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Fans of food, fellowship and fun rejoice. The 9th annual Main Street Food Truck Festival is right around the corner. Featuring more than 50 trucks and vendors along Main Street and Capitol Avenue in downtown Little Rock, the event has hosted approximately 45,000 people annually since 2016.

With a mission to inspire social and economic change in Arkansas, The Venture Center in Little Rock provides an extensive network of people and resources to help early-stage companies. The nonprofit is always looking for ways to educate and collaborate. Here are some of the organization’s events this month:

The premier fine arts museum in the state has big plans for its future. Earlier this month, the Arkansas Arts Center announced a $128 million fundraising campaign to renovate and expand its landscape.

While Fortune 500 companies such as Walmart, Tyson Foods and Murphy USA stand out with their size and revenue, there are many small businesses that call Arkansas home. To give recognition to these companies, the Little Rock Regional Chamber is set to announce the winners of its inaugural Small Business Impact Awards on May 14.

The Central Arkansas Library System’s status as a leader in community involvement will be further solidified with this weekend’s 16th annual Arkansas Literary Festival. Sessions, panels and workshops with authors, cooking workshops, concerts and many other exciting events headline this year’s lineup.

A quick trip around downtown Little Rock will likely yield a heartbreaking number of panhandlers, but the city is actively trying to combat the issue. An ordinance was recently passed that will pay homeless people minimum wage to help clean up trash around Little Rock.

Yoga, an exercise method primarily used to sharpen one’s own body and mind, will be a method for helping others next month in Little Rock. Donna Terrell’s Yoga Warriors will be hosting its sixth annual Fighting Colon Cancer event on April 20 at the DoubleTree hotel in downtown Little Rock.

Downtown Little Rock has an exciting 2019 ahead. We at Downtown Little Rock Partnership are ready to contribute to that excitement with a great slate of events that ensures every resident, worker and visitor has something unique to do throughout the whole year. Here is a rundown of just a few things we have planned:

It took more than great tasting ice cream for Sally Mengel to turn Loblolly Creamery into what it is today. Mengel and her mom, co-owner Laura Frankenstein, see their team as a family, with each individual working to give Little Rock its go-to ice cream shop.

As the temperature slowly starts to rise and spring approaches, there’s no shortage of upcoming events in Little Rock. Here are a few to consider in the coming weeks:

As gluten-free options have become more prevalent, a local restaurant was recently recognized for its menu. Little Rock’s Dempsey Bakery, a mainstay among downtown eateries since 2011, was named the No. 6 gluten-free restaurant in the country by renowned gluten-free site Me & Gfree.

Since none of the candidates received the required 40% of the vote for mayor of Little Rock, the top two finishers, Frank Scott Jr. and Baker Kurrus, will battle it out Tuesday, Dec. 4. Early voting began Tuesday, Nov. 27.

The Little Rock Chamber of Commerce is hosting its annual luncheon on Monday, Nov. 5, at the Statehouse Convention Center in downtown Little Rock. Speakers for this year’s event are Warren A. Stephens, chairman and president of Stephens Inc., and Ken Langone, founder and chairman of Invemed Associates and co-founder of Home Depot.

The inaugural Little Rock Night Market kicks off at 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7, at The Bernice Garden on Little Rock’s Main Street. The market provides a platform for local chefs, startups, artists and entrepreneurs to showcase their imaginations and strengthen the local economy by creating a space that encourage shoppers to buy local. According to coordinators, vendors at the Little Rock Night Market are 100% local.

The second annual World Woman Summit will be a two-day event this year. Held at the Clinton Presidential Library, the conference will take place on Oct. 11-12.

Rock Town Distillery has reopened at 1201 S. Main Street. The first legal distillery in Arkansas since prohibition is also celebrating eight years in business.

Tickets are on sale for the inaugural East Village Street Food Jam, a new food truck and live music event in downtown Little Rock. Held on the lawns of the Clinton Presidential Center, the event will feature a picnic seating area, a beer garden and a Kid’s Zone.

Cinco de Mayo musts:

2018 Rock City Margarita Festival – Sample margaritas from 25+ vendors while enjoying outdoor games, music and taco trucks. 4-7 p.m. at Heifer Village & Urban Farm. Tickets are $25. 21+ only.