What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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16311 Hwy. 62 West / Eureka Springs, AR / (479) 253-8595 TICKETS ON SALE! VISIT opera.org Singers and musicians from across the nation come together for a month-long series of inspired performances at Inspiration Point in Eureka Springs. 2018 SEASON JUNE 22 - JULY 20 fools love in sunday matinees at arts center of the ozarks in springdale july 1 st , 8 th and 15 th a l s o 40 WHAT'S UP! JULY 1-7, 2018 WWII Veteran Leads Parade At 95, Bella Vistan Don Burri can now reflect on the fact that he darn near didn't get to celebrate any Independence Days, let alone this year's. A Marine Corps aviator during World War II, Burri was a spanking new fighter pilot flying one of the Marines' hottest planes — a brand new FG1 Corsair made by Good- year, noted for its gull-shaped wings and 16-foot-long nose — when he had to ditch his burning plane southwest of an airfield in Palatka, Fla. By the time he jumped, he was at 300 feet. He pulled the cord on his parachute, made one turn and hit the ground. He later learned from a rescuer that he formed a crater three and a half feet long and 18 inches deep. "It knocked me silly and then some," Burri says. Burri, who spent years recovering from his injuries, remembers a time when World War II veterans weren't honored. He came to appreciate his time in the service when he made a trip on an Honor Flight in 2011 to Washington, D.C. The one-day trip involved touring the memorials in the area. Upon landing back at Northwest Arkan- sas Regional Airport, "we got to the head of the escalator, and the entrance foyer (below) was packed with people waiting to welcome us home," he says. The crowd cleared a path for them, he says. "I was absolutely pooped," Burri recalls. "But we got walking down that path, and the kids were reaching out and thanking us for saving the United States of America for our kids. I cried. "I'll never forget that as long as I live." Burri will be parade marshal for the Patriot Parade starting at 10 a.m. July 4 at the Sugar Creek Center in Bella Vista. Music starts at 9 a.m. — The Weekly Vista Don Burri COVER STORY July 4th Continued From Page 37 JULY 4TH CELEBRATION — Hot dogs, drinks at 7:30 p.m. and fireworks at dark at New Sulphur Free Will Baptist Church, Hogeye Road in Prairie Grove. Free. 846-2051. CARDBOARD BOAT RACE — And Independence Day celebration, all day, Gar Creek Park in Ozark. Free. 667-2949. FOURTHFEST — Food, inflatables, games and fireworks, 7 p.m., First Baptist Church in Center- ton. 795-2591. AN EVENING AT ORCHARDS PARK — With music by Fayette- ville Funk Factory and Arkansas Winds, 7 p.m., Orchards Park in Bentonville. Fireworks at 9:30 p.m. Free; concessions available. 464-7275 or playbentonville.com. FIREWORKS — Food, fun and fireworks, 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m., downtown Hindsville. Free. 789-6033. FIREWORKS FINALE — Following the 8 p.m. cruise on the Showboat Branson Belle, Table Rock Lake in Branson, Mo. Cruise tickets are $28-$55. 800-775-2628. FIREWORKS — Dusk, high school football field in Booneville. Free. 675-2666. FIREWORKS — 8:30 p.m., Ventris Trail's End Resort on Beaver Lake near Garfield. Intended to be seen from boats. Free. 359-3912. FIREWORKS — 8:30 p.m., Drinks, desserts and fireworks at dusk at Mount Comfort Church of Christ in Fayetteville. Free. 442-9171. JIM ROLLO SECOND MEMORIAL FIRE- WORKS AND FISH FRY — Bring a dessert or drinks to share at the picnic dinner, beginning at 7 p.m. with fireworks at dusk at Hope Community Bible Church in Rogers. Free. 636-2457. — DEB HARVELL CONTRIBUTED TO THIS STORY.