Photos: Beginnings of Riverfest
We were at Murray Park for the first 3 years of Riverfest (1978-1981
Photo of Riverfest in 1983
After moving from Murray Park, the festival utilized Markham (in front of Robinson Auditorium) for one year before moving into Riverfront Park.
Photo of Riverfest 1986
Riverfront Park (west of Junction Bridge)
Photo of Riverfest today – entertaining over 250,000 people
Riverfest is a celebration of visual and performing arts that is held annually over Memorial Day weekend on the banks of the Arkansas River in Little Rock and North Little Rock. Riverfest is the largest single event in the state of Arkansas with a rich 36-year tradition. Approximately 250,000 festival-goers attended the 2012 event, with an estimated economic impact of $33 million on the community.
Riverfest, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has enjoyed tremendous success for the last 35 consecutive years and has been a leader in the redevelopment of downtown Little Rock. Riverfest has donated nearly $1,000,000 to various projects in the riverfront and downtown areas, including our latest contribution of $100,000 to the La Petite Roche Plaza. Riverfest is an incredible, family-affordable entertainment value that delivers impact to its sponsors and festival-goers.
Riverfest began in August 1978 when the Junior League of Little Rock had the opportunity to bring the American Wind Symphony to Little Rock. The event was called The Summer Arts Festival and was held in Murray Park, with various activities built around the Wind Symphony’s performance.
The Summer Arts Festival was such a success that it was decided to have a similar event the next year. The date was changed to Memorial Day Weekend, the name was changed to Riverfest, and the current logo was adopted. It was also at this point that Riverfest, Inc., a non-profit organization with a Board of Directors, was formed to operate the festival, with the Junior League of Little Rock committing to provide primary volunteer support.
In 1982 after outgrowing Murray Park, Riverfest moved downtown and the festival was held on the Convention Center Plaza along Markham Street. The following year, in 1983, Riverfest moved to its permanent home in Julius Breckling Riverfront Park and over 100,000 people attended the festival that year. As Riverfest grew and developed, a need for permanent staff arose and in 1987, a full-time Executive Director was hired.
Riverfest has continued to grow and expand along the banks of the Arkansas River in Julius Breckling Riverfront Park and an expansion to the North Shore Riverwalk in 2002. The festival continues to offer new and unique opportunities for festival-goers while playing a vital role as an organization helping the cities of Little Rock and North Little Rock work together to make Arkansas a better place to live and work.
Today, Riverfest’s Board of Directors has standing positions from the Junior League of Little Rock, the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, the City of Little Rock Department of Parks and Recreation, the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Downtown Partnership, the North Little Rock Advertising and Promotion Commission, and the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce. There is also an Executive Committee, fifteen at-large positions, and four ex-officio positions. In addition to the Executive Director, Riverfest has four other full and part-time staff members working year-round to effectively plan and produce the festival and an outstanding volunteer festival committee of 170.
The mission of Riverfest is to produce a quality, recreational, cultural, educational, family-oriented celebration of the visual and performing arts for the benefit of the community. Riverfest and quality will always be synonymous. From offering an outstanding children’s area where every activity is free to the participant, to an area focusing on young teens, to ArtZone where art classes are offered to the young (and young at heart), to the International Village where festival-goers can travel the world, to numerous special attractions, events and family oriented activities, there is something for everyone.
Riverfest is unmatched in entertainment. A wide variety of entertainment has always been presented. From the Arkansas Arts Center’s Tell-a-Tale Troupe to the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, festival-goers have been treated to some of the best-known names in music: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Snoop Dog, Boyz II Men, Neon Trees, Third Eye Blind, Staind, MuteMath, Gov’t, Mule, B.O.B., Little Big Town, Joe Walsh, Al Green, ZZ Top, B.B. King, Blues Traveler, Brad Paisley, , Jason Aldean, Heart, Hinder, Cheap Trick, Collective Soul, Diamond Rio, Don McLean, Everclear, Hank Williams, Jr., Hootie & the Blowfish, James Brown, Lifehouse, Live, Los Lobos, Loverboy, Mark Wills, Arrested Development, Morris Day and the Time, Better Than Ezra, Blake Shelton, Chaka Khan, Huey Lewis & the News, Nickel Creek, Pat Green, REO Speedwagon, George Clinton & The P-Funk Allstars, Rick James, Run DMC, Gym Class Heroes, Dwight Yoakam, Keb Mo, Styx, Switchfoot, The Black Crowes, LL Cool J, Pat Benatar, Pat Green, The Doobie Brothers, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The Gap Band, Robert Earl Keen, The Neville Brothers, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Ruben Studdard, The Wallflowers, Carrie Underwood, Train, Trapt, Miranda Lambert, Uncle Kracker, Earth Wind & Fire, Heart, The Steve Miller Band, REO Speedwagon, Ludacris, Jason Aldean, David Nail, Nelly, Widespread Panic, Barenaked Ladies & Blue October. The 2013 line-up is shaping up to be one of the best yet!
