Walmart is finding new ways to deliver products to your front door. In partnership with DroneUp, a national drone services provider, the company is taking its mission to new heights.

• Can you imagine? The company already has 4,700 stores in the U.S., putting them within 10 miles of 90% of the population. A scalable drone delivery service could cut delivery times down from hours to minutes.
• Lifting off from Bentonville: The first drone delivery test is set to take place in Bentonville in the coming months. Look up, and you just might see groceries flying over your head!

Find out more about Walmart's drone delivery initiatives HERE.

It's a big weekend in NWA with all sorts of events, Father's Day, Bike Fest, and farmers markets. If you're having trouble narrowing down the options, here are a few events to check out:

• Good old-fashioned boil: The Fayetteville Fire Department is hosting a Crawfish Boil on Sunday. Proceeds from the event will go to local organizations.
• Take to the trails: Bentonville Bike Fest is finally here! Grab your gear and enjoy all things cycling in Bentonville this weekend.
• Put it in park: 112 Drive-in theater is open all weekend, showing some of the hottest new movies from the box office.
• Only every third: Neighborhood Concert Series is making a stop at The Fields at Better Homes & Gardens at 6pm.
• Freedom Festival: Featuring live music and soul food, the Freedom Festival in downtown Springdale is celebrating Juneteenth on Sunday.
• For the first time: The Ozark Social is a Summer Solstice celebration and community gathering. The event is being held in Springdale from 7-9pm on Sunday.
• Good vibrations: Live music is back on! Here's a list of all the shows happening between in NWA this weekend. We'd add Railyard Live to this list as well.
• Fun for the fathers: Saturday is Arkansas Pint Day with participating breweries across the state. Cheers to dads!

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences has been awarded a $1.4 million grant to study the effects of COVID-19 on minority groups, and how to rapidly increase vaccination rates within these communities.

• The facts: In a recent study, research indicated that about 6% of the Hispanic population in Arkansas was vaccinated. The vaccination rate among the Marshallese community is even lower.
• Open communication: At one community clinic in Springdale, nurses have been sharing information about the vaccine with patients in their native language. This approach has prompted more sharing about the vaccine in these communities.

Read more about how this study is already increasing vaccination rates in local minority communities HERE.

For the first time, a few local non-profits are coming together to host Critical Mass Summit. This Summit is inviting underrepresented populations, especially women, into the cycling, active transportation, and social change movements.

• How to participate: On Friday, July 23rd, the event will kick off with a full day of virtual sessions led by local and national community leaders and holistic practitioners. The next day, participants will be invited to in-person outdoor experiences around NWA.
• A new space: Cycling background or not, Critical Mass Summit will be a place for women to come together to talk about social change, active transportation, and making a positive impact on their communities.

You can read more about the event, its partners, and purchase tickets HERE.

As much as we all wanted to support local businesses over the past year, their lack of online presences made it difficult to do so. Rejoicy was built by co-founders, Edwin and Luke, in response to this problem.

• What is it? Rejoicy is an online marketplace that gives local businesses an easy way to set up an online shop and helps the NWA community discover these businesses to make shopping local a breeze.
• Local charm: The Company's mission is to connect the community with the local independents that make it unique.
• Even easier: In addition to stores with brick & mortar locations, Rejoicy offers 3 pickup locations throughout NWA to make shopping local more convenient for customers. 

There are currently over 20 shops on the Rejoicy platform, with more being added every week! Check out these local products and businesses HERE.