Friday, October 5, 2012
BENTONVILLE — Bratwurst, polka and the chicken dance will make their yearly visit to the square for the city’s take on Oktoberfest at today’s First Friday event.
The city square will transform into a small Bavarian village complete with the PepsiCo-sponsored Mug Biergarten. Costumed servers will hand out free Oktoberfest steins full of root beer and pretzels, while Yarnell’s will offer ice cream for root beer floats.
The event is free, but servers will be requesting donations to support the ALS Foundation, a group focused on defeating Lou Gehrig’s disease. The ALS Association in Northwest Arkansas will host a fundraiser walk of the Crystal Bridges trails starting at 5 p.m. at Lawrence Plaza. Check-in begins at 4 p.m., according to the group’s website.
A bratwurst eating contest is planned for 6:30 p.m., pitting contestants 18 and older in a race to see who can eat three brats the fastest. Along with bragging rights, the winner will receive five pounds of fresh bratwursts from the NorthWest Arkansas Community College Culinary Program, a gift certificate to Tusk & Trotter and a trophy.
The Lineup
Oktoberfest
Friday:
11:30 a.m.-12:50 p.m.: Naturally Brass and Oktoberfest tunes
5-5:30 p.m.: Naturally Brass
5:45-6:35 p.m.: Oompahsters
6:35-6:55 p.m.: Bratwurst eating contest
6:55-7 p.m.: Chicken dance
7-8 p.m.: Oompahsters
5-8 p.m.: Bentonville dispatchers used cell phone collection drive
8 p.m.: Bentonville Parks and Recreation Department presents “Casablanca” at Lawrence Plaza
Source: Staff Report
Downtown Bentonville Inc., the group that coordinates First Friday events, will try to beat last year’s 300 total participants in the community chicken dance led by a giant chicken. The dance is set for 6:50 p.m.
Street performers will wander the square with their varied talents, including Venus Love and her fire fans, Serena Starlight with sword-wielding belly dancing, Mari Avila Cunningham and her hula hoops, and Ethan the juggler. The Society of Creative Anachronism will also bring their Teutonic Knights to the event to display their jousting skills, according to a news release.
The Bentonville Schools’ Parent Teacher Organization will collect gently-used costumes for a swap to be held from 5 to 8 p.m. in front of School Squared. The costumes will go to benefit children in need.
One unique aspect to this year’s Oktoberfest is the number of art events being held in coordination with the more traditional activities. Six art openings and events are planned for Friday night.
“I’m really stoked about the number of openings,” said Daniel Hintz, director of Downtown Bentonville Inc. “Bentonville is really beginning to catch that art wave.”
The Art=Story creative arts group will host its third Bentonville Community Create public art project on the square. The event will be the final phase of an interactive community art project that began earlier this month at the Pressroom on West Central Avenue.
Residents are invited to bring photos, newspaper clippings, notes, sketches, poems or any other images related to Bentonville. Thomas B. Merritt, a local gallery owner, helped create the idea for the project, designed to tell the story of Bentonville on five large-scale panels.
Other gallery openings include a fashion exhibition by Nancy Martin at Studio 124, a Lifestyles exhibit at Art Seen 107, Joe Ray Kelley’s work at the Norberta Philbrook Gallery, a show by Daniel Freeman at the Pressroom and new works from the Eureka Springs Artist Registry at T.H. Benton’s Cafe.