In October 2022, The Weekly Vista put it plainly: the Bella Vista Arts & Crafts Festival "has ended after more than 50 years."
The same paragraph had a second sentence that got less attention. Wishing Spring Gallery would host a fall show at 8862 W. McNelly Road, and United Lutheran Church would hold its first Pumpkin Patch Arts & Crafts Festival. Both were set for the same weekend.
Four years later, both of those fairs are still running, and both are bigger. Craft fair weekend in Bella Vista didn't end in 2022. It split into two smaller fairs, and the organization that sponsored the original festival since 1969 runs one of them.
This year it runs Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 15–17.
The festival ended, but its sponsor kept going
The first Bella Vista Arts and Crafts Festival dates to 1969. A clipping from that year, held by the Bella Vista Historical Museum, shows a Rogers man demonstrating rope making. The NWA Democrat-Gazette reported that the festival was canceled for 2021. The 2022 report confirmed it was finished.
The group behind it for those 50 years was the Village Art Club. In 2019, The Weekly Vista reported that the festival had closed its office in Town Center West and moved into Wishing Spring Gallery. The club itself was then going by a new name, Arts Alliance at Wishing Spring.
The organization today calls itself Village Art Club, Inc., doing business as the Artisan Alliance. It was established in 1966 as a nonprofit that shows and sells art and funds scholarships for Benton County high school seniors. Per its festival page, it now holds the Wishing Spring Arts & Crafts Festival twice a year, in May and on the third weekend of October.
The 2022 coverage treats the old Bella Vista festival and the Wishing Spring show as two separate events. Neither name was simply handed to the other. The thread connecting them is the club. The organization that sponsored the Bella Vista festival for 50 years now runs its October show in the field behind its own gallery.
Why the gallery matters to the story
Wishing Spring Gallery opened in 1984 as a cooperative. The artists whose work hangs there take turns staffing the front desk. According to a Discover Bella Vista profile, the building is a former dairy barn donated by Cooper Communities. The 2019 Weekly Vista story described the location as being on McNelly Road "just beyond Walgreens."
That setting is the reason the October show looks the way it does. It's an outdoor fair on gallery grounds. The CACHE event listing describes it as a three-day juried festival with original art, handcrafted goods, food trucks and music.
Vendor counts and dates from local coverage:
- 2022: Gallery director Pearl Williamson expected about 35 vendors for the first fall show, with hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 14–15.
- 2025: The NWA Democrat-Gazette reported more than 40 vendors in the field behind the gallery, Oct. 16–18.
- 2026: The show runs three days, Oct. 15–17, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. I didn't find a published vendor count for this year.
It went from two days to three and from roughly 35 vendors to more than 40. That is steady growth, and it happened without trying to rebuild the old festival's footprint.
The church fair that started the same year
United Lutheran Church sits at the corner of Cooper Road and Forest Hills Boulevard. Its first Pumpkin Patch Arts & Crafts Festival in 2022 expected about 20 vendors, some indoors and some outside. It also had a pumpkin patch with pumpkins for sale and spots for photos.
This year's Weekly Vista calendar lists the 5th Annual Pumpkin Patch Arts & Crafts Festival at 100 Cooper Road with 45 vendors. It runs Oct. 15–17, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., rain or shine. The church's own festival page confirms the 2026 fair and said outside vendor space was still open.
In four editions, it has gone from about 20 vendors to 45, more than double its first year.
The two stops, side by side
| Wishing Spring Arts & Crafts Festival | Pumpkin Patch Arts & Crafts Festival | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Field behind Wishing Spring Gallery, 8862 W. McNelly Rd. | United Lutheran Church, 100 Cooper Rd., at Forest Hills Blvd. |
| Run by | Artisan Alliance, formerly the Village Art Club, founded 1966 | United Lutheran Church |
| 2026 dates and hours | Oct. 15–17, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. | Oct. 15–17, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., rain or shine |
| Size | About 35 vendors in 2022; more than 40 in 2025 | About 20 vendors in 2022; 45 listed for 2026 |
| Format | Juried, outdoors, food trucks and music | Indoor and outdoor vendors, pumpkin patch |
| Parking notes | 2025 only: three parking areas, one reached by a trail under the bridge and along the creek | 2025 only: free parking and a café |
A few practical points. Neither fair had posted 2026 admission or parking details in the sources I reviewed. The parking row comes from last year's coverage: the 2025 Democrat-Gazette caption for Wishing Spring and the 2025 Weekly Vista calendar for Pumpkin Patch. If you plan to park at Wishing Spring, wear shoes that can handle the creek trail.
Some listings, including Visit Bentonville's, give the Wishing Spring address as Bentonville. The CACHE listing shows it as Bella Vista, 72715. Either way it's the same McNelly Road property, so search the street address rather than the city.
I found no traffic advisory for craft weekend on Highway 71 or I-49 this year. The Arkansas Department of Transportation sends drivers to IDriveArkansas for current conditions and closures.
A smaller craft weekend left room in the calendar
The two fairs take up Oct. 15–17. The rest of October and early November is filled by the library, the City of Bella Vista and the Bella Vista POA:
- Saturday, Oct. 17, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.: Treat Street at Bella Vista Public Library, 11 Dickens Place. It's indoor trick-or-treating, so bring a treat bag. Costumes are encouraged, there will be hot dogs if the weather cooperates, and no registration is needed. The city's announcement has details. This falls on the last day of both fairs.
- Monday, Oct. 19, 4:30 p.m.: A ribbon-cutting for the library's new pergola, followed by a Lute & Flute concert. Seating, refreshments and parking are limited.
- Thursday, Oct. 22, 5 p.m.: The Back 40 Birthday Bash at OZ Trails Bike Park, with a panel at 6 p.m. plus food and drink specials and cake. It's free and open to the public, and organizers ask that you RSVP, per the city.
- Oct. 28–31, 4–9 p.m.: The Haunted Wine Cellar at Lakepoint, listed on the POA calendar.
- Saturday, Oct. 31, 6:10–8:10 p.m.: Halloween Fest at Kingsdale Tennis Center.
- Sundays through Nov. 22: Jazz Sundays at Gear Garden in Blowing Springs Park.
- Nov. 6–7: The Fly Tyers bi-annual rummage sale, per the Weekly Vista calendar. The listing doesn't give a venue or hours yet.
Several of these listings leave out prices or full details. Check the city or POA page before you head out.
How the weekend fits together now
This year there are two fairs, one on McNelly Road and one on Cooper Road, both open 9 to 5 on the same three days.
Each one has its own draw. Wishing Spring is a juried show of original work, held behind a gallery that artists staff themselves, and it's run by a nonprofit that funds scholarships for Benton County seniors. Pumpkin Patch has grown from about 20 vendors to 45 in four editions and runs rain or shine. If you go on Saturday, you can stop at both fairs and still make the library's Treat Street between 11 and 1.
The hours are the same on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, so a weekday visit gets you the same lineup.
If you'd like to know what that kind of local character means for the value of your home, Cindy Carfaro offers a free home valuation built on Bella Vista specifics, not regional averages. Ask for yours whenever you're ready, and I'll get back to you quickly with clear numbers.
