Advertise on podcast: A New American Town - Bentonville, Arkansas

Champagne has a reputation for being pricey, precious, and a little intimidating, so we invited someone who loves it enough to build a whole place around fixing that. Chef Aaron Walters joins us from Muselat in Bentonville, Arkansas, a Champagne bar and kitchen designed to make sparkling wine feel welcoming, easy to explore, and genuinely fun, whether you’re a die-hard bubbles fan or someone who usually orders Prosecco. Aaron shares the logic behind some of his favorite food pairings, including the unbeatable Champagne and fried chicken combo, plus rotating menu creativity like truffle-forward dishes, gluten-free breading that stays crispy, and even Korean-style rabbit “wings.” We also discuss Muselet favorites like their smash Burger Mondays with global inspiration, and the origin story behind the name “Muselet."  Subscribe, share this with a friend who “doesn’t get Champagne,” and leave us a review with your favorite unexpected pairing. A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.   You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, CastBox, Podcast Casts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Podcast Addict.

We sat down with Executive chef, Dennis Kelley to discuss how Written By the Seasons utilizes the local Farmers Market to create a seasonal menu.  We discuss how they build relationships with local farmers and how they get to taste what is growing to make sure it’s something that they actually want to use. A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.   You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, CastBox, Podcast Casts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Podcast Addict.

Mountain Bike Hall of Famer and longtime event voice Nat Ross joins us to explain what sets Northwest Arkansas apart from other cycling destinations, from its trail network and easy access points to a welcoming community that makes it simple for first-timers, families, and seasoned riders to jump in. We also dig into fall travel and BikeTober, including the Square To Square ride on the Razorback Greenway, the Arkansas High Country Race, and Big Sugar Week, plus junior development and the growing economic impact of cycling in Bentonville. Curious about mountain biking or gravel cycling in Northwest Arkansas? Hit play, then subscribe, share, and leave a review. A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.   You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, CastBox, Podcast Casts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Podcast Addict.

We met with Arkansas High Country's race director, Chuck Campbell, to discuss the upcoming race. We talked about what the race is and what it entails.   Beyond the race, we discussed how more women are participating than ever. Through Women to the Finish Line, they are providing mentorship and making positive changes to the race this year.  A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.   You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, CastBox, Podcast Casts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Podcast Addict.

We sat down with the CEOs of Experience Fayetteville, Ryan Hauck, and Visit Bentonville, Kalene Griffith, to talk about their most recent partnership with Wheel the World to become more accessible, friendly cities.  Wheel the World does not just focus on being ADA-compliant but also highlights what local hotels and restaurants are doing well in accommodating not just travelers with physical disabilities, but also sensory needs as well.  A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.   You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, CastBox, Podcast Casts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Podcast Addict.

We sat down with Marcus Wirsig of Ari Bikes and talked about how Ari Bikes focuses on making the bike-buying experience personalized and customized. Not only does Ari have a customer-first model, but they are also focused on being involved in the local biking community.  A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.   You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, CastBox, Podcast Casts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Podcast Addict.

We sat down with Austen Bailly to discuss reimagining the permanent collection as a thematic experience, mixing time periods and media to tell the story of American art. Austen shares why integration matters, why "this place is for you," and how a piece like "Two Grey Hills" connects art, family, and economics into one story. She also explains how the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art continues to focus on making art accessible to all. A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.   You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, CastBox, Podcast Casts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Podcast Addict.

We sit down with David Wright from Bentonville Parks and Recreation to unpack how Bentonville, Arkansas has evolved from a place people moved to for corporate work into a destination built around outdoor recreation, arts, leisure, and real community connection. We dig into the big idea that public spaces are more than parks and trails. They are community infrastructure. David explains how intentional placemaking turns a town’s personality into something bigger than a single downtown square, and why that matters in a fast-growing city. Then we talk about how the goal of Gateway Park is to create a connected experience across multiple parks without forcing people to drive from spot to spot. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves great public spaces, and leave a review with your favorite park feature you wish every city had. A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.   You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, CastBox, Podcast Casts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Podcast Addict.

