The Venesian Inn has been giving Northwest Arkansas a touch of Italy since 1947 and just celebrated its 75th anniversary! 

• Same good food as always: The restaurant has served authentic Italian cuisine since its beginning and still has its signature menu of spaghetti and fried chicken made from scratch. Steaks and the homemade rolls are other favorite menu items. 
• Region favorite: The Venesian Inn is family owned and keeps luring customers back again and again with its charm. It is in the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame and is listed among America’s top old-school Italian restaurants. Venesian Inn is located at 582 W Henri De Tonti Blvd in Tontitown and is open Tuesday-Saturday 5-8p. 

Learn more about the restaurant HERE. 

The Northwest Arkansas National Airport will receive $13 million in grant money from a federal terminal improvement plan. 

• A chosen few: The Federal Aviation Administration of the US Department of Transportation is awarding a total of $1B to 85 US airports for terminal improvement projects this year. A total of 532 airports submitted applications. 
• Projects: The $13 million for XNA will go toward a terminal renovation that includes adding a sky bridge, connecting the parking deck to the terminal, two new escalators, and two elevators. There are also plans for a second runway, immersive art murals, and a nearby hotel. As the NWA community grows, its airport is doing well to keep up.

Read more about the latest grant HERE. 

Welcome to the weekend! We've compiled some activity options for the next few days:

• Motion picture: It’s movie night tomorrow at the Arkansas Public Theatre in Rogers. 
• Beneath the trees: The Forest Concert Series continues in the North Forest at Crystal Bridges tomorrow evening. 
• On the stage: Go see an Arkansas native play at TheatreSquared this weekend in Fayetteville. 
• Fresh outdoors: Block off Saturday morning for a nice stroll around your local Farmers Market. 
• Operas: Immerse yourself in music and song opera at Opera in the Ozarks performing in Eureka Springs this weekend. 
• Home series: The NWA Naturals baseball team takes on the Tulsa Drillers in a home series this weekend.
• Concerts: Head out to the Railyard in Downtown Rogers for some live music this weekend. 
• Jazzy: The Mountain Street Stage concert series continues this Sunday at the Fayetteville Public Library. 
• Local makers: Check out the Bentonville Market in July at Bentonville Brewing on Sunday. 

Have fun, stay cool, and see you next week!

The latest Tourism Ticker report shows Arkansas’ tourism sector has significant gains in the early part of 2022, and Northwest Arkansas is a positive contributor. 

• Growing numbers: From January to April this year, Washington and Benton counties collected a combined $1,270,668 in tourism tax, up 53% for both counties compared to the same period in 2021. In the whole state, tourism tax collection was up 20.6% compared to last year. 
• City hospitality: Tourism tax collections in the big four cities have all grown beyond last years numbers. Bentonville tourism tax collections this year was up 28.1%. Fayetteville’s was up 18%, Rogers was up 60.3%, and Springdale was up 44.2%.

See the full report HERE.