Hog Wild in Fayetteville
Situated in southern Washington County, Fayetteville is a politically and culturally progressive city known for its residents, who include an eclectic group of intellectuals, artists, professionals and blue-collar workers.
Known first for its “hog wild” culture, the university town manages to incorporate University of Arkansas flavor into its core culture without letting the town turn into a haven for hog heads. Fayetteville has routinely been named one of the best places in America to live, attend college, own a business or take a vacation.
“We are in the heart of the Ozark Mountains, and all of the area’s attractions are just minutes away … with the best ones located right within our city limits,” said Julie Pennington. “Fayetteville has evolved from one of northwest Arkansas’ most scenic and historically significant towns into a modern and dynamic city.”
The main venues around Fayetteville are prepared to hold anywhere from 10 to 2,500 people and offer the perfect backdrop for special affairs, nonprofit galas, lavish weddings and professional trade shows of all sizes. The largest venue in town is the Fayetteville Town Center, which holds up to 700 people, in the heart of downtown; other options are the Hog Haus Brewing Company, which holds up to 55 persons in the tap room and 200 upstairs; the Arkansas Air and Military Museum, with a 15,000-square-foot airplane hangar available; and the Walton Arts Center, which holds up to 40 people.
Festive Rogers
Rogers is known to many as the birthplace of Wal-Mart; the first namesake location opened in Rogers in 1962 before the company moved its home office to the neighboring town of Bentonville in 1971. But the town is consistently ranked as one of the most livable suburbs in terms of cost and lifestyle. It’s that sense of “being at home” that makes Rogers one of the best locations for an intimate event that is all at once a departure from the ordinary and a refreshing onset of the familiar.
“We host a convention most every week,” Katelynn Cassidy, group sales coordinator for Visit Rogers Arkansas, said about the frequency and caliber of events that take place in Rogers. “We also have small to medium-sized festivals in our downtown area all the time.”
The town plays host to a number of events throughout the year, among them sporting events, corporate retreats, weddings and family reunions. Most events take place at the 125,000-square-foot John Q. Hammons Center, the town’s convention center, which can accommodate 42 simultaneous meetings and has room to host anywhere from five to 5,000 people.
Numerous hotels and venues around town offer meeting spaces and more than 2,000 hotel rooms. The Residence Inn and Hyatt Place both offer event space for more than 800 people; however, the Mainstay Suites and Staybridge Suites are better suited for events maxing out at around 300. As of this summer, the new amphitheater, the Wal-Mart AMP, will debut in Rogers with seating for up to 4,000 people.
Even without the thousands of seats and square footage of meeting space awaiting groups of all sizes to gather in them, northwest Arkansas would still be a prime venue for events. The state’s natural backdrop, filled with rolling hills, meadows and groves of oaks, black walnuts, cedars and sycamores, sets the stage for memorable events from corporate meetings and team-building adventures to receptions, reunions and retreats.
But it’s the combination of the natural beauty and the varied spaces, from full-service venues to creative quarters, that keeps meeting groups returning for more of what that corner of the state has to offer.
Spotlight on Northwest Arkansas:
Bentonville
Bentonville Convention and Visitors Bureau
800-410-2535
www.bentonville.org
Fayetteville
Fayetteville Convention and Visitors Bureau
800-766-4626
www.experiencefayetteville.com
Rogers
Visit Rogers
800-364-1240
www.visitrogersarkansas.com
