What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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For the Daredevils If there's one thing that can make your heart beat faster than true love, it's got to be skydiving. Just ask Brandon Cawood, who co-owns Skydive Fayetteville (4500 S. School Ave., Fayetteville; 270-8855) with his business partner, Jacob Crutchfield. He met his fiancé, Holly Hoover, on a jump four years ago this May. Cawood was the tandem jumper assigned to be tethered to Hoover on her jump — and the two fell in love. Cawood has been skydiving for 14 years and says that, yes, he was scared the first time he did it. "You're definitely nervous the first time," he says. "If someone says they're not nervous, they're probably lying." Cawood says that Skydive Fayetteville's jumps usually occur from a plane flying around 9,000 to 10,000 feet in the sky, and the jumper will free fall for around 30 seconds before deploying the parachute. The entire jump usually lasts around five minutes and, says Cawood, the view is amazing. "You can see XNA really easily, you can make out Bentonville and Rogers," he says. "If it's clear enough, you can usually see all the way down to Fort Smith." If Cawood and Hoover's love story isn't enough to convince you that skydiving can be romantic, the company frequently sees marriage proposals at the end of their dives. "The guy will usually leap first, and we'll kind of hurry it up so that he gets to the ground first " so that he can unfurl a banner with a marriage proposal on it, says Cawood. Back to the Basics When Fayetteville Square Dance (1 E. Mountain St., Fayetteville) co-founder Allison Williams returned to her hometown, she missed the regular dance gatherings she had helped organize in Asheville, N.C. and Knoxville, Tenn. So she set out to make the same magic in Fayetteville. "My friend Willi Carlisle was learning to call and shared my love of old time music and dance, and we just started hunting for venues," says Williams. Their creation held its first dance in the parking lot of May Bell Music in Trailside Village in conjunction with the Fayetteville Roots Festival, a partnership that has repeated every year since. When the group got too large for the regular monthly events — a dance is held the last Friday of every month at 8 p.m. — they moved from Backspace to the new Roots headquarters on the Fayetteville Square. "The Fayetteville Square Dance is an all-ages event, with beer and wine available for [ages 21-plus]," says Williams. "We dance from 8-11 p.m., with live music. Everyone is welcome. We know that traditional square dance has become a rarity, and most folks don't grow up with it. We teach all of our dances, and call them all the way through, so it's very accessible. Most importantly, we have a beginner lesson at 8 p.m., to go over the basics. What matters is coming together as a community, keeping traditional arts alive and having fun." The event is a favorite of local musicians, and, over the years, has turned into a veritable who's who of performers. "We work with the best traditional musicians in the region — locals like Pete Howard and the Ozark Highballers, folks from Missouri like David Scrivner, Kim Lansford and Nathan McAllister and even touring musicians and callers on occasion," says Williams. "These are folks who have spent their lives learning music from the elders, the tradition-bearers in their communities." The low admission price, festive atmosphere and welcoming spirit make it a great option for date night. "I'd absolutely recommend it, if you're not afraid to get sweaty on a date," says Williams. "It's also fun if you're single — you'll get to meet a bunch of new folks, and they won't be buried in a cellphone or a sports game on television. It's a chance for learning, laughing and genuine connection." FEATURE 10 WHAT'S UP! JULY 7-13, 2019 Outside The Box Continued From Page 9 NWA Democrat-Gazette/BEN GOFF @NWABENGOFF Dancers twirl to old-time string music during the Fayetteville Square Dance at the Fayetteville Roots Festival headquarters on the square. The traditional Southern square dances with live bands are held on the last Friday of each month with lessons for newcomers.