Bentonville Bike Fest, scheduled for June 18-20, is now only a month away, and we're getting excited!

• Tune up: This family friendly event is a 3 day cycling event that includes actives like group workshops, group rides, expos, an enduro race, an art tour, speaker series, and meet-and-greets.
• Quote: "We want to share our passion for this wonderful sport to someone who's never even seen a mountain bike in their life..." - Kenny Belaey, CEO of Bentonville Bike Fest.

Hosted in Bentonville, you can register for activities and checkout the schedule of events HERE.

Junk King, a company out of California, has opened its first franchise location in Northwest Arkansas. Now when you miss city bulk collection days (like we tend to), you have an alternative that not only gets rid of it but tries to recycle it.

• Why the king? Junk King is an eco friendly junk removal company that comes to your door to remove your junk. As opposed to just dropping your junk in a landfill, they collect, recycle, and repurpose 60% of the junk collected.
• Quote: “Helping people get rid of their unwanted junk in a sustainable and eco-friendly way is the most important aspect of our job.”

We're glad someone is passionate about our trash. Read the full article HERE.

Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas made the 2021 Fortune/IBM Watson Health 100 Top Hospitals in the country list and was selected as one of the 40 best teaching hospitals in the country.

• Fortune/IBM Watson Health: The list highlights the nation’s top-performing hospitals and health systems. It’s the third in year a row Mercy has received the honor.
• How Mercy made the cut: Researchers evaluated 2,675 short-term, acute care, and non-federal hospitals. They were then scored on qualities including clinical outcomes, efficiency, patient experience, and contributions to community health.

You can read more about the group HERE.

Spring is the season for floating and Arkansas' iconic waterfalls. Here is a list of waterfalls in the NWA region that could be a good afternoon activity or a day trip...

• Hemmed-in-Hollow Falls: At "209-feet, this is the tallest waterfall between the Appalachians and the Rocky Mountains." It is accessible via a 5.7 mile round trip hike or by canoe.
• Kings River Falls: Kings River Falls is an easy, 2-mile round trip nature walk with a rewarding, scenic swimming hole at the end.
• Glory Hole Falls: Known as the most unique waterfall in the Ozarks. The 2-mile, round trip hike will take you to a 30ft water fall that flows through the native rocks. You should time your visit with rain to see it in all its glory.
• Sweden Creek Falls: A brief, 1.5-mile jaunt will take you to Arkansas’ 8th tallest waterfall in Kingston, AR. The 81ft tall fall is not one to miss.

Discover more locations in the region HERE, or if you're feeling ambitious, this book catalogs waterfalls across the Natural State.

We have a celebrity walking our streets! Finding You, a movie based on a book by Jenny B. Jones, a teacher in Bentonville at Washington Junior High School, is out in theaters.

• The book, There You'll Find Me is a story about a young woman who recently lost her brother. She follows in her late brother's footsteps and travels to Ireland where she meets and falls in love with an actor.
• Jenny uses this moment to encourage others to follow their artistic dreams and passions. As someone from a "small town in Arkansas" accomplished this, she wants you to know you can too.

It looks like most local theaters are screening the movie. If you want more info, you can listen to the full story HERE,