NWA 100

As central Arkansas residents patiently await the 9th annual Main Street Food Truck Festival later this year, those in Northwest Arkansas can enjoy some of the region’s best cuisines, ingredients, restaurants and chefs this month at BITE NW Arkansas.

Visit Rogers and the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion (AMP) announced a 10-year, $1 million marketing partnership in late May that will support the outdoor amphitheater’s operations and upcoming $13.9 million expansion project.

For fans of live music in Arkansas, the summer months are a time to rejoice. Warmer weather and longer nights are ideal for outdoor shows, making the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion a go-to venue.

Summer is a time for swimming, bike riding and pickup basketball. For Northwest Arkansas residents, all of these activities and many more are available at one unique location.

Travel seekers in Northwest Arkansas will soon have a new location to add to their list. After a recent agreement, American Airlines is set to offer direct flights to Philadelphia from Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport, in Highfill, beginning Sept. 4.

Nearly two weeks after the dismissal of Mike Anderson, the University of Arkansas found its new men’s basketball coach. After reported interest in Houston’s Kelvin Sampson and Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall, Arkansas announced the hiring of Nevada’s Eric Musselman on April 7.

As Northwest Arkansas continues to provide outlets for aspiring entrepreneurs, Fayetteville is set to host Techstars Startup Weekend during the first weekend in April. The event, which includes one-on-one time with mentors and networking opportunities, provides a surefire way to cultivate your pitch for solving educational, environmental, financial, social or other issues.

Music has long been a medium that encourages partnership from different backgrounds, and The House of Songs Ozarks in Bentonville is no different.

Northwest Arkansas residents with a brilliant idea will soon have an avenue to share it. The IdeaFame Live contest, coming to Fayetteville on Feb. 21, is an event that gives innovators, entrepreneurs and dreamers an opportunity to pitch their businesses, products, services and solutions.

The newly implemented farm bill, signed by President Trump in December, removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act. This is already making an impact in northwest Arkansas. Fayetteville-based Arkansas Hemp Genetics LLC recently agreed to a partnership with the University of Arkansas to grow, research and process various hemp flowers for cannabis oil production.

Northwest Arkansas was well represented in a recent study of the top public high schools in the United States. Bentonville High School placed No. 76, followed closely by Rogers High School at No. 82 in the list published by TheBestSchools.org.

The city of Fayetteville, in an effort to combat challenges that can cause homelessness, has created Help a Neighbor Fund in partnership with HARK at the Center for Collaborative Care. The fund uses a text-to-give platform that allows the public to donate funds, which HARK will distribute to those in need within the community.

For many, it’s hard to imagine changing career paths. Much less careers vastly different from one another. That wasn’t the case for Bentonville-based lawyer turned fashion designer Nancy Martin.

Bentonville plays host to the NWA Technology Summit, which will beheld at the John Q. Hammons Convention Center in Rogers on Oct. 22 and Oct. 23.

Fayetteville residents can now pedal their way around town thanks to a new bike-share program. The program was created through a partnership with the University of Arkansas and the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission and approved by the city council last month.

Bentonville plays host to the new Women in Technology Conference Oct. 22, part of the Northwest Arkansas Technology Summit held at the John Q. Hammons Convention Center in Rogers.

According to the Northwest Arkansas Council’s analysis of new U.S. Census Bureau population estimates, NWA ranked among the fastest-growing places in the U.S. Estimates show the region should soon be among the 100 largest metros in the nation.

The Better Business Bureau of Arkansas is hosting a CyberSecurity Summit in Rogers, Monday, Oct. 8, from 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. This is a no-cost event for business owners to hear from the experts on the importance of securing your business’ data in the digital age.

The wait is finally over for the highly anticipated opening of The Holler, A Local Hangout, in Bentonville. The “gathering space where guests can eat, drink, work and play” is the newest addition to 8th Street Market.

Aug. 3-4, Fayetteville plays host to Megaphone Summit, a gathering of bloggers and social media influencers who create amazing online content (from food bloggers to a guy who vlogs about VW buses); brands that want to work with them; and anyone who wants to hone their social media skills.

If you’re in northwest Arkansas or headed that way, here are three off-the-beaten path events to check out.

“Shelter” is a site-specific play created to explore community issues in Fayetteville. Developed and written from interviews with people who live in the 7hills Homeless Center and other low-income housing developments, this immersive experience takes theater – and participants – on the bus.

The Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce is launching programming to attract entrepreneurs and enhance its thriving network of innovation. These efforts are funded by a Walton Family Foundation grant from Steuart Walton and Tom Walton and will focus on attraction, retention and development of businesses and talent to complement existing companies. The goal is to position the Bentonville area to compete for emerging industries.

NWA TechFest is coming up on Thursday, May 17 at Fayetteville Town Center. Three great reasons you should attend:

Time’s running out to see “Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power” at Crystal Bridges. The exhibit closes Monday, April 23, so get your tickets today.

NWA TechFest returns to Fayetteville May 17 at Fayetteville Town Center. The conference brings in tech leaders from across the country to discuss and promote the newest advancements in their field, gender diversity in STEM careers, economic development opportunities and educational programming.

Startup Weekend is a program owned and managed by Techstars, an entrepreneurial support organization that operates around the globe. For the first time since 2015, a Startup Weekend was held in Arkansas.

Fayetteville is bustling with activities this spring! Here are the ones you won’t want to miss:

Yeyo’s Mexican Grill is now serving up its celebrated street tacos at Bentonville’s 8th Street Market. The food truck-turned-brick-and-mortar-restaurant offers authentic Mexican fare made with locally grown ingredients from the Rios family farm.

Bentonville’s 8th Street Market continues to become the hub for all things food and culture in northwest Arkansas.