The event: Diamond Wars 30 (Facebook event page)
The date: October 15-18, 2015
The location: Camp Cedar Valley, Viola, Arkansas (Google directions link to exact site).
Accommodations on-site: All tenting (a very few cabin spaces available for royalty). Bathhouses with hot water. Great Hall with kitchen. Some electrical hookups and water faucets across site. Entire site is 777 acres.
Alcohol: YES. Please take home your empties.
Dining on-site: Site fee includes Thursday night soup kitchen and Saturday evening barbecue feast.
House Holdstar is offering a free Friday dinner.
Other meals are available at the Great Hall through the Tavern (onsite kitchen), with different groups providing food items and meals for $1-5. Coffee is available for free. Menus available here.
Pets: Yes, but on a leash. No pets in buildings. Service animals allowed except in kitchen.
Parking: On-site. No vehicles on the Parade Grounds. Directions will be given.
NEAREST CONVENIENCES:
Gas. Citgo Get-N-G- station located 3/10ths of a mile west of Arkansas Highway 223 in Viola. Open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Directions. Offers gas station pizza.
Dollar General. Salem, 9 miles east of Viola on US Highway 412.
Grocery Store. Town and Country Supermarket, Salem. 9 miles east on US Highway 412.
Walmart Supercenter. 23 miles west of Viola on US Highway 412, Mountain Home. Also 27 miles east of Viola on US Highway 62/412 in Ash Flat. Also 26 miles north of Viola in West Plains, MO (take Arkansas Highway 223 to Missouri Border, becomes Missouri Highway E. Intersects with 160 and rolls right into town).
NEAREST EMERGENCY SERVICES:
Fulton County Hospital at Salem, 9 miles east of Viola.
Pharmacies: Leslie Drug and Salem Drug in Salem, 9 miles east of Viola in Salem.
NEARBY DINING to the EAST at SALEM (12 miles from site, 9 miles from Viola on US Highway 412):
Dixie's Treasures (Salem, AR). A barbecue restaurant. I haven't been there yet.
South Fork Cafe (Salem, AR). The closest decent chicken fried steak to site. Open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday.'
Swingle Family Diner (Salem, AR). Diner with a decent breakfast. Open 6 a.m.-2 p.m. seven days a week.
Big Daddy's Pizza Shack. Local pizza joint. Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.
Also in Salem: Subway, Dairy Queen, Sonic.
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| Eggs and covered hashbrowns at Cozy Kitchen. |
Fred's Fish House. Venerable catfish joint run by family (other locations in Mammoth Spring and Batesville). Open 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-9.m. Friday and Saturday. This is the closest good restaurant to site coming in from the west.
The Cozy Kitchen. Great breakfasts, but only open Monday-Friday. On US Highway 62B.
More listed below.
Also Chili's, Western Sizzlin', Pizza Hut, Burger King, Chen's Garden (Chinese), Wendy's, Little Caesar's, Dairy Queen, Sonic, Taco Bell, Jimmy John's, Hardees and most big chains. Do NOT stop at the A&W on the way in -- it's absolutely disgusting!
NEAREST LIQUOR STORE:
Colonial Liquor at Henderson.
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| French toast, biscuit and eggs at Meacham's. |
Meacham's Family Restaurant (Ash Flat). This is the best place to stop coming in or going out from the east. The largest biscuits in the whole state of Arkansas for breakfast, the best ranch dressing in the world, fried mushrooms, chicken fried steak... family favorites galore. Makes me hungry just thinking about it. 26.5 miles east of Viola on US 62/412. Open Tuesday-Sunday
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| Meatball pizza at Nima's Pizza. |
Nima's Pizza (Gassville). For travelers coming in from the ewest, check out a pizza joint that has competed and come in second IN THE WORLD for its pies. 36 miles west of Viola, a block off of US 62/412. Open Monday-
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| The Barnbuster Burger at Back Forty. |
Back Forty (Mountain Home). Flame roasted steaks and burgers right on the drive in from the west on US 62 (take the in-town route rather than the bypass). On Facebook.
Tommy's Famous... A Pizzeria (Mountain View). I
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| A medium beef pizza with olives and half banana peppers at Tommy's Famous... A Pizzeria. |
NEARBY LODGING:
Ozark Motel (Salem, AR) 12 miles
Cottonwood Inn Motel (Salem, AR) 14 miles. Rates start at $43.
Lake Norfork Resort (Henderson, AR) 18 miles. From $70 a night.
Crystal Cove Resort (Henderson, AR) 19 miles. From $75 a night.
Riverview Hotel (Calico Rock) 24 very windy miles. Rooms start at $65.
Bayou Resort (Gamaliel) 30 miles. Studio cabins start at $63; two bedroom cabins start at $93
Additional lodging can be found at Mountain Home, 30 minutes from site.
Ozark Folk Center at Mountain View
Raimondo Winery in Mountain Home
Norfork Lake
Calico Rock Ghost Town
Peel Ferry
