LPGA event brings more than golf to area

Food, concert, 5K run planned to celebrate tourney’s 10th year in city

The Walmart NW Arkansas LPGA Championship has grown in the past decade into a regionwide festival that encompasses more than just golf.

The women's tournament held at Pinnacle Country Club in Rogers will celebrate its 10th year in June with a concert, food and beer festivals and a 5K run.

Non-golf events

• June 20: Pantene Beautiful Lengths hair donation ceremony is an event where more than 300 people will donate their hair on stage. It will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Walmart Amp.

• June 23: BITE NW Arkansas’ first night will feature samples from area restaurants and chefs from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Walmart Amp.

• June 24: BITE NW Arkansas’ second night will feature beer and burgers from local restaurants and breweries from 6 to 9 p.m.

• June 25: 5K @ The LPGA benefiting Mercy Medical Center will start at 7:30 p.m. at the Walmart AMP. The race runs through Pinnacle Country Club.

• June 25: Rachel Platten community concert with music starting at 8 p.m. at the Walmart AMP.

Source: Staff report

Harry Hardy, tournament director, said events have been added in recent years as a way to engage non-golf fans.

"When you go to the Super Bowl or any other major event there are other events happening around it to capture the non-sport market," Hardy said. "Last year, we took it to another level with a food festival and 5K run. It was a big step in creating something that resonates with the entire Northwest Arkansas population."

The food festival, which has been renamed and branded as BITE NW Arkansas, sold out 1,000 tickets in 2015, Hardy said. It included about 30 different local restaurants and businesses.

"As a first-year event it couldn't have gone much better," Hardy said. "It was a large success, which led us to growing the size this year."

The festival at the Walmart Amp in Rogers will expand to 2,000 tickets this year. Hardy said. It likely will sell out by the end of this week. Restaurants and vendors also have been expanded to about 50.

Night one of BITE NW Arkansas will give attendees a chance to taste samples from local restaurants and chefs. The second night will focus on local and national craft brews. Local restaurants also will serve a sample of burgers.

Levi Rush, owner of Levi's Gastrolounge & Low Bar, will participate for a second year.

He was uncertain if he could participate when approached last year.

"We were so new and busy," Rush said. "It would have been the worst decision I have made so far."

The event is a good way to get food in front of potential customers, he said.

"It brought me more customers than any type of advertising that we have done," Rush said. "I saw a bunch of people from the contest come by later that night to eat a burger they had tried at the event."

The event promotes individual restaurants and also helps the Rogers area, Rush said. It is an opportunity to expose people to restaurants that are popping up in the city, including ones downtown, he said.

"It helps people know there is more in Rogers than just the west side," he said.

J.R. Shaw, executive director of Visit Rogers, said non-golf events attract a more diverse crowd to the city.

"The city benefits intangibly by receiving tons of positive PR, news and sports coverage and tangibly by having thousands of tournament spectators and event-goers staying in Rogers hotels, eating in Rogers restaurants and buying from local Rogers merchants while attending these events," Shaw said.

NW News on 05/23/2016

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