The University of Arkansas is set to host the 2022 USA Track & Field Combined Events Championships this weekend, May 6-7, at John McDonnell Field. 

• A first for hosting: The events were moved up to June to enable more prep time for those on Team USA. It will be the first time for the University of Arkansas to host the USATF Championship, and the other championship events will be in Eugene Oregon. The events this weekend will serve as a selection for the Team USA in the heptathlon and decathlon for the 2022 World Athletics Championships. 
• Tickets: In conjunction with the Arkansas Twilight on Friday, tickets for the USATF Combined Events Championships are available online. Tickets are $5 for adults, and individuals 17 and under can attend for free. Saturday’s session is free of charge for all spectators. 

For more information, click HERE. 

The Artosphere: Arkansas’ Arts & Nature Festival has returned with activities and events at locations across Northwest Arkansas. 

• For the family: The festival begins today and will go through May 27, presenting exciting celebratory events the whole family can enjoy, spotlighting artists and performers from around the world who are inspired by nature. 
• Sustainability events: This year, the multi-week festival events are generally inspired by the sun and its light essential for life. There will be outdoor performances, large orchestral concerts, and several chamber music performances in special spaces throughout the region, as well as a mix of free and low-cost events. 

For more information, click HERE.

Home sales in the first quarter of 2022 in Northwest Arkansas’ two largest counties are booming compared to the first quarter of last year. 

• More homes sold: This year in Benton and Washington counties, there were 2,639 homes sold through March, which is up 11.9% from the same period last year. The combined sales volume through March this year was $962.1 million, up a whopping 36.8% compared to 2021. 
• Prices up: The average house prices are continuing to rise in both Benton and Washington counties as well. In Benton County, the average home sale was up 22.4% at $376,148. And in Washington County, the average home price sale through September was up 22.2% at $343,190. 

Read the full Talk Business & Politics story HERE. 

The Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce is hosting its 2022 Northwest Arkansas Spring Job Fair today, and there are nearly 100 employers registered to attend. 

• Community strengthening: Those working in economic development say the Job Fairs provide opportunities for workforce strengthening in NWA, and they are a key factor in increasing the quality of life in the region. The Chamber's Northwest Arkansas Job Fairs are the longest-running job fairs in Arkansas and are free to job seekers. 
• Pathways: Despite low unemployment numbers, there are ‘now hiring’ signs around, and job fairs are still viable career pathways for job seekers. The NWA Spring Job Fair today is at the Frisco Station Mall, located at 100 N. Dixieland Rd in Rogers, and will go from 10-3p. 

Learn more HERE. 

Do you also feel like one Farmers Market a week is not enough? Well, the season of Midweek Bentonville Farmers Market and Live at the Five & Dime is returning this Thursday, May 5. It will be a weekly thing along with the usual Saturday Farmer’s Market.

• Market: The Thursday midweek market is dubbed a “micro-market” and will offer a rotating array of Bentonville Farmers Market vendors on Main Street in front of The Walmart Museum. The micro-market will make about 1/4 of the Saturday Market footprint and start at 5p.
• Music: Visitors to the Thursday market are invited to stop on their way home from work for a grocery restock as well as to bring a chair and enjoy live music on Main Street. Weather permitting, Live at the Five & Dime will begin at 5:30p. is a free, all-ages community music event. 

For more, click HERE and HERE.