Staff Report

Springfest has been a tradition in Fayetteville since the early 1980s, explained Doug Allen, the owner of Jose’s. He was part of a group that decided the few years of bad weather and luck that dampered the festivities in the past shouldn’t take away this local tradition.

“We wanted to keep the tradition going — mixing new stuff with a little bit of old and put some new energy into it,” Allen said. “It’s about the businesses and the funkiness and respect for the arts.”

Art, craft and food vendors will line the streets of Dickson on Saturday including live music, children’s games and the famous bed races — where teams put together a bed on which to race.

Proceeds from Springfest’s pancake breakfast and other events will benefit Habitat for Humanity, as will other proceeds, Allen said.

2013 Springfest Events
7 a.m. – Pancake Breakfast begins – Jose’s on Dickson Street
9 a.m. – Vendors open on Dickson Street
9 a.m. – Music starts on the Bruce Walker Memorial Stage (Walton Arts Center lot)
11 a.m. – Dog Parade (meet in front of Dickson Street Liquor)
1 p.m. – Bed Races begin (in front of Hog Haus)
6 p.m. – Pub Crawl begins (Registration at Jose’s on Dickson Street)

Springfest Music Lineup
9 a.m. – The Saxtones-Jazz Quartet
10 a.m. – David Starr featuring Ben Harris
11:45 a.m. – Guerrilla Blues Band
12:50 p.m. – Trash Can Bandits
1:35 p.m. – Shawn James
2:30 p.m. – Cutty Rye (formerly Chooch & Sidehill Gougers)
3:30 p.m. – Groovement
4:30 p.m. – Gatormoose (Kory Montgomery, Shawn Eckels of Speakeasy)
5:30 p.m. – Andy Frasco
7:00 p.m. – 1 Oz Jig

Artosphere

On your way to Dickson Street for Springfest, check out the Walton Arts Center’s Artosphere Trail Mix Series along Frisco Trail. As in years before, Artosphere will come to town to celebrate artists, influenced by nature, who inspire others to live more sustainable lives. The festival spans May and June and features free and low-cost kids and family events, live music, visual arts and more all over the region!

Artosphere Art Exhibits Through June

The Herd and The Swarm By Tasha Lewis is an Artosphere Partner Grant Project running from  May to June, featuring more than 17 sculptures of antelope, deer and 2,000 butterflies printed in various sizes.

Sun Boxes by Craig Colorusso  runs from May to June throughout Northwest Arkansas, featuring a solar-powered sound installation with more than 20 independent speakers. It will make an appearance at Trail Mix, this Saturday, May 4.

Sky Night: Journey to Solstice will happen Saturday, June 22, at 6:30 p.m. Including James Turrell’s Skyspace on the Art Trail at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, along with a sunset concert and a solstice event celebrating nature and music.

For more on Artosphere and other Walton Art Center projects, visit www.artospherefestival.org

Trail Mix Concert Routes

Trail Mix Series: Urban Adventure along the Frisco Trail in downtown Fayetteville, 10 a.m.-noon and continues to the Art Trail near Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville 3-5 p.m.

In Fayetteville, artists/musicians will be located along a one-mile stretch of the Frisco Trail, near the following intersections and locations:
• Prairie Street
• Center Street
• Nadine Baum Studios plaza
• The Depot: Arsaga’s
• Lafayette Street
• Prospect and Frisco streets
In Bentonville, artists/musicians will be located at the following stops along the Crystal Bridges Trails:
• Dan Ostermiller’s Shore Lunch, on the Art Trail
• Robert Tannen’s Grains of Sand, near the intersection of the Art Trail and Tulip Tree Trail
• On the Tulip Tree Trail, just below the Tulip Tree Shelter
• Along the Orchard Trail, near the main museum entrance
• Near Robin Horn’s Already Set in Motion, just north of the main museum entrance

Foam Fest

And if arts, nature and Dickson Street historical bed races aren’t enough, Fayetteville’s very own Foam Fest will bring craft beer connoisseurs to the Walton Arts Center parking lot to sample more than 250 craft brews from around the world.

Foam Fest passes come with a 5 oz. sampling mug and free rein to sample local, national and international brews. Locally crafted brews from West Mountain Brewery, Core, Saddlebock, Fossil Cove Brewery and Tanglewood Branch will be featured with a People’s Choice award for local breweries.

If good beer and a lot of it isn’t enough, all proceeds benefit nonprofit Feed Fayetteville, which works to curb food insecurity and hunger in NWA. For more information about Feed Fayetteville’s work, visit www.feedfayetteville.org. For more informaiton on Foam Fest, visit www.fayettevillefoamfest.com

The festivities are over at 8 p.m., leaving plenty of time to hit Dickson Street and pick up some residual Springfest energy.

What Foam Fest Offers
Three different tickets are available online at www.fayettevillefoamfest.com: $60 VIP, $30 festival pass and $10 designated driver. The VIP ticket is new this year, and gives early access to patrons and includes a VIP Food/Beer pairing with local chef and talks by brewers. Designated drivers will receive free nonalcoholic beverages.

Menu

• Chocolate stout braised local country ribs with pickled peach jicama slaw on a slider
Beer:  Fort Collins Chocolate Stout

• Local brats wrapped in sauerkraut leaves on a homemade potato chip
Beer: Core Marzen-Leghound Lager( directly from Core)

• “Mudbug Popper” -rice flour toasted fried crawfish tails in a roasted potato with maque choux
Beer:  New Belgium Hoppy Bock

• Gruyere gougeres with local honey lavender truffle
Beer: West Mountain Brown

• Sourdough crostini with local goat cheese and lemon curd
Beers:  Ommegang Hennepin (Glazers) or Green Flash Saison Diego (Glidewell)

• Local crispy braised pork belly with marmalade and spiced Arkansas pecans
Beers: Tommyknocker Maple Nut Brown or New Belgium Fat Tire

• Local antipasto table with roasted local veggies, jams, jellies, chutneys, pickles, ferments
Beers:  New Belgium Rolle Bolle, New Belgium La Folie

• Skirt steak, mini Johnny cakes, bourbon beach sauce (spicy)
Beer: Finches -Secret Stache Stout

• Local breads, cheeses and olives table
Beers: New Belgium Kriek; New Belgium Cascara Quad, Boulevard Long Strange Tripel, Boulevard Nommo Dubbel, New Belgium Feijoa