The rides were amazing! Although the games could've been better and were also slightly rigged. But…read moreI will definitely be attending the Grape Festival next year and highly recommend spending a summer night here!

Gotta give this place a 5star! First of all this is a big time carnival for a lil town of 1200…read morepeople. It's been going on for 120 yrs. the Italians who migrated here have been serving there famous chicken n spaghetti dinners for over 100 yrs. The volunteers work weeks in advance to make everything from scratch, tickets are 12 bucks it's a great deal. What's better is the town of Tonitown has 2 of the best Italian restaurants in the state. Venetian inn and Momma'szzz!!!! The carnival is your basic rides really nuthin special same as the games. They do have a great place to listen to live music Nightly. Each night they do a grape stomp were you get in a barrel and stomp grapes barefooted. It's fun to watch the kids go at it. There also known for the grape ice cream it's the bomb!!!

Fun filled free event for the whole family!…read more If you haven't been before keep your eyes peeled as you approach the venue (we drove straight by a couple of times as we missed the small sign). Parking is aplenty. $5 donation gets you a closer spot, otherwise you'll park one field over (be careful there are ticks). The bands started playing at 8:30 am helping all get into the festive spirit. While late registrants were accepted for the cook off you needed to arrive at 7:30am which we sadly missed. Samples of quail sausage, pork sausage, mango salsa, and more. Want something more ordinary? No worries, there were corn dogs, funnel cakes, pizza, sodas and shave ice. While we did snag some squirrel gumbo before leaving many of the other teams were still cookin'. Driving out of the venue it was wild to see how backed up the cars were (at least 30). So glad we arrived early!

First time at Squirrel Fest. Checked this out because a favorite band was playing & to show some of…read morethe traditional South to a friend who was visiting from CO. The scene: Bentonville Co Quail Grounds- music was playing, the Quail Barn was open (want to buy a rifle? they're there), food (squirrel & non-squirrel) was cooking, raffles for huge smokers, a Sherp all terrain vehicle which you could climb into (see photo) beer tents (Lost Forty), attendees drinking beer at 9am, people dressed up as squirrels, a shaved ice vendor with a dill pickle option, t-shirts for sale, alligator on a stick, a pig being roasted on a spit & traditional fair food like corn dogs, funnel cakes, etc. Since the competitors started cooking at 7:30, most of the food would not be ready until noon. That's when people started showing up & is also when we left. We did try the squirrel gumbo (figured it was the safest bet) & unknowingly ate a squirrel and turkey slider. Oh, $5 parking which we were told goes to a charity. If you don't pay the $5, you can park for free but of course, further away. When we were leaving at noon, the lot was almost filled & cars were backed up on the road. One of the vendors expected around 400 people to attend. Not sure if that's the approximate # but it gives you an idea of the size. They did block an entrance to the tents by the parking area (not sure why, because it's a free event in the middle of nowhere) which made it inconvenient to get to the lot. Very interesting day, for sure.

Come get your kicks on Route 66 in Joplin, MO! Plenty of vintage cars to check out and you can…read moreeven see Tow Mater and Lightning McQueen from the movie CARS! The Group Grass roots plays tonight. So excited for so much family fun in the town of Joplin! Not to mention all the fantastic food that we had and my Route 66 cream soda was YUMMO!

For a first time event, it's a decent turnout . About 15 food trucks, various vendors, military…read morerecruiters, political activists, vapers, lots of restrooms, plentiful parking next door (get here early), excellent music, a beer garden, BUT BRING CAMP CHAIRS N SHADE!! KID friendly but not necessarily disabled friendly. The ground is uneven and rocky. At 12:30, the lines in front of most of the trucks have dozens and dozens of people lined up in front. It's windy and cool so the weather has cooperated greatly. Bring cash, most places don't seem to take credit cards. We've been to many food festivals, very impressed by the reasonable food prices. A good overall experience!

I lived in Bentonville from 2002 to 2006 and return often to visit family and friends. It's been…read moreinteresting to see this town develop and grow as a result of Walmart and the people who moved here to work for Walmart or who work for vendors and suppliers that service Walmart. I could go with the "I remember when this was all farmland" but let's just say that this is the most cosmopolitan small city in the "Flyover States." Downtown Bentonville has pubs and bars and restaurants and retail shopping. This year, they have an ice skating rink with an actual Zamboni. There is public art and free modern parking decks and a world-class art museum (that's free to visit!). I learned that Bentonville is a mountain biking capital thanks to the investment of the Walton family to build trails throughout Northwest Arkansas. And tiny XNA that used to be Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport is now Northwest Arkansas NATIONAL Airport with regular commercial service to far away hubs including MSP and PHX and LGA and even FLL and MIA! The former US Highway 71 that was upgraded to Interstate 540 is now Interstate 49 and it connects I-40 with I-44 from Fort Smith to Joplin. Amazing! This evening, I had a chance to walk around the Bentonville Square which is all lit up for Christmas. What a great little city and well worth a visit! [Review 2331 of 2024 - 381 in Arkansas - 23345 overall]

The city reminds me the downtown in Gilmore Girls series, you will travel back at 50. The plaza is…read morereally beautiful at Christmas time. The lights are wonderful! You will see the first Walmart store. There is a museum to visit, and many cool restaurants!

I don't know why, but I have Tina Turner's "Simply the best" chorus in my head right now…read more Wakarusa is the lil' festival that could. Is it one of the majors? Fuck no. Could it ever be? Probably not. Should it? No. Wakarusa is just fine the way that it is. Hands down the strangest festival I have ever attended (and hottest)(and I have been to Stagecoach) with all this flowerchild power sort of vibe to it. Neo-hippie culture. Don't get me wrong: I enjoyed it. In fact, I am a fan of Wakarusa. As far as I have experienced, this is the most camping-centric festival that exists. Probably helps that you are in The Ozarks -- absolutely stunning -- and, there is live music somewhere on the festival grounds being performed at all times (even in the night)(You will be able to sleep, don't worry)(Music 24/7: how cool). I never attended Wakarusa when it was held in Kansas. Let me be clear: I would have probably not gone if it did not get moved to The Ozarks (Arkansas was on my bucket list). I know a lot of Kansasites were upset about the relocation (sorry, dudes), but change is inevitable. A few areas in need of improvement: - Showers. Where the fuck are the showers? More showers. - Food. Where is the variety in the food selection? More food selection. - Line-ups. This one is harder to address because it is a lot more complicated. Thus, I will take it to paragraph form. Is it hard to get artists to agree to play in the middle of the fucking Ozarks? Maybe. Probably hard to get U2 to do it or that idiot Jessie Bieber. But, is it really a deterrent to some headliners signing on to this festival? It probably is. Not to mention that Bonnaroo is right around the corner (time-wise, not necessarily geography-wise), so those artists -- and there are a lot -- signed on to Bonnaroo are out of the equation for this lil' festival in the woods. I mean, someone correct me if I am wrong. The year I attended both, I cannot recall any crossover (besides the whorish Mumford). And the biggest headliners at Wakarusa had played Bonnaroo the year prior, thus making them incapable of appearing at that festival in the current year. What I am saying is that there is a need for a perfect storm of (a) currently touring; (b) interested in going way out of your way, to the woods, to play; and (c) not performing at Bonnaroo, in order for Wakarusa to score its headliners. Anyway, this is a solid little festival (that is not really that little). Interesting setting, very laid-back vibe, and once-in-a-lifetime experience (unless you go more than once). I'm a fan. - E

Been to Wakarusa twice, and it was one of the most delightful experiences. I'm very saddened to…read morehear that it won't be returning this year! Bonded with a lot of cool people, met a lot of lifelong friends. And the camping experience was amazing for me, there was good vibes all around. Hopefully Waka will return next year, and if so, I'll be there!

I love Beerfest. Yes, the tickets are pricy...but it benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters of the…read moreOzarks. Drink beer and support kids...you don't get too many chances to do that! I am a Big with BBBS, so I know firsthand what a good organization it is, and how important that fundraisers like Beerfest are for our community. Soapbox aside, Beerfest is fun. Take a group of friends and enjoy an afternoon of beer tasting and nice people. Parking is easy, but they have cab services available if you need it. There are tons of booths from local and major craft breweries, and everything is free (yes, even the amazing salted caramel ice cream with bourbon candied bacon from Buckinghams...swoon). There are reps at every booth to help you discover new beers or learn how to make your own. The Homebrew Zoo has a large booth full of homebrewers that are proud to share their knowledge and let you try their creations. You can get a VIP ticket for a little more, which gives you collector glasses and early entry. Cops are meandering around, so everyone behaves. It's not a big sloppy drunkfest--there are no fights or loud people, so don't let an all day beerfest scare you away! It's worth it!

This is a regional Beer Fest that charges exorbitant admission prices and DOES NOT offer reduced…read moreadmission for designated drivers (would be easily identifiable through special wristbands/stamps). Aside from being a poor business practice, it is irresponsible when considering the dangers of drinking and driving. I doubt I will be returning next year.

We were excited to attend the Arkansas Brewgrass Festival in Rogers. How can you go wrong, mixing…read morelocal brew with local bluegrass music? I tell you how. Run out of beer. Which is what happened at this festival. This was really a bust in many ways. The event advertised family events including a "Bouncy House". The "bouncy house" was there, but it was not inflated. Seriously, it was flat, on the ground. Kids were running around on top of the un-inflated attraction with confused looks on there faces. Of course, running out of beer for a beer festival was our biggest issue. An attendant explained that attendance was nearly double expected. It was not all that crowded, and we attend a couple of hours into the event which was scheduled for about 8 hours, so a better explanation might have been simply that they did not plan very well for this event. Icing on the cake was that we left fifteen minutes after arriving, after spending our time in a beer line then finding out they had no beer and the attendee declined to refund our admission. If was just two of us, only $5 each. Not that big of a deal. I might have laughed off the beer shortage if they hadn't charged us $10 to find out. I can't say much for the music as we did not hang out and listen. The group playing for the few minutes we attended certainly had that sound of "local folks getting together and jamming some bluegrass." (I like that sound...) My recommendation: When this event comes up again, go to a local restaurant or club instead. Beer will be cheaper (festival beer - before running out - was $4 for an approx 12 oz dixie cup), If you do go, ask questions at the gate before paying. Questions like "do you have beer" and "is someone going to inflate the bouncy house?". Bring lawn chairs - there is no place to sit. Bring your beer mug in case you don't like dixie cups. Not sure they would allow it, but toting a cooler of beer would bee a grand idea - and would have made you a hero at this year's event. ****UPDATE**** After emailing one of the event leaders, I was provided a refund of our $10. With this in mind, we'll try again next time this event is held. Although we did not enjoy the event, I appreciate that the expense was corrected.