Walnut Ridge, AR

Beatlemania in Walnut Ridge, AR

The Fiction Addiction

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2NLOPF_0kf6uaaN00
Beatles Park, Walnut RidgePhoto bymine

Walnut Ridge, Arkansas is a small town located in northeastern Arkansas. This little town has a really original story in the history of The Beatles and American Beatlemania. On September 18, 1964, the Walnut Ridge airport was used as a refueling stop for the Beatles’ plane, and George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr were spotted by avid fans. Word spread fast among young Beatles fans in town, and when the plane returned for a refueling stop in the other direction, many fans were there to greet the Fab Four. The Beatles stepped to sign autographs, and take photos with fans. Even though they didn’t actually play a show here, it’s a special stop on the Beatles’ first tour of the United States in 1964.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0uDpfG_0kf6uaaN00
Beatles Park, Walnut RidgePhoto bymine

At the time, Beatlemania was at its height. The American concert tour included thirty-two packed shows in just thirty-four days, but didn’t have any stops in Arkansas. The Beatles were surrounded by fans wherever they went, and this refueling stop at the airport was no exception. There’s a truly charming story of the teenage president of the Beatles fan club at Walnut Ridge high school getting to meet the Beatles. You don't even have to be a Beatles fan to imagine the excitement of your favorite band happening to stop by your hometown.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0ogBAP_0kf6uaaN00
Beatles Park in Walnut Ridge, ARPhoto bymine

Decades later, that quick refueling stop is remembered and celebrated by public art and historical displays in Walnut Ridge. A Beatles Park was established in Walnut Ridge, and you can visit today. The park features a statue of the four band members, as well as a story explaining their visit to the city, including photos of the famous band snapped by a local on his Brownie camera. The park is a unique destination for Beatles fans, and has some fun photo ops for visitors. Down the street is an Abbey Road sign and a yellow submarine.

Additionally, Walnut Ridge now hosts an annual Beatles festival at the Ridge Festival, which celebrates the band's music and legacy. The festival features live music, food vendors, and a variety of other activities for Beatles fans and music lovers in general.

Read full story in "NewsBreak" App
# Beatles# history

Comments / 7

Published by

Always reading, usually book blogging.

Boston, MA
1K followers

More from The Fiction Addiction

Book Reaction: Even Though I Knew The End

Even Though I Knew The End, by C. L. Polk, is a sapphic romance and a supernatural thriller, all with a Chicago noir style. Helen is a freelance private investigator with certain supernatural skills, nearing the end of her secret countdown of her time left on earth. Edith, her girlfriend, is a choir singer with her own supernatural secrets. Helen gets caught up in one final investigation, chasing a gristly, notorious murderer, known as the White City Vampire.

Read full story

Sonia Palleck's "Leave the Little Light On"

Leave the Little Light On, Book One: Windsor, by Sonia Palleck, is a fictionalized memoir, inspired by the author's life. This makes it a highly personal, emotional novel. The book follows actual events in her life, but reads like fiction.

Read full story

ARC Review: The Rachel Incident

The Rachel Incident, by Caroline O’Donoghue, was basically a one-sitting read for me. The plot’s twisty and emotional, full of realistic early-twenties intensity, with a much-older professor, who’s really chasing that early-twenties vibe.

Read full story

Backlist Book Review: The Cazalet Chronicles

The Cazalet Chronicles is a five-book historical fiction series, by Elizabeth Jane Howard. The novels follow the British Cazalet family over several decades, beginning in 1937 with The Light Years, and ending in the 1950s with All Change. The story begins in 1937 in England, which sounds to modern readers like right before WWII, but for the characters, is several years after the end of The Great War, the war to end all wars. The series continues to follow the Cazalet family (and friends), exploring their experiences and relationships. and sometimes showing the effects of historical events. Marking Time, set in the early years of World War II, shows a determined hopefulness that things will be back to normal soon, even as the new hostilities reveal the scars from WWI. The Cazalets and a few friend and in-laws, settle into their countryside estate, Home Place, for the duration.

Read full story
Washington, DC

New Youth Fiction Collection: What It Cost Us

What It Cost Us: Stories of Pandemic & Protest in DC, by 10 young authors from Shout Mouse Press, shares pandemic experiences as raw, expressive fiction. These ten writers share their experiences and emotions from the early stages of the covid pandemic. The stories are organized by season, which highlights both the dramatic evolving of 2020 and how much young people can change through a year.

Read full story

For You and Only You (Vibes, Not Spoilers)

For You and Only You is the newest thriller in Caroline Kepnes’ You series, about Joe Goldberg, that deeply twisted unreliable narrator, who just wants to find true love, even if that means a disturbingly high body count. He just has no choice but to murder anyone who interferes with his love life.

