- I'm Mario Luna, and I love to celebrate.

As a professional DJ and performer, I'm just getting started.

Ever since I was a kid, I loved being where the party was at, and making sure everyone was having a good time.

After career, hosting the most amazing events, from backyard barbecues to citywide celebrations, I realize Arkansans live in a beautiful place, and each and every one of us from every walk of life has a reason to celebrate.

And I wanna see them all.

Let's go.

(upbeat ambient music) Join me as I search for the heart of the state and the life of the party.

On Celebrating Arkansas Holiday Traditions.

Autumn in Arkansas is a sight to behold.

Nature's bright colors are on full display.

The fall signals not only a change in the weather and leaves, but also in ourselves.

The start of the holiday season gives us the opportunity to slow down and redirect our focus on the things that really matter, family, friends, and community.

- [Waitress] Here's that coffee.

- Something between the smell of pumpkin spice and bonfires always leaves me feeling nostalgic.

As autumn days grow shorter, I think we all feel the tide to go back to our beginnings.

Homecoming might mean different things for different folks.

Maybe it's a family recipe, like my friend Leticia's Fried Grasshoppers.

One of the biggest homecoming celebrations comes all the way from India and over 1 billion people partake worldwide every year.

And as always, Arkansans loved being invited.

I wanted to see what Diwali was all about.

So I hit the road to find out more.

(audience applauding) Diwali is a global celebration in which translates directly to "series of light", in recognition of the small clay lamps or diyas, which fill the homes during the holiday.

Spanning five unique days, Diwali features lavish meals, gift giving, the burning of incense and rangoli art.

Now sure, Diwali sounds like a great time, especially with the great treats that come with it, but what is it all about?

What are we really celebrating?

My friend Ryan welcomed me into his family's home for their Diwali celebration.

- Diwali is a really interesting holiday.

People from around the world, and especially in India, who are Hindu, Sikh, Jan, and many other religions come together to celebrate the triumph of good over evil.

The celebrations do vary based on religion and households.

The one thing that also varies is the stories and the reasons and the origin behind why those different religions and those people celebrate Diwali and their type of celebration.

Most people's celebration revolves around the noble Lord, Rama and his wife Sita.

So when Sita is abducted by the demon king, Ravana, Rama embarks on a journey to rescue her, when they embark on this journey, Rama isn't alone, Rama is accompanied by his loyal brother, Lakshmana and warrior God Hanuman.

On this journey, they have this very fierce battle, where Rama is able to defeat Ravana and he rescues Sita, symbolizing the triumph of good over evil.

And so after they rescue Sita, they return to their homeland after 14 years in exile and the village people actually lit a pathway to help welcome them home.

So despite exile, it was kind of like, "We are here for you."

And so when we celebrate Diwali, we kind of use candles and lights to call them home again, both him, his wife, and you know, his loyal brother and Hanuman.

- [Mario] This story is just one of many surrounding Diwali, with many people in India having their own unique telling and celebrations.

- I wanted to introduce y'all to my family so we can kind of give some more details about Diwali and what it really means to us.

Our culture has always been deeply rooted in inviting people in, and I think the more people get involved, I think it really helps break stigmas, brings people together, and I think the more we can bring our fellow Arkansans together, the better.

- The Indian people honor everybody, they honor people to come.

They are so happy when somebody comes, join them in any function of India.

- In my experience, it's something sacred, but also something so inviting.

And there's not many things left in the world that I feel like a lot of people are fully welcomed and supported and invited into.

And so to be able to have this and it be part of our culture, it's so meaningful because it helps also break down some barriers.

- [Mini] It also brings people together.

- Yeah.

- Get families together.

That's the celebration where the families get together and eat food together on one table and do the fireworks, (firecrackers popping) eat sweets, and get a chance to meet the whole family.

- The one thing about our family, we do love our sweets.

(everyone laughs) It's even right there.

You know, despite having different celebrations and different rituals and different beliefs and stories, we're all at the end of the day celebrating good.

And despite temptation and negative things going on in the world, we can come together to celebrate regardless of the reason.

(firecrackers popping) We invite everyone to kind of join in the celebration, and that's what makes it really special to everyone.

- The best celebrations and the happiest homecomings are about connecting or reconnecting with other people.

I love how Ryan and his family we're so open to invite anyone to their Diwali table to celebrate.

But what's really impressive is how far that party has traveled, from India to Benton, it's just over 8,000 miles.

That is one heck of a hike y'all.

Connecting with others is key to a great party.

