14 events and festivals coming up this fall in and around Fayetteville

Local singer Barrett Baber performs during Bikes, Blues & BBQ 2015.

Fall is here, the students are back in town, Razorback football is in full swing, and that always means one of the busiest times of the year in Fayetteville.

The weather is typically perfect, with warm days and cool mornings and evenings that, combined with the energy that having 27,000 students back in town creates, makes for basically the ideal time to host an event or festival in Fayetteville.

As a result, that’s exactly what everyone does.

There are several events coming up, some of which that are brand new to town, and others who’ve become a regular part of the fall season in Fayetteville.

Here’s a rundown of some of the bigger ones that we know of so that you can get them on your calendar.

Dickson Street Oktoberfest

Date: Sunday, Sept. 18
Location: Walton Arts Center Parking Lot, Dickson Street
Description: Dickson Street Oktoberfest is an all-ages festival featuring live music, local and regional craft beer, local food vendors, kid-friendly activities, and more benefitting the efforts of the Arkansas Brewers Guild.

Admission to the event is $5 (or free for folks 17 and under), and local craft brews are available for $5 each. For more information, check out our story about the event.


Bikes, Blues & BBQ

Date: Sept. 21-24, 2016
Location: Various locations around Fayetteville, NWA
Description: One of the largest bike rallies in the country, Bikes, Blues & BBQ roars into Fayetteville and the surrounding area every year in late September. The four-day event includes dozens of local and regional blues acts, a barbecue competition featuring some of the best pit-masters in the country, a huge bike parade, a battle-of-the-bikes competition, beer gardens, a Miss Bikes, Blues & BBQ pageant, and tons more.

For more information, visit bikesbluesandbbq.org.


Banded Suffering

Date: Oct. 1
Location: Starts at Pediatric Dental Associates
Description: Local bike shops and organizations have organized a series of group bike rides called Banded Suffering on Saturday, Oct. 1. There are courses for all skill levels ranging from six mile rides to a “double metric” 206 kilometer ride. Proceeds from the event benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund.

For more info, visit bandedsuffering.com.


Brewtober

Date: Oct. 1
Location: St. Raphael Catholic Church, 1386 S. West End St. in Springdale.
Description: The third annual Brewtober festival is set for Saturday, Oct. 1 at St. Raphael Catholic Church, 1386 S. West End St. in Springdale. The event runs from 5-9:30 p.m. and will showcase homemade chili, brats, and craft beer made by local homebrewers. Festivities include all-you-can-sample tastings of over 50 chilis and 20 craft beers, live music, bratwursts, a silent auction and a people’s choice award for the crowd’s favorite chili and homebrew.

Tickets are $30 (or $25 in advance at the church office) and can be purchased online at straphaelcc.org or at the door.

For more info, check out our full story.


AMP Fest

Date: Sunday, Oct. 2
Location: Walmart AMP
Description: The folks at Walton Arts Center are organizing the first ever AMP Fest, a live music, craft beer, and technology festival, at the Walmart Amp on Oct. 2. The music lineup for the inaugural festival includes Mix Master Mike (of the Beastie Boys), Arkansauce, Mountain Sprout and Goose. Local brewers include Fossil Cove, Bike Rack, Lost 40, Core, and others.

Tickets are $40, on sale now at arkansasmusicpavilion.com.


Downtown Runaround

Date: Saturday, Oct. 8
Location: Downtown Springdale
Description: The first ever Downtown Runaround is set for Saturday, Oct. 8 in downtown Springdale.

The event, benefiting local nonprofits The Jones Center and Camp War Eagle, will include a 5k, 10k, and a fun run race showcasing areas of the downtown area including Springdale’s Shiloh Square, the Razorback Greenway, and other parts of the downtown area. After the race, an after party featuring family-friendly activities including food, games, inflatables, and live music is planned along Emma Street.

Registration is $25 for the 5k, $35 for the 10k, and $10 for the fun run through Sept. 24, and will go up by $5 for each entry after that. Each runner will receive a race t-shirt and swag bag. Read our story for more.


