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Walton Arts Center


Mith242

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Don't know if there's any links or anything I can provide. There are some small parking decks downtown. But I don't think there's much info on the web to show you much on them. They aren't anything big. When I get back from vacation I can maybe take a few shots and post a map of their locations if you're interested. Where you also referring to just general parking or parking decks/garages?

Just Parking decks for the public.

Thanks.

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Just Parking decks for the public.

Thanks.

Okay like I said I'll get on that when I'm back. :D But as far as the parking deck near the WAC that they've talked about I don't know if that would get in the way of them expanding. That's more to the south and I think they could expand somewhat east and west. They'd have to take those gardens out though.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'd been doing this a while back and didn't seem to get a lot of interest so I stopped but I thought with some new people around now maybe I'd start posting some updates on upcoming performers and performances at the WAC. I know people can look this info up elsewhere but I like the idea of having this forum being a place to find single spot to find all sorts of info on NWA.

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I'd been doing this a while back and didn't seem to get a lot of interest so I stopped but I thought with some new people around now maybe I'd start posting some updates on upcoming performers and performances at the WAC. I know people can look this info up elsewhere but I like the idea of having this forum being a place to find single spot to find all sorts of info on NWA.

Good idea Mith. Being that WAC is Fayetteville's biggest attraction outside of the UofA it would be good to have their upcoming shows posted. It would also be nice to have reviews posted by anyone who happens to attend a show.

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Good idea Mith. Being that WAC is Fayetteville's biggest attraction outside of the UofA it would be good to have their upcoming shows posted. It would also be nice to have reviews posted by anyone who happens to attend a show.

I went to one performance earlier in the year. I really should try to go more often. The few times I've been I've always enjoyed it. But for some reason I never seem to get around to to many of them. There's some next month that look interesting to me. Maybe I can get myself to check at least one of them out.

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On Oct 14th at 7 & 9:30 PM will be Badi Assad. This is a performance I wouldn't mind checking out with my interest in world music. She's a Brazillian vocalist who uses her native Brazillian music and mixes in other ethnic sounds from around the world.

badi-Fernando%20Velazques%20-%20red.jpg

badi_assad_main.jpg

Here's also a couple of her websites. You can get an idea of her music on both.

http://www.badiassad.com/

http://www.myspace.com/badiassad

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  • 9 months later...

Looks like the WAC's new schedule is out. Some of the more notable performers coming are, Yo Yo Ma, Trisha Yearwood, Arlo Guthrie and Chick Corea.

Not bad, but you really can't even hope for the most current megastars to make an appearance outside of a major metro.

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Not bad, but you really can't even hope for the most current megastars to make an appearance outside of a major metro.

I was pretty happy with Yo Yo Ma. I guess I hadn't ever really thought about him ever coming to NWA. Of course tickets to that are more expensive than to some of the other performances I've seen. But I think it's worth it.

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I was pretty happy with Yo Yo Ma. I guess I hadn't ever really thought about him ever coming to NWA. Of course tickets to that are more expensive than to some of the other performances I've seen. But I think it's worth it.

I think you make a good point- almost any artist would appear if they are guaranteed a certain fee. The problem is ticket prices and sales have to match that fee or some other funding found to raise the cash. If we had a larger venue seating 2,500- 3,000 it would be easier to get bigger name artists and shows.

It's a great lineup- lot of variety and names we do know. Hairspray and Annie will be sellouts I bet. Lots of good music and that doesn't even include the North Arkansas Symphony and it's season. WAC will be jumping this year!

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  • 3 months later...

There was a pretty good article in the Times this morning discussing the WACs need for a much larger theater and the threat of it moving out of Fayetteville. Well, they all said that moving out of Fayetteville was not an option. So that is great news for us here who are sick of losing tax dollars to Benton County (sorry Benton county people but you see what I am saying). The WAC is owned by the university and the city and has a lease through 2017 with a new 25 year lease starting then. The only way it would be allowed out of Fayetteville is if the city officals allowed it to be.

Zman stated that we would need a 2500-3000 seat theater to pull the larger shows to our area. And that is exactly what the article said as well. Shows like 'Wicked' can not fit on the current stage area. So hopefully this is the first part of a new larger WAc coming to downtown Fayetteville. With the proposed parking garage just behind the current WAC, this could really help in making that decision.

Here is the link to the complete article: Walton Arts Center

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I don't see why a larger building can't be constructed across West on the parking lot.

Presto! -- Fayetteville Arts District. (FAD, for thos who know)

That is what I thought too. It is perfectly located and that parking will not be needed as much with the new parking deck just down the street. A nice new theater would look much better there than a parking lot. The only negative would be the open space that Bike Blues and BBQ uses would not be there anymore.

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Yeah I was rather relieved to see that it looks like it would be quite hard for them to try and leave Fayetteville. I had some worries. I guess now the question is can they expand at the current location or do they need to find a new locations. And if so then where. It would be weird to not have it on Dickson. But I was wondering if it did leave and move if it might help spark another build up in another part of the city. Just like it helped spark Dickson St. There was a mention of the Mill District. I was curious, does anyone think Dickson St would decline if the WAC moved? I'd like to think that it's pretty well established, but who knows. If it moved to the Mill District, it might provide a nice spark there. But maybe it would also eventually start taking away a bit from Dickson St.

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  • 2 months later...

There's been some more talk about the second phase of the study being started. But I haven't heard anything on how long that might take. I guess it won't be until after that, that we'll hear where they'll have their 'main' facility.

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There's been some more talk about the second phase of the study being started. But I haven't heard anything on how long that might take. I guess it won't be until after that, that we'll hear where they'll have their 'main' facility.

It sounds like the board members from Fayetteville are all in favor of keeping it where it is but since there are 20 members from all over NWA who knows what will be decided. If it gets to the point of choice by a popularity contest it may well move out of Fayetteville. If the choice is made by deciding what is best for the center and region as a whole it will stay in Fayetteville on Dickson Street.

The idea of a satellite campus is not feasible- there are already plenty of smaller venues to act as satellite locations for smaller shows and peformances. Each city has a a theater of sorts that is used - Springdale has Arts Center of the Ozarks, Rogers has Victory Theater, Bentonville has Arend Arts Center, etc. Where ever the main location of WAC is located will be the destination theater and where the major shows and concerts will be held.

Fayetteville's community leaders are taking the right approach of being proactive to keep WAC in town. Hopefully concrete steps to back up the words will be taken as soon as possible.

NWA Times article

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It sounds like the board members from Fayetteville are all in favor of keeping it where it is but since there are 20 members from all over NWA who knows what will be decided. If it gets to the point of choice by a popularity contest it may well move out of Fayetteville. If the choice is made by deciding what is best for the center and region as a whole it will stay in Fayetteville on Dickson Street.

The idea of a satellite campus is not feasible- there are already plenty of smaller venues to act as satellite locations for smaller shows and peformances. Each city has a a theater of sorts that is used - Springdale has Arts Center of the Ozarks, Rogers has Victory Theater, Bentonville has Arend Arts Center, etc. Where ever the main location of WAC is located will be the destination theater and where the major shows and concerts will be held.

Fayetteville's community leaders are taking the right approach of being proactive to keep WAC in town. Hopefully concrete steps to back up the words will be taken as soon as possible.

NWA Times article

I've been getting the impression more and more that there might be a satellite campus. Either they'll build a larger facility elsewhere like Benton County and keep the current WAC the way it is. Or they'll expand the current WAC and put a smaller facility somewhere in Benton County. Nothing's decided but it's been the impression I've been getting. There are other smaller venues in the area. But I'm thinking they want to pull in the shows like the WAC is pulling in now elsewhere. But maybe I'm wrong. It is nice that Fayetteville is doing what it can. But unfortunately it doesn't guarantee anything.

