Will Rogers steal some of Fayetteville’s funkiness?
Fayetteville has long been recognized for its, shall I say, quirkiness. In fact, I don’t have to say it. Last fall, Travel & Leisure named Fayetteville as its No. 7 town on the list of America’s quirkiest towns. Apparently, the fact the town celebrates each new year with a Hog drop on the town square and has a museum in Bill and Hillary Clinton’s first house merits national recognition.
Bumper stickers implore residents to “Keep Fayetteville Funky.” College students add a zesty spice to the ingredients that make Fayetteville a flavorful place to live. If I had written the blurb in Travel and Leisure, it would have also mentioned the Dickson Street Book Shop, the Wilson Park Castle, Hugo’s and Hermann’s, the Yacht Club food and retail trailer lot on College Avenue, the farmers market on the square, and the uncountable art and charitable events that make the town explode with character.
But is Fayetteville letting it slide?
Actually, the city’s won’t let it slide, and that’s the reason for my initial question.
A private company called Slide The City has found a market for what amounts to a traveling Slip’N’Slide. You remember those long, slippery plastic sheets on which youngsters, and more than a few adults, have careened across yards for summertime fun? The company’s version is 1,000 feet long, and is usually set up on a sloping public street. Many times, it’s done in a college town, where students make for a good customer base.
The event is the kind that creates excitement and would undoubtedly also draw people to whatever town hosts it. The zany activity seems perfect for a college town that prides itself on its funkiness.
“They wanted to do it on Dickson Street,” said Sharon Waters, a city official who explained the city’s reasoning for being a wet blanket. “They are a for-profit organization and to close off a main street is not something that we want to do for a for-profit organization.”
Nichelle Jenson, event director for Slide The City, said the reason the company wanted to hold an event in Northwest Arkansas was the presence of the University of Arkansas, but Fayetteville’s policies made holding the event in the college town difficult.
Funky? Or fuddy-duddies?
Now Rogers — Rogers? — is considering whether it’s funky enough to host such an event. I haven’t seen any “Keep Rogers Radical” bumper stickers, but the town hasn’t rejected the proposal outright.
In Rogers, the company would set up its mega-slide on a portion of Bellview Road near Pinnacle Hills Promenade and operate from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 25, a Tuesday.
A sticking point for both towns is the company’s for-profit status. Closing a public street for the benefit of a business is isn’t something city officials usually want to risk. The company is considering a partnership with a local nonprofit organization — a “you scrub my back, I’ll scrub yours” sort of arrangement in which the business and the nonprofit group both benefit. The company is scheduled to return to Rogers’ Transportation Committee next month with additional information.
Salt Lake City, Utah; Boise, Idaho; West Palm Beach, Fla.; El Paso, Texas; San Francisco; and other towns have embraced their inner funkiness and permitted the massive slide, which in full form resembles a sort of portable spring break atmosphere.
Fayetteville’s other primary experience at shutting down Dickson Street is the annual Bikes, Blues and BBQ motorcycle rally. It’s operated by a local nonprofit group that spreads whatever profit is made around to local charities. Plenty of for-profit ventures also benefit from that event — all those vendors aren’t doing it for their good health — but cities naturally are hesitant to turn over public streets to private, for-profit ventures.
But WWFTD (What would a funky town do)?
There are all sorts of legitimate reasons not to allow Slide The City to operate on a public street in any town. It’s the safe play. Rejecting it is a good, conservative decision. But a town wanting to be defined as “funky” would probably find a way.
If the Slide The City event is held in Northwest Arkansas, wouldn’t Fayetteville seem the right fit for it? And watching college students and local residents slide down Dickson Street for a day — wouldn’t that be a community event to remember for years to come? It certainly wouldn’t be any less funky than bed races down the city’s famed street.
But it apparently has prove to be too much of a slippery slope for Funkyville.
Greg Harton is editorial page editor for the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Contact him by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAGreg.