NWA events: Bikes, blues and women in flight

There are numerous events each weekend in Northwest Arkansas, and bike races, air races and blues music are just some of the items that could fit on an active itinerary.

• ‘Almost’ a Starry Night
The Youth Bridge fundraiser “Starry Starry Night Almost Van Gogh” will be held at the home of Denise and Hershey Garner at 6:30 to 10 p.m.
www.youthbridge.com/

The event is held each year to highlight the importance of Art Therapy as a key psychotherapy service that provides an emotional and creative outlet for many of Youth Bridge’s clients. Art Therapy, according to Youth Bridge, can reduce stress, help build social skills, and solve behavioral management issues.

Each year, celebrity artists are nominated to take the challenge, as well as, entries for amateur, youth, team and professional divisions are solicited. Art is judged by a panel of judges and awards are given. Judging categories will be 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place; a People’s Choice Award from the overall entries; and an overall “Most Creative use of Materials”, “Best Use of Theme”, and “Craziest Entry.”

All art pieces will be auctioned off during the silent auction. The actual silent auction is a favorite of many who attend. There will be a live auction for selected pieces. The event includes adult beverages and heavy hors d’oeuvres, live music, a signature wine pull, and raffle items.

Single tickets are $45. Link here for more information about the event.

• Flying women
In honor of Fayetteville being the finish line for the 2013 Air Race Classic, the Fayetteville Underground is holding a National Juried Art Exhibition themed “Women Take Flight” in the month of June.
 
Artists – professional or otherwise – over the age of 18 years, are invited to submit two dimensional  art with any interpretation of “Women Take Flight.” Entries will be judged on artistic merit, composition, technical merit, use of media, subjective appeal, and the artist’s ability to capture the essence and feeling of women taking flight.
 
Submissions will be judged by Fran Otten a national-recognized professional watercolor artist. Prizes will be awarded: $1000 best of show, $500 second place, $300 third place, with additional awards given in individual categories. All work exhibited during this show will be available for purchase.
 
The exhibition will open with a reception and award presentation on June 6, 2013, and will remain on display at 101 W. Mountain, Suite 222, in Fayetteville, through June 28, 2013.

Link here for more information about the event.

The 2013 women’s air race will be held June 18-21, 2013, starting in Pasco, Wash., and finishing in Fayetteville. There will be an estimated 55 women’s air race teams accepted for this race. Between Pasco and Fayetteville, teams will fly 2,137 nautical miles in 4 days.
 
• The XTERRA Festival
The newly named Lake Leatherwood XTERRA Festival (formerly the XTERRA Eureka Springs) is heading into its 8th consecutive year as one of the more popular races on the XTERRA America Tour.

Hosted at the Lake Leatherwood City Park in Eureka Springson June 8-9, the event is expanding its offering with the addition of a sport distance triathlon and the first ever XTERRA Trail Runs in the state of Arkansas.

The Lake Leatherwood XTERRA Festival will kick off  on Saturday, June 8 with 6K and 12K trail runs on the scenic and technically challenging trails around the beautiful, spring fed Lake Leatherwood. The 6k race will challenge first time trail runners and experts alike with short rocky climbs, fast flowing bench sections and numerous creek crossings of the Beacham and Fuller Trails.

The course will take competitors through the old limestone quarry and across a beautiful WPA era dam, one of the largest hand-cut native limestone dams in the country.  The 12k course takes racers straight up to the top of Twin Knobs hill then down a winding route through the Lost Ridge and Hyde Hollow before joining up with the 6k course around the lake.

On Sunday, competitors will be greeted with a completely new XTERRA course. With a longer, two lap bike at 14.5 miles, the new course will feature more climbing, almost 2,000 vertical feet, as well as a spectator friendly mid lap swing back trough the transition area.

Link here for more info about the unique outdoor event.

• Eureka Springs Blues Weekend
The Eureka Springs Blues Weekend is set for June 13-16, and is a fundraiser for Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge.

As always, the performance venues are in historic Eureka Springs, and features international, national, regional and local blues acts. Headliner shows are held in The Auditorium and Basin Park Hotel's Barefoot Ballroom. Past headliners include blues greats like the late Koko Taylor, Hubert Sumlin, and Honeyboy Edwards, plus living legends like Elvin Bishop, Coco Montoya, Charlie Musselwhite, Guitar Shorty, John Hammond, Indigenous, Magic Slim, Tommy Castro, The Cate Brothers, Ruthie Foster and Lazy Lester.

In addition to these headliner shows, great blues acts appear in venues all around town, making Blues Weekend a citywide party.

The Blues Weekend concludes with a Father's Day Blues Picnic at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge on Sunday afternoon.

Link here for more information about the weekend performances.