Typically, there are three pillars of sustainability
–social, economic, and environmental. Who
would have ever thought that something as
simple and wholesome as cornbread would
be able to address all three? The Arkansas
Cornbread Festival, held each fall, is celebrating
its ninth year, and the organizers and participants
are looking to address sustainability in all facets.
It is a festival that pays homage to one of the
most southern staples around. Competitors,
both professional chefs and home cooks, travel
from all over the state to showcase their take
on this traditional fare in some pretty nontraditional
and delightful ways.
Social
While the Arkansas Cornbread Festival
celebrates cornbread and its many different
interpretations, the true goal of the festival is to
bring people together, as a community. I have
had the privilege to write about the festival for
the last two years, and I have discussed how the
event brings people from all over to this once
forgotten South Main (SoMa) neighborhood
much like good food brings friends and family to
the table. Each year that table has gotten larger.
In fact, last year the festival welcomed upwards
of 5,000 people – people that most likely didn’t
know each other gathered together in a common
place to share a common experience. Small
groups of friends became one large group of
friends for at least a few hours on a Saturday
afternoon.
Another aspect that sets the Arkansas
Cornbread Festival is that it is not just a oneday
event. Yes, it takes place on one afternoon,
but there are many other elements involved.
There are collaborations and relationships that
are started and strengthened before, during,
and after the affair itself. Partnerships include
groups such as the English Department at UA
Little Rock where a storytelling contest centered
on food and culture will transpire, the Central
Arkansas Library System that will host the Kids’
and Family Area at the event, as well as more to
come.
Obviously, working with various vendors,
suppliers, businesses, and participants are other
ways that the festival brings the community
together, and it is this community that makes
such an undertaking possible. Lori Ducey, the
2019 Festival Chair, cannot thank everyone
enough for all the hard work that goes into
putting on such an event, because she knows
without them, it would never come to fruition.
As the number of attendees has grown, so too
has the footprint. Last year’s festival covered
more blocks of SoMa, had more activities,
more artists and makers, and more businesses
open to welcome cornbread enthusiasts to their
to showcase their good works and services. To
sustain is to maintain at a certain rate or level.
The people that come together for the Arkansas
Cornbread Festival not only help in sustainability,
but they have encouraged the growth that it has
experienced over the years.
Economic
The Festival has always intended, as I
mentioned earlier, to bring people to the SoMa
neighborhood to enjoy and take part in the area’s
resurgence, and as a result has brought about more
development. Exposure for the neighborhood is
great for the entire city. The festival has been
going on for nine years, and over those same
nine years, SoMa has seen incredible growth.
New businesses have opened and experienced
great success. Established businesses from other
locales have moved to the community due to
what can only be deemed its renaissance. SoMa
is a destination. I am not saying that the festival
is a direct catalyst for this development; that is a
lot to bestow on cornbread. But, I am saying that
it brings people to celebrate together, and that
is what a neighborhood is about. Now, we see a
More events are being held, more businesses are
prospering, more families are moving to the area,
and more people are frequenting the region.
Even if you don’t have a storefront or a
restaurant, the festival brings in merchants and
artisans from across the state to exhibit and sell
their wares. Art, jewelry, crafts, and the like will
be available as well as food trucks, vendors, and
local breweries. No business is too large or too
small to feel the economic impact that has taken
place. To see all that will be at the festival, follow
Arkansas Cornbread Festival on social media, as
each one will be promoted periodically up until
the day of the event.
Environmental
of the depletion of natural resources in order
to maintain an ecological balance.” This year,
the Arkansas Cornbread Festival and Plastic-
Free Little Rock, whose leaders are members
- Adam Cherepski
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