Fort Smith Blues Festival a Top 100 event

Fort Smith’s Riverfront Blues Festival was named one of the Top 100 Events in North America by the American Bus Association.

Each year the ABA compiles a list of the most appealing events across the continent for tour operators who are planning which trips to offer in the coming year.

“This is the list that the group travel industry uses all year. In our industry, it’s a very high recognition, and we are thrilled that Bluesfest has been honored this way,” Carolyn Joyce, group sales director at the Fort Smith Convention & Visitors Bureau, said in a statement.

More than 600 events competed for inclusion on the 2011 list, through nominations submitted by ABA members and other industry professionals. This was the first time the Fort Smith CVB had nominated Riverfront Blues Fest to be a Top 100 Event, and marks Fort Smith’s first appearance on the list.

Riverfront Blues Fest will enter its 21st year in 2011, and is known as “The Best Little Bluesfest in America” and draws thousands to the banks of the Arkansas River on two summer nights. The 2010 festival featured Delbert McClinton, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, J.J. Grey & Mofro, Band of Heathens, Wisebird, Honey Island Swamp Band, Mark May, J.P. Soars & The Red Hots, and Copesetic. The 2011 lineup and dates have not yet been announced.

The list, which is published in the ABA’s special publication, 2011 Top 100 Events in North America. Fort Smith Riverfront Blues Fest’s entry reads: “The Fort Smith Riverfront Blues Fest is the premier blues event on the Arkansas River. It’s big enough to draw national and international musical talent, yet intimate that you don’t have to fight the crowds to enjoy the music. Set on the banks of the Arkansas at Fort Smith Riverpark, this blues festival brings people from several states to enjoy two low-cost nights of family entertainment. Because the festival gets started after 4 p.m., this leaves plenty of time to see the sights in and around historic Fort Smith.”

Two other Arkansas events made the 2011 Top 100 Events list: the World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Hot Springs and the Arkansas Trail of Holiday Lights, which occurs in 60 communities across the state, including Fort Smith.