May 4-24, 2023
Artosphere: Arkansas’ Arts + Nature Festival, will return to Fayetteville from May 4-24, 2023, bringing dozens of free and low-cost perfromances and events to all of Northwest Arkansas!
Presented annually by the Walton Arts Center, the Artosphere Festival celebrates art, music and nature with a mix of free and paid performances, activities and events for the whole family all throughout the month of May. It's often arguably the best month for springtime weather in Fayetteville, which makes the many outdoor events included extremely enticing - and there's definitely something for everyone to enjoy!
The multi-week festival will offer outdoor performances, free drop-in classes, film screenings, large orchestral concerts, puppet shows, jazz jam sessions, fashion competitions, chamber music performances, and dozens of other free and low-cost community events. The 2023 festival events are curated to spotlight artists and performers from around the globe who are inspired by nature, with the intention to provide creative spaces to discuss sustainability and our natural environment - with a heavy dash of FUN! This year’s Artosphere Festival will see the return of some much-loved events and experiences, including an appearance at the first First Thursday event of the season, film screenings curated by Fayetteville Film Fest, and a special performance by the acclaimed Artosphere Festival Orchestra (AFO), made up of members from all around the world.
Artosphere Trail Mix, a popular event focused on Fayetteville's arts culture and magnificent trail system, will also be a returning feature of this year’s festival. Performers and activities station themselves along the trail, this year in the newly-completed Lower Ramble, for a fun evening of enjoying art in nature. New this year, however, is Artosphere's Tunes on the Trail, a curated playlist accessible by QR code signage at the trailheads of Lake Fayetteville, Mount Kessler, Mount Sequoyah, Cato Springs Trail, and Frisco Trail. Listen along to the AFO's most-loved performances over the past decade of Artosphere while using the trails however you please!
Artosphere Festival events taking place in Fayetteville include:
- Tuesday, May 9:
- Trout Fishing in America
- Little Red Hen's Garden
- Friday, May 12:
- Indie Films Artosphere
- Trail Mix on The Lower Ramble
- Saturday, May 13:
- Fashion Machine
- Tuesday, May 16:
- An Evening of Brahms and Beethoven
- Wednesday, May 17:
- An Evening of Hadyn, Walker and Dvořák
- Outdoor Screening of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds
- Thursday, May 18:
- The Herbie Hancock Institute National Peer-to-Peer Jazz Sextet
- AFO Off the Grid
- Friday, May 19:
- Screening of The Artist and the Astronaut
- Saturday, May 20:
- Respighi's Roman Trilogy
- Sunday, May 21:
- Yoga in the Atrium
You'll also find the Artosphere Festival participating in established events, like these Fayetteville favorites:
- Thursday, May 4:
- Friday-Sunday, May 5-7:
- Arkansas Pottery Festival
- Saturday, May 6:
- Yoga in the Garden
- Saturday, May 6:
- Square to Square Starting Line Party
- Friday, May 19:
- Jazz on the Mountain
For more details and a complete schedule of Artosphere events, please visit WAC’s Artosphere page.