Football, festivals and the Bandit

Even though the heat is still on and it’s a few weeks before it’s official, for me the fall season has arrived.

Football kicks off this weekend and the area festivals are in full swing and the Delta Fair is just around the corner.

We’ve had the Peach Fair in Campbell and this weekend the Fall into Arts Festival will be held on the Kennett Square today and Sunday.

There is always a wide variety of vendors from the entire region.

There will be lots of arts, crafts, food and entertainment for the entire family.

Returning this year will be the popular LEGO competition and the Gospel & Grub event which will feature many area praise bands and church choirs.

I’ve said before that Dunklin County has a lot to offer in entertainment, festivals, and this weekend proves just that.

The area really knows how to support the arts.

Motion pictures are an art form as well.

This week we lost a legend in the film industry.

Burt Reynolds passed away on Thursday at the age of 82.

My entire family were fans of his.

Years ago when I would call my grandmother in Florida and she would tell me she was watching one of Burt’s movies on TV, I didn’t have to ask Burt who?

I remember watching Smokey and the Bandit as a teenager at the Malco Theater in Blytheville while on vacation.

That was the first of many viewings for me.

I have the VHS tape, the DVD, and the classic collection of all three Bandit films.

My wife teases me because I can quote most of the movie word for word.

Can’t everybody?

I loved Burt Reynolds and I’ll miss seeing him on that big screen.

I enjoyed all his characters, from his great performance in Deliverance, his likeable moonshiner Gator McClusky, to his aging stuntman Hooper.

He may arguably not have been a great artist of film, but he was a movie star.

One of the last.

Sometime this weekend you can bet I’ll be watching that high speed pursuit.

Yep, I’ll go to the festivals, check on the football games, and then I’ll watch Ol’ Bandit run.

See you out there.