Keeping you updated

Property Owners Association -- POA

Bunnies HOP on by Saturday, April 3, at Riordan Hall / Kingsdale Parking Lot. Members with children ages 1-12 can drive through the parking lot, starting at 10 a.m., where gloved and masked staff members will be hoppily handing out one bag per child of eggs, treats and a few eggy surprises! For best traffic flow, please use the following schedule: 10 a.m. -- members with last names beginning with A-F; 10:30 a.m. -- members with last names beginning with G-L; 11 a.m. -- members with last names beginning with M-Z.

Volunteers are needed for the Bella Vista Charity Classic Tournament which will host both the APT and WAPT this year from June 23-26. This is the fifth year for the tournament and over $121,000 has been raised for local charities. Volunteers are a huge part of this success. A volunteer form can be found on the POA website or any golf club pro shop.

City of Bella Vista

Republic Trash Service -- will offer a spring appliance pickup free of charge to Bella Vista residents with accounts in good standing during the week of April 5.

Residents should call City Hall during business hours to sign up. Signups will be accepted starting Monday, March 22, through Friday, April 2, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. City Hall is closed for lunch from noon to 1 p.m.

Items should be placed at the curb by 6 a.m. Monday, April 5, regardless of individual pickup days. Depending on the number of participants, the pickup could take a few days.

Refrigerators or other items that use freon will be accepted if the freon has been professionally evacuated and tagged.

Call 479-876-1255, opt. 4, to sign up or with any questions.

Bella Vista Garden Club Plant Sale

The Bella Vista Garden Club has two sales events planned this year, scheduled for April 16-17 and again in May, that will include plants grown by garden club members and will be a fundraiser for the club.

The sales are expected to require buyers to sign up in advance, and additional information about signups and what exact plants are up for sale will be posted to the club's website, bellavistagardenclub.com, as well as its Facebook page, as the sale approaches.

Bella Vista Fly Tyers Sporting Sale

The Bella Vista Fly Tyers Club Sporting Sale will be held May 22 at the Riordan Hall Pavilion in Bella Vista. The sale will begin at 10 am. Money raised from the sale will be used for education and conservation programs for the lakes within Bella Vista.

The club is asking for donations of fishing and sporting goods for the sale. Donations of used or new sporting goods (all types, not just fishing) will gladly be accepted. The Fly Tyers will pick up your donations or you can deliver them to Tom Diepenbrock (636-443-3325).

Coffee with the Commander

Every Tuesday, 8 a.m., at Papa Mikes, join Brad Kennell, commander of Bella Vista's American Legion Post 341, for coffee.

Bella Vista Community TV is looking for volunteers

Bella Vista Community Television (BVCTV) is a non-profit, all-volunteer Community Access station. Programming is aired on Cox Cable Channel 222 and U-Verse Channel 99. All locally-produced shows can also be viewed on YouTube at Bella Vista Community TV.

Bella Vista Community TV is looking for volunteers; many tasks are simply business-related activities and require no broadcast experience. Positions include writers, camera operators, show hosts, public relations, marketing and more. Broadcast experience would be nice but is not required. Training is available. The only thing necessary is enthusiasm to make a quality product, working with motivated volunteers who are residents of Bella Vista and the surrounding area. Call 479-268-8325 for more information.

Bella Vista Historical Museum

The Bella Vista Historical Museum is open on Saturdays and Sundays, from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Visitors are asked not to enter if they have flu-like covid symptoms. Masks are required and visitors will be asked to practice social distancing while in the museum and, if visiting with a group, to stay together. These plans are subject to change, based on the latest covid-19 data from the Arkansas Department of Health. The museum is located at the corner of Highway 71 and Kingsland, next door to the American Legion building. Telephone: 479-855-2335. Website: www.bellavistamuseum.org.

Bella Vista Library

The Bella Vista Public Library has fully reopened to the public and is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. The library will be closed from 1 to 2 p.m. daily for cleaning. The hour from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. each day is reserved for those who are high-risk for exposure to the coronavirus.

Surrounding Area

Dogwood Festival

The 46th annual festival is scheduled for April 23 through 25 in downtown Siloam Springs.

Last year's festival was postponed several times and ultimately canceled because of the covid-19 pandemic. This year's festival will have multiple safety measures in place.

The ADH has limited the event to 66 percent capacity and will be monitored with only two entry and exit points where volunteers will use color-coded stickers to track the number of people.

Other safety measures will include a mask requirement, temperature checks and covid-19 screening questions for volunteers and vendors, shifting vendor booths six to 10 feet apart, safety signage, hand sanitizing stations, sanitizing of frequently touched surfaces such as the tables in the food area, and keeping performers at least 12 feet away from the audience when they are not wearing masks.

Artosphere

Artosphere, Arkansas' Arts+Nature Festival, returns May 6-23 with events across northwest Arkansas. While there will be some changes to the typical festival activities, patrons can still expect dozens of fun art experiences for the whole family to enjoy during the month.

The 90-member Artosphere Festival Orchestra and the popular Chapel Music Series will not be part of this year's festival due to health and safety restrictions to prevent the spread of covid-19. Yet the Dover Quartet, hailed by The New Yorker as "one of the world's finest young string quartets," and a staple of Artosphere, will be back.

Dover Quartet's performance at Walton Arts Center will also be broadcast live on KUAF 91.3, giving fans several ways to experience the performance. Artosphere will also feature one of the first public screenings of the quartet's new documentary, Strings Attached.

Artosphere will still offer a mix of free and ticketed performances spread across the region. The Artosphere Film Series, Trail Mix and Off the Grid are back as part of this year's festival and all will be free. In addition to the Dover Quartet performance, there will be ticketed performances by Jayme Stone and of a new interactive theatre piece, Art Heist.

"On the heels of the pandemic, we thought this was the perfect opportunity to lean into the 'art in nature' element of the festival," said Scott Galbraith, vice president of programming and executive producer at Walton Arts Center. "Therefore, in addition to our popular Trail Mix, we'll be presenting in three different cities an outdoor theater piece that will comply with current health and safety protocols."

Put your detective skills to the test with Art Heist, a true-crime outdoor walking theater piece that gives you the chance to crack the world's most famous unsolved mystery. The world's single largest property theft took place 30 years ago on March 18. The 13 stolen art pieces, valued at half a billion dollars, have never been recovered. No arrests have been made in the case. During this 90-minute theater experience, you and your group will meet a cast of characters involved in the theft of art from the Isabella Gardner Museum in Boston. As you interact with security guards, museum staff, investigators and suspects, you'll gather clues as you try to figure out what really happened -- but watch out for the red herrings. There's still a reward, so you could solve the case and collect the cash.

Art Heist will be performed in Fayetteville May 6-9, in Rogers May 13-16 and in Bentonville May 20-23. At each location, performances will be every 30 minutes on Thursday and Friday from 6-8:15 p.m., Saturday from 2-4:15 p.m. and 5:30-8:15 p.m., and Sunday from 2-3:30 pm and 5-6:30 p.m. Tickets range from $25-30 plus applicable fees.

Another returning favorite is the Artosphere Festival Photography Competition. For a $10 entry fee, Arkansas photographers can enter up to three photos under the theme "Arts and Nature." This can include but is not limited to nature and landscape photos, images that show rhythm or patterns in nature or performers in a natural setting. Entries are due by Friday, April 23. Rebecca Drolen, assistant professor of photography at the University of Arkansas, will judge the entries on composition, originality, technical excellence, and variety in response to the 2021 theme. Finalists will be selected by May 3 and the community will be able to vote for their favorite photo through May 7 on social media.

One grand prize winner as well as the People's Choice will be announced on May 10. The grand prize winner will receive a cash prize of $150. The People's Choice winner will receive two tickets to a performance of Art Heist on May 20-23. Complete competition rules, important dates and requirements can be found at waltonartscenter.org/artosphere/photography-call-for-entry.

For the past 11 years, Artosphere has spotlighted artists and performers from around the world who are inspired by nature, and the festival provides opportunities to experience art in nature around Northwest Arkansas.

You can purchase or reserve tickets now to all performances except Art Heist by calling 479-443-5600 or by visiting artospherefestival.org. Art Heist will go on sale in April.

For more information about the Artosphere Festival and a complete event lineup, visit artospherefestival.org.