Eureka Springs, Ark., begins trial run of permanent entertainment district

EUREKA SPRINGS, Ark. (KY3) - In April, the Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce was hosting town halls to discuss a proposed permanent entertainment district in the city. Three months later, a trial run is underway.

For 90 days, the city will do a trial run for the permanent entertainment district. The agreed area includes parts of Main St., Spring St., and Center St. You can carry a clear non-glass cup of alcohol no larger than 16 ounces from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., 7 days a week.

The trial period started on July 1, and it’s coming with mixed reactions.

When you’re a multi-generational business owner like Heather Huber, it might feel like you have all the time in the world to run your business how you like it, inside and out.

“My mom started this business 20 years ago,” she said. “I took it over about 4 years ago. It’s a prime location. We see all the music in the park, love it. We’re a real family destination.”

But happening now outside her business is the trial run of the permanent entertainment district.

Eureka Springs is no stranger to temporary districts for big events, but a permanent one has seen more pushback, including being voted down by the people in 2020.

“We’ve done more than 20 of these temporary entertainment districts with the same footprint,” said marketing coordinator for the Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce Devin Henderson, “only doing them during special events, which is the absolute peak of an activity you’re going to see in these districts.”

During the first weekend, a holiday weekend, it seemed like everything ran smoothly.

“(Law enforcement) had zero complaints, zero incidents over the Fourth of July weekend,” said Henderson. “Also, I heard back from the hospital. They had zero alcohol-related social district incidents.”

Even if the numbers look good, there are some things Huber is worried about that are much harder to change.

“We are not built for safety,” she said. “We are built on a hillside. A lot of the sidewalks are narrow or nonexistent. The streets are really windy and twisty. I feel like with the clumsiness that comes along with drinking in an open environment, it’s just a disaster waiting to happen.”

All around the city, you’ll find signs these telling you when you are entering and leaving the district, but even these clearly marked signs are causing some confusion.

“I have two separate locations because I have two separate entrances,” Huber said. “One is within the boundary, and one is outside of the boundary. That’s awkward, and I can see how people would also have confusion that where the beginning is, where the ending is, and why it go down one side of the street an extra hundred yards than it does the other side of the street?”

If there is any confusion, Henderson says solutions were built into the system.

“All of our wristbands that you need to participate,” he said, “have a QR code that you can scan. It goes right to the website that has the boundaries, the map, the rules.”

The idea for the district is to give visitors an amenity they are lacking, but some think it’s only going to turn more visitors away.

“We have a giant demographic of religious folk who come here because we are a wholesome family environment,” said Huber. “What I’m hoping to see if those people approach the city and say, ‘This isn’t where we want to be bringing our children.’”

As for what will come from this experiment, only time will tell.

The trial run goes until September 30. There will be a check-in halfway through as well as a final report within 30 days of the trial ending. After that, it will be up to the city to decide what to do.

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