Fayetteville has a farmer’s market every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday for those who love to shop fresh produce, get popsicles, and see lots of dogs! Fayetteville also has many local food vendors, such as local restaurants, taquerias, and food trucks. There are plenty of funky coffee shops and we even have a place for tea drinkers! There is a great local brewery scene, a cidery, and local beer celebrations! Fayetteville is very pet friendly, with lots of events for dogs and lots of dog parks.

There is also a big music scene, with lots of local bands and opportunities to see live music. The Walmart Amphitheater is a 30-minute drive from downtown Fayetteville. Many big-name artists play at the Amphitheater, including Ke$ha, Rascal Flats, Florida Georgia Line, Chris Stapleton, Nelly, Flo Rida, Macklemore, Korn, Chappell Roan, Benson Boone, and Godsmack. The amphitheater also hosts symphonies, shows, and you can go there for the 4th  of July to watch the fireworks put on by Walmart!

There are a plethora of outdoors activities in the area as well. Fayetteville has many bike trails (some developed by the Walmart founders, so they are high quality bike parts; we also have a paved bike trail that goes from Fayetteville to Bentonville), indoor rock climbing and outdoor rock climbing, hiking trails (we are in the end of the Ozark Mountains, there are lots of sights to see including Hawk’s Bill Craig), kayaking or rafting on nearby rivers and lakes, as well as great fishing!

If you have children, there are great schools and lots of activities and extracurricular activities put on by the town. There are also a lot of cultural events and opportunities, including the Cinco de Mayo cultural festival (an event put on the by Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas), and events promoted by Black-Owned NWA.

People from larger places or more populated states are often concerned about the amount of things to do in Arkansas or the amount of opportunities, but in Fayetteville (and the surrounding towns of Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville) there are so many activities (both indoor and outdoor) for all interests and lots of clinical and research opportunities. Fayetteville, Springdale, and Rogers are also diverse, including racial/ethnic, political, and religious diversity. Learn more about the diversity of Northwest Arkansas here.

Sports! We are home of the minor league baseball team, the “Naturals.” You can also see all the of Razorback games as a student (might have to pay for football games). There is also an upcoming Ozark United soccer team that is coming to Northwest Arkansas.

Fayetteville is close to surrounding states and a ‘short’ drive to Tulsa, Little Rock, and Kansas City are nearby (within 3 hours) as well as Dallas (about 5 hours). Fayetteville has a local airport (XNA), which is increasing the number of flights to popular areas (meaning cheaper flights!).