The Block Street Block party is this Sunday, May 22, and it appears as though the 30 or so businesses who are putting on the first-year event are not screwing around.
Over 20 bands, DJs, and folk acts are scheduled to play, more than 40 vendors will be on hand, and 20 community groups from the region will participate.
In other words, there’s a whole lot going on during the event, intended to “celebrate the unique, eccentric, amazing community of people and businesses” on Block Avenue.
A full list of participants in the festival are listed at blockstreetbusinesses.com, and here’s our guide to all of the madness.
Kickoff and Ribbon Cutting
Block Avenue, post renovation
The Block Street Block Party will kick off at 1 p.m. at the corner of Dickson with a ribbon cutting with Mayor Lioneld Jordan celebrating the completion of the recent street enhancement project.
After that, a parade will make its way down Block Avenue featuring the Northwest Arkansas Junior Roller Girls, giant puppets by JoAnn Kaminsky, dancers from Terra Nova Belly Dance Studio, and more.
After the parade, Jason Sexton of Fayetteville Pedicab Company will give a back-in parking demonstration with City Council members Brenda Thiel, Matthew Petty and others.
Lightbulb Club Stage
| Time | Live music/event |
|---|---|
| 1:00 p.m. | Swimming |
| 2:20 p.m. | Messy Sparkles |
| 3:00 p.m. | Hot Dog Prelim Round |
| 3:40 p.m. | Memphis Pencils |
| 4:30 p.m. | Hot Dog Championship Round |
| 5:00 p.m. | Voyageurs |
| 6:20 p.m. | Fauxnz |
| 7:40 p.m. | Perpetual Werwolf |
Tables & Ale Stage
| Time | Live music/event |
|---|---|
| 1:40 p.m. | Leah and the Mojo Doctors |
| 3:00 p.m. | Damn Arkansan |
| 4:20 p.m. | Groovement |
| 5:40 p.m. | A Good Fight |
| 7:00 p.m. | Cletus Got Shot |
| 8:00 p.m. | Fat Tire Bike Raffle |
Zone1 Stage
| Time | Live music/event |
|---|---|
| 1:00 p.m. | The Erratic Ninja |
| 3:00 p.m. | Bizar |
| 5:00 p.m. | Ultrasonic Nozzle |
| 7:00 p.m. | Wes Luker |
| 8:00 p.m. | Spiff |
| 9:00 p.m. | Doohickey |
| 10:00 p.m. | Xaphan and Krakrjak tag team |
Pickin’ Post Stage
Mike Shirkey of KUAF’s The Pickin’ Post will host an acoustic/folk stage at 229 N. Block Ave. (The Good Folk house). Music begins at 1 p.m., and Dave Singleton, Emily Kaitz, and Effron White are some of the confirmed performers.
Beer Gardens
Two outdoor beer gardens will be set up on Block Avenue beginning at 1 p.m. One will be located near Tables & Ale, and the second will be located just outside the Lightbulb Club.
Food
The Grillenium Falcon
Block Avenue restaurants Little Bread Company and Hugo’s will be open all day during the block party, and Tables & Ale will be cooking up some barbecue.
Food vendors include the Hammontree’s Grillenium Falcon food truck (grilled cheese, soups, salads), Emelia’s Kitchen (jalapeno shrimp on a stick), FayetteGrill (tacos, burritos, nachos and quesadillas), Hog Brats (grilled bratwurst), Bank of Fayetteville (hot dogs), and Savor. The Junior Roller Girls will operate a drink stand.
Vendors
The vendor list for the Block Party is about a mile long, but includes Rock City Kicks (who will be opening a Fayetteville store this fall), Lavish Longboards (who knew Fayetteville had a custom skateboard builder?), and tons of great local artists, craftspeople, jewelry makers, dance troupes, etc.
Some of the artists that will be set up include Whitney Johnston (paintings), Amber Perrodin and Gingiber (handmade prints, plush dolls, pillows, totes) and Lelani Law from Studio Leilani (painting demonstrations).
Community Groups
Mobile Bug Unit
Again, there is a long list of community groups participating in this year’s event over at blockstreetbusinesses.com. Some interesting ones include Rocky Grove Sun Co. who will be on hand with a solar power display (that will also be powering some of the other events).
The University of Arkansas’ Entomology Outreach will have their mobile bug unit available for kids who want to check out some weird insects.
Finally, folks from the Renaissance and Fantasy Faire of the Ozarks will have a booth with information on their fall event. They’ll also be doing tarot card readings.
Other Activities
Several events and activities will be happening all day long at various Block Avenue businesses and the vendor booths.
For the competitive, there will be several opportunities to kick someone’s butt at something, and win a prize. Hugo’s is hosting a Baggo for Burgers competition all day long in front of the restaurant. Sound Warehouse is hosting a chalk drawing competition on the sidewalk in front of the store all day long, and Maxine’s will have a beer-pong tournament at the bar.
Riffraff will be making tutu’s and painting mustaches on kids, The Mustache Goods & Wears will be doing family portraits, and World Treasures will be tie dying Block Party t-shirts. Other all-day activities include pony rides, a sheet-fort (created by Artist Laboratory Theatre) for kids (and adults) to climb around in, and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will be hosting an ice cream social.
As far as non-live music events with specific start times, here is a list of those activities.
| Time | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1:00 p.m. | Kickoff/Ribbon Cutting | Corner of Dickson |
| 1:20 p.m. | Terra Nova Belly Dancing Performance | Dark Star Visuals | 2:00 p.m. | Waiters’ Race | Little Bread Company |
| 2:00 p.m. | Puppet Shows | Alley next to Shag Salon |
| 2:00 p.m. | High Roller Cyclery Bike Maintenance Workshop | Corner of Spring |
| 3:00 p.m. | Hula Hoop Building Workshop | Dark Star Visuals |
| 4:00 p.m. | High Roller Cyclery Bike Maintenance Workshop | Corner of Spring |
| 4:30 p.m. | Puppet Shows | Alley next to Shag Salon |
| 9:30 p.m. | Shadow Puppet Show | Alley next to Shag Salon |
Links
» Blockstreetbusinesses.com
» Official Facebook Event
» Twitter
