Fayetteville Parks and Rec announced yesterday it is bringing the free Gulley Park Summer Concert Series back for its 25th year.

• This family friendly music series will take place from 7-9p at the Gulley Park gazebo starting June 24 and running every Thursday until July 29.
• What to bring: BYOB (blankets) and/or lawn chairs. Pups are welcome too! There will also be several local food trucks to grab a bite from.

Learn more about the concert series HERE.

Bentonville based startup, Rejoicy, recently completed a $500,000 pre-seed funding round led by Tyson Ventures and Winrock International.

• What is it? Rejoicy is a platform that gives any small business owner a way to get an online store up and running quickly and easily. The company processed thousands of orders last year (even in the midst of the pandemic), and this investment is intended to accelerate its growth.
• Quote: "We believe Rejoicy's platform has the potential to disrupt the e-commerce sector by simplifying the process in which businesses create online storefronts to sell directly to customers." Rahul Ray, Director of Tyson Ventures.

If you want to learn more about the investment, you can read the full article here.

Regional housing continues to be a hot topic in the region, and the City of Springdale is the latest to step up to address this issue.

• Earlier this week, the City of Springdale approved a gift of over $100k to seven local nonprofits who directly serve clients with housing struggles.
• Some of the organizations positively impacted include Compassion House, a program for pregnant teenagers; Returning Home, which serves men recently released from prison; and the Community Clinic, which provides transportation to clients for healthcare needs.

You can find the full story HERE.

Northwest Arkansas National Airport (XNA), received a $4.6m bump in its budget from the Department of Transportation.

• State officials announced yesterday that XNA would receive a multi-million dollar grant from the DOT to go toward taxiway improvements, infrastructure enhancements, and airport safety.
• The DOT funding is used for planning and development of "public-use airports that are significant to national air transportation" - we're flattered!

You can read more about the grant and anticipated improvements HERE.

It's been a long year, and we've all definitely been running a deficit on nice dinners out. The folks over at Mount Sequoyah are giving us a night to lift our spirits.

• High Spirits Dinner on May 22 will be a positive and uplifting dinner event for attendees where they can celebrate and connect with others (safely of course).
• The meal, hosted at the Mount Sequoyah Center, will be a FIVE course dinner including cocktails from Fox Trail Distillery and a menu created by Chef Kaitlyn Rush.

If you're looking to treat yourself and celebrate with others doing the same, you can purchase tickets here.