Memphis firm bringing back Riverfest

Little Rock’s Riverfest is making a comeback under new leadership nearly a year after its organizers announced the end of the long-running music festival.

Memphis-based Universal Fairs has bought the rights to the Riverfest brand and plans a three-day festival of the same name on Memorial Day weekend, event director Jack Daniels said.

A variety of activities — including musical performances and amusement rides — are scheduled for May 25-27.

Universal Fairs’ interest in reviving the festival stems from the firm’s experience in reinvigorating other faltering events, like the Georgia State Fair, Daniels said.

“We really specialize in taking festivals that have been

established and that need a breath of fresh air,” Daniels said, noting his hopes for Riverfest’s “rejuvenation.”

The festival, now stylized as RiverFest, will again feature two main performance stages in the River Market District of Arkansas’ capital city — the First Security Amphitheater and, tentatively, the Clinton Presidential Center, Daniels said.

RiverFest’s musical lineup is expected to be announced in April.

In July, organizers of the decades-running Riverfest announced that they were suspending operations because of competing festivals and the rising costs of performers’ fees. The festival had a net loss of $300,000 in 2017, former Riverfest executive director DeAnna Korte said.

Attendance last year was estimated at 125,000 people. In 2016, 140,000 attended, and an estimated 220,000 people visited the festival in 2015, Korte said previously.

The new organizers said the event’s overall physical footprint will be smaller, with more space planned for more than 25 games, rides and other family-friendly activities.

Daniels said he’s working to make the music festival a community affair, with cooperation from local businesses, and activities for all age groups.

Ticket prices will be kept affordable for people who want to “bring a date or bring a family,” he said. Early-bird pricing is planned to start next month.

Officials behind RiverFest

— dubbed “an Arkansas tradition” — said more information will be announced Monday during a news conference at First Security Amphitheater.

As of Friday afternoon, the RiverFest website simply read: “Thanks for 40 great years.” It also contained the tagline: “Arkansas’ premier music experience.”

Riverfest got its start in August 1978 when the Junior League of Little Rock attracted the American Wind Symphony to Little Rock. At the time, it was called the Summer Arts Festival and was held at Murray Park.

The name was changed the next year, and in 1982, the festival moved to Convention Center Plaza on Markham Street.

Riverfest eventually expanded along the banks of the Arkansas River in Julius Breckling Riverfront Park and to the Clinton Center, where it remained until last year.

Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola said in a statement released Friday evening that he was “hopeful about the success of a ‘return’ of RiverFest to our downtown,” adding that he looked forward to hearing more about plans to involve the city in the festival.

“I welcome the return of the economic and cultural impact of the largest festival in the state,” he added.