RazorFest took place in Fayetteville on Saturday (April 20) and there was plenty to see and do. You’ll find the full writeup on the free, family-friendly event here. Meanwhile, please check out the following photos from the event.
 

FAYETTEVILLE, AR — The sun was shining, the booths were set up, and Lindsay Ferguson of Fayetteville thought Saturday was a fine day to take son Mason, 4, to RazorFest.The fun, free family event was sponsored by Abbott Nutrition, maker of EAS energy bars, and nonprofit Champions for Kids, an organization with a goal of alleviating child hunger.
“We came out just to get in the spirit of things, and see how the Razorbacks are going to do this year,” Lindsay Ferguson said, as she carried Mason up the hill near …

The Oklahoma Video Game Exhibition (OVGE) debuted in Tulsa in 2003 and it’s set coming again to that city on June 16.
The event, as always, will center on vintage video games, classic computers, standup arcade consoles from the golden age of arcades and even a pinball machine or two. Jesse Hardesty started the OVGE after noticing there were plenty of classic game expos on the East and West coasts and in Las Vegas, but few such gatherings in the southwest. Rather than waiting for someone to start an event dedicated …

For one day last week, I had the opportunity to be a college student again.  On Tuesday, I went to the campus of John Brown University (JBU) in Siloam Springs to attend chapel.  Why?  Well, last week was leadership week at JBU, and they invited Phil Vischer, the creator of Veggie Tales and Big Idea Productions, to come and speak to the students.  If you know me well, you know I’m a big fan of Veggie Tales – have been from the beginning when a tomato named Bob and a …

Yep!  The U of A has a hockey team.  It’s a club sport, but these guys are good!  They’re so good, in fact, that when I went to their game against Tulane Friday night, I found out that the Tulane team decided it was better to forfeit the game than play these guys.  I later heard that Tulane was planning to show up for Saturday night’s game or else they could get kicked out of the league.  Instead of disappointing their fans who showed up to see a hockey game, …

Benton will, once again, play host to the annual Spook City event on Saturday, Oct. 29.
What is Spook City? Simply put, it’s a chance for kids to put on costumes, play games, run wild and get free candy. It’s billed as a family-friendly event that thrives on the “lighter side” of Halloween and relies on the participation of area merchants. That’s right — all that free candy is largely provided by businesses in the city that set up booths and pass out treats for about three hours. Event organizers told …

Business leaders, students, and current and potential members of Toastmasters International could all benefit from the upcoming Natural State of Speech, the fall conference for District 43 of Toastmasters International.
The conference, Oct. 28-29 at the Holiday Inn Hotel Springdale in Springdale, is geared towards Toastmaster members but the public is welcome to participate. You do not have to sign up for the entire conference to participate.
“Along with the speech contests, the district conference offers many educational sessions that allow you to develop your communication and leadership skills,” said Isaac Gaona, …

Yes, the 2011 Saline County Fair is in the history books at this point, but we at First Arkansas News thought we’d share a few pictures, anyway.
The fair was held at the Saline County Fairgrounds in Benton (as usual) on Sept. 6-10. This year’s fair was a bit novel in that there were plans to replace the old Saline County Fairgrounds with a $55 million Fairplex. A 1-cent sales tax was needed to pay for the facility, but it was soundly defeated by voters in a special election in August …

This story is courtesy of the University of Arkansas Public Relations office and is used in its entirety.
University of Arkansas student Kelly Toner began going on missionary trips when she was 14. She found a new outlet for her passion to help people in other countries when she began planning her Honors College research requirement.
Toner, a senior in the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing, is developing an online volunteer orientation module for Midwives for Haiti. A short documentary describing the work by the organization based in Richmond, Va., will be …

Information courtesy of the University of Arkansas press release:
Waiting for Superman, an award-winning documentary examining the crisis of public education in America, will be screened 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 15 on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville as part of this year’s lecture series presented by the department of education reform. A panel discussion will follow.
Davis Guggenheim, who also directed An Inconvenient Truth, takes a comprehensive look at the nation’s education system and its failings in Waiting for Superman, while telling the stories of five families who …