Bentonville Or Bust

Community celebrates art, food during the month of June

Bentonville will spend the month of June highlighting local artists, chefs and restaurants during the Art & Culinary Festival, says Downtown Bentonville’s business and community engagement manager, Marci DeVenney.

“Being in this area, it’s important to celebrate and support these things,” says DeVenney. “It helps the community grow, and it helps the culture in our community grow as well. It’s important to have this outlet for showcasing local artists and celebrating our local food. We have so many great options for such a small area.”

The biggest event of the festival is Artown, scheduled for June 17 from 7:30 a.m until 1 a.m. June 18.

“This is a new endeavor for us, and it’s bigger than anything we’ve done before,” says DeVenney. “It starts at our Farmer’s Market, and we’ll have artists set up at local businesses from Second to Main Street — they’ll either have musicians, or artists, or food going on all day.”

The event will also feature a kids art section at the Farmer’s Market and a Summer Sounds Dance Party starting at 7 p.m. at the Meteor Guitar Gallery at 128 W. Central Ave.

Other events during the month include:

Farm to Table — 4-6 p.m. June 4 at the Museum of Native American History, 202 S.W. O St., Bentonville. Participants will sample a meal cooked with ingredients fresh from the Bentonville Farmers Market.

Pignic — 6-8 p.m. June 10 at the Greenspace by Lawrence Plaza, 209 N.E. Blake St., Bentonville. Downtown Bentonville chefs will serve amazing pork and other meat dishes using their unique culinary styles. Bite NW Arkansas — June 22-23 at the 8th Street Market, 801 S.E. 8th St., Bentonville. A two-day food festival that celebrates the region’s best cuisines, ingredients, restaurants and chefs. Notes at Night — 6-8 p.m. every other Thursday. See website for venues and dates.

A full schedule of events can be found at the Downtown Bentonville website at www.downtownbentonville.org/ artandculinary, or call 254-0254 for more information.