Denise and Hershey Garner welcomed some 200 guests to their Fayetteville home for the Friends of the Festival concert on Aug. 22. The event was in appreciation of supporters of the Fayetteville Roots Festival and featured The Honey Dewdrops, The Carper Family and JoePug.

The music and food festival, which kicked off that evening and ran through Aug.

25, saw more than 20 musical acts in nearly a dozen venues in Fayetteville as it celebrated “a mountain town in its natural state” with local musical acts and locally grown food prepared by local chefs.

The festival was founded in 2010 by chairmen Bryan Hembree, of the band 3 Penny Acre, and Jerrmy Gawthrop, chef at Greenhouse Grille. The duo co-produces the festival that is designed to embrace and appreciate local culture while raising money for charity.

The festival has resulted in nearly $20,000 donated to Feed Fayetteville since 2010.

The 2014 festival is slated for Aug. 21-24.

Those kicking off the festival with a concert included Chefs David Lewis and Bill Lyle, Kyle Kellams, Antoinette Grajeda and Brian Rickard, Adrienne Shaunfield, Amanda Cothren and Hank Kaminsky.

The next kickoff of the week was the Razorback Football Kickoff Luncheon on Aug. 23 at the Northwest Arkansas Convention Center in Springdale.

Head coach Bret Bielema started a new tradition with the luncheon by bringing the entire 105-man roster that makes up this year’s Razorback football team. As players introduced each other to the sold out crowd of 1,500, their team camaraderie and respect for each other was evident.

Among those kicking off the season with the Hogs were Frank Broyles, Boyce Billingsley, Marilyn Bogle, Cyndy and Ken Hatfield, Becky and Bob Alexander, Cameron Smith and Kelly and Wade Jones.

The sixth annual Color of Hope Gala to benefit Arkansas Children’s Hospital was bursting at the seams with a record-breaking 1,300 tangerine-clad supporters in attendance.

The gala and accompanying Will Golf 4 Kids golf tournament - now in its 20th year - helped raise $862,000 for the pediatric hospital based in Little Rock. Northwest Arkansas children made more than 27,000 visits to the Little Rock campus last year and also are served by the Centers for Children in Lowell. The Lowell site, a collaboration between Children’s and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, houses 21 clinics and logged more than 15,000 patient visits last year.

Proceeds from the gala and golf tourney will go to purchase a transport isolette for the hospital’s helicopter, Angel 1, and to help defray the cost of the approximate $1.8 million in charity care the hospital provided to Northwest Arkansas children in 2012.

Those providing support with a tangerine twist included Richalle and Marshall Ney, Jill and Mike Sewell, Melanie and Kyden Reeh, Lori and Steve Collins, David Wilson, Valorie and Randy Lawson and Fred Scarborough.

AT A GLANCEFriends of the Festival Concert

Who: Fayetteville Roots Fest

What: Food and music festival found

ed in 2010 celebrates local culture and

supports area nonprofit organizations.

When: Aug. 22

Where: Garner farm

Information: fayettevilleroots.com or

feedfayetteville.org Football Kickoff Luncheon

Who: University of Arkansas Razorbacks

What: Bret Bielema, 32nd Razorback

football head coach, and boosters kickoff the season When: Aug. 23 Where: Northwest Arkansas Convention Center in Springdale Information: arkansasrazorbacks.com Color of Hope Who: Arkansas Children’s Hospital What: The Little Rock-based hospital is embarking on its second century of treating children. The affiliated Centers for Children in Lowell offers 21 clinics to treat children in Northwest Arkansas.

When: Aug. 24 Where: John Q. Hammons Center in Rogers Information: archildrens.orgColumnist Carin Schoppmeyer can be reached by email at [email protected].

Northwest Profile, Pages 37 on 09/01/2013