Earlier this week, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals released game times for their 2021 season. Their first home game is on May 11 at 7:05pm against the Tulsa Drillers.

• Natural State Rivals: The season opener, however, will take place on Tuesday, May 4, against the Arkansas Travelers at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.

• First pitch for most homes games on Tuesdays through Fridays will begin at 7:05pm, and most weekend games will start at 6:05pm on Saturdays, and 2:05pm on Sundays. Mondays are now off-days for the entire league.

• Those who purchased season passes should receive "direct communication” from the organization with more information on COVID-19 policies in the very near future.

• “We are finalizing our safety and fan admission protocols for the upcoming season with Major League Baseball, in conjunction with the ARDOH guidelines, and will soon share those options for you for the 2021 season," the organization said in a press release.

Additionally, next month, several of the Kansas City Royals will be using Arvest Ball Park as an "Alternative Training Site".

More information about the game times and Spring training can be found HERE

On the heels of the disappointing news about several live shows being cancelled at the Walmart AMP, we've got some good news for you. The Arkansas Public Theatre (APT) in Rogers has put together an exciting series of shows running through the summer that guests can attend live and in person.

• APT's shows are performed at the historic Victory Theater in downtown Rogers. The theater was built in 1927 and served as a community gathering place, a movie theater, and a vaudeville theater throughout the decades until it was closed in the 70s. In 2008, it was purchased by the City of Rogers (along with help from donors) with the intent that it would serve as APT's long-term home.

• The next show, The Lifespan of a Fact, starts this weekend. The show centers around a small time fact checker at a magazine publishing house that gets assigned to a big job.

• We've all been itching for some live entertainment over the past year, so here's an opportunity to enjoy a great, live show in a cool, historic building. If you haven't made plans for the weekend yet, tickets are still available.

Have a shelf-ready product that you're dying to pitch? Well, now might be your chance. Yesterday (March 23), Walmart announced the application process for Open Call is live through April 30. Open Call is part of Walmart's commitment to invest $350 billion into home-grown goods in the US over the next decade.

• Entrepreneurs and companies are invited to pitch their products to qualify for the virtual event that will take place on June 30.

• Similar to last year's event, participants will have 1x1 pitch meetings with Walmart merchants and hear directly from Walmart executives at the kickoff event. Smaller breakout sessions will occur throughout the day, so suppliers can learn more about resources available to them.

• "Open Call is like watching the American Dream play out in real time,” said Laura Phillips, Walmart Sr. VP for Global Sourcing & U.S. Manufacturing. -Talk Business & Politics

• We know you've got what it takes - apply HERE. Applications close April 30.

Did we ever think we'd live to see the day? According to Governor Asa Hutchinson, the state of Arkansas has administered 1 million COVID-19 vaccinations. To be exact, 1,008,575 shots have been administered out of 1,466,950 distributed - a 68.75% rate. But we're not in the clear just yet...

• Although the Governor noted that cases are steadily falling, he spoke with Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, to discuss what this means for Arkansas. “I asked him [Dr. Fauci] to look at where we are, and the test is, are you going down, or are you flat?” Gov. Hutchinson said. “And if you’re flat, and you stay flat, then there’s a potential you go up.” -Talk Business & Politics

• As you've probably heard, Governor Hutchinson said Arkansas might ditch the statewide mask mandate at the end of the March - but some cities are hesitant. Most of the public schools in the region, like Bentonville, have decided to adopt mask usage until the end of the semester.

• The City of Fayetteville may choose to enforce a city-wide mask mandate until further notice. “The city has the duty to protect the peace, health and safety of its citizens... That’s one of its most important rights," said Fayetteville City Attorney, Kit Williams. -KNWA/Fox24

• As of yesterday, both Washington and Benton County had a consistent, declining trend of positive cases. Both counties currently have an average daily case rate of 11 per 100,000.

Looking to get vaccinated? Here's a local vaccine calendar for NWA. Other resources are now available at VaccinateArkansas.com.