Event News

Slated For Jonesboro

Jonesboro is getting in on the gravel cycling fun this May.

The Skirmish — A Delta Gravel Festival is set for May 29-June 1. The event will feature shakeout rides, an expo, live music and more. Fayetteville-based All Sports Productions will produce the event in conjunction with the Jonesboro Advertising and Promotion Commission.

The Skirmish was announced at Gearhead Outfitters in downtown Jonesboro in late January.

“Jonesboro is one of the best-kept secrets,” All Sports Productions CEO Bruce Dunn said. “We used to say that about Northwest Arkansas — that’s changed drastically. Hopefully, we keep it a great secret here, but with a lot of people visiting, and I just believe you have something special.”

Craig Rickert, executive director of the Jonesboro A&P Commission, said they had been looking for ways to work with All Sports Productions to bring an event to the city.

“We ended up realizing that Crowley’s Ridge — this thing that we all live on — is a fantastic venue for gravel cycling,” Rickert said. “Gravel cycling is one of the biggest and fastest-growing things in outdoor sports right now, and it’s time for Jonesboro to get involved in that. We’re at the right time and the right place to do it.”

There will be distances for all levels of cyclists. There will be a family-friendly slow roll, and gravel route options of 24, 43, 63 and 100 miles.

“Our tagline for this year is ‘Over the ridge and through the fields’,” Dunn said. “You’ll have the amazing experience of Crowley’s Ridge and the uniqueness of that combined with the flat farm lands in late May, I think it’s going to be amazing.”

The event name pays homage to the 1862 Civil War Skirmish fought in downtown Jonesboro on the grounds of the Craighead County Courthouse.

Registration is open at skirmishjonesboro.com.