A 40-mile paved trail sounds simple until you ask the real question: how do seven cities agree on a shared vision, find the money, close the gaps, and keep improving it year after year? We sit down with Tim Conklin, Executive Director of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission, to unpack how the Razorback Greenway became the critical artery for biking, walking, rolling, and exploring Northwest Arkansas. We get specific about the forces that made it possible: regional collaboration in the 2000s, a $15 million federal TIGER grant, and major matching support from the Walton Family Foundation. Tim explains how those investments helped connect Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville into a world-class trail system and why the Razorback Greenway Alliance matters for long-term maintenance, wayfinding upgrades, and future improvements like potential lighting. Then we look forward. The Razorback Greenway corridor plan shifts the conversation from “we built a trail” to “what happens along the trail.” We talk creek corridor protection, rewilding for shade and habitat, smarter stormwater approaches, safer commuter bike networks, complete streets, and how new neighborhoods can grow around an active transportation spine without losing the open spaces that define the region. If you care about bike infrastructure, trail tourism, transportation choice, or how fast-growing communities can plan better, this one is for you. Subscribe for more stories shaping Bentonville and Northwest Arkansas, share this with a friend who loves the Greenway, and leave a review telling us what upgrade you want to see next. A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.   You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, CastBox, Podcast Casts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Podcast Addict.

Bentonville’s food scene didn’t get great by accident. We’re joined by Marshall Shafkowitz, Executive Director of Brightwater, to explain how Northwest Arkansas is building culinary and hospitality careers that actually meet the moment. We talk about why Brightwater is intentionally called a Center for the Study of Food rather than a traditional culinary school. The mission is bigger than teaching someone to cut, chop, and plate. Marshall breaks down Brightwater’s three pillars, food as business, food as art, and food as wellness, and how they connect to the local food system. Farmers, ranchers, distributors, restaurateurs, grocers, and customers are usually separate conversations, but Brightwater trains students to link them, understand where food comes from, and make purchasing choices that strengthen the local economy and reduce waste and carbon footprint. You’ll also hear who Brightwater serves, from high school students to learners in their 80s, plus short workforce development programs for people who want job-ready skills without a degree. We get into what “teaching the whole person” looks like in a kitchen classroom, why instructors stay industry relevant, and how Brightwater graduates quietly shape the visitor experience across Bentonville restaurants. If you want a reason to stop by, Marshall shares how the doors are open at A Street Market, with an art-filled campus vibe, outdoor spaces, and a student-run retail butcher shop with Burger Friday. Subscribe for more conversations with the people shaping Northwest Arkansas, share this with a friend who loves food and community, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.   You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, CastBox, Podcast Casts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Podcast Addict.

You’ve walked a thousand grocery aisles, but you’ve never walked one like this. We sit down with artist Lucy Sparrow, creator of The Beginning of Convenience at the Momentary in Bentonville, Arkansas, an immersive felt art installation where every shelf, freezer door, and product is handmade fabric sculpture. It’s a full supermarket world built from softness, color, and obsessive detail, and it hits that rare sweet spot of playful, uncanny, and deeply familiar. We talk about why consumer products and retail spaces became Lucy’s creative language, rooted in her own years working in shops and supermarkets. Then we zoom out to the bigger story: how “convenience” culture evolved between 1975 and 1995, as households and priorities changed and quick meals became a defining part of daily life. Along the way, we get into the power of nostalgia, why older packaging design still triggers memories, and how felt brings a childlike wonder that you can’t get from a purely realistic replica. You’ll also hear what it takes to build a museum-scale installation with over 20,000 pieces, from floor plans and color schemes to the spreadsheet-level planning behind each handcrafted item. Lucy shares details from her Walmart archives research, the sensory choices that make the space feel like a real store, and the hidden Easter eggs that keep repeat visits interesting. The exhibit is free to enter and stays up for a year, making it an easy, welcoming stop for locals and visitors alike. If you enjoy immersive museum exhibits, contemporary textile art, or the weird comfort of retail nostalgia, hit subscribe, share this with a friend who loves Bentonville, and leave us a review with the snack you hope to spot on the shelves. A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.   You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, CastBox, Podcast Casts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Podcast Addict.

