Lara Hightower
NWA Democrat-Gazette
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Past articles by Lara:
Neighbors honor veteran who died
Cindy Weber recalled a neighbor knocked on her door when she moved to the 1700 block of Springdale’s Willard Street in 2002. → Read More
Nothing New Here - ‘Fall’ in love with vintage at the Junk Ranch
The Junk Ranch is arguably Northwest Arkansas' largest indoor/outdoor flea market, and co-founders Julie Speed and Amy Daniels say the autumn event starting Oct. 5 will be an extravaganza. → Read More
Conservation Day Remembers Past, Looks To Future
The Compton Gardens and Conference Center in Bentonville will celebrate its mission of environmental stewardship today as it hosts Compton Conservation Day from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. → Read More
Maker's Space Making music for others
"Everything down to the color scheme and the books on the wall swaddle you like a ... goose down comforter. There's plenty of space to think and lots of different places to work. It is not a temple to beer and debauchery or a place piled high with gear or a slick, big, empty room. It's a place where the coffee is strong, and the cats are soft." → Read More
Backstage Hero
At about 6:15 p.m. during a Thursday evening in May, the crew of TheatreSquared's production of The Hound of the Baskervilles were bustling around Nadine Baum Studios at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, readying the space for the 7:30 p.m. show time. Props were checked , seats were de-linted, floors were swept -- and dozens of feet above the stage, the footfalls of Shannon Jones, the… → Read More
Junie's B.'s Simple Lessons
Arts Live's latest show, "Junie B. Jones Is Not a Crook," stars one of the spunkiest characters in children's fiction. In 1992, when Junie B. appeared in the first of what would become author Barbara Park's 32-book series, she was a confident, smart kindergartner. Over the next 21 years, pint-sized fans would celebrate a variety of trials and tribulations with Junie B. that included losing her… → Read More
Anthony Wappel
"Tony is one of the most important figures we've ever had when it comes to the knowledge and preservation of our local history," says author J.B. Hogan of his friend and collaborator, Tony Wappel. Wappel is the author of three books about Fayetteville history -- Once Upon Dickson, On the Avenue and The Square Book -- and is the archivist records manager for Washington County. There are probably… → Read More
Summer Fun Ready To Flower
As a kid, having three months of lazy summer days stretching out in front of you is a dream. For parents, though, summer can be something of a nightmare as they fight their kids' attempts to spend the days lounging on the couch with their electronics. Finding quality activities to fill the long days is a bit easier given Northwest Arkansas' plethora of youth organizations; our list just the tip… → Read More
Bentonville Film Festival
NWADG.com is the premier digital source for news in Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville and surrounding areas in Northwest Arkansas. Featuring content from the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. → Read More
Willi Carlisle
Willi Carlisle is a man of contradictions. → Read More
Five Minutes, Five Questions Author Colson Whitehead
Author Colson Whitehead burst on the scene in 1999 with his novel "The Intuitionist," a New York Times Notable Book that Kirkus Review called "a dizzyingly-high-concept debut of genuine originality" and a "deftly plotted mystery and quest tale that's also a teasing intellectual adventure." Since then, he's written six other books, including "The Underground Railroad," the winner of the 2016… → Read More
PROFILE: Life experiences lead to empathy
There is a particular energy that is sourced working side-by-side with teenagers, says Teen Action Support Center's executive director Madi Hutson. Take TASC's recently opened space on Emma Avenue in downtown Springdale called "The Station." This innovative "teen collaboratory" serves as a hub for Washington County teenagers as TASC works with partners like the Artist's Laboratory Theatre, Tech… → Read More
PROFILE: Welcome home, world traveler
Monika Fischer-Massie, executive director of Welcome Health, Northwest Arkansas' first free health clinic, was born in a town named Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Good luck pronouncing that, though it rolls easily off of Fischer-Massie's tongue, accompanied by her soft German accent. The small town -- population approximately 27,000 -- is located in Bavaria, Germany, in the Alps on the Austrian border.… → Read More
Maker's Space Maker's Space: Artist Kat Wilson explodes with ideas
You must drink your morning coffee to have a conversation with Kat Wilson. The celebrated visual artist is perpetually firing on all pistons, and her ideas -- which come fast and furious -- are fantastical and complex. → Read More
COVER STORY: 'A Little Bit Of Everything'
The mood was high on March 11 at Fresco Restaurant, right off the square, as Fayetteville's TheatreSquared celebrated the announcement of its 2018-19 season with donors. And why wouldn't it be? The theater will move into its 13th season with a momentum few regional theaters ever imagine reaching. If those in attendance at the festivities were to walk a mere three or four blocks west, they would… → Read More
Artists, Arise
On March 27, a new round of artists will begin their studies in Arts Center of the Ozarks' Artist INC -- an eight-week program designed to help artists think of themselves as entrepreneurs in order to move their work to the next level. ACO is in its second year of a three-year stint with the program that originated in Kansas City and was developed by the Mid-America Arts Alliance. → Read More
Guinzio's Poetry Is For The Birds
Poet Carolyn Guinzio was so taken with a family of crows that live near her home in Fayetteville, she dedicated her fifth book of poetry, "Ozark Crows," to the subject. The collection includes 70 poems written from a bird's eye view. A multimedia event in honor of the release will be held Thursday at Stage 18. → Read More
NWA Fab Lab Lets Creativity Run Wild
Thanks to the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, makers across Northwest Arkansas have a space -- with commercial-grade equipment -- to encourage their tinkering. The NWA Fab Lab is 5,000-plus square feet of innovation and welcomes intrepid inventors, hobbyists and artists with open arms. → Read More
'Puppet Slam' First of Its Kind in NWA
The Art Experience in Fayetteville, a nonprofit art therapy organization, hopes they will be starting a new tradition when they host a "Puppet Slam" at 7 p.m. March 24. → Read More
Find it on Facebook
It’s almost spring — don’t be surprised if you’re suddenly struck with wanderlust or just an urge to get out of the house you feel you’ve been cooped up in all winter. The first symptom of wanderlust? The tendency to ask questions like these: Whose happy hour features a band in Fayetteville tonight? Where’s the best vantage point to watch the sun set in Northwest Arkansas? What Arkansas site… → Read More