Along with Farmers Markets and a season of live concerts, spring also means the return of First Thursday and First Friday events for Fayetteville and Bentonville!

• Time to gather: Each month downtown Fayetteville and downtown Bentonville host block parties featuring market vendors, artists, food, and entertainment. Each event has a theme to look forward to as well. 
• Around the corner: Bentonville’s first First Friday event will be April 1 with the theme Run Bentonville. Fayetteville’s First Thursday will kick off May 5, stay tuned for the theme. Vendor and sponsor applications are available now!

For more info about Bentonville's First Friday, click HERE. Stay up to date with Fayetteville's First Thursday announcements HERE. 

The Downtown Springdale Alliance has announced its LIVE! at Turnbow headliners for their monthly downtown concert series.

• Encore: LIVE! at Turnbow will be a season of free outdoor concerts on the last Thursday of every month April-October. The events happen at Walter Turnbow Park where the community can listen to local artists and bands, and enjoy a bite and drink in the Downtown Outdoor Dining District. 
• Lineup: All concerts will begin at 6:30p. The headliners for this year are as follows: April - Modeling, May - Jeff Horton Band, June - TBA, July - Jukebox Confession, August - House of the Songs Presents, September - Big Piph, October - City Sessions artist. 

For more details about the event or lineups, click HERE. 

Being in the Natural State, it only makes sense that an NWA city would be continually recognized and awarded for its urban forest management. 

• The grantee: Fayetteville received the Tree City USA designation for the 27th consecutive year and the Growth Award for the 8th year in a row. The Growth Award is a recognition of a city’s urban forest improvements over the previous year. 
• The grantors: The Tree City USA program is sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters. They grant cities across the U.S. recognition for their care of trees. 

Read the full Fayetteville Flyer story HERE. 

A classic love story is going to hit the stage in April, but this time it’s with a twist. 

• Season’s start: Arts One Presents has announced its spring play, and inaugural performance debut, to be Romeo + Juliet. The performance will feature local community members and take place at Likewise, an adapted, industrial reuse space in Fayetteville. The show dates are April 20-24. 
• Transitioning through time: The play will use the traditional script, but all the design and aesthetic choices have been reimagined to fit a more modern time period. It is described as “a refreshing take on one of the oldest and most cherished love stories of all time.” 

Click HERE for tickets and more info. 

Trailblazers + ETHIC, formally known as BikeNWA, recently announced it will be offering free or low-cost biking classes for adults who would like to build confidence in cycling. 

• Never too late to learn: The first class is called Adult First Ride and will be open to the public. This class is specifically for adults who have either never ridden a bike or haven’t since they were a child. It will be on April 4 at Pedal-it-Forward in Rogers. 
• Pedaling: As the population in NWA continues to grow, Trailblazers + Ethic believe active and clean transportation options is the way forward, and people should be educated on bike safety as well as have the opportunity to learn. For more information, to sponsor, or to volunteer for this program you can email ETHIC here.

Read the full KNWA story HERE.