Sponsors are the life-blood of Riverfest and help turn the planning into reality. From large corporate donors who sponsor the fireworks, to private individuals who sponsor craft activities in the children’s area, to local police, fire, and city agencies who donate many man-hours, Riverfest enjoys the support of the entire community.
Finally, and most important, no description of Riverfest would be complete without recognizing the thousands of volunteers who staff each festival, and the volunteers who work all year long to plan and administer Riverfest. From all over the community, people donate their time and talents to present Riverfest – a fun, exciting, wonderful gift for all to enjoy.
VOLUNTEER COMMITTEE
Riverfest would like to thank this tremendous group of volunteer committee members who work tirelessly year-round planning this great event. The festival would not be possible without all of your hard work and dedication!
| FESTIVAL CHAIRMAN Jody Veit-Edrington |
FESTIVAL CO-CHAIRMAN Krista Kirksey-Thomas |
| ADMISSIONS Jason McDonald, Rich McCauley, Tess Welch, Stephen Long, Anne Jones, Lynn Ashley, Christy Ashley, Charles Lyford, Rhea Roberts, Emily Eley, Justin Gatlin, Gina Shafer, Chris Grimmett, Gina Shafer, Lauren Jarratt, Amanda Legate, Bryan Griffith, Jennifer Welch, Jessica DaleyCOMMITTEE HOSPITALITY Claire Wetzel, Brandi Allen, Kevin Cates, Brenda & Paul MajorsCOMMUNICATIONS Chris Krablin, Jay Meeks, Shannon Ellington |
BANNERS & SIGNAGE Ed PriceBEVERAGE Mitch Wine, Drew Lott,Keri Thomas, Jacob Ponder, Craig Parsons, Damian Hicks, Andrew Crone, Chad Brown, DeShawn RobinsonGO GREEN/RECYCLING Robert Robinette, Jeremy Hinton, Ben Kent, Ev Kent, Randall Robinette, Matthew Suffern, Stephanie ConradFOOD Karl Freeman, Denise White, Angela Colclasure, Sharon Smith |
| GROUNDS Kirk Jones, Kirk Hogue, Barrett Dudley, Mike Castleberry, Bayly Eley, Justin Blagg, Yousef Fahoum, Rick Sugg, Mike Stevenson, Eric UnderwoodLOGISTICS Ashley Parker, Lydia Bemberg, Bobby Bemberg, Angie JohnsonLOGISTICS PHOTOGRAPHER John Antle |
INFORMATION Sue Bemberg, Amanda Moore, Becky Moore, Jemi Ann Hall, Tonya Choate, Taylor GreenleeINTERNATIONAL VILLAGE Krystie Bailey, Tara Davis, Sylvester L. Davis, Nichole McGeorge, Macey Aldridge Worsham, Sara Leader |
| MERCHANDISE Lori Bain, Megan Hart, Laura Aday |
KIDZONE Antionette Atkins, Catherine Cole, Keri Hunt, Lizzy Chandler, Whitnie Hall |
| MEDIA RELATIONS Stacey Hall, Leigh Anne Jewart, April Campbell, Tiffani Butler, Bill Puckett, Chris White, Kelley Bass, Ashli Ahrens |
MERCHANT/ VENDOR RELATIONS Cindy Harris, Amy Jones, Beth Nilles |
| PARKS/CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CENTERDebbie Shock | PARKS/LITTLE ROCK Phoebe Stephens, Bill Craig, Jackie Collins, Robbie Hudson, Chase Hawkins |
| RIVERBANKS Kathy Hester, Ervin Brendel, Holly Elloitt, Karen Hicks, Cathy Doan, Ann Dozier, Manley Dillon, Jana Veit, Tyler Woods, Mark Collins, Korey Malloy, Jennifer Kelly-Santee, Chris Santee, Blake Cobb, David Arnold, Jennifer Owens, Lisa Nichols |