Before Gordon Harrison was Sport Development Director for USA Cycling, he was building grassroots programs across a handful of different sports, from the Learn to Skate program with USA Figure Skating to development at the Florida Panthers' practice facility, plus stints in soccer and baseball. That cross-sport background shapes everything he does now: get the fundamentals right early, and everything that follows, from the Olympics to a lifetime of recreational riding, gets better. We sat down with Gordon to talk about the USA Cycling Regional Development Camp and Education Summit coming to Bentonville August 7-8. He breaks down what a solid cycling foundation actually looks like: balance, power, cornering, and braking. Riders build those skills hands-on across Bentonville's world-class trails and skills park, working drops, turns, small jumps, and line selection, then head into the classroom at Thaden School to reinforce it all with race strategy sessions and direct access to USA Cycling staff. Rich Drew leads the coaching alongside a team of instructors, and athletes even learn to service and clean their own bikes. The event isn't just for athletes. Parents get their own education track, with speakers from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and USADA giving families a real look at the system their riders are entering. It's co-ed, open to all disciplines, and includes lunch both days plus a Friday night dinner. Gordon also talks about why Bentonville, with its accessibility and trail infrastructure, made sense as a host for this kind of event, and what it means for the sport to bring athletes, parents, coaches, and commissaires together in one place. Registration is open now at USACycling.org — search Regional Camp to reserve a spot. A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.   You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, CastBox, Podcast Casts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Podcast Addict.

Bentonville has world-class trails, but the hardest part of the trip can be bike rentals. It can take hours to sift through what local shops have to offer. We sit down with Jeff Ireland, founder of BikeWhip, to unpack how a simple favor for a visiting brother exposed a bigger problem in planning for a cycling trip. BikeWhip brings local bike rental inventory into one place, using filters to narrow by bike type, size, budget, and e-bike options so riders can find what they actually want fast. We also dig into the reality that many renters are beginners, and that intimidation can keep people from even trying outdoor recreation. Jeff explains how RideMatch helps riders self-identify their needs, answer a few simple questions about where they plan to ride, and get recommendations that fit their comfort level. The goal is not just convenience. It’s a better on-trail experience because the wrong bike can turn a dream ride into a frustrating day. Then Andy Williamson joins to explain GORP, the Greenhouse Outdoor Recreation Program, and why Bentonville’s startup ecosystem matters as much as the trail builds. We talk about mentorship, customer discovery, building in a living laboratory, and how partnerships like Visit Bentonville’s BikeWhip-powered rental widget can lift the whole visitor experience.  Listen through, share it with a riding buddy or friend, and then subscribe and leave a review! A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.   You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, CastBox, Podcast Casts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Podcast Addict.

You don’t usually walk into an art museum wondering what you’ll eat but once you’ve spent a full day at Crystal Bridges, food becomes part of the adventure. We’re joined by Lauren Eck, Regional Vice President of Sales for Wolfgang Puck Catering, to talk about the new partnership at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and what it means for museum dining in Bentonville, Arkansas as the campus grows and visitor expectations keep rising. We get into the ethos behind Wolfgang Puck Catering and why it lines up so naturally with Crystal Bridges and The Momentary: accessibility without lowering the standard. Lauren shares how “elevated” doesn’t have to mean expensive, how thoughtful hospitality starts long before someone sits down to eat, and why great people matter even more than great recipes. We also talk about designing food and beverage that complements exhibits, supports all-day exploration, and welcomes everyone including guests with dietary restrictions. If you care about farm-to-table dining, local Arkansas ingredients, and the future of hospitality in Northwest Arkansas, you’ll love the behind-the-scenes details, including how the team sourced farmers market strawberries for the Crystal Bridges gala. Lauren also teases what’s ahead as experience-driven dining grows, from roaming small plates to big plans leading into 2027. Subscribe for more stories about Bentonville, share this with a friend planning a visit, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.   You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, CastBox, Podcast Casts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Podcast Addict.

In this episode, we sit down with Aaron Nolan from Downtown Bentonville Inc to explore how the Bentonville Farmers Market has grown into something much bigger than a place to shop. From local chefs shopping that day's produce, to grabbing a coffee and pastry, it’s a space where local flavor and community connection meet. Aaron shares how the market draws both residents and visitors, why investing in third spaces matters, and what makes a simple Saturday morning feel like a full experience. Grab a coffee and take your time, because around every corner, there’s something new to discover! A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.   You can listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, CastBox, Podcast Casts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Podcast Addict.