"I can't wait to go to a concert when this is all over." Heard that one before? It's been almost a year since the COVID-19 pandemic shook up our daily lives and cancelled our plans for the foreseeable future. However, the vaccine rollout is beginning to present a glimmer of hope for a return to normalcy - with a touch of jazz.

• The show must go on! Organizers with the Fayetteville Jazz Festival have announced plans to move forward with the annual event on April 23-25, 2021. The event will also feature panel discussions, performance clinics, and workshops on jazz history, theory, and improvisation.
• Performances will take place on the U of A campus and will be limited to the campus community but streamed online for others to enjoy at local venues such as Prairie Street Live and the Fayetteville Public Library.
• Headliners include artists in residence Alexa Tarantino, Rodney Block, Carmen Bruner, and Jeremy Thomas, along with featured guest artists such as saxophonist Alexa Tarantino, trumpet player Rodney Block, vocalist Carmen Bruner, organist Jeremy Thomas and others.
• Local talent includes drummer Anthony Ball, guitarist Jake Hertzog, vocalist Lauren Nicole Clare, bassist Kyth Trantham, drummer Chris Teal, moderator Dr. Jeffery Murdock (UA), musicologist Dr. Kimberly Hannon Teal (UA), music theorist Dr. Joon Park, and the University of Arkansas Jazz Orchestra directed by Dr. Rick Salonen. -Fayetteville Flyer

Fayetteville-based LIVSN Designs has raised more than $500,000 through a Kickstarter campaign for the launch of their new product. The outdoor apparel company originally needed $10,000 for the launch of the new "EcoTrek" pants but quickly exceeded those numbers, raising over $100,000 in the first eight hours.

• The company's most recent Kickstarter campaign raised $106,364 in summer 2019, and CEO Andrew Gibbs-Dabney said he expected to double or triple those numbers this time around. The current campaign allows supporters to "place pledges" to buy the company’s products.
• The EcoTrek pants are basically one-half of a super suit. They are water-resistant, sweat-wicking and quick-drying and include a drawstring waistband and an expanded zippered phone pocket on the thigh.
• “After having worked on the EcoTrek pants for months and months, it’s a huge honor to see the outpouring of people supporting our next product,” Gibbs-Dabney said. “Many of the people who backed the EcoTrek Kickstarter are the same people who helped get LIVSN off the ground, and that means the world to us." -Talk Business & Politics

Whoa, seriously? Yes, you heard that right. According to a recent report from Wallethub, the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers area ranks 15th in the US for most overweight and obese adults per capita. Are you as surprised as we are? Here are the numbers:

• The study examined a number of factors including obesity and overweight statistics, health consequences and access to healthy food and fitness, contributing to a total (unhealthy) score for each city.

• The Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers area received a total health score of 79.60, yet ranked No. 4 in the US for obese and overweight adults. Additionally, the NWA cities jumped down to the 41st spot in terms of serious health issues and ranked 33rd for accessibility to healthy food and fitness options.

• So we know what you're thinking, who came in first? The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area topped the list with a total score of 84.73. The Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway area fell closely behind in the No. 4 spot with a total score of 83.22.

The Momentary museum in Bentonville celebrated its 1 year anniversary a few weeks ago on Feb. 22.

The grand opening generated a buzz around NWA, and people packed the museum. However, a global pandemic lurked around the corner and forced the museum (along with the rest of the world) to shut down only a month into operations. This year is a new year though, right? Last night The Momentary held its Winter/Spring Virtual Opening Celebration by welcoming three new exhibits to the museum:

• Sarah Cain: In Nature - "A colorful, abstract, site-specific exhibition features works on canvas, functional floor paintings, sculpture, and a stained-glass window, moving over and off the canvas and responding to architecture at large." The exhibition "focuses on formal observations from nature and the search for new possibilities."
• Derrick Adams: Sanctuary - The Green Book, a guidebook referenced during the Jim Crow era by Black American travelers, is used by Adams as "inspiration to reimagine safe destinations for the Black American traveler in an exhibition featuring mixed-media collage and sculpture."
• Diana Al-Hadid: Ash in the Trade Wind - "Features several striking works of sculpture and wall panels from the Syrian American artist, highlighting recent developments in Al-Hadid's signature process of layering pigments on to classical and contemporary materials." These works together "encourage slow looking and invite viewers to create their own visual histories." - The Momentary

To see a full list of Winter/Spring events at The Momentary, you can find it HERE

The Whole Health Institute, a nonprofit founded by Alice Walton, has announced plans to bring a new medical school to NWA that centers around preparing students to "rise to the challenges" of modern science by incorporating elements of mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health to help others live healthy lives.

• The Whole Health School of Medicine and Health Sciences (School of Medicine) plans to break ground on the state-of-the-art facility in Bentonville in 2022, hoping to enroll its inaugural class of students in fall 2024.
• The curriculum will blend traditional and conventional medicine with integrative techniques and will include biomedical sciences, clinical training, medical entrepreneurship, research, and a capstone with Whole Health principles imbedded throughout. Graduates will receive a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree.
• “Grounded in a focus on the whole person, physicians of the future will be better equipped to redesign professional care and to empower and support people,” said Founding Dean of the School of Medicine, Elly Xenakis, MD. -NWA Council
• Learn more HERE.