Music Moves recently announced the lineup for the 2023 Freedom Festival, including Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Ohio Players, Yung Joc, Lisa Knowles and The Brown Singers, and Funk Factory, performing at Shiloh Square in Downtown Springdale on June 17 from 1-9p.

• It's goin' down: Beyond musical performances, the celebration will include a fashion show with Project Runway star Korto Momolu, multiple giveaways, food trucks, a Black Owned Business Fair, family-friendly activities, a wellness fair, and more.
• All together: Freedom Festival is presented by Music Moves, INTERFORM, Community Cohesion Project, and the University of Arkansas to commemorate Juneteenth, the oldest known celebration of the full emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the United States in 1865.

Learn more about Freedom Festival HERE.

Mayor Chris Moore has confirmed that Costco Wholesale, the Washington-based warehouse store chain, plans to open a location in Lowell, bringing great financial potential for the city, which levies a 2% sales tax.

• The plans: Current concepts show the warehouse covering 160,979 sqft, including 827 parking spaces, at the corner of Pleasant Grove Rd and Concord St.
• The territory: The new Costco will open roughly 7 mi from the nearest Sam’s Club, the nation’s other membership-based wholesaler, which is headquartered in Bentonville. 

Find more information HERE.

Local filmmakers Brian Hill and Adam Harbottle of Kombi Creative have released a new film called Relentless Ride, documenting athletes in the 2021 Arkansas High Country Race, an endurance race spanning over 1,000 mi of the Ozark's most breathtaking backcountry terrain.

• The Road: As much about the people as the race itself, Relentless Ride follows several riders, some of whom call NWA home, highlighting the beautiful elements of the human spirit that rise to the surface when we're pushed to our limits.
• On the road: A different challenge unfolded behind the camera as Brian Hill, Nate Friend, and Adam and Star Harbottle followed competitors by GPS for days, living out of vans and hardly sleeping while they strived to capture unique moments without impeding the riders.

If you're looking for some serious inspiration, stream Relentless Ride on Vimeo HERE.

Pediatrica Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical startup led by University of Arkansas graduate students, aims to serve the youngest victims of the opioid epidemic: unborn and newborn babies.

• Born addicted: When a pregnant woman chronically uses opioids, neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) can occur, causing the baby to experience symptoms of opioid withdrawal: tremors, convulsions, vomiting, and the potential for life-long neurobehavioral problems.
• Making progress: Last month, Pediatrica took first place and received a $20,000 cash prize at the 2023 Arkansas Governor's Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition for its novel drug, developed by modifying the pharmacology of buprenorphine to serve as a fetal protectant against NOWS.

Read more about Pediatrica's work HERE.

More public art is decorating Downtown Springdale with the unveiling of Arts One Presents' Springdale Barn Quilt Project, representing the various cultural traditions and visual styles of Springdale's intersecting communities.

• Bundled up: Each Barn Quilt represents and celebrates aspects of their designer's respective craft and unique cultural traditions and practices around the historical practice of quilt design. The projects have been submitted to the Arkansas Quilt Trail,
• On display: The three projects are displayed on the barn at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, the side of the former First Security Bank building facing Shiloh Square, and the corner of Emma and Holcomb streets. In conjunction with the Barn Quilts, works by other artists are on display as part of the Shiloh Museum's Ozark Home, Beyond the Frame exhibition.

Learn more about the project HERE.