Flyer Guide: 2016 Block Street Block Party

Block Street Block Party / Staff photo

One of Fayetteville’s biggest street parties of the year is coming up this weekend.

The 6th annual Block Street Block Party is taking over Block Avenue from noon until dark on Sunday, May 22, and organizers are expecting this year’s festival to be the best one yet.

In addition to the five stages of live music, 150 local vendors, beer gardens, kids activities, and more that locals have grown accustomed to at the festival, organizers this year have continued to add attactions to the event.

Among them this year is a zip line over Block Avenue that we mentioned last month. Weather permitting, the zip line will be set up near Bank of Fayetteville at the corner of Center Street, and party-goers can zip over the crowd for $5.

Event poster

Other new events planned this year include a high heel race to kick off the festival. The race, which is exactly what it sounds like, will begin at noon with a countdown by Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan. Racers are encouraged to wear costumes and strut their stuff up the street. Entry fee into the race is $10, and proceeds will benefit Magdeline Serenity House, a planned local sanctuary for women.

The Greedy Goats will make an appearance at this year’s festival as well, with baby goats for petting/snuggling with near the corner of Block Avenue and Dickson Street.

There will be a “Let Purple Reign” second line-style parade in honor of Prince, where purple-clad paraders will follow local trumpeter Jeff Gray up the street from Meadow/Block to the square beginning at 5 p.m.

Terra Tots and the Mustache are sponsoring a series of “Diaper Derby” baby races, which, is also exactly what it sounds like (Babies, crawling competitively). Those are scheduled at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Little Bread Co. will once again host the Waiter’s Race, featuring locals in the service industry competing for a cash prize.

Organizers are still looking for volunteers for various functions during the festival. Here’s how to get involved.

There’s tons more below, and we’ll likely be adding to this post in the final days leading up to the festival, so check back for updates.

You can also stay up to date with other announcements about this year’s festival by RSVPing to this year’s official Facebook event.

See y’all Sunday on Block!


Maxine’s Stage

12:30 p.m. – Melody Pond
1:45 p.m. – Jesse Dean and Left of Center
3 p.m. – Glorious Birds
4:15 p.m. – Call of Commotion
5:30 p.m. – Arkansauce
7 p.m. – Crescent City Combo


Fayetteville Underground Stage

12 p.m. – High Heel Race Awards
12:30 p.m. – The Art + Fashion Show
1 p.m. – McCafferty Irish Dancers
1:30 p.m. – Rozenbridge
2:30 p.m. – The Silvershakers
3:30 p.m. – Lady Jazmynne
4:30 p.m. – The Art + Fashion Show
5 p.m. – Airloom w/ Anna Vogelzang
6 p.m. – Irie Lions
7 p.m. – The Art + Fashion Show
7:30 p.m. – Vintage Pistol


B-Boy, Rock, and DJ Stage By Art Amiss & KXUA

12 p.m. – School of Rock
12:45 p.m. – Robe Flax
1:25 p.m. – Alvie Simone
2:05 p.m. – M.Bolez
2:45 p.m. – Breaking Habits Performance Cypher
3 p.m. – DJ Derrick
3:40 p.m. – DJ EJ
4:20 p.m. – DJ E-YO
5 p.m. – Mixx Tenn
5:40 p.m. – DJ Pour It
6:20 p.m. – Beat Bachs


Budweiser Stage at Tables & Ale

12:30 p.m. – Big Still River
2 p.m. – Aisle 24
3:30 p.m. – Leah and the Mojo Doctors
5 p.m. – Cutty Rye
6:30 p.m. – Squarshers


Hugo’s Stage at JR’s Lightbulb Club

12 p.m. – Jeff Fox Band
1 p.m. – Cosmic American
2 p.m. – Whole Famn Damily
3 p.m. – Airplanes
4 p.m. – Molten Mamma
5 p.m. – Moonsong
6 p.m. – The Chads


Whole Foods Stage at Big Star Lounge

12:30 p.m. – Trumann Rail Boys
2:15 p.m. – High Lonesome
4 p.m. – Lost John
5:45 p.m. – Basement Brew
7:30 p.m. – Stephen Neeper and the Wild Hearts


Other Scheduled Activities

12 p.m. – High Heel Race (Dickson & Block)
2 p.m. / 4 p.m. – Diaper Derby (Terra Tots / The Mustache)
3 p.m. – Waiter’s Race (near Little Bread Company)
5 p.m. – Purple Reign – A Second Line Parade for Prince (Corner of Block/Meadow)


Beer Gardens

Spending all day at an outdoor street festival is bound to make you thirsty. Luckily, there are five outdoor beer gardens to help with that.

Of note, Fayetteville police confirmed that this year, children 13 and younger will be allowed into the beer gardens with their parents (which hasn’t been the case in years past.)

Here’s where to get an adult beverage at this year’s festival.

– Near The Lightbulb Club (19 N. Block Ave.) – The Lightbulb Club will serve a full lineup of cocktails and beer at their on-street bar.
– Near Maxine’s Tap Room (107 N. Block Ave.) – Maxine’s will offer plenty of local beers, including craft brews by Ozark Beer Co. and Lost Forty. They also expect to have a few of their specialty cocktails including “mini-mules” and rum punch at their outdoor garden adjacent to their building.
– Near Tables & Ale (102 N. Block Ave.) – Tables and Ale will set up their beer garden in the lot in front of the bar. Budweiser will be cooking up burgers, and proceeds from those sales will benefit Feed Communities.
– Near Fayetteville Underground (Top of the square near) The Fayetteville Underground garden will focus on local beers from Damgoode Pies and Fossil Cove. Proceeds from sales in their garden will benefit Fayetteville Underground and help support the gallery.
– Near Big Star (Parking lot just north of the bar at 208 N. Block Ave) Big Star will be serving up local beers by Core, along with some Margaritas and their signature Fayetteville Smash Punch.


Food

As always, Block Avenue restaurants Little Bread Co. and Hugo’s will be open and serving up delicious food all day.

In addition, tons of local food trucks and vendors will be set up along the street including Lucky Luke’s BBQ, Ramblin’ Man, LobLolly Creamery, Blackboard Grocery, Trickdilly Tacos, Shakedown StrEAT, Pedal Pops, Kind Kitchen, Wood Fired Pizza, Berry Natural, and several others.


Kids’ activities

There will be plenty of activities for the kids this year as well.

A lot of these activities will be be centered near the bottom of Block Avenue near Dickson Street. Among them, the Amazeum will have a booth this year filled with interactive activities for the kiddos this year.

New(ish) to Fayetteville non-profit Art Feeds will also be in attendance this year, with a hands-on arts/craft activity as well.

There will be a giant bouncy slide, too, and the Greedy Goats of NWA will be in this area near Dickson as well with a bunch of cuddly baby goats to feed, pet and snuggle with.


Parking

Parking for the festival has been an issue in the past, but you know, that’s to be expected when you try to cram 10,000 or so people into the space of a handful of blocks.

This year, however, Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan has declared that parking will be free for the entirety of the downtown/Dickson Street Entertainment District in city owned lots* all day on Sunday in honor of the event. That should help a bit.

*Does not apply to private lots. Also, you still can’t park in the spaces that are marked residential. Here’s a helpful map (PDF).


Links

» Blockstreetbusinesses.com
» Official Facebook Event
» Twitter
» Instagram