New festival Ozarktober Fest planned for downtown Springdale

The Downtown Springdale Alliance (DSA) has announced a new event celebrating the Ozarks region. Ozarktober Fest is a four-day series of events planned for Oct. 26-Oct. 29 in downtown Springdale.

The festival will feature food, craft beer, music and local history, in addition to Halloween-related activities and is “designed to highlight a sampling of wonderful traditions and emerging amenities that make the area unique,” according to a press release from the nonprofit.

The festival will kick off Oct. 26 with “Ozarks Meets Deutschland – Farm to Table Dinner Train Excursion” from 4:30-9 p.m. Guest will experience an “Ozarks spin” on a five-course German-themed meal aboard the dining cars on the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad. Michael Kuefner and Vince Pianalto, chefs from NorthWest Arkansas Community College’s Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food, will prepare the meal, featuring seasonal foods

and beverages grown, prepared or brewed in Northwest Arkansas, according to the press release. There will also be live entertainment from “traditional Ozark musicians.”

Ozarktober Fest Barn Party & Halloween Hayrides is scheduled for Oct. 27 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History’s Cooper Barn.

A free traditional regional music performance will be provided by Nathan Lee McAlister and Kim Lansford. Ticketed hay rides will depart from Shiloh Museum and travel to Bluff Cemetery. Storyteller and Ozark culture enthusiast Susan Young will lead tours of the cemetery and share its history, which dates back to before the Civil War, according to DSA. Food truck dinner options will also be available.

Ozarktober Springdale Halloween Fest will be Oct. 28, 4-9 p.m. at Shiloh Square. The event will include a trick-or-treating and a costume parade on Emma Avenue and a showing of “Hotel Transylvania” after dark. Springdale Parks & Recreation and the Springdale Police Department teamed up to host the event, according to DSA.

Ozarktober Fest Brews & Tunes is set for Oct. 29, 1-6 p.m. at Magnolia Gardens. The event will include free performances of traditional regional music and “celebration of the wonderful culture that has evolved over centuries

in the Ozark Mountains,” through live music, dancing and food trucks. There is also a ticketed beer festival featuring microbrews from throughout Northwest Arkansas.

More information about the Ozarktober Fest and tickets are available here.

“The time is right for downtown Springdale to serve as the home for a new regional festival, and we are so excited to partner with several venues and organizations to develop a multi-day celebration of Ozarks culture during the beautiful fall season,” Kelly Hale Syer, DSA executive director, said in a press release. “Our team has worked hard to find ways to highlight many things special to Northwest Arkansas, and we are particularly pleased to be able to make a significant portion of the four days’ events free or affordable for the public.”