FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Walton Arts Center has announced the lineup for its Artoosphere Festival happening May 4-24.
Artosphere: Arkansas’ Arts + Nature Festival is described as celebrating art, music, and nature with exciting performances, activities, and events for the whole family at locations across Northwest Arkansas.
The multi-week festival features a mix of free and low-cost events, including outdoor performances, large orchestral concerts, and several chamber music performances in special spaces throughout the region.
Whether you are looking for a concert in a garden, a fun art exhibition, performers on the trails or in bars, free film screenings, or even yoga with live music, WAC says Artosphere has something “creative, unexpected, and accessible for all.”
New for 2023, throughout the month of May attendees can enjoy “Tunes on the Trail” when they visit the trail systems at Lake Fayetteville, Mount Kessler, Mount Sequoyah, Cato Springs, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and the Frisco Trail.
The public can also enjoy a curated playlist featuring Artosphere Festival Orchestra’s most-loved performances from the past 10 festival seasons. To listen along while enjoying the trails, scan the QR code on signage placed at each trailhead.
Also new this year is “Fashion Machine” happening May 13-14, described as an “opportunity to foster creativity in the next generation of artists.” Professional artists, photographers, and textile experts from Canada’s Theatre SKAM will reportedly guide 28 local children as they redesign and rework outfits worn by audience members.
After an hour at the hands of the kids’ sewing machines, the audience members will don their remade outfits and showcase their new looks in a fashion show with commentary by the kids.
The full slate of events can be found below:
Ticketed Performances
Indie Films Artosphere Curated by Fayetteville Film Fest
8 p.m. | Friday, May 12 | Starr Theater, Walton Arts Center
Tickets: $15 plus applicable fees
Artosphere Festival Orchestra “An Evening of Brahms and Beethoven”
7 p.m. | Tuesday, May 16 | Baum Walker Hall, Walton Arts Center
Tickets: $10
Dover Quartet “An Evening of Hadyn, Walker and Dvořák”
7 p.m. | Wednesday, May 17 | Starr Theater, Walton Arts Center
Tickets: $29 plus applicable fees
Chapel Music Series: Smokey & The Mirror
6:30 p.m. | Wednesday, May 17 | The Chapel Ruins at Sassafras Springs Vineyard, Springdale
Tickets: $15 plus applicable fees
Chapel Music Series: Smokey & The Mirror
6:30 p.m. | Thursday, May 18 | Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel, Bella Vista
Tickets: $15 plus applicable fees
Artosphere Festival Orchestra “Respighi’s Roman Trilogy”
8 p.m. | Saturday, May 20 | Baum Walker Hall, Walton Arts Center
Tickets: $15-50 plus applicable fees
Artosphere Festival Orchestra “Live from Crystal Bridges: Mozart in the Museum”
7 p.m. | Wednesday, May 24 | Crystal Bridges’ Great Hall
Tickets: $49 plus applicable fees
Free Events and Performances
Trout Fishing in America
6:30 p.m. | Tuesday, May 9 | Botanical Garden of the Ozarks, Fayetteville
Tickets: Free but ticketed event
StoneLion Puppet Theater’s “Little Red Hen’s Garden”
10:30 a.m. | Tuesday, May 9 | Fayetteville Public Library
StoneLion Puppet Theater’s “Little Red Hen’s Garden”
4 p.m. | Wednesday, May 10 | Springdale Public Library
Artosphere Film Screening: Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds”
8:30 pm | Wednesday, May 10 | Prairie Street Live, Fayetteville
Tickets: Free but ticketed event
StoneLion Puppet Theater’s “Little Red Hen’s Garden”
2 p.m. & 5:30 p.m. | Thursday, May 11 | Bentonville Public Library
Free tickets available starting at 9 a.m. on-site, day of show
Trail Mix on The Lower Ramble
5:30-7:30 p.m. | Friday, May 12 | The Lower Ramble, Fayetteville
Fashion Machine
7 p.m. Saturday, May 13 | 2 p.m. Sunday, May 14
Yvonne Richardson Community Center, Fayetteville
Tickets: Free but ticketed event
The Herbie Hancock Institute National Peer-to-Peer Jazz Sextet
with special guests from the Northwest Arkansas Jazz All-Stars
featuring Saxophonist Don Braden and vocalist Lisa Henry
7 p.m. | Thursday, May 18 | Starr Theater, Walton Arts Center
Tickets: Free but ticketed event
AFO Off the Grid
7-11 p.m. | Thursday, May 18 | Downtown Fayetteville Entertainment District
Official locations will be announced soon!
Artosphere Film Screening: “The Artist and the Astronaut”
7 p.m. | Friday, May 19 | Starr Theater, Walton Arts Center
Tickets: Free but ticketed event
Yoga in the Atrium
2 p.m. | Sunday, May 21 | Walton Arts Center Atrium
Tickets: Free but ticketed event
Partner & Artosphere-Sponsored Events
First Thursday featuring Papa Rap & Irie Lions
Sponsored by Artosphere
5:30-9 p.m. | Thursday, May 4 | Downtown Fayetteville Square
Free
Arkansas Pottery Festival
May 5-7 | Community Creative Center
Free
First Friday featuring Papa Rap & Coloring Twelve, presented by The Music Education Initiative
Sponsored by Artosphere
5-9 p.m. | Friday, May 5 | Downtown Bentonville Square
Free
Railyard Live featuring Proyecto Tumbado & DJ Susie Q
Sponsored by Artosphere
8 p.m. | Friday, May 5 | Downtown Rogers Butterfield Stage
Tickets: Free-$30 available at railyardlive.com
Yoga in the Garden
9:30 a.m. | Saturday, May 6 | Botanical Garden of the Ozarks, Fayetteville
Tickets: Free but ticketed event at bgozarks.org
Square to Square Starting Line featuring The Juice
Sponsored by Artosphere
7 a.m. | Saturday, May 6 | Walker Park, Fayetteville
Square to Square registration is $35 for adults 14 and up / $20 for youth 13 and under
Register at fayetteville-ar.gov
Railyard Live featuring Rodney Block Collective & Pura Coco
Sponsored by Artosphere
8 p.m. | Saturday, May 6 | Downtown Rogers Butterfield Stage
Tickets: Free-$30 available at railyardlive.com
Crystal Bridges’ Garden Party
Noon-4 p.m. | Saturday, May 13 | Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville
Free
Jazz on the Mountain featuring Dillon Brouse Quartet
Sponsored by Artosphere
7 p.m. | Friday, May 19 | Mount Sequoyah, Fayetteville
Tickets: $12 available at mountsequoyah.networkforgood.com
Tickets or reservations for these events are available now and can be purchased or reserved by visiting artospherefestival.org, by calling 479-443-5600 weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. or in person at the Walton Arts Center Box Office weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
For more information about the Artosphere Festival and a complete event lineup, download the Artosphere App from Google Play or the Apple App Store or visit artospherefestival.org
