Rural and urban will collide in fun fashion as the Downtown Little Rock Partnership and the Arkansas Rice Federation present Downtown on the Farm on Sunday.
Lauren Waldrip, executive director of Arkansas Rice, explains, "The intent of the event is to make agriculture more accessible to folks who maybe don't get to see what life is like on a farm."
Downtown on the Farm
Noon-6 p.m. Sunday,
River Market pavilions, Little Rock
Free admission
So, they're bringing the farm to the big city.
As Waldrip says, "Agriculture is the state's number one industry, so that certainly is something we want folks to know about."
There will be dozens of booths providing information and Arkansas-made and -grown products for sale as well as chances for visitors to chat with farmers about their farming methods, conservation efforts and the work that goes into producing the state's food.
To even further explore the farm-to-table loop, eight local restaurants including @ the Corner, Samantha's Tap Room & Wood Grill and the Capital Hotel will be on hand providing small bites for the first three hours of the event.
They've got a lot of other activities planned. There will be musical performances by Adam Hambrick, Bonnie Montgomery, The Going Jessies and Rodney Block.
Kids can dig for trinkets and treasures in the corn dig or take a turn in the bounce houses. At the pumpkin patch, children can pick their own pumpkin and then paint it. Or they can get their own faces decorated at the face-painting station before hopping in the photo booth or taking a photo with pieces of farm equipment.
For the adults only, there will be a beer garden.
Tusk, the Razorback mascot, will make an appearance and for some real-life animal experiences, there will be a petting zoo and a farm animal exhibit where they hope a few chicks will be hatching.
And everyone can try their hands at dairy farming at the cow milking simulation station.
"The cow is fake but the milking is real."
The event has been a couple of years in the planning, a way to encourage farmers to come into the city and for city dwellers to learn more about agriculture and celebrate the work of the farmers.
"We planned it at the end of October on purpose because that correlates with harvest," Waldrip says. "The thought was for it to be sort of a celebration of harvest."
Everything is free, and, Waldrip points out, it's on a Sunday afternoon. So it's not competing with other events or college football.
"There's not a reason not to come."
Weekend on 10/24/2019