And as a professional DJ, music helps me connect with any celebration.

So there's no better place to get a celebration started than at your local record store.

Record stores seem to bring me back, back to something real.

I mean, who doesn't love a record store, from sound of the music, the weight of a record, the personality of the staff.

Celebrations are the same, it's one thing to know about the tradition or celebration, but it's something completely different experiencing it yourself.

My conversation with Ryan got me thinking about my own cultural roots and where that journey of those celebrations have got me here in Arkansas.

Die de los Muertos is one of the oldest and most widely celebrated holidays in Mexico.

From colorful displays of La Catrina, candlelit altars, and delicious foods.

Yum.

Communities in Mexico have been coming together to celebrate their heritage and remember their ancestors for over 3000 years.

You might think Dia de los Muertos is just Halloween from south of the border, but it's so much more.

Every year, families across Mexico line, small altars in their homes with photos of loved ones who have passed on.

They set aside lavish foods or (speaking Spanish) for visiting spirits and use brightly colored miracles to help guide their loved ones home.

The holiday might be called "Day of the Dead", but as anyone who has ever been to one of these celebrations can tell you, it is one of the liveliest parties around.

Northwest Arkansas knows how to throw a good party and Dia de los Muertos is no exception.

Come the end of October, these communities host bicycle rallies, costume contests, parades, and music festivals in celebration of their ancestors.

Look, I'll be the first to admit, I love a big celebration, who doesn't?

But I was curious to see how a smaller town celebrated the holiday.

So I headed to Dardenelle to find out exactly what this celebration is all about.

There the local library was hosting an art contest where young local artists were showing off their unique and beautiful depictions of the holiday.

Esperanza Flores is a community leader and artistic mentor understands the importance of celebrating artists from every culture, especially in small towns like Dardenelle.

- There's not a lot of Latin artists around the area that are being amplified.

And I think that's one thing that I as an artist would love to see more Hispanic art and artists come together.

- [Mario] Seeing students from all walks of life engaged in my culture.

It was a proud moment and it was incredible.

- Wherever they came from, they leave something with those pieces of the flower to guide their way back and forth, that way, they don't get lost and stay in this world.

- Dia de los Muertos is important to small communities across Arkansas and Mexico, but it means just as much to families celebrating in their own homes.

So I visited my friend Leticia Little Rock to learn more about her family's traditions.

- The Braceros, like Leticia's father were Mexican cowboys and farmers permitted to work in the United States during and after World War II.

- Leticia told me she's the ninth child from a large family.

- You were the rebel?

(Leticia chuckles) - No matter how hard life got, when November arrived, Leticia always celebrated Dia de los Muertos making sure her kids held onto their cultural roots.

And I love the fact that you continue the tradition, not only sharing with your children, but you've shared with Little Rock.

- [Mario] In Mexico, there's different places that have different recipes, right?

- You have this tradition, what got you started with this here in Little Rock?

- Both kids, older children were dance class?

- Leticia's story is a perfect example of the power of celebration in order to keep a family together, working three jobs, raising two kids while all living in their car, Leticia started teaching traditional Mexican dance in order to make ends meet.

But more than that, by keeping her traditions of dance and Dia de los Muertos alive, Leticia was able to bring a little bit of home here to Arkansas.

(speaking Spanish) to familia, you are the light of your family.

And to bring in the tradition, to bring in the passion, to bring in the meaning of things is vital to not only your family, but for people to understand.

It's not just the typical thing that people would think, what our culture is.

So thank you so much for everyone as well.

- Thank you.

- You have a wonderful gift.

(Leticia chuckles) - Thank you.

- Leticia truly is an incredible person, opening up her home to us, feeding us, and then thanking us the whole entire time.

She literally made us feel like family.

She was so happy and joyful to share her celebration with us and thankful that we were there joining her.

You know what they say?

A family that celebrates together can overcome anything, no matter how scary.

(Mario laughing) In Maumelle, Jared Young puts his best face forward when it comes to Halloween costumes.

Walking the line between ingenious and insane, the Youngs are setting the bar for Halloween in Arkansas.

- I'm Jared Young and Halloween's a little bit different for us here.

We love Halloween and our family.

So some of the things that we do is just kind of go all out and make some elaborate costumes.

It kind of started with my brother and I, I think when we were really young, we'd make costumes that kind of inspired us at the time, you know, things like cartoons that we watched or "Star Wars", stuff like that.

And I'm pretty picky, so I do like to create my own and it seems like it's a kind of an outlet for me.