ROVERS Kathi Stoyanov, Marsha ClevengerRIVERFRONT PARK/NORTH LITTLE ROCK Shannon Harris |
| ROCK ‘N STROLL 5K Katie McManners, Scott Gann, Steve Bentley, John Alston, Larry Gilliam, Cindy Henry |
SECURITY Shay Matyja, Joey Korte, Mike Bain, Dennis Mitchell, Craig Hill, Clark Halfacre, Andy Traffanstedt, Andy Goldthorpe, Ken Ekensear, Roger Jones, Dwayne Yarborough, Ken Ekenseair, Greg Thompson, Janie Brown |
| SPONSOR PAVILION Jennifer McConnser, Tina Chandler, Fred Osborne, Hedi Hemenway, Sarah Fritschie, Cheryl Campbell, Pricilla Backus, Jo Fortune |
SPONSOR RELATIONS
Jarrod Johnson, Nikolai Dipippa, Kati Andersen, Alecia Castleberry |
| STICKYZ MUSIC TENT Corey Gilmore, Lindsey Eaves, Timur Celikel, Justin Bentley, Stephen Roach, Jesse Russell |
AMPHITHEATRE STAGE Kasi Jones, Bob Henry, Courtney Calhoun, Jerry Rye |
| BUD LIGHT STAGE Mahlon Maris |
FAMILY STAGE Sunny Matuszyk, Sarah Bernhardt |
| KIDZONE STAGE Melissa Ortega, Mike Ortega |
TRANSPORTATION Dave Hare, Jessica McSpadden, Barrett Rogers, Casper Nehus, Chris Minor |
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TREASURY Aaron Reed, Courtney Swindler, Terri Cohen, Kim Berry, Jeremy Cobb, Marc Sherman, Kathy Thorton, Susanne Stabnick, Cindy Choisser, Sharon Turner, Deidre Metrailer, Andrew Swindler VOLUNTEERS MAP MAN |
WRISTBANDS Brent Skrodenis, Leslie Traweek, Robbie Traweek, Ricki Smith, Sam Smith, Martin Marler, Lisa Marler, William Hughes, Matt Ross, Garret Ferguson, Josh Billis, Alicia Billis, Emily Garza, Samantha Bogard, Eric Fritschie, Lawrence Rosser WEBSITE ZONE CAPTAINS |
RIVERFEST BOARD
The Riverfest Board is an advisory group made of of business and community leaders from the Little Rock and North Little Rock areas. They work closely with the Riverfest, Inc. staff to oversee the business and management of the festival.
| CHAIRMAN Cheddy Wigginton |
VICE CHAIRMAN Rob Bell |
| PRESIDENT Jody Veit-Edrington |
VICE PRESIDENT Krista Kirksey-Thomas |
| SECRETARY/TREASURER Aaron Reed, CPA |
ASSISTANT TREASURER Jeremy Cobb |
| ADVERTISING AGENCY Rob Bell |
JUNIOR LEAGUE OF LITTLE ROCK Ashley Parker |
| LITTLE ROCK CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU Jim Rice |
LITTLE ROCK PARKS DEPT. Truman Tolefree, Phoebe Stephens |
| LR REGIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Kathy Hester |
NLR ADVERTISING & PROMOTION COMMISSION Shannon Harris |
| NORTH LITTLE ROCK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Terry Hartwick |
PAST BOARD CHAIRMAN Jordan Johnson |
| PAST BOARD PRESIDENT Angie Johnson |
DOWNTOWN LITTLE ROCK PARTNERSHIP Chellie Castellanos |
| MEMBERS AT LARGE Heather Allmendinger, Stephen Bentley, Shayla Copas, Kelley Bass, John Hathaway, Brent Morgan,Tim Pickering, Art Kellam, Chris Thomas, Keith Nigro, Mike Castleberry, Daniel Robinson, Bill Cobb, Courtney Swindler |
EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS Jim Sick, Barry Simon, Barry Travis, DeAnna Korte, Executive DirectorOF COUNSEL Sam Baxter, Andy Vines |