The Top Photos of 2019
Scroll to see this year's picks for the best photos produced by Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette staff in 2019.
Photo by Ben Goff
Brent Boydston, Bentonville fire chief, directs the response Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019, as firefighters take on a blaze at United Industries UltraBoard in Bentonville.
Photo by Andy Shupe
Ryla Harris, 8, of Fayetteville plays Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019, in water sprayed by a Fayetteville Fire Department engine during the National Night Out event at Wilson Park.
Photo by Ben Goff
Brad Stamps, Fayetteville assistant coach, and Springdale police officer Gomez Zackious hold back Austin Garrett (1) of Fayetteville while breaking up a fight on the court Friday, Feb. 15, 2019, during the game at Springdale's Bulldog Gym.
Photo by Andy Shupe
Virginia Pendleton, 16, a junior at the Agee-Lierly Life Preparation Services Center in Fayetteville, wades Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019, into the water while fishing during an Outdoor Education class outing in Spring Creek in Johnson.
Photo by Charlie Kaijo
The Walton family listens to speakers during the Walmart shareholders meeting Friday, June 7, 2019, at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
Photo by J.T. Wampler
Flowers poke through snow Sunday, March 3, 2019, at the Fayetteville square. Snow from half an inch to two inches fell across the area, snarling traffic and interrupting Sunday church services.
Photo by Ben Goff
John Mauck reacts as Kory Roberts, a teacher at Rogers High who also runs Herps of Arkansas, shows a snake to a group of 6th graders Thursday, May 2, 2019, during Lingle Middle School's 22nd Annual Outdoor School at Prairie Creek Recreation Area at Beaver Lake. Students split into small groups to learn about nature and outdoor skills from area experts.
Photo by Ben Goff
Tre Walker, San Jose State wide receiver, makes a catch, and loses a shoe, as LaDarrius Bishop, Arkansas cornerback, defends in the fourth quarter Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019, at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.
Photo by Flip Putthoff
Haden Gunsaulis, 9, plays a tic-tac-toe game on Tuesday during the Benton County Master Gardeners 25th anniversary held at the Peel Mansion in Bentonville. Festivities included games, food, prize drawings and music by the duo Still on the Hill.
Photo by Andy Shupe
Arkansas forward Daniel Gafford celebrates at the final horn Saturday, March 9, 2019, during the Razorbacks' 82-70 win over Alabama in Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
Photo by J.T. Wampler
A goalkeeper attempts to block a shot during a soccer game between Fayetteville and Rogers High Tuesday April 16, 2019 at Harmon Field in Fayetteville. The Mounties won 3-1 in a shoot-out after a 1-1 tie in regulation.
Photo by J.T. Wampler
Arkansas' Brooke Matthews chips out of a bunker on hole 12 Saturday May 18, 2019, during the second round of the NCAA Women's Championship at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville.
Photo by Ben Goff
Curtis Washington, Arkansas pinch runner, slides in to score past Cooper Johnson, Ole Miss catcher, in the 8th inning Wednesday, May 22, 2019, during game 6 of the SEC Baseball Tournament at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala.
Photo by Charlie Kaijo
Alan Braddock, associate professor of art history at the College of William & Mary, discusses a piece by Mark Catesby entitled "The Parrot of Carolina" during a media preview Thursday, May 23, 2019 at Crystal Bridges in Bentonville. The exhibition, called “Nature’s Nation: American Art and Environment,” showcased 300 years of artwork reflecting ideas about the natural world and humanity’s place within it. More than 100 paintings, photographs and installations were featured, including work by Thomas Moran, Dorothea Lange and Frank Lloyd Wright.
Photo by Charlie Kaijo
Bo Hunter rides his boat through the flooded neighborhood of Canterbury Cove Monday, May 27, 2019, in Fort Smith. The Arkansas River set the record for the all time highest level.
Photo by J.T. Wampler
Ronnie Hawkins, (right), an early 1960s rocker from Huntsville, visits with an old friend Billy Lieblong at the Rockwood Club in Fayetteville during a reception Thursday Aug. 22, 2019. His band, The Hawks, morphed into The Band, which backed Bob Dylan in the late ’60s. Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks played many gigs at the Rockwood Club.