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It sounds like the board members from Fayetteville are all in favor of keeping it where it is but since there are 20 members from all over NWA who knows what will be decided. If it gets to the point of choice by a popularity contest it may well move out of Fayetteville. If the choice is made by deciding what is best for the center and region as a whole it will stay in Fayetteville on Dickson Street.

The idea of a satellite campus is not feasible- there are already plenty of smaller venues to act as satellite locations for smaller shows and peformances. Each city has a a theater of sorts that is used - Springdale has Arts Center of the Ozarks, Rogers has Victory Theater, Bentonville has Arend Arts Center, etc. Where ever the main location of WAC is located will be the destination theater and where the major shows and concerts will be held.

Fayetteville's community leaders are taking the right approach of being proactive to keep WAC in town. Hopefully concrete steps to back up the words will be taken as soon as possible.

NWA Times article

I hope they stay in Fayetteville and expand their presence here.

Still, with Crystal Bridges coming, I could see them building a big facility in Bentonville nearby.

That part of Bentonville would become the cultural hub of NWA if that happened.

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I hope they stay in Fayetteville and expand their presence here.

Still, with Crystal Bridges coming, I could see them building a big facility in Bentonville nearby.

That part of Bentonville would become the cultural hub of NWA if that happened.

I too hope they stay in Fayetteville, on Dickson Street. However I fear it is going to be a long, uphill battle. As I've said before, the long unspoken plan has been to get around the WAC commitment to staying in Fayetteville by constructing a satellite campus in conjunction with Crystal Springs. The long range plan for Crystal Springs makes mention of a 3,000 seat auditorium. This is not coincidental. Rogers could also become a player depending on how much they are willing to invest to court the WAC.

I also look forward to the results of Phase II of the study, but as is often the case with 'studies' like this they ultimately say exactly what the group who is footing the bill wants them to say. In this case I fully expect it to say that the options for a new venue are the current location, Crystal Springs and Rogers. Furthermore it will state that the area would best be served by a satellite venue in Benton County and that Fayetteville will get to continue to enjoy quality entertainment in the current smaller venue. But the clincher will be this: the current WAC would have to completely close for up to 2 years to essentially tear down and build a new facility on the current site. The board will balk at this and say that isn't an option for Arkansas 'largest and busiest center for the performing arts'.

I realize I sound a bit cynical about this, but I and some other Dickson Street business and property owners have been told for a few years now by some associated with the WAC how this would likely play out. The reasons given were always the same parking, feasibility and....Crystal Bridges. However, they never expected the city of Fayetteville to actually step up to the plate and make a genuine effort (read: financing, parking and infrastructure) to keep the WAC in the heart of Dickson. Hopefully this parking/hotel/retail/condo project comes to fruition in the immediate future. Perhaps that will be enough to turn the tide--I genuinely hope so. If this development becomes another pie-in-the-sky Renaissance Hotel type project, then I fear we can kiss the WAC goodbye.

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I have wondered about possible problems of trying to expend the current location. It could be hard to do and try to keep the facility open as well. Although it would seem to me that it's still a possibility. The current parking deck plans now will be south of Spring St. This would give the WAC the possibility of expanding to the south. Perhaps take out the smaller stage and some of the current part of the building on the southern side. It would be disruptive but I believe you could keep the main stage running and such. But I think there's going to be enough pull from Benton County to get something going up there. Even if Fayetteville wins out and keeps the main facility.

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  • 1 month later...

It's a great 3 days for music in NWA- Yo-Yo Ma played to a sold out WAC last night, The Foo Fighters have a sold out show at Barnhill Arena on campus tonight and Arlo Guthrie (remember Alice's Resturant?) will be at WAC Saturday night. It's amazing how many big name artist of all types of music come thorugh NWA these days.

It's also another example of how important WAC is to Fayetteville and Dickson Street now and in the future.

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Yo Yo Ma has been good about coming to WAC, and it's great to have him. The UofA managed to secure the Foo Fighters for their "headliner" concert this semester (like John Mayer previously), and I hadn't heard about Arlo Guthrie being here, but that's exciting as well. A good three day series, and a great variety for a weekend!

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