Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is the tenth most populous city in the state of Arkansas, and the city's current population is estimated at over 38,000 residents. It is also the county seat of Garland County. Hot Springs is traditionally best known for the natural thermal spring waters that give the city its name. The 143-degrees Fahrenheit water flows out of the ground from 47 springs on the western slope of Hot Springs Mountain, located in the historic downtown district of the city. Approximately 800,000 gallons of water flows from the springs each day, and the tourist trade that these thermal waters bring have made Hot Springs Arkansas a very successful spa town.
Hot Springs has other attractions, too, such as Oaklawn Park, a thoroughbred racing facility; Magic Springs and Crystal Falls theme parks; a fine arts community that has earned the city the No. 4 position among “America’s Top 100 Small Arts Towns”; the Hot Springs Music Festival; and the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival (held each October at the historic Malco Theater, and one of the top documentary festivals in the world attracting numerous Academy Award winning films and producers). Another popular toursit attraction is the Arlington Hotel, which was a popular retreat for Al Capone. Hot Springs is now also noted as the boyhood home of former U.S. President Bill Clinton.
Other annual events held in town include the Hot Springs Jazz Festival in Sept, the Hot Springs Blues Festival in September, the downtown Bathtub Races (Spring), the Big Barbecue Cook off (Spring and Fall), the World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade (every March 17th), and the city's outdoor skating rink (from November through January). Hot Springs is a sister city of Hanamaki, Iwate, Japan.
