Page 3 - Toad Suck Daze 2015

Sunday, April 26, 2015 An Advertising Supplement to the River Valley & Ozark Edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette • Toad Suck Daze • 3VVV
Toadally awesome Annual Toad Suck Daze festival
BY CODY GRAVES
SPECIAL SECTIONS WRITER
Food, fun and education — that’s what Toad Suck Daze, Conway’s yearly downtown celebration, is all about.
This year, the festival is back and bigger than ever. Toad Suck Daze will take place Friday through May 3 and feature a variety of attractions and events for the whole family.
“We have a little bit of everything,” said Mary Margaret Satterfield, director of Toad Suck Daze and events. “You have arts and crafts, concessions, a carnival, the Kids Zone, live entertainment and the world-fa- mous Toad Races.”
Toad Suck Daze is one of the largest festivals in the state, she said, and Arkansas’
largest free festival. Admission is free, but vendors use Toad Bucks, the festival’s currency, for purchases. Toad Bucks can be bought at several locations around the downtown area.
The main purpose of Toad Suck Daze is education, Satterfield said. Proceeds from the event have raised more than $1.4 mil- lion in endowed or directly awarded schol- arships. More than 220 Faulkner County students have received Toad Suck Daze Scholarships, and since 2012, Toad Suck Daze has awarded more than $100,000 to local early-childhood-education initiatives.
One of the groups that benefit from Toad Suck Daze is an organization called Arkansas Preschool Plus. The group works to strengthen preschool education by
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RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION FILE PHOTO
Malachi Shirley of Conway prepares for takeoff on the airplane ride at last year’s Toad Suck Daze.
back for 2015