So it's cool to be able to come home and kind of use costumes as an outlet to be creative.

So I've got a eight-year-old son and a five-year-old daughter now.

And just being able to get them involved in the costume making has just been exponentially more rewarding than whenever it was just me.

We start looking at ideas around June or July 'cause it does take a little while to make the costumes.

My wife and I, we have full-time jobs, but we try and knock out, you know, maybe one or two hours each night and just work on it throughout until October.

This has just kind of been, I'd say, a tradition now with me and my family.

And hopefully they'll enjoy it enough to where they can do this later on and kind of carry on the tradition of creating costumes or just being, using their imagination, being creative.

- [Jared] Pretty cool.

- It looks amazing.

(Jared chuckles) - [Mario] It is truly incredible what the Youngs can come up with, with just some simple craft materials and a boatload of determination.

But as the most frightening middle school monster will tell you, there is nothing worse on Halloween than being all dressed up with nowhere to go.

So I traveled to Searcy to find the Arkansas travel destination during spooky season, and speak with the family determined to keep it going no matter what life throws at them.

- My name is Roger Holt and I love Halloween.

Anything that's got to do with Halloween or the haunting, that's me.

I try to hit all the haunted houses from the surrounding areas and I just thought one day I wanna try to do one myself.

- The whole House of Screams takes crafting and DIY to a whole new level.

Every room has its own handcrafted, uniquely terrifying theme, complete with practical effects, lighting, fog machines, and even some animatronics.

After hearing the screams and seeing people run away in terror, I decided it was a little too scary for me.

Yes, I chickened out.

(intense ambient music) So we geared up a brave young visitor to get us the inside scoop instead.

- Yep, you ready?

- Yep, I guess.

(speaking Spanish) - No!

No!

(terrified scream) (women screams) My eyes (indistinct).

- Shut up!

(women laughing) (sighs in distress) My eyes are already watering.

(intense ambient music) Why are you making me go in first?

Uh-huh, I hate clowns.

(terrified screams) - Oh my goodness, I don't know.

She said her eyes are still watering.

(women laughing) - That was scary.

- Yeah.

- Look, the no reason I had.

- [Mario] Did y'all enjoy it?

(people laughing) - Yeah.

- With all those frights in their own front yard, the Holts thought they had seen everything until a real life health scare brought their handmade haunted house to a grinding halt.

- When we found out that he was internally bleeding in his back, we were, you know, pretty scared.

And then the doctor came in and told us that he had cancer.

I mean, there was no other way around it.

- It was close to Halloween, we were involved in building this haunted house.

We got the news and then I was like, you know, "What do we do now?"

- [Mario] But despite everything, Roger and Ashley were determined to keep the tradition alive.

- It didn't stop me.

I was like, "I'm not gonna worry about it."

We're gonna keep on trucking and I mean, you can't let things bother you like that, you just gotta keep going.

- And I think this haunted house really helped him because he loves it, enjoys it so much.

Like it was just a kind of like going to the beach to take away your problems.

You know, it was just like his getaway, like, "Oh, I can concentrate on building this haunted house and I don't have to worry about a doctor this week."

You know, just that sort of thing.

But once we did it and we got through the haunted house, we found out a week before Christmas that it wasn't cancer.

So that was the best Christmas gift ever.

- We finally went through all the cancer doctors and got the bone biopsy done and they came out and it wasn't cancer.

- [Mario] Fear might seem like an odd thing to celebrate, but for the Holts, it's as familiar as an old friend.

- This is something we plan on doing every year.

- Unless something makes us quit where we can't do it, we're gonna continue on, bigger and better every year.

- The Holts "House of Screams" in Searcy is a great example on how family tradition, no matter how unique, can see us through difficult times.

Those across the state celebrating Dia de los Muertos and Halloween do so for many different reasons, some are keeping the old traditions alive, while others are making new traditions all their own.

But one thing they all have in common is their joy in celebrating those traditions with others.

Everyone that I have visited have been so thankful, which got me thinking about another fall holiday, maybe the biggest, and nobody does Turkey Day bigger than the New Life Church in Pine Bluff.

(upbeat ambient music) - This is our sixth annual Turkey fry.

It's become a tradition.

If we can get people to donate us two thawed turkeys, we will fry them both, you keep one, we'll give the other to a family in need.

We tried to get started right around daybreak, so we got here about six o'clock, we start frying turkeys about 06:30.

Our first Turkey fry was up in Little Rock and we did, you know, 60, 80 turkeys or so, and then when I became the pastor down here, we just brought the idea with us and we'll fry anywhere between 150 and 200 turkeys.

And so you're talking about feeding 150 to 200 families.

And so every year, we keep getting more and more.

So, you know, 150 to 200 turkeys, that's a lot of frying, dude.

One of the things we try to do here is when we say bring us two thaw turkeys is you're donating, you're giving, you're coming out here, you're frying birds, so that's one thing.

The other thing is we want to feed people in this community and we got a, it's a great community, and there's a lot of purpose here.

There's a legacy here, but there's a lot of need here.

And so we get a chance to help people out, have a lot of fun and like to see if we get people stepping up and they need turkeys and we get an opportunity to help a family have a good Thanksgiving.

So it's thanks serving, not just Thanksgiving.

Plus fried turkeys are so good.

Fried just keeps in all the grease and then juice.

So good.

(tranquil ambient music) Hi, hot bird, hot bird.

- He's loving it, he's loving it.

- (indistinct) take them off.

- Oh, that is a beautiful bird.

Aint that a beautiful bird?

- That is a beautiful bird.

Oh, it is though, it really is.

- We're trying to change the paradigm.

It's an attitude of gratitude, is to be thankful.

That's kind of the whole purpose of Thanksgiving is we need to be thankful for what we have and who we are and the opportunities we've been given.

And we do a lot of events to get people in this environment where they start giving, they start serving, they start helping, and they begin to see that there's a bigger reward out there than what you can see.

And the more you do that, the better it gets and the more it starts to multiply.

- Seeing all those birds being cooked for the Pine Bluff community inspired me to give frying my own turkey a try.

Now let's be real, we've all heard the horror stories and have seen the viral videos of flaming turkey fires.

So I thought it best to reach out to my buddies at the Conway Fire Department to learn the proper way to fry a turkey.

- Hello everyone, I have the honor of being with the Conway Fire Department.

We're gonna help you be thankful during Thanksgiving.

One thing about Thanksgiving, it's not just the football and the family time, but you know what they look forward to?

The tasty bird.

When it comes to tastier bird, everybody wants to go deep fried.

- Hold on Mario, it ain't that simple.

It's important to remember a few safety rules before the gobbler hits the grease.

Most importantly, make sure your turkey is completely thawed and patted down before it goes into fryer.

That extra water content can evaporate instantly when it hits the grease, causing the fryer to overflow and catch on fire.

Be sure to wear thick gloves and an apron when deep fried, and goggles to protect your eyes in case of an accident.

All right.

And keep the proper tools nearby, such as thermometers to monitor the temperature of the bird and the grease, as well as the fire extinguisher.

Just in case.

Fill the fryer to its maximum line with a high heat oil.

Keep that fryer flame low and heat the oil at 350 degrees.

Next, turn the flame to the fryer off and gently lower the turkey to the fryer.

If the flame is open when the turkey is lowered into the fryer, there's a chance that the oil might overflow or spill onto the open flame, causing a fire.

Once the bird is securely in the fryer, restart the flame and monitor the cooking thermometer, ensuring the oil doesn't get hotter than 350.

Set your cooking timer, we recommend three and a half minutes per pound of gobbler.

- When time is up, turn the flame off once more, lift the turkey from the grease and let it drain.

Yeah.

Use a probe thermometer to make sure that the bird has come up to temperature.

Look for 180 degrees in the thigh and 170 degrees at the breast.

- What if people don't follow the instructions that we've shared?

- I say, let's find out.

- Let's do.

Holy moly.

Ooh, ooh.

Oh!

Okay, well, folks, there you have it, that's what will happen if you don't follow these amazing instructions these fellows have shared with you all.

Now first turkey, that look delicious, how about we take it over to the station and handle ourselves a feast?

Let's go.

(metal clanking) (door shuts) (truck motor whirring) - You guys are just in time, the game is about to start, let's go.

We're a family here.

This station is our home away from home.

So if you're on duty on Thanksgiving, at least you're with your fire service family.

All right, (firefighters chanting) it's time for our annual turkey bowl, five on five.

Mario, you're with us.

Winner gets served first, let's go.

- Let's go.

(firefighters claps hands) - Like any family during the holidays, we like to have fun and it can get a little competitive.

- Touch.

- Yeah, go Mario.

(firefighters shouts) (firefighters shouts) (soft scuffling) (slow-mo screaming) - Mario, he thought he had some skills until he showed up here at Central and we took care of that.

- You know, I don't feel so bad eating all that food.

Hey fellas, y'all ready for that turkey?

(firefighters shouting) - These guys are our brothers and our sisters, we eat together, we play games together, we do rescues together, we train together, everything you would do at home, we're doing it together as a unit.

- The salad.

- Oh yeah, the Turkey.

Wait on these guys.

- [Mario] Celebrating Thanksgiving in the firehouse.

There's a real sense of brotherhood.

It really feels like these guys are family, and some of them actually are.

- I'm actually really lucky I get to work with my family.

My son has been here almost five years.

It's added a lot to my career.

And we have three other guys that their sons work here too.

We really enjoy it and keep the family atmosphere here.

- I don't boss him around.

I'll let everybody else do that.

We got all that done.

(firefighters laughing) - Our working together is a quality time as well.

I see him sometimes more here than I do when we're off.

- These brave firefighters do everything together, they play as a family, eat as a family, and when that alarm rings, they work as a family, and they wouldn't have it any other way.

(metal clanking) (door shuts) (motor whirring) Stories like Leticia or the Holts and Searcy highlight the power of celebration to bring families together, back home.

But after visiting New Life, Turkey Fry and Pine Bluff, and playing a fantastic football game with the Conway Fire Department, I was reminded that for a lot of celebrations, going home might not be possible, and your family might be outta reach.

(tranquil ambien music) That's when I decided to check in on my friends Brittany and Amin who after living all over the country now find themselves in northwest Arkansas where their group of friends started a unique celebration all their own.

(alarm sounds) Turning that tired old Turkey Day into a star studded event.

(cameras shuttering) - It's kind of like Friendsgiving, but it's so much more than that, it's glams giving.

It's kind of an event.

You know what?

It's better if I show you.

- This was a time where we like to get together, and it's a potluck, we all just bring food and it's just a time to celebrate friendships that we've made over the years.

- Ramia runs this event every year and honestly could run her own party planning business.

She really does a fantastic job of decorating the whole space, but also bringing different groups of people together.

(indistinct chattering) - I love (indistinct).

- There's friends here that I've known for a decade and there's friends here that I met six months ago, a year ago.

But at the end of the day, you know, when you meet your people, you meet them, and that's the beauty of Friendsgiving is that every year, there's new faces.

- I think we're just so grateful to be part of an event like this.

We moved here and I kid you not, we didn't know a soul.

We've lived in Buffalo, Toronto, Detroit, Long Island, all in the Northeast and didn't know anything about Arkansas, anything about the south.

Everybody does so much over Thanksgiving with their families, but their friendspace, especially in northwest Arkansas with locals and transplants, it's your friends are your family.

- It's always hard to go back home.

- Yeah.

- To see family.

- So having this friend group that really brought us in, we're very lucky to have.

We have such a connected friend space that they're the people we depend on.

It's great food, like green bean casserole, we've got deviled eggs, we've got turkey, we've got ham, we've got gravy, but we also have non-perishable goods that we do impact to the community.

So it's an event for us, but it's meant to be an event that connects us with each other and the community.

So we'll definitely be continuing this every year as "glams giving" and fancy friend giveness, whatever we wanna call it, we're thankful that we're a small part.

Our favorite question to ask people is we say, "Is this a stop on the journey or is this the end of the line?"

- Yep.

- Because with so many transplants, it can really be either or, and some people think it's gonna be a stop on the journey and it ends up being the end of the line.

For us, it's the end of the line.

- Well, the Diwali confetti is cleaned up, the Halloween candy is collected, and the Thanksgiving table is cleared up.

That's it for fall celebration.

(soft sparkle) You think if you teach me a couple steps?

- Yeah, we can do that.

- Actually, there's one more thing I need to do.

Okay.

- One, two, three, and then the other.

- Okay, one, two, three, then one, two, three.

- One, two, three, one, two, three.

So many steps.

- That's all her.

(Mario laughs) Ta-da.

Turn, turn.

(Leticia chuckles) - Leticia.

- Thank you.

- Bravo.

(Mario chuckles) We all have a reason to celebrate, and some celebrations are meant for coming home, maybe it's a celebration, or maybe it's a tradition that you're working hard to never forget.

Your celebration might be big, like scary big, or it might be as simple as a game of football, or a backyard barbecue.

I guess all I'm saying is if you find your home, your family, no matter what they look like, take a minute, eat a tortilla or a piece of candy and give thanks, 'cause if you're lucky enough to find your place in this world, that's something worth celebrating.

- Come on Mario, let's eat.

- Let's go, hey guys, I'm hungry.