Riverfest revelers weather storm

Rains dampen but don’t douse final day of festivities

Destiny Goubourn, 3, gets a lift from her sister, Imani Baldwin, 12, so she can reach a prize held by Kenneth Jones, dressed as Gator the Clown, after Destiny made a basket Sunday afternoon at Riverfest in Little Rock.
Destiny Goubourn, 3, gets a lift from her sister, Imani Baldwin, 12, so she can reach a prize held by Kenneth Jones, dressed as Gator the Clown, after Destiny made a basket Sunday afternoon at Riverfest in Little Rock.

A thin crowd of festivalgoers weaved among food and merchandise vendors at Riverfest in Little Rock on Sunday afternoon, shortly before rain hit central Arkansas.

photo

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

People in North Little Rock’s Riverfront Park watch fireworks light up the sky over the Arkansas River as Riverfest draws to a close Sunday night in Little Rock. Despite a brief late-afternoon downpour, the music and other festival activities went on as scheduled.

photo

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Brian Hall of Danville watches his dog, Charlie, jump Sunday as they compete in the Super Retriever Series at Riverfest in Little Rock.

After a brief downpour just after 4 p.m., the last day of the 38th Riverfest continued as scheduled. Earlier in the day, meteorologists were calling for severe thunderstorms and warned of high wind gusts and potential flash flooding for most of the state.

"Our fingers are still crossed," festival Chairman Drew Lott said early in the afternoon.

Kelley Bass, a festival spokesman, said attendees packed into bars and restaurants in the River Market District during the rain. There was some concern that performances would be delayed or canceled, he said.

"We've gotten a lot of calls," Bass said. "People want to come out and see Sam Hunt or Jake Owen tonight, and they're calling to make sure it's still on. I'm telling them, 'Yes it is.'"

Thunderstorms left the area later Sunday, and the festival's top performers took the stage.

About 8 p.m., Riverfest organizers posted to social media, saying, "All concerts are ON, fireworks are ON and the weather feels great."

The Boyer family, from Conway, had a full day at Riverfest before the rain started to fall.

Brandon and Dana Boyer's 5-year-old daughter, Avery, had her face painted, and along with their 8-year-old son, Brandon, they snacked and watched a tumbling performance and a dog stunt show.

The family was headed to the children's area at the east end of the festival Sunday afternoon, and they said they hoped to end the night with fireworks, which started at 9 p.m.

Dana Boyer said she was "not really" worried about the forecast and that the family was taking advantage of the smaller crowd.

"It's been kind of nice because there's not a lot of people out," she said.

Lott said it was "hard to pinpoint" how many people had purchased tickets by late Sunday afternoon. Overall, he said, it was "going great."

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Sunday that attendance was in line with last year's. People from 28 states purchased tickets for the three-day festival, the report states, and there had been about 230,000 turns at the gate.

Lott credited cooler weather Friday and Saturday for high attendance, and he was optimistic that performances Sunday night would bring out the biggest crowds.

Besides Jake Owen and Sam Hunt, the night's headliners included Girl Talk, Big K.R.I.T., Galactic featuring Macy Gray, George Porter Jr. & His Runnin' Pardners, and Hot Buttered Rum.

"This is our biggest lineup, right here," Lott said. "We're expecting a very, very large day today."

Metro on 05/25/2015

Upcoming Events