Artosphere returns to Northwest Arkansas

Walton Arts Center proudly presents the 7th Annual Artosphere Festival — Arkansas’ Arts and Nature Festival — May 10-27, 2016. Featuring both free and ticketed kids and family events, music performances and more at locations throughout Northwest Arkansas, Artosphere celebrates artists influenced by nature and provides a creative framework to discuss issues of sustainability.

A highlight of the festival is the annual Trail Mix weekend, and this year’s event is bigger and better than ever! Capturing the very essence of Artosphere, Trail Mix is a time of music, hiking and biking along local trails and the Razorback Regional Greenway. Creating a one-of-a-kind musical and outdoor experience, audiences hike or bike between stages while enjoying performances by bands from across the country. On Saturday, May 14, enjoy a full day of free programs along the Razorback Regional Greenway, from the Fayetteville to Bentonville town squares and many points in between – this festive event will also mark the one-year anniversary of the Razorback Greenway opening. And on Sunday, May 15, the Trail Mix fun comes to the Frisco Trail in downtown Fayetteville.

Another festival highlight is the Artosphere Festival Orchestra (AFO). Now in its sixth year and comprised of more than 90 musicians from prestigious ensembles, orchestras and music programs around the world, the AFO will once again gather in the Ozarks for a professional music-making experience unique to Artosphere.

Performing under the baton of internationally acclaimed Music Director Corrado Rovaris, the orchestra will present three concerts: the opening Russian Masterworks performance on May 21 showcasing works by Mussorgsky and Rachmaninoff, featuring renowned pianist Benedetto Lupo (tickets $10); the Heroic Beethoven concert on May 24 presenting two works by Beethoven, complemented by the American debut of Impetus by Daniel Schnyder featuring the Dover Quartet (tickets $10); and the ever-popular Live from Crystal Bridges: Mozart in the Museum concert on May 27 featuring AFO musicians and soprano soloist Deanna Breiwick performing a program of Mozart concert arias and early Mozart symphonies, which will be broadcast live on KUAF 91.3 FM Public Radio. The May 21 and May 24 concerts take place at Walton Arts Center’s Baum Walker Hall.

Other 2016 Artosphere Festival Highlights:

Artosphere Chapel Music Series
Locations throughout Northwest Arkansas
May 10, 16, 18, 20 (times and locations vary)
Tickets: $10

Listen to exquisite music played in local churches and architectural marvels like St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Fayetteville and the E. Fay Jones designed Mildred B. Cooper Chapel in Bella Vista. This year’s Chapel Series lineup includes vocalist/ukulelist Paula Fuga, bluegrass band The Barefoot Movement, and two renowned string quartets, the Dover Quartet and the Aizuri Quartet.

SPIN
Starr Theater, Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville
Thursday, May 12, 7pm & Friday, May 13, 8pm
Tickets: $8

Part indie music concert, part performance poetry, part history lesson, SPIN celebrates the bicycle as muse, musical instrument and agent of social change. Inspired by the incredible true story of the first woman to ride around the world on a bicycle, SPIN features a vintage bike hooked up to simple electronics and played as a brilliant accompaniment to the magnetic songs and monologues at the heart of this performance.

Circa’s Carnival of the Animals
Baum Walker Hall, Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville
Friday, May 13, 2pm & 7pm
Tickets: $10-25

The wondrous world of the animal kingdom comes to life when the Circa Carnival comes to town! With whimsical tales of creatures of land and sea who tumble, fly, leap and spin, Carnival of the Animals will whisk you away on a thrilling circus escapade, with the antics of performers set to a moving backdrop with animated visuals that create the feeling of being in a larger-than-life story book.

Plus, much more!

For a complete festival event listing, visit artospherefestival.org.