Read full story

Book Review: The Saga of Marathon

As you probably know, I only ever run to catch a train, so I’m using “marathon” here in the sense of very long yet important travel. The Saga of Marathon, by Nicholas Checker, reimagines the battle of Marathon and the famous runner Pheidippides, who brought the news of the Persian defeat to the Athenians. In this retelling, Pheidippides is a teenager living in Athens, although he’s not a full, voting citizen, and his desire to be accepted as an Athenian plays into his motivations here. This is kind of the historical fiction gap in our knowledge -- historians don’t know that much about Pheidippides besides his dramatic run, so we don’t know that this wasn’t the truth. There's a real attention paid to the details of daily ancient Greek life (not that the Athenians would consider themselves Greeks, or ancient, for that matter) that grounds the drama of the story.

Read full story

How to Get eARCs as a New Book Blogger

One of the ways to grow your bookstagram or grow your book review blog is by reading and reviewing ARCs (advance review copies). These advance copies let book bloggers, influencers, and tastemakers read new fiction early, and start the conversation about the new book. But, of course, it's not easy to get eARCs from publishers with a new blog or bookstagram. New book bloggers always want to know how to get these ARCs!

Read full story

Book Review: The Writing Retreat

I kept seeing posts about The Writing Retreat, by Julia Bartz, on Instagram, and I was completely intrigued by the premise. A locked-door thriller set at a writing retreat? A fiction competition that turns deadly? Yes, I definitely want to read that!

Read full story

Game Review: Cute "Idle Mining Empire"

Welcome to Idle Mining Empire, a cute and casual browser game. This game has players build their own mining empire by collecting resources, and then building new shafts, upgrading equipment, and hiring more workers to earn more money and expand the, well, mining empire.

Read full story

Game Review: BBQ Roast

BBQ Roast is a cute browser game with a tasty food theme and a BBQ twist on the usual match-3 gameplay. The graphics in BBQ Roast are cute and fun, reminding me of a Cooking Mama challenge.

Read full story

Game Review: Adorable Cooking Mama 3

Game sequels are in a tough spot. Go too far from what we loved in the original, and players who loved the first game will lose interest in the second. Stick too close to the original game, though, and players feel like we’ve bought the same game in a pretty new case.

Read full story

Book Review: People to Follow's Influencer Drama

I knew I was going to love People to Follow, by Olivia Worley. I love reality TV novels, I love stories of social media performance, I love influencers in fiction. Also, I love locked-door mysteries in which everyone gets cut off from civilization. So good.

Read full story

Dark Friendship in "I'm Not Done With You Yet"

After the perfectly good YA Well, That Was Unexpected, and the perfectly good cozy mystery Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice For Murderers, Jesse Q Sutanto is BACK with the one-sitting WTF pageturner in the new I'm Not Done With You Yet.

Read full story

Roman Fiction for the Ides of March

Happy Ides of March! Obviously, the best way to commemorate the historical assassination of Julius Caesar is by collectively stabbing the coworker who annoys you most. The second best way is by reading about the Romans.

Read full story

Book Review: Steampunk Science in "A Machine Divine"

A Machine Divine, by Derek Paul, is a new steampunk YA novel. When the story opens, teenage Asher and Callie, from the small town of Vana, have both been accepted in university in Riali City. Asher will study bio and genetics, with the unique abilities of genes in this world. Callie has gifts with animals, and animals here include sprites, snow foxes, and more. When they arrive in the capital, though, they will discover city customs, uni life, new friends… and dark secrets in their society.

Read full story

New Memoir "Forager: Field Notes for Surviving a Family Cult "

Forager: Field Notes for Surviving a Family Cult is a new memoir by Michelle Dowd. This was a bizarre read for me. I think I was expecting something like Tara Westover's Educated or Jeannette Wall's The Glass Castle. I think it's the subtitle that makes this especially bizarre for me, because there's not really anything about the cult or about how the narrator escapes the life of her family. Instead, it's a collection of vignettes of abuse and starvation in an unexplained doomsday cult, mixed with literal field notes on foraging bark and leaves.

Read full story

Why Readers Still Love Agatha Christie Mysteries

Agatha Christie is called the “Queen of Crime” and her mystery novels have been captivating readers for over a century. Despite being written ages ago, her books are still so popular today. The Agatha Christie books are always checked out at my library, and my bookstagram friends feed has loads of Christie covers. So, why do readers still love Agatha Christie mysteries?

Read full story

New Fiction: The Wizard's Lover by Alicia Norman

The Wizard’s Lover, by Alicia Norman, is a new serial set at Asteria Pulse Magick Academy. Even in a world of wizards, shapeshifters, and pixies, finding love can be complicated. Aaron, a promising, talented student at Asteria Pulse Magick Academy, is lucky enough to fall for the beautiful, older Isabella, and there’s a real, steamy connection. At first, it seems Isabella is equally enamored. But even though she cares for Aaron, there’s something she’s not about to tell him… And Aaron’s starting to notice that his magick is slightly off… There’s an ominous feel here, even though the magic college is full of fun. Meanwhile, Aaron’s childhood bestie, Aimee, may have found her own romantic connection.

Read full story

New Ways Creators Can Grow Instagram

Building a large Instagram following can be a crucial factor in your success in any niche. Consistent growth of real followers is the key to building a large, engaged audience that will support you throughout your journey.

Read full story

Comments / 0

Community Policy