Hero Half Marathon

Date: Sunday, Oct. 9
Location: Lake Fayetteville
Description: The Hero Half Marathon is a chip-timed, point-to-point race originating at Lake Fayetteville on Fayetteville’s north side. The race finishes at Fire Station One in downtown Fayetteville where participants will be greeted with a festival-like atmosphere that includes music, food trucks, a beer garden, local vendors, sponsor booths, and kids activities. The race coincides with Fire Safety Awareness week, and includes a 9/11 Memorial to commemorate the sacrifices made then and now by firefighters, law enforcement, and first responders. Each year, several firefighters run the race in their full fire suits.

Proceeds support several local organizations that organizers say meet important community needs. Visit their website for more information.


Hillberry Festival

Date: Oct. 13-16
Location: The Farm (1 Blue Heron Lane, Eureka Springs)
Description: With Yonder Mountain String Band Harvest Music Festival out of commission and Wakarusa on hiatus, several music festivals have sprung up (or stepped up) in recent years to try and fill the gaps left by those large events. One of those festivals is Hillberry, a relatively new event in its third year out in Eureka Springs. This year’s lineup is pretty impressive, with Railroad Earth, Greensky Bluegress, The Travelin’ McCourys, The New Mastersounds, and Elephant Revival among the headliners of the event.

Tickets range from $55 for a one-day pass, to $160 for the full weekend. For more info, visit hillberryfestival.com.


True Lit Festival

Date: Oct. 17-27
Location: Fayetteville Public Library
Description: True Lit: Fayetteville’s Literary Festival will be held Monday, October 17, through Thursday October 27 this fall. The literary festival, in its third year this year, will offer a variety of events including author talks, writing workshops, and more. True Lit is organized by the Fayetteville Public Library, Fayetteville Public Schools, Fayetteville Education Foundation, Fayetteville Montessori School, and the University of Arkansas Program in Creative Writing and Translation. Authors this year include Louis Sachar, Claudia Rankine, William Bernhardt, and several more.

For more info, visit truelitfest.com.


Choctoberfest

Date: Oct. 22
Location: Hello Cocoa (4170 W Martin Luther King Jr Blvd.)
Description: The Jackson L. Graves Foundation will host their first ever “Choctoberfest” event at Hello Cocoa in West Fayetteville this fall. The event will include live music, local craft beer from Apple Blossom Brewing Co. and New Province Brewing Co., kombucha from Great Ferments and JR’s Kombutcha, food from Ozark Natural Foods, and of course, plenty of chocolate to sample from Hello Cocoa.

The fun begins at 3 p.m. and runs until 8 p.m. Tickets are $35 in advance, and $45 at the door, and all of the proceeds benefit the Jackson L. Graves foundation.

For more info, check out our full story about the event.


Wines & Vines

Date: Oct. 22
Location: Botanical Garden of the OZarks
Description: Wines & Vines in the Garden is a second year event organized by the folks behind Fayetteville Foam Fest. The wine tasting event, which got its start in the spring, has moved to the fall this year. Organizers plan to offer in the neighborhood of 60 affordable wines, local mobile vendors, and live music.

For a bit more information, check out the Facebook page for the event.


Death Fest

Date: Oct. 27-Nov. 1
Location: Fayetteville Senior Wellness and Activity Center
Description: Sponsored by the Natural State Burial Association, the first ever Death Fest will include a variety of workshops, speakers, performances, and conversations “exploring society’s evolving laws, arts, and philosophies of Death.” Originally founded as an organization to promote ecologically friendly green burial, Natural State Burial Association’s role has grown to encompass a wide range of issues related to how Arkansans deal with death and dying.

The entire schedule for Death Fest can be found at deathfest.info.


Fayetteville Half Marathon

Date: Oct. 29
Location: John McDonald Outdoor Track Stadium
Description: The Fayetteville Half Marathon is a race intended to visit some of Fayetteville’s most unique landmarks. The event features a vendor retail expo at The Chancellor Hotel just off the downtown square, along with a half-distance marathon, 5K, and a 1 mile fun run/walk. The race begins and ends at John McDonald Track Stadium on the UA Campus.

For more information, visit fayettevillehalfmarathon.com.


Harvest Moon Classic

Date: Nov. 5-6, 2016
Location: Lewis Soccer Field Complex
Description: The Fayetteville Disc Association will host their 26th annual Harvest Moon Classic Ultimate tourney this year. The event features teams from all over the country in open, collegiate, and women’s categories. Spectators are welcome.

More information about the event is at fayettevilledisc.org.


This article is sponsored by First Security Bank. For more great stories of Arkansas food, travel, sports, music and more, visit onlyinark.com.