Have you ever wanted to see your town from the air? Well, you can this weekend at Northwest Arkansas’s annual hot air balloon festival!

• Money well spent: SOAR NWA will take place Friday and Saturday (August 26-27) at the Drake Field Airport in south Fayetteville. Tickets range from $15-$25 for adults and $0-$8 for kids, and proceeds go toward providing employment opportunities for people with disabilities. 
• Up and away: This will be the region’s third annual festival and, as always, will include various aeronautic activities for all ages. There will be a play zone for kiddos, a beer garden for those 21+, and activities like helicopter rides and discovery flights available for booking. Going just to “oo” and “ahh” at the hot air balloons is perfectly acceptable too! 

Click HERE for more information. 

The Northwest Arkansas National Airport (XNA) revealed yesterday the completed “Ice and a Slice” installation covering the exterior of two side-by-side service buildings at the airport. 

• Air lingo: The installation was produced by OZ Art NWA and took its title from a classic British air hostess line, “Would you like ice and a slice of lemon in your drink?” 
• Art experience: Ice and a Slice is meant to give visitors who fly into XNA a taste of NWA energy and “an impression of the art experiences that are part of everyday life” in the region. The installation is also reflected inside the airport terminal, allowing people to get close to Walala’s work in addition to seeing it from the sky. 

Learn more HERE. 

This Thursday marks the last Thursday of August, and you know what that means — LIVE! @ Turnbow!

• Movin' & groovin': LIVE! @ Turnbow is a free outdoor event that takes place on the last Thursday of the month through October. Featuring local musicians and bands — from jazz to mariachi, bluegrass, and funk — it all happens at Walter Turnbow Park in Downtown Springdale in the Outdoor Dining District, so you can grab a bite and a drink to enjoy during the evening's vibes.
• Lineup: This Thursday, music will be presented by The House of Songs and features Duo Divinas, a Latinx singer-songwriter duo known for their Bachata-style music and cultural fusions, and The Irie Lions, an original 6-piece reggae band from Fayetteville. Music starts at 6:30!

Click HERE for more information.

National Magazine Garden & Gun recently published a piece featuring “25 Outstanding Restaurants Worth the Drive.” Guess who made the cut! 

• Drive to eat: Yeyo’s Mezcaleria & Taqueria in Rogers is among the top 25 outstanding restaurants in the South that necessitate making a road trip diversion to visit. The Garden & Gun author argues the new road trip destination is, in fact, the restaurant, and all the art and city stuff can wait until after lunch. 
• Southern experience: Yeyo’s in Rogers is praised for its cultural authenticity, as is the kitchen lead’s “encyclopedic and infectious” knowledge of mezcals. The food critic urges you to “ask for a mezcal cocktail stirred with smoked rhubarb amaro, and taste the South that comes next.” 

Read the full article HERE. 

A slower job growth rate shows a slightly heightened percentage of joblessness in Arkansas, though Northwest Arkansas’s unemployment rates changed little from May-June.

• Barely moving: Compared to a year ago, NWA’s unemployment rate has changed -0.8%, 0.2% less than the statewide change. Overall, Arkansas unemployment rates in 2022 are little changed in Q2, with up-ticks of 0.1% in NWA. 
• Steadily employed: The highest employment growth rates in the state have been in NWA. Employment in NWA has grown 5.3% over the past year, and the metro is one of three in Arkansas where total employment was higher in June 2022 than just before the pandemic recession in February 2020.

Click HERE for more information.