Groups request over $260,000 for planned events in Fayetteville

A&P Commissioner Robert Rhoads talks with Greta Allendorf, president of the Natural State Burial Association, about Death Fest, a new planned event that seeks to explore death through art, music and theatre.

Photo: Todd Gill, Fayetteville Flyer

The Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion Commission will meet next week for its biannual funding meeting to distribute leftover tax dollars to those asking for help.

Organizers are seeking a total of $260,305 for 21 planned festivals, projects, and community events.

That’s over $156,000 more than commissioners have to hand out this spring.

The A&P distributes its leftover funds twice each year to organizers requesting financial assistance for events and projects planned in Fayetteville.

Kym Hughes, A&P executive director, said the commission has about $103,000 to divvy up using excess funds from the group’s budget.

Commissioners met with event organizers to discuss their requests during a special meeting held last month inside the Fayetteville Town Center. The group will meet again Monday, May 16 to decide how to divide up the money.

Listed below are all the groups who are requesting funds for an event or project later this year. We’ve also uploaded a copy of the full packet of funding requests, which is available here.

Spring 2016 A&P Funding Awards

1. Artist’s Laboratory Theatre
   Artist’s Laboratory Theatre requested $7,500 for help creating an interactive website to accompany its planned “Secret Life of Downtown Fayetteville” project, an interactive walking tour showcasing the heritage of the downtown square. The project is one of 14 group selected through the state by the Department of Heritage to commemorate Heritage Month.
2. All Sports Productions
   All Sports Productions requested $7,500 for marketing costs for the 2016 Fayetteville Half Marathon, set for Oct. 29-30 in Fayetteville.
3. Arkansas Forestry Association
   The Arkansas Forestry Association requested $7,500 towards costs related to the group’s 71st annual meeting, set for Oct. 4-6 at the Chancellor Hotel in Fayetteville.
4. Arts Live Theatre
   Arts Live Theatre requested $5,000 for the promotion of its stage productions during the summer and fall 2016 season.
5. City of Fayetteville
   City of Fayetteville officials requested $5,000 to expand the city’s graffiti reduction program which assigns artists to paint murals on utility boxes that are commonly tagged with graffiti. Since it began, the program has eliminated graffiti on the boxes with murals.
6. City of Fayetteville
   Fayetteville officials also requested $6,650 to help with costs for a festival on the downtown square to celebrate the completion of the 2016 Square 2 Square Bike Ride which begins on the Bentonville square and ends in Fayetteville on Sept. 10.
7. Fayetteville Disc Association
   The Fayetteville Disc Association requested $5,000 for costs related to the 2016 Harvest Moon Ultimate Tournament, scheduled for Oct. 29-30 in Fayetteville.
8. Fayetteville Film Fest
   The Fayetteville Film Fest requested $12,500 to help rebrand the annual event, formerly called the Offshoot Film Festival.
9. Fayetteville Firefighters’ Association
   The Fayetteville Firefighters’ Association requested $5,000 for costs related to the 2016 Hero Half Marathon, scheduled for Oct. 9-10 in Fayetteville.
10. Fayetteville Oldtime Music and Dance
    Fayetteville Oldtime Music and Dance requested $1,050 to promote its monthly square dancing events.
11. Folk School of Fayetteville
    Organizers of the Fayetteville Roots Festival requested $41,500 to expand the annual festival – set for Aug. 25-28 – to include more food-related events.
12. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
    The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers requested $8,300 for costs related to the group’s 4th Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications, scheduled for Nov. 6-9 in Fayetteville.
13. Natural State Burial Association
    Organizers requested $5,000 to help fund a new event called Death Fest, a multi-venue event set for Oct. 27-Nov. 1 that explores death through art, music and theatre, including guest speaker Katrina Space, founder of the Urban Death Project.
14. NWA Creative Arts Network
    The NWA Creative Arts Network requested $14,000 for the annual Last Night Fayetteville event, set for New Year’s Eve Dec. 31 on the downtown square.
15. NWA Creative Arts Network
    The NWA Creative Arts Network also requested $8,256 to promote Last Saturday Fayetteville, a variety show held in downtown Fayetteville on the last Saturday of each month.
16. Oktoberfest
    Organizers of the Arkansas Brewers Guild and the Dickson Street Merchants Association requested $9,600 for promotional materials and merchandise for the 2016 Oktoberfest event, scheduled for Sept. 18 at the Walton Arts Center parking lot in Fayetteville.
17. Phat Tire Cycling Club
    The Phat Tire Cycling Club requested $6,000 for the Banded Suffering cycling ride scheduled for Oct. 1 and benefitting the Junior Diabetes Research Foundation. The event, which caters to riders of all levels, include routes ranging from 6-125 miles.
18. Project Teacher NWA
    Project Teacher NWA requested $9,000 for Game It Forward, a tabletop gaming event scheduled for March 3-4, 2017.
19. Soldier On Service Dogs
    Soldier On Service Dogs requested $27,110 for promotional materials and volunteer supplies and gift bags for the 2016 Dickson Street Slide (aka Slide the City) event, scheduled for Aug. 28.
20. Terra Studios
    Terra Studios requested $43,839 to fund the attraction’s 2016 advertising budget.
21. Walton Arts Center
    Walton Arts Center officials requested $25,000 for marketing materials, artist fees, and production costs for the 2016 Holiday Programming Series.