Photo by Andy Shupe
Little Rock Catholic's Jackson Davis reacts Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019, to a point during his singles match with Hayden Shoemake of Bentonville West in the Class 6A state tennis championship at Har-Ber High School in Springdale.
Photo by Andy Shupe
Jacob Leonard and his 1-year-old daughter, Jane Leonard, show off their Elton John costumes Thursday, Oct. 31, 2019, during the 18th Annual Trick-or-Treat on the Square hosted by Experience Fayetteville on the Fayetteville square. Businesses on the square joined city departments in handing out candy to trick-or-treaters.
Photo by J.T. Wampler
Arkansas' Desi Sills goes up for a shot against Southwestern Oklahoma State Friday Oct. 5, 2019 at Bud Walton Arena.
Photo by Ben Goff
People run for cover Friday, June 7, 2019, during a brief downpour at First Friday on the Bentonville square. The month's theme was 'Living Local' with a focus on local history, food, music and businesses.
Photo by Charlie Kaijo
Arkansas Razorbacks catcher Casey Opitz (12) reacts after a 5-4 loss against Texas Tech during a College World Series elimination game Monday, June 17, 2019 at the TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb.
Photo by Andy Shupe
Miss Arkansas 2019, Darynne Dahlem of Greenwood, poses for a photo.
Photo by Flip Putthoff
Joe Neal enjoys a misty morning on the War Eagle River July 12, 2019.
Photo by Ben Goff
Olivia Campos, 6, of Rogers dances under the wings of Fatima Pollard of Fayetteville Saturday, July 20, 2019, during Firefly Fling at Botanical Garden of the Ozarks in Fayetteville. The family festival featured a variety of games and activities, food trucks and live music followed by a fire dance performance after dark.
Photo by Andy Shupe
Zachary Elkins (left) of Fayetteville smiles Friday, Aug. 9, 2019, as his girlfriend, Lisa Anderson of Rogers, takes a bite as they share a grape ice cream during the 121st Tontitown Grape Festival in Tontitown. The festival featured crafts vendors, chicken and spaghetti dinners and a midway.
Photo by Flip Putthoff
Maggie Peck (left), math facilitator at Frank Tillery Elementary in Rogers, chats Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019, with assistant principal Halley Parsons as Parsons plays the Statue of Liberty during a program at the school about Ellis Island and immigration. Third-grade students acted as immigrants in 1910 and visited required stations to enter the United States, said Katelyn Fetner, a teacher at Tillery. Teachers and parents staffed the stations for passport inspection, medical checkups, train tickets and other stops that were at Ellis Island. The island, in Upper New York Bay, was the gateway for over 12 million immigtrants to the United States from 1892 to 1954.
Photo by Charlie Kaijo
Arkansas Razorbacks guard Jalen Harris (5) reacts after a loss in the NCAA National Invitation Tournament Saturday, March 23, 2019, at the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall at the University of Indiana in Bloomington, Ind. The Arkansas Razorbacks fell to the Indiana Hoosiers 63-60.
Photo by Ben Goff
Firefighters battle a blaze Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019, at United Industries UltraBoard in Bentonville.
Photo by J.T. Wampler
Rachel Lyons of Fayetteville deadheads some black-eyed susans Monday, August 12, 2019, at a garden on the corner of Park Avenue and Prospect Street in Fayetteville. Lyons owns Bee Well Gardens and cares for this native plant garden for a client, an apartment complex near Wilson Park.
Photo by J.T. Wampler
Dearl Masterson of Springdale checks out a 1964 Impala low rider Sunday, August 18, 2019, at St. Raphael Catholic Church's annual Summerfest Family Fun Day in Springdale. The event featured food, a car show, police and fire vehicles, helicopter rides, music, games and a cake walk.
Photo by Flip Putthoff
Aaliyah Stanley (left) and Christopher Lewis holler out for beads Saturday, March 2, 2019, during the annual Mardis Gras Fat Saturday Parade of Fools in Fayetteville. Festivities featured floats, costumed parade marchers, pets and beads by the thousands. Crowds cheered the parade that wound through the downtown square and along Dickson Street.
