From the ashes: RiverFest rises again in Little Rock with more music, food, drink and fun

Peter Frampton is shown as part of a photo illustration for Riverfest 2018
Peter Frampton is shown as part of a photo illustration for Riverfest 2018

For nearly 40 years, Memorial Day weekend in Little Rock meant music, family activities, corn dogs and a tidal wave of people flooding downtown Little Rock's River Market District. It meant Riverfest.

What started in 1977 as a small festival grew into a mammoth production, welcoming headliners such as Heart, Sheryl Crow, Goo Goo Dolls and Chicago. As it grew bigger, ticket prices stepped higher and higher. So much so that, in 2016, Riverfest was cut in two: Springfest, a free family festival in the early spring, and Riverfest, the adult-aimed music festival, which moved to June.

RiverFest

2 p.m.-11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, First Security Amphitheater and Clinton Presidential Center Park, Little Rock

Admission: multi-day no re-entry $50, multi-day unlimited $65, Friday $25, Saturday or Sunday $30, children 5-12 $10; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday children $5, adults free with paid child

riverfestarkansas.c…

The changes didn't help. Numbers continued to drop and last July, Riverfest Inc. -- the nonprofit that ran the event -- announced that the party was over.

But like the phoenix, RiverFest is rising again (with a slightly different spelling), thanks to Memphis-based Universal Fairs, an organization with a history of reviving troubled events -- and a desire to put on a larger-scale music festival.

"I know a good brand when I see it," says event director Jack Daniels. "RiverFest is a fantastic brand. Little Rock is a fantastic city that really wants to have some entertainment and have a big-time music festival."

Organizers also did their homework, talking to contacts in Little Rock to understand what might have caused the event to sink. It looked, Daniels says, like other fairs they've helped rejuvenate in the past: "board-heavy," "too concerned about keeping too many constituencies happy."

[PLAYLIST: Listen to RiverFest headliners]

One of their first calls was to Jim Rice, senior vice president and chief operating officer operations division with the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, who used to serve on the Riverfest board, to ask how they could go about buying the Riverfest name.

When he got the call, Rice says, "I was excited. I have been excited since they day they called that they're trying to keep that tradition going."

And, he says, it helped that the new directors specialize in festivals and fairs: "This is in their wheelhouse. This is what they do."

Universal Fairs secured the rights to use the Riverfest name -- but they changed it slightly.

They also rented First Security Amphitheater, worked out an agreement with the Clinton Presidential Center to set up a stage and activities on their grounds and talked to officials with the city and police department.

After all that was in order, they turned their attention to setting the music lineup -- a daunting task under ordinary circumstances but even more so in this situation.

"Typically music festivals are planned a year out," Daniels explains.

They had months.

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"Trying to put together a lineup based on touring availability for an already-busy Memorial Day weekend, and put together a lineup we know people will want to see to sell tickets, was a real challenge," he says.

The lineup they've come up with is eclectic, a mix of recognizable names such as Peter Frampton, Kip Moore, Jamey Johnson, Collin Raye and Tracy Lawrence. But it also includes The Lacs, Knox Hamilton and The Soul Rebels featuring Talib Kweli. Not exactly household names.

By mixing the recognized standards with more indie-based acts, they hope to give enough variety to satisfy a wide range of patrons. Give people names but also some talented artists waiting to be discovered.

"We've tried to theme our talent to allow people to get a different taste of different music," Daniels explains. "We're very happy with the lineup."

So is Rice. "I think they've covered a lot of what I enjoy," he says.

The acts will play on two stages: the Arkansas Federal Credit Union Stage at First Security Amphitheater and the Amp Energy Organic Stage at the Clinton Presidential Center. Both will be enhanced with video screens and sound systems.

Daniels and his colleagues didn't solely focus on the music. In presenting the new RiverFest, they've made a few changes, based on conversations with residents and business owners in the downtown area.

The most obvious change is the move back to Memorial Day weekend, its original home, which, Daniels thinks, makes sense, logistically speaking. The three-day schedule with a holiday at the end makes it more attractive for patrons.

