BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Severe storms that struck Northwest Arkansas on Aug. 16 lifted and twisted tents, trees, and inflatables at Soar NWA, and now organizers and vendors alike are working to pick up the pieces.
Friday night was supposed to be a night of glowing hot air balloons and family fun at Soar NWA. But as the sun came down in Benton County, storms began to roll into the area.
The event at the Benton County Fairgrounds boasted thousands of visitors as the storms quickly approached.
Cameron Jernigan, the board chairman for event organizer Open Avenues, says the storms put a damper on their plans.
"I was here until about 11 p.m. It was a little nerve wracking, but at the same time, you know, we felt really confident that it was going to blow through pretty quickly. And so unfortunately, we underestimated that," Jernigan said.
Open Avenues quickly canceled the event but say that storms hit hard within the hour.
"We had thousands of people out here, so parking was a little slow getting out, and there were still people out here when we got it," said Kelly Sampson, the development director for Open Avenues.
"It looked like a tornado out here. The winds were crazy, and tents were getting twisted and tangled, and trees are broken, and it just got really bad quick," Sampson added.
Organizers say the chaos was heightened after fireworks were going off as people exited the fairgrounds, sparking a fire.
"It was a pretty aggressive fire, and when the storm came out and the winds were whipping it around, it just stirred it up a little bit worse. But fortunately, fire trucks were close by and were able to get it all out with no severe damage," Sampson explained.
One visitor, Erika Stokes, told 5NEWS that things went from calm to chaotic pretty quickly.
"After we walked out past the fire, we drove out and went around the east side. It was calm and then the wind picked up and started blowing tents around and then the bounce houses started blowing off. The wind was whipping the rain around which made it difficult to see and you could feel the pressure of the storm. Honestly thought there was a tornado coming," Stokes recounted.
As the storms rolled away and patrons began to assess the damage in the daylight, more destruction was found. Volunteers have since been working to clean up the fairgrounds in preparation for the event to go on.
Organizers are now cleaning up for a new day, and vendors are trying to salvage what they can.
"We recognize that maybe not every single attraction that we had here last night will be back tonight, but at the same time, we want to give the patrons that decide to come out and support Open Avenues the opportunity to do so and still enjoy their time," Jernigan said.
Open Avenues says that weather permitting, they will continue the event as planned on Saturday night. Any patrons sent home on Friday night that still has a ticket can come.
"I think we're gonna be able to pull it together. We are offering anyone who had a ticket for Friday they can come out tonight, and we'll still let them in. So we're making good on that. Just it's anything outdoors is always unpredictable, and unfortunately, we got hit with some bad weather," Sampson said.
While the event still intends to go on as scheduled, some vendors say that the storms ruined their plans.
The Crafty Shambles, a vendor from Bentonville, took to Facebook to share that they would not be returning on account of the damage they sustained.
"It’s heartbreaking to see the work of crafters that they’ve spent months of their time on destroyed and just scattered across the field. It’s finally setting in how dangerous it was being out there, and we are thankful everyone is okay. We are taking the rest of the weekend to take a breath, reset and recover," the vendor said. "For that reason, we will not be at Soar NWA this evening."
Medley Munchers, a vendor from Siloam Springs, said that the storm was frightening and picked up quickly.
"It was maybe five minutes from the time we were told we needed to pack before the storm winds took tents and tables away. Before we knew it, product was flying through the air and vendors just grabbed their tents for dear life. Then, the rains came in a matter of seconds. It was like rain I’ve never experienced. Pouring down and not stopping," the vendor posted on Facebook.
"I couldn’t see through the water drowning out my sight. I hung on to our tent and the older couple’s tent next to us that was collapsing in on them. I prayed for it to stop. After a while, the wind dimmed down but the rain kept coming hard and a lot. We were soaked. Our things were everywhere on the ground. Same for our fellow vendors," the vendor added.
Medley Munchers says that not all vendors were lucky, and lots of product was lost to the storm.
"I know some fellow vendors were not so lucky. My heart hurts very much for them," the vendor's post said. "Please pray for small businesses especially those stuck in the storm tonight. We are hanging on by a thread in this economy. We greatly depend on events like Soar NWA to help support us."
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