Courtesy Photo
The first ever Peacemaker Music and Arts Festival in downtown Ft. Smith starts this weekend.
FAYETTEVILLE IS VOTED PRETTY CUTE
The lovely college town of Fayetteville has been called funky, chill, affordable, progressive and a “liberal hellspawn.” Now, the city can officially add cute.
Out of 12 cities nationwide, purewow.com has ranked our Fayetteville among the cutest. That’s right — suck it Fayetteville, North Carolina! What you got, huh? You ain’t cute!
On a more serious note, The Free Weekly would like to give a tip of the hat to all of the Fayetteville community and city officials who work and contribute to the rich community that makes the city “cute” with plenty to do and be a part of. It’s a pleasure to cover all the cool stuff going on in the region.
FT. SMITH PEACEMAKER MUSIC FESTIVAL BEGINS
The talented likes of Jason Isbell, Lucero, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Anders Osborne, Corey Smith, The Cate Brothers and Tyrannosaurus Chicken will be rocking out in downtown Ft. Smith this weekend.
In its inaugural year, the festival’s host is AJ’s Oyster House owner Jeff Gosey, who simply wanted to bring a music festival to Ft. Smith. It all started when he made a Facebook status asking, “Who wants to help start a new music festival?”
The festival site will be at Harry E. Kelley Park along the banks of the Arkansas River. Beyond the music, there’s going to be several art installations and a lot of regional food trucks.
Single day tickets cost $10-15 depending on the day, and $25-30 for a day pass. Tickets can be bought at peacemakerfest.com.
If you want to see some great local music at a fraction of the price and time spent traveling, be sure to check out the very great Water Liars with locals Lo-Res and Ryan Pickop at Lightbulb Club, Friday, July 31. They’ll make you weep, and then they’ll make you wanna kick some ass. Cheers to Southern music.
ASAHUTCHINSON.COM DIRECTS TO LGBTCHAT.NET
Hey A-Hutch, your rainbow is showing.
In an act of defiance to Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a lgbtchat.com user, “Dylan,” purchased the domain name asahutchinson.com to redirect users to lgbtchat.com, an online forum for discussion with those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, as well as heterosexual allies.
The governor has been clear on record — as well as vocally — about his opposition to recognizing gay marriage. As a state representative, Hutchinson voted for banning gay adoptions in Washington, D.C. and showed support for both Senate Bill 202, which limits city governments from creating civil rights ordinances, and The Conscience Protection Act, which almost opened the gates to allowing businesses to refuse service for religious reasons (pretty much directly aimed at the LGBT community).
“I will hold on to the site in case he runs for re-election in the future and will update it then based on his record as Governor during this term,” Dylan stated in his announcement post on lgbtchat.com.
HAWAIIAN BRIAN’S TO HOST LUAU, CENTER STREET TO CLOSE BRIEFLY
Who doesn’t lava free food?
Okay, okay, I apologize for the terrible, Hawaiian-themed pun. Now that we’re past that, you should know that Center Street in Fayetteville will be closed at 4 p.m. Friday evening for Hawaiian Brian’s third anniversary celebration. The free party starts at 7 p.m., and will be open to the public.
The family-friendly luau will be a potluck, and attendees are encouraged to bring food along with some of the other nearby businesses. There’s going to be a luau traditional whole roasted pig, too.
Remember the story The Free Weekly did about Sahlah Tepes and her belly dancing school? Her performance group, Orenda will be performing and providing entertainment at the luau as well. Word is there’s going to be some fire-dancing. Who doesn’t lava—I’ll stop.
For those unaware, Hawaiian Brian’s owners, Michael and Shanea Holmbeck started out with an Airstream food truck at the Yacht Club on College. Before long, they upgraded to getting a spot in Evelyn Hills Shopping Center. As of this year, the restaurant moved on up to the mecca of local Fayetteville businesses on the square. Indeed, there is much to celebrate.
