BENTONVILLE — The normally empty former Benton County Daily Record building will be bustling with festivities as local designers showcase the season's best fashion looks during Northwest Arkansas Fashion Week.
The Planning Commission approved 7-0 a temporary permit for fashion shows and alcohol sales at the downtown building at 104 S.W. A St.
The building will be used for the boutique runway shows Friday and Saturday. The parties start at 7 p.m., the shows start at 8:30 p.m. and are followed by an after party both nights.
The old industrial space juxtaposed with fashion makes it a fun location to hold the shows, said Jordan Sherrod, Fashion Week co-chair.
The building also has local history, which plays into Fashion Week's support of the "local spirit," Sherrod said. The shows benefit 11 nonprofit organizations.
The building housed the Benton County Daily Record until NWA Media, owner of the newspaper, sold the 12,000-square-foot building to Record Properties in November 2012 for $700,000. The newsroom moved to 304 S.W. 16th St. Suite 14 in January 2013.
All activities Friday and Saturday will be inside, and no structures or tents will be used, according to the planning staff. A restroom trailer will be on the building's north side, parking will be on- and off-site and temporary lighting will be used.
There will be about 350 guests and 100 staff members each night, according to the report.
This will be the third year for Northwest Arkansas Fashion Week. The first two were held in Fayetteville, but a good portion of last year's ticket sales came from Benton County so "it made sense to share the love with Benton County," Sherrod said of moving the event to Bentonville.
A launch party will be at 7:30 p.m. today at Fairlane Station, 108 Graham St., in Springdale, according to the Fashion Week website. A designer runway show will be Thursday at 21c Museum Hotel in Bentonville.
The week's events also included "Shopping Night Out" in Bentonville and Fayetteville on Monday and Tuesday.
NW News on 03/05/2014