Games Along The Greenway

Love it or hate it, Bikes, Blues & BBQ is here, and motorcycles have taken over the roads. During this annual rally, Northwest Arkansas residents usually do one of two things -- join in or hide out, says Misty Murphy, executive director of Downtown Springdale Alliance. This year the organization is offering another option.

Bikes, Brews and Brains, a community game night in the up-and-coming downtown, is slated for Saturday and promises to offer good times with good friends.

"We wanted to give people an opportunity to do something where they could get out of their house, but they didn't have to get on the roads. They could come up the [Razorback Greenway] and have a nice evening with bicycles instead of motorcycles," Murphy says. The downtown area of Springdale is about halfway between Bentonville and Fayetteville via the trail.

Participants will check in at Shiloh Square and receive a game card. They will have until just before 9 p.m. to visit businesses along Emma Avenue to play games and earn points. Points are earned by winning contests and by purchasing food or drinks from the local business. Games and locations include Pictionary at Core Public House, bike-themed trivia at Black Apple Crossing and Clue at Emma Avenue Bar & Tap. Outdoor games include a bike drag race on Emma Avenue, Street Twister and giant Connect Four. The Steam, Phat Tire Bike Shop and Trailside Coffee Company are also participating.

The person with the most points at the end of the night wins. In the case of a tie, a bicycle-themed spelling bee will determine the winner.

Winners will be announced at 9 p.m. at Shiloh Square. First place wins $100 and a "bikalope.'"

"It will look like a piece of taxidermy, but it's created with bike parts," says Amber Perrodin, programming director with Downtown Springdale. (Think bike seat instead of deer head and handlebars instead of antlers.) The bikalope is a trend in the Pacific Northwest, she adds.

Second place will receive $50, and third place will receive a $30 gift card to one of the downtown businesses.

All ages are welcome to participate, but Murphy notes some participating businesses are 21 and up establishments. Game players younger than 21 should play only at the all-ages businesses. The only other rule is good behavior.

"It could be pretty easy to cheat, so we require a good attitude," Murphy says. Game masters will be stationed at each location, she adds.

The event is a fundraiser for Downtown Springdale Alliance, but the organization also wants to support the downtown businesses' bottom lines.

"The reason we are keeping the entry point so low is because we prefer people to spend money in local businesses for the event," she says.

And for this night and this event, those dollars turn into points. And those points will make someone in Northwest Arkansas the proud new owner of a bikalope.

-- Kelly Barnett

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NAN What's Up on 09/23/2016