"It's hard to have a rock show on a Sunday night where people have to drag to work the next day," Daniels says.

It also gives the organizers a quiet day at the end to clean up and get downtown Little Rock back to normal before business as usual resumes on Tuesday.

But the move is also sentimental. According to Daniels, "A lot of folks we talked to said, 'This was our Memorial Day tradition.'"

He adds, "We're doing everything we can to make it easier on the patrons."

And easier on the neighborhood businesses.

One of the goals for the new RiverFest has been to reduce its "footprint."

Daniels explains, "Riverfest's size had grown to a point where it became a challenge for everyone around them to be inside the Riverfest [bubble]."

They've worked closely with the Little Rock Police Department to keep as many streets open as possible to let businesses receive deliveries and customers as usual.

The festival's presence will also be less overwhelming for Little Rock residents looking for a relaxing time. It will be restricted to the amphitheater area and the Clinton Presidential Center's park. Other parts of Julius Breckling Riverfront Park will remain open, something Rice approves of.

"If you want to come use the Ozark Pavilion or the splash pad or the sculpture garden, those will never be closed off to the public," Rice says. "I think that's important."

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The music festival and the family-friendly festival aspects of the old Riverfest essentially divorced back in 2016, but Daniels says they wanted to bring the two back together, at least in part, by adding family activities to RiverFest.

During the day, families can come down and wander through the Ford Family Fun Zone, where Daniels anticipates there being 17-20 rides of varying thrill levels and height requirements. There will also be a magician and a strongman exhibition.

Of particular interest to many children, on Saturday morning, Skai Jackson from the Disney series Jessie and Bunk'd will meet fans, take photos and sign autographs.

"Which means nothing to some people," Daniels says. "For little ones, it's an opportunity to see someone they interact with. They couldn't care less about what band is coming, but she's in your house every single day."

To make things easier for families' wallets, there's a special admission for 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Through the Family Hours Special, tickets for children ages 5-12 are $5 and adult admission is free with each paid child ticket.

For all other times, there are multi-day passes for $50, $65 for unlimited re-entry. Single day tickets are $25-$30 plus fees, $10 for children 5-12.

Daniels says, "When you think about what it would be like to see a show at Verizon, for a day you get some high-caliber talent and still get to be outside with food options."

To try to ease some of the parking congestion, always a problem downtown, they've added an entrance over the Clinton Presidential Park Footbridge so people can park in North Little Rock and walk over. Organizers have worked with the parks and vendors on the north side to keep parking at $10.

They've also made an effort to keep vendor food and drink prices manageable, making a deal to sell 12-ounce beer cans for $4 instead of the more common festival price of $8.

"Our bottom line is we're going to try to give the best value we can," Daniels says. "People work hard for their money and we want people to come and have fun and have a few bucks left."

Speaking of bucks, another change is the elimination of the Riverbucks program, where patrons had to exchange regular currency for Riverbucks in order to buy food, drink and memorabilia from the vendors.

"We understand why the Riverbucks program made sense," Daniels explains. "However, we've found that when you remove having to stand in different lines just to purchase a meal and some drinks, to make it where you just walk up with cash, to have that is a really big deal for a lot of people."

There is one more tradition they're continuing: Friday night fireworks.*

The festival was always a local one. With a new, Memphis-based company running it, there can be some skepticism.

"We're aware you can get a perception of just an outside promoter coming in to pull a one-off," Daniels admits. "That is not our mission."

He points out that they're using local businesses wherever possible, including security, the sound company and many of the vendors.

Daniels says it may take a couple of years to really build up the audience base again. But he's adamant that the team is working hard to make things smooth and pleasing to patrons.

He says, "Come out and expect to have a good time and we'll do our best to show you one. ... If you're in town and you don't go, it really is your loss."

photo

(From Left to Right) Tracy Lawrence, Jamey Johnson, Skai Jackson, and Collin Raye are shown as part of a photo illustration for Riverfest 2018

photo

Kip Moore

Style on 05/22/2018

*CORRECTION: The RiverFest fireworks display is Friday night. A previous version of this story had an incorrect date.

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