Happy Valentine’s Day, readers! I know we just celebrated Christmas, but AY About You loves to celebrate all gift-giving holidays. To help you with gifts for your sweetheart, we have assembled a great assortment of Valentine’s Day giveaways in this issue. From an iRoomba to flowers for your sweetheart to restaurant gift cards, we’ve got you covered. Go to www.aymag.com to see how you can score big and take call the credit.
Speaking of our website, we have awesome traffic there. Why? Because our readers have been voting for their favorites in our BEST OF 2020 for AY. Nominations are in; now it’s time to start voting. If you have a favorite chiropractor, a favorite catfish restaurant, even a favorite Arkansan, get your votes in now so these businesses and people can get the recognition they deserve. You’ll see the top