunt show, First & Poplar
3:30-5:30 p.m. — Frisco Inferno BBQ Competition tasting
5-7:30 p.m. — Dr. Nola & the Soul Shakers
5:30 p.m. — Southern BMX stunt show, First & Poplar
8-10 p.m. — Vintage Pistol, Frisco Stage
— Source: Main Street Rogers
But to pay homage to the town's roots, you might want to step inside the Rogers Historical Museum Annex, where the Sugar Creek Model Railroad & Historical Society will be sharing model train displays in various gauges and sizes.
Keith Johnson, president of the 25-member club, says he expects at least 10 enthusiasts on hand Saturday and trains from tiny tabletop gauges on up. Johnson himself collects Lionel trains that are 1/4 inch scale -- meaning a 40-foot-long box car would be 10 inches long in his collection.
Johnson says Santa brought him his first Lionel train when he was in first grade, and "trains just run in my blood." It's not from living in a railroad town, he says, although Rogers wouldn't exist without the St. Louis & San Francisco that rolled into town on May 10, 1881.
"There was much contention over the railroad, with the citizens in the well-established town of Bentonville arguing that they should have the line," writes Gaye Bland, now retired as director of the Rogers museum in a history of the Frisco. "Folks living in the area now known as Rogers thought otherwise.
"B.F. Sikes helped sway the railroad's decision by donating 30 acres for a depot and railroad grounds," she continues. "In addition, several enterprising farmers raised the $600 requested by the Frisco right-of-way agent. The newly formed town was named after Captain Charles W. Rogers, vice president and general manager of the Frisco."
-- Becca Martin-Brown
NAN What's Up on 08/25/2017