The art culture in Northwest Arkansas is enhanced all the time with creative initiatives and events. This spring Creative Arkansas Community Hub & Exchange (CACHE) is partnering with regional artists and organizations to activate a vision for the Arts & Market District of Bentonville. 

• To scale: In an effort to foster a strong neighborhood identity revolving around creativity, entrepreneurship, and community, there will be a large-scale public artwork by CACHE Studios to elevate the neighborhood’s identity. 
• Makers and music: Two free events are happening at CACHE Studios this spring including a makers market we wrote about recently and a musical affair titled “It’s In The Air.” The latter will, with 2 sets, tell a musical history of Arkansas. 

For more information, click HERE. 

Northwest Arkansas has seen thousands of job gains since December of last year and was 1 of the 2 metro areas around the state that had a jobless rate under 2%.

• On the up and up: Across the state, there was a total of 19,083 job gains in the 3 regions recorded for December 2021. NWA had an estimated nearly 294K jobs at the end of last year, up nearly 13K from 2020. In comparison, Central Arkansas had over 340K employed in December.
• Back to work: NWA is at a low rate of 1.6% for jobless claims as of December 2021, which is 4,854 unemployed compared to 10K in 2020. 

Read the full Talk Business & Politics story HERE. 

Although it's not spring yet, it certainly feels like it is. Here are some ways you can experience it:

• Pedal: Ride along with the Women of OZ on their monthly flagship ride this Saturday.
• Flipping pages: Hit up a book sale in the Fayetteville Public Library's lobby this weekend.
• Runnin': Running of the Hogs is this Saturday! Be a part of the fun in-person or sign up for the virtual event.
• Sit back: Watch a film or two at the Rogers Film Festival this weekend.
• Real stories: Listen to Marshallese nuclear survivors speak in a panel at Crystal Bridges on Saturday.
• Tune in: Get your live music fix this weekend with shows happening across the region.
• Appreciate: Cheers to beer and art - visit at a local artist's pop-up gallery featured at Ozark Beer Co Saturday.
• Awareness: Participate in a suicide prevention walk on the U of A campus this weekend.

Have fun this weekend, be safe, and we'll be in your inbox again Monday!

Local record label Hill Records has released its first EP (extended player) and it features music from 3 Arkansas artists. 

• Vibrations: The EP is called From The High Ground and has 1 song from each of 3 local artist: Foxpaw of Fayetteville, NWA native Pat Ryan Key, and H3ADCANNON are the artists featured. You can find the music on streaming platforms like Apple Music and Spotify.
• The real world: Hill Records is a student-run record label at the University of Arkansas that gives students real-life experiences in the music industry. The artists on this EP and other Hill Records artists will be featured in a showcase at Georges Majestic Lounge on May 3. 

Read the full story HERE.