The 2010 theme for Heritage Month is “Roads Less Traveled: The Enduring Heritage of Rural Arkansas.” During the month of May, Arkansans are invited to remember our roots as a historically rural state. During territorial times, farmers made up 90 percent of the population, and today, almost half of the state’s residents still live in rural communities. That establishes a connection to the soil shared by almost all Arkansans.
Life on homesteads and in small towns has shaped the state’s character more than the political dealings of the capital city. Remote and often harsh, it fostered a spirit of self-reliance, a make-do-attitude and distrust of changes.
In today’s age of agricultural mechanization and mass migration to the urban centers, rural Arkansas still matters. This is where our heritage originated, where many of our beloved traditions and stories began. Heritage Month 2010 presents a great opportunity to honor the ways of life of our rural forebears.
If your group, organization or school is planning a special Heritage Month event, make sure that you get it listed in the 2010 Heritage Month Registry of Events. The Registry will be used in all our promotions of Heritage Month during May, including on this website.
By including your event in the Registry, you will receive:
- Copies of the beautiful and collectable Arkansas Heritage Month poster
- Copies of the Registry of Events listing Arkansas Heritage Month events statewide
- Free statewide media attention through news releases and the official Governor's Proclamation of Arkansas Heritage Month
- Inclusion in the Heritage Month calendar of events on our website