Photo by J.T. Wampler
John Woods of Fayetteville does a board grab Monday, Feb. 18, 2019 at Walker Park in Fayetteville. Woods has been skating since he could get on the board and comes to Walker Park two or three times a week.
Photo by Andy Shupe
Clara Brickell (from left), Ja'Couri Wells, Kenzie Luigs, Davis Hill and Sarai Camerilla-Luna, all students in Chelsey Burton's first-grade class at Owl Creek School in Fayetteville, play a game of Simon Says Friday, Aug. 30, 2019, as they wait for their turn during a health fair at the school. Elementary students received comprehensive vision and hearing tests during the fair.
Photo by Ben Goff
Susan Livingston of the United States grabs a dollar bill from the fishing pole of Taylor Young, a spectator from Bentonville, while competing in the UCI Elite Women race Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019, during the the Fayettecross cyclocross races at Centennial Park at Millsap Mountain in Fayetteville.
Photo by J.T. Wampler
River Cates, 4, takes part in a puppet show Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019, at Puppets in the Park at Gulley Park. The event was a free festival celebrating the art of puppetry and performance arts. There was puppetry and storytelling workshops for children, puppet shows, juggling, crafts, games, music, food and a Giant Puppet Pageant. Cates was at the event with his parents Jason and Chalyce Cates of Fayetteville.
Photo by J.T. Wampler
Genevieve Munson of Rogers jumps her horse Crescent over an obstacle Monday, Oct. 14, 2019, at the Rogers Equestrian Center. Munson rides six days a week and had just returned from the Neue Schule/United States Equestrian Federation Junior Jumper National Championships in Harrisburg, Penn. where she placed ninth.
Photo by Ben Goff
Arkansas quarterback K.J. Jefferson (13), running back Rakeem Boyd and a staff member react after a 24-20 loss to Kentucky Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019, at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky.
Photo by Andy Shupe
Evan Soucy, owner of Recollect Ltd., a vintage clothing store at 2218 N. College Ave. in Fayetteville, puts the finishing touches on a paint job to the outside of the building ahead of the store's Nov. 1 opening.
Photo by Charlie Kaijo
Mississippi State tight end Farrod Green (82) makes a catch for a score as Arkansas defensive back Kamren Curl (2) covers, Saturday, November 2, 2019 during the third quarter of a football game at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.
Photo by J.T. Wampler
Artist Octavio Logo in his studio in south Fayetteville Tuesday, November 12, 2019.
Photo by J.T. Wampler
Caroline Swanson of Cave Springs walks through a Bluebird of Happiness gazebo Sunday, Nov. 17, 2019, during the annual Meet the Artists Holiday Showcase at Terra Studios in Durham. The studio announced it would cease production of their iconic Bluebirds of Happiness at the end of the year citing environmental concerns with the natural gas used in the production. The studio said it will stop the production of the Bluebirds until a more practical energy source becomes available.
Photo by J.T. Wampler
A rider competes Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019, in the professional men's category at the Oz Trails Off-Road mountain biking race finals in Bentonville and Bella Vista.
Photo by Andy Shupe
Visitors watch Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019, as hot air balloons glow during the inaugural Soar NWA at Drake Field in Fayetteville. The event featured hot air balloons, helicopter rides, live music, food and vendors to benefit Open Avenues.
Photo by J.T. Wampler
Arkansas' Chelsea Dungee drives to the basket while Missouri's Lauren Aldridge defends during the first half Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019 at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
Photo by Flip Putthoff
Gavin Neal, 9, gives the Cub Scout salute on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019, after placing a wreath on the grave of a veteran during a Wreaths Across America observance at the Bentonville Cemtery on Southwest F Street. The national Wreaths Across America Day honors, respects and remembers all veterans with wreath-laying ceremonies at cemeteries across the United States, said Sancho Mariano, a Bentonville High School senior. Gavin and other Cub Scouts from Pack 525, Den 7 in Bentonville were among the volunteers, with guidance from their den mother, Melanie Neal.