Arkansas Folklife Festival

ARKANSAS — this is your festival.

The inaugural Arkansas Folklife Festival arrives June 26–28, 2026, at Riverfront Park in North Little Rock as a free, three-day celebration of the music, foodways, stories, craftsmanship, dance, and traditions that shape Arkansas.

📍 Riverfront Park — North Little Rock
📅 June 26–28, 2026
🎟️ FREE and open to the public

This is not a history lesson behind glass.

This is Arkansas showing up as Arkansas.

Across one weekend, you’ll experience:

• Live music and dance across multiple stages
• Craft demonstrations and hands-on experiences
• Foodways from across Arkansas’s culturesheds
• Storytelling, workshops, and community gathering spaces
• Family-friendly activities for all ages
• Artists, makers, musicians, cooks, and culture-bearers from across the state

🎶 Headliners include:

• Bobby Rush — Grammy-winning blues legend
• Lucinda Williams — one of America’s most celebrated songwriters

Additional artists, foodways, craftspeople, and programming will be announced soon.

The Arkansas Folklife Festival is part of America’s 250th anniversary year and included in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival’s “Of the People: Festival of Festivals” initiative, connecting Arkansas to community-rooted celebrations happening across the country.

We call it The People’s 250.

Bring your friends. Bring your family.
Stay for a couple hours or the whole weekend.

Come be part of the first one.

👉 Learn more at arkansasfolklifefestival.org

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Host or Publisher Big Red Dog Productions