This past weekend, April 22 to April 23, downtown Siloam Springs was packed full of people, small children and dogs from in town or all the way in Bentonville. They came to enjoy the sunshine, live music, over-priced corndogs and the smells of soap and cinnamon sugar pecans — admittedly, not a bad smell combination. The event was the annual Dogwood Festival: an event primarily consisting of fried fair food and vendors selling everything from hand-woven baskets, fancy soap, ornate metal decorations, jewelry, T-shirts, kids’ toys, knives and much more. Close to the park was a motorized bull ride, bouncy castle and a petting zoo!
AnnaStazia Sanchez from Bentonville came with two friends to the event on Saturday and said, “I was blown away by the vendors, family-friendly atmosphere and the blend of culture, art, food and music!” Sanchez said she enjoyed a variety of different foods, such as fried green tomatoes, slow-roasted barbeque brisket and homemade root beer. Yet, as filling and delicious as it all was, the real treat for her was the arts and crafts scene. “With hundreds of artists, exhibitors and vendors, I was able to purchase one-of-a-kind handmade items and gifts that I will cherish for years to come. I honestly can’t wait until next year’s festival!”
Locally, college students from John Brown University walked down the hill to enjoy the festivities as well. Adam Goff, member of the band Edgar Lee Island and a senior at JBU, said, “The best part about the festival is running into people I’ve grown up with gone to high school with and generally don’t see often. We all congregate to celebrate local artisans, and I think that’s pretty neat. I look forward to going every year!”
Michael Gabbert, leader in Golden Eagle Productions at JBU and YouTube sketch comedy channel “Error 404: Show Not Found,” was also at the Dogwood Festival. He described the festival as, “pure chaos with so much happening at once. Not a bad way to spend part of a weekend.”
Gabbert and his friend walked around seeing all the different vendors, occasionally bumping into friends along the way, and split a cinnamon sugar beaver tail. It is a bit of a struggle for college students to enjoy the plethora of fried food or take-home trinkets without excessive disposable income, but both Goff and Gabbert expressed their enjoyment at the festival and would happily go again next year. The joy came from the friends found along the way, and the beautiful chaos of it all.