What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1197021
and a professional gallery on the first floor. • Rogers Little Theater began its 30th season in September with a new name, Arkansas Public Theatre at the Victory, a reflection of the size, scope and innovation of its productions and a chance to pay homage to its historic home. • Also in September, the Unexpected, a street art festival, premiered in Fort Smith with eight artists from seven countries creating 11 murals in a week. • The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Bachman-Wilson House opened to the public in October. • In December, it was announced that the Wakarusa music festival hosted annually on Mulberry Mountain in Ozark would not return in 2016. Festival-lovers had speculated Wakarusa might be canceled when Pipeline Productions, the company that organized the festival, unexpectedly canceled two of its other festivals earlier that year: Thunder on the Mountain, set for June 26-28, and Phases of the Moon, scheduled for Oct. 16-18, both at the same location. 2016 The Big News On a cool Saturday in November, visitors to the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville had the unique opportunity to explore the performing arts center literally from top to bottom at the grand reopening celebration. In conjunction with the venue's 25th anniversary, the WAC reopened on Nov. 19 after a 16-month renovation, which included one year of a "hard hat season." The $23 million renovation and expansion resulted in easy to spot changes — like the building's facade and beautiful new lobby, the Walker Atrium — as well as significant technical and space improvements to accommodate larger and more complex tours. One of the most significant aspects of the renovation was the ability to utilize two performance spaces at once. Before, Starr Theatre — the black box theater facing West Avenue — was used as a storage room up to 100 days out of the year when larger productions came to town. "This is a community institution. It's been here for 25 years and is part of the fabric of the community," Vice President of Programming Scott Galbraith told What's Up! ahead of the opening. "[The reopening] can't help but feel like a welcome home!" Other Milestones • Northwest Arkansas celebrated 2016's Miss America more than anywhere else. Savvy Shields was not only the first Miss America from Arkansas since Elizabeth Ward in 1982, she was a graduate of Fayetteville High School and was a student at the University of Arkansas at the time of her crowning. She is Northwest Arkansas' own Miss America. • The Offshoot Film Festival changed its name to the Fayetteville Film Festival and celebrated its most successful year yet. The new name came also with a new mission statement of focusing on Arkansas filmmakers. • The inaugural Inverse Performance Art Festival brought performance artists from across the globe to Northwest Arkansas for an unprecedented festival for the region. New work was presented and a space was curated to foster conversation and garner inclusion for the often misunderstood medium. • In early October, artists from Fayetteville institution the Fayetteville Underground — managed by the nonprofit Fayetteville Art Alliance — staged an exodus from the gallery over governing disagreements. The artists formed the group Fenix Fayetteville with a pop-up exhibit, and the Fayetteville Art Alliance continues on with new artists and community partnerships. 2017 The Big News House of Song Ozarks, the Bentonville-based outpost of musician Troy Campbell's organization that originated in Austin, debuted in 2017. Campbell's concept was created to help a diverse group of international musicians and writers meet and collaborate on new work. "You get to hear not only [the musicians'] stories of where they're from, but also their experience of collaborating, and going on a walk with someone on the trails and talking about their perceptions of America or Arkansas," Campbell told Features writer Jocelyn Murphy in a JANUARY 5-11, 2020 WHAT'S UP! 5 COVER STORY See Decade Page 7 File Photo/BEN GOFF @NWABENGOFF Geena Davis took the field during player introductions during the "A League of Their Own" reunion softball game, part of the Bentonville Film Festival in its early years. File Photos Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2016, the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville got more than a facelift. The $23 million renovation and expansion shown in these before and after photos allowed the arts center to increase programming and better reflect community interests.