5 NEW Things: Happening in Northwest Arkansas!

There are some wild and crazy things happening in Northwest Arkansas, and today, we’re going to discuss them. Northwest Arkansas is known for embracing new trends and leading the nation in new technology. So let’s talk about the new and weird things happening in NWA today.

The 5 new things happening in Northwest Arkansas include a new experimental Walmart store, a new Amazeum exhibit, and new and unique bike race events. Steinway is opening a new music shop for music lovers.

Stay tuned as we discuss the 5 new things happening in NWA and what it means for you.

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1. Brand New Experimental Walmart Store

Walmart HQ experiments with a lot of different things, including autonomous vehicles. They experiment with drones and new ways of delivery, and other things like that. When I first moved here, there was this tall device going through the aisles, scanning products. It was a little creepy, so luckily, they got rid of that.

So the first new and exciting thing coming to Northwest Arkansas is a fully automatic Walmart store. They redesigned Store 100 to be fully automatic and geared towards a warehouse type of store.

What they’re trying to do is create an end goal of where you shop on the app, and the robotic mechanism would get your order ready for you to pick up. The “Market Fulfillment Center” was built within the store, and a storage and retrieval robot does all the work. They’re looking to make this the wave of the future.

Will it work? Who knows?

If you’re in town and want to try a completely autonomous store, check it out. It’s located at 406 South Walton Blvd in Bentonville, Arkansas.

2. A New Amazeum Exhibit

Another cool thing happening in Northwest Arkansas is that Amazeum has opened a temporary exhibit called “Building Buddies.” This exhibit allows kids to build things, paint with light, decorate with tiles, and several other building activities.

Now, if you don’t know, Amazeum is a hands-on museum built mainly for kids, and it allows a lot of hands-on activities in the STEAM fields. The massive building has several stages and areas where kids can go and learn so many cool things, and it’s close to Crystal Bridges.

One of the great things about Amazeum is that they’re always thinking of new and creative exhibits for kids to learn from. Families can get cheap season passes, so it’s great that Amazeum comes up with all these exciting exhibits.

3. OZ Gravel Bike Races

Northwest Arkansas has an overall branding company called Oz Brands, and they bring together people with various outdoor, cultural, and art experiences in the area. So they’ve created a new brand called “OZ Gravel,” which is the largest gravel bike race in Northwest Arkansas.

So we’re fully aware that Northwest Arkansas is the mountain biking capital of the world, as well as being known for biking in general. It’s known for easy, alternative transportation modes, such as one-wheels, scooters, ESCOs, and e-Bikes.

We have several big bike races here yearly, including the Big Sugar race in Bentonville. Oz Brands, as I said, created a new brand of bike races that utilize our gravel roads for racing. Gravel roads are usually safer for bikers due to less traffic, and with a bike specially designed for the roads, the roads are perfect for races.

This new development is great because not do we have rock climbing, kayaking, and fishing, but we also are now leaning heavily into gravel bike racing.

Several of the gravel roads are flat, which appeals to those who prefer to bike where it’s flat rather than strenuous mountain trails. And considering that it will be a long time before those roads are paved, it makes sense that Oz Gravel was formed.

4. Outerbike 2023 Event

The next big new thing happening in Northwest Arkansas is the Outerbike 2023 Event. So we’re going to dive a little deeper into the biking scene for a bit. For those that don’t know, Outerbike is a big, three-day event that lets you try out anything that involves mountain biking.

They host a couple of events during the year in the US, including Colorado, Utah, and some of the other bigger cities. However, Outerbike stops yearly in Bentonville because we are the Mountain Bike capital of the world. This year’s events will be held October 20-22, 2023.

Here are some of the highlights of the upcoming weekend:

Unlimited bike demos
Experience the biking trails
Outerbike vendors
Delicious food
Free Outer bike swag
Fun Contests

The fun thing is that if you’re going to be in town, you can try different mountain bikes and experience our trails. Tickets for the event range from $95 up to $285, and it will be held at 1019 SE 8th Street in downtown Bentonville.

Also, I have a 3-day itinerary that can help you decide what activities to do if you’re overwhelmed by everything Northwest Arkansas has to offer.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a foodie, a sports person, a sightseer, or want to spend quality time with your kids; I have something for you. Check out the link below to learn more:

https://www.allthingsnwa.com/3-day-itinerary-northwest-arkansas

5. Steinway Is Opening a New Music Shop

The last new thing coming to Northwest Arkansas is that Steinway is opening a new retail shop in our area. Now, you might wonder:

What is a Steinway, and why does it matter that they’re opening a retail shop in Northwest Arkansas?

To begin with, Steinway is one of the most exclusive piano manufacturers in the world. Their pianos start at around $30,000 and can go all the way up to over $2 million. Prices depend on various factors, such as:

Models, such as the upright or the grand piano.
Finish, such as satin ebony or polyester-polished ebony.
New vs. used pianos

While this might seem rather expensive for a piano, it can last a long time with proper upkeep and maintenance.

The new showroom/retail shop is owned by Stephen Wirges, who also owns a showroom in Little Rock. The new shop in Fayetteville will have a retail showroom and a space for recitals, events, and demonstrations. You can also get your piano tuned with their personalized services.

Conclusion

The 5 new and exciting things happening here in Northwest Arkansas show that not only are we interested in biking and other outdoor things, but we are also interested in arts and culture. Several industries and cultural industries are moving here because they see the opportunity this area provides.