American Heart Association patrons donned their favorite music festival attire for Paint the Town Red: Paintfest on June 17 at JJ's Live in Fayetteville. The evening included tastes from area restaurants, a silent auction more.
Jason Fremstad and Will McDonald were honorary event chairmen for the festive benefit that also included themed lounges, games, photo ops, live music by Funk Factory and dance music from DJ Derrick.
Organizers say: "Together, we are relentlessly focused on the heart of our community. Through the Paint the Town Red campaign, we celebrate our collective success in driving change, funding science and improving health -- no matter where, or how, we gather. That means taking our efforts beyond our events, working every day to help every heart.
"In more than 150 communities across the country, our supporters unite with a shared purpose to raise the critical funds we need to ensure our work continues," they explain. "Throughout our campaign we celebrate our milestones, we thank our sponsors, and we honor our heroes. We come together to achieve something bigger than ourselves. We live fierce and fight for all."
Restaurants on hand for Paintfest included Big Whiskey's, Con Queso's, Dot's Nashville Hot Chicken, Eat My Catfish, Ella's Table, JJ's Grill, Jaclyn's Kitchen, Marley's Pizza, Nellie B's Bakery, Oz Smokehouse, Pineapple Bliss, RubItSnout, The Cake Occasion and Tula.
Lead sponsors of the benefit included The Emerson Group, the Life is Why Sponsor; Extra, the Legacy Sponsor; and Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health, the Signature Sponsor.
Fundraiser proceeds go to help the American Heart Association fulfill its mission "to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives."
Upcoming American Heart Association events in Northwest Arkansas include NWA CycleNation on Sept. 24 in Bentonville and the NWA Heart Walk on Oct. 29 in Rogers.
CycleNation "is a movement to empower the nation to use cycling to help Americans get brain and heart healthy."
For more event photos -- nwadg.com/photos/society.
Columnist Carin Schoppmeyer can be reached by email at [email protected].
Dixie Arce (from left), Kelsey King, Jennifer Kurtz, Kylie Sanders and Kacey Serrano enjoy Paintfest on June 17. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Carin Schoppmeyer)
Jordan Smith (from left), Taylor Moses and Laurel Tally help support the American Heart Association at Paintfest. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Carin Schoppmeyer)
Allison and Brooks Lee help support the American Heart Association at Paintfest. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Carin Schoppmeyer)
Lilly Ervin (from left), Lauren Spear, Jen Ainsworth, Courtney Norton, Misty Novich and Robin Nickles get in the spirit of Paintfest. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Carin Schoppmeyer)
Lilly Ervin (from left), Lauren Spear, Jen Ainsworth, Courtney Norton, Misty Novich and Robin Nickles get in the spirit of Paintfest. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Carin Schoppmeyer)
Raymond and Jaclyn House (from left) and Jill and Jason Suel gather at Paintfest. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Carin Schoppmeyer)
Laura Underwood (from left), Andi Clinton and Mellissa Wood visit at Paintfest. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Carin Schoppmeyer)
John and Erica Erck enjoy Paintfest. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Carin Schoppmeyer)