Why Nov. 14 Is the Busiest Saturday of Genoa's Fall
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
In November, two calendars decide what a Genoa weekend looks like. One is the hunting calendar the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission sets for Deer Zone 12, the private-land zone that covers Miller County. The other is the school calendar at Genoa Central. Most of the fall, they stay out of each other's way. On Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, they don't.
That morning, modern gun deer season opens across Zone 12. The third annual Turley Turkey Trot 5K starts at 9 a.m. at Genoa Central High School. At 10 a.m., downtown Texarkana holds its Veterans Day Parade & Extravaganza with Gary Allan. The night before, the Dragons host Redwater in basketball. One weekend packs in more than most of October did, and it goes best if you plan it as a single stretch from Friday afternoon to Saturday lunch.
The hunting season is already well underway. In Zone 12, archery has been open since Sept. 26, and alternative firearms season runs Oct. 17 through Oct. 25, so it is still open this week. The school calendar has been filling up at the same time. Here is how the two fit together over the next month:
On this list, Nov. 14 is the only date with three things happening at once. Every other week has one main event at most.
The Redwater game is the easiest part of the weekend to miss, because it's on Friday. The Genoa Central calendar lists a home doubleheader set, with JV girls, JV boys, senior girls and senior boys all playing Redwater, and gives 4:30 as the time. The same entry is also marked "All Day," so call the school or check the calendar again that week before you leave work early.
The game also ends up acting as Friday prep night. If you're hunting the opener Saturday, your gear needs to be packed and your stand plans settled before tip-off. If you're running the 5K, you want an early night. Four games against a neighbor from across the state line fill most of a Friday evening, so Saturday morning has to be ready before the first whistle.
The morning comes down to three starting points, and they're less than an hour apart.
| Time | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Opening morning | Zone 12 modern gun deer season and Sulphur River WMA modern gun season open | Private land across Miller County; Sulphur River WMA south of Texarkana |
| 9 to 11 a.m. | Turley Turkey Trot 5K Run & Walk | Genoa Central High School, 12018 Hwy 196 |
| 10 a.m. | Veterans Day Parade & Extravaganza with Gary Allan | Downtown Texarkana, 400 E. Front St. |
| All day | Four States Auto Museum Fall Auto Show | 217 Laurel St., Texarkana, AR |
The Turkey Trot is the one event that's actually in Genoa. Registration costs $35 and stays open through race day. The race is organized by the Amanda Huett-Turley Memorial, and the money goes to a healthcare scholarship for Genoa Central seniors and local nursing students. You can sign up through the race's RunSignup page. Get in by Oct. 31 if you want a shirt.
Since the race runs 9 to 11 a.m. and the parade steps off at 10, you can't see the start of both. Walkers who finish the 5K will reach downtown after the parade has started. Anyone who wants the whole parade will have to skip the race or come by afterward to cheer on the late finishers. The auto show runs all day, so it's the one stop you can save for the afternoon. Times for all three come from the Texarkana Today events calendar, which doesn't show when the listings were posted. Check them again the week of the event.
You'll notice the opener even if you don't hunt. Under the AGFC's Zone 12 season details, modern gun season runs Nov. 14 through Dec. 20, then reopens Dec. 26 through Dec. 28. Hunting deer with dogs is allowed in the zone from Nov. 14 through Dec. 20. Nonresidents can use dogs only Dec. 12–20, the last nine days of the regular season. In practice, a dog season that opens the same Saturday as gun season means more trucks parked on county road shoulders before daylight, especially for the first five weeks.
Public land follows its own schedule. The Sulphur River Wildlife Management Area covers 16,520 acres in Miller County, 16 miles south of Texarkana. Its modern gun season runs Nov. 14 through Dec. 13, a week shorter than the private-land season, and comes back Dec. 26–28. The AGFC describes the area as one of the last large tracts of bottomland hardwood in the Red River Valley, with the Sulphur River running about 10 miles through it and Mercer Bayou on the west side. The commission also says plainly that access is very limited except by boat. The west side is reached by taking U.S. 71 south about 15 miles and then State Highway 237 east, which leads to the canal boat ramp and the Smith Park entrance. The AGFC offers free georeferenced maps of parking and boundaries at apps.agfc.com/maps.
If you hunt, a few changes take effect this season. The AGFC's New This Year page says each private-land zone now has the same limit of four deer, no more than two of them antlered bucks. The statewide limit is still six. Button bucks now count toward the antlerless limit everywhere in the state, though they still have to be checked as button bucks. Wildlife management area limits are now three deer, no more than two antlered bucks, and Sulphur River follows that limit.
In Zone 12, outside the CWD Management Zone, a legal buck has to be a button buck or have at least three points on one side of its rack. The zone notes list CWD rules for Ashley, Bradley, Grant and Union counties. Miller County isn't on that list. On public land, hunting dogs chasing deer now have to wear GPS tracking collars that the handler monitors. This is general information, not legal advice, so go by the AGFC's current regulations or call the commission before you head out.
Once the opener weekend is over, the next date on the calendar comes up fast. Statewide duck, coot and merganser season opens Saturday, Nov. 21, and runs through Nov. 29. It comes back Dec. 10–23, then again from Dec. 26 through Jan. 31, 2027. At Sulphur River, the Henry Moore Waterfowl Rest Area closes to access on Nov. 1 and stays closed until Feb. 15. Private-land deer season runs through Dec. 20, so it overlaps duck season Nov. 21–29 and again Dec. 10–20, and then once more Dec. 26–28. That gives Genoa three stretches this winter with both seasons open at once.
Those overlaps are mostly about the outdoors. Nov. 13 and 14 is the weekend when the school calendar and the hunting calendar both have something big going on in Genoa.
If having a weekend this full has you wondering about land with room for a deer stand or a quiet spot off Hwy 196, the Doris Morris Real Estate team knows the acreage around Genoa and can talk through access, boundaries and what to check before you buy. Let's Talk Strategy.
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