The biggest music festival in the natural state is making a comeback. We all thought it was gone for good, but now RiverFest is set to happen once again on Memorial Day weekend.
All rights to RiverFest are now owned by Universal Fairs out of Memphis. The company organizes 15 events a year like state fairs.
"We’re going to try and do RiverFest better," said Event Director Jack Daniels. “We’ve been buying music for a long time and we have the contacts and ability to leverage those contacts."
He promises an affordable event. All ticket prices haven’t been announced, but early weekend passes will be $30 through March.
“Prices is something we’ve heard from absolutely everybody," said Daniels. “Our biggest goal is to create something for those who come down here to think this was worth my time."
They're shrinking the event space to keep from disrupting nearby businesses, they're bringing in new vendors and doing away with River Bucks.
"If they want to come down and buy a beer from us were going to make it as easy as possible," said Daniels.
They're promising some local and big names in country, rock, and contemporary music.
"We wouldn’t be doing this if we didn’t have those names starting to line up," said Daniels.
With a goal of 10,000 to 20,000 people a day, they're including new attractions like 25 carnival rides.
“I fully expect us to have a Disney actor we bring in for a meet and greet," said Daniels.
He expects the event to go on for longer than just this year.
“We would not get involved if we did not think this would be a long term aspect," said Daniels.
The music lineup will be announced in April.