Something to Ramble about

“See you at The Ramble.” In the years to come, that’s a phrase city leaders in Fayetteville hope will often, and easily, cascade from the mouths of city residents and visitors.

It’s a reference to the wooded downtown trail, hang-out areas and, eventually, a civic park space collectively authorized by the city’s voters. It runs from near the Walton Arts Center south down past the Fayetteville Public Library. The idea is to tie together current and future cultural amenities — such as TheatreSquared, Prairie Street Live, and the coming University of Arkansas School of Art campus on Martin Luther King Boulevard and beyond. But the idea is also for The Ramble to become an attraction itself, sprinkled with examples of artistic expression, whether it’s sculpture or performances or other creative endeavors.

The opening of what’s been dubbed The Lower Ramble will be marked by city officials at 4:45 p.m. today in a public ceremony. The area includes the Fay Jones Woods just west of the expanded library. It’s the first taste of more to come as part of a taxpayer-supported effort to create a unique, arts-centered space.

Joanna Bell joined the city of Fayetteville staff just a few weeks ago as the new arts and culture director. She’s the guest on the newly posted edition of the Speaking of Arkansas podcast, hosted by this page’s editor, Greg Harton. Visit https://nwaonline.com/97soaartscorridor/ to listen to the episode and learn more about her role in connecting the arts with municipal policies and programming.

You can also find Speaking of Arkansas on most podcast listening platforms, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and others.