The annual calendar
The NWA festival guide
Twenty-plus tentpoles a year, from a grape festival older than the state fair to America's longest-running folk festival. Dates firm up each season — the newsletter announces each one.
February · Fayetteville
Mardi Gras Parade of Fools
NWA's own krewe season — beads on Dickson Street
February · Eureka Springs
Eureka Gras
The Ozarks' answer to New Orleans, weeks of it
Late April · Siloam Springs
Siloam Springs Dogwood Festival
~35,000 people, three days, one very pretty downtown
May · Eureka Springs
May Festival of the Arts
75+ events across the town's galleries and stages
May · Eureka Springs
Carving in the Ozarks
Chainsaw carving, seriously impressive
June · Bentonville
Bentonville Film Festival
National film premieres in a town of 60,000
June · Fayetteville
NWA Pride
The corridor's biggest parade weekend
Summer · Fayetteville
Homegrown Festival
Local music, local food, local everything
August · Tontitown
Tontitown Grape Festival
Running since 1898 — spaghetti dinners and grape stomps
August · Fayetteville
Washington County Fair
The classic county fair, done right
Labor Day · Prairie Grove
Prairie Grove Clothesline Fair
Art on clotheslines across the battlefield park since 1950
September · Centerton
Centerton Days
Small-town festival at full strength
September · Lowell
Mudtown Days
Lowell's founding-era nickname, celebrated annually
September · Eureka Springs
Ozark Mountain Music Festival
Basin Park Hotel turns into a string-band hotel
October · Eureka Springs
Original Ozark Folk Festival
The longest-running folk festival in America
October · Eureka Springs
Eureka Springs Blues Party
Blues in every bar on the loop
October · Fayetteville
Nightmare in the Ozarks
Halloween, corridor-scale
Fall · Highway 59
Pickin' Time on 59
Roadside bluegrass along the state line
Varies · Bentonville
INVERSE Performance Art Festival
Performance art at the Momentary
Monthly · Rogers
Art on the Bricks
Downtown Rogers art walk, every month
Monthly · Eureka Springs
Second Saturday Gallery Strolls
20+ galleries open late
3x per year · Eureka Springs
Diversity Weekends
Spring, summer, and fall celebrations
Exact dates land on the calendar as each festival announces — usually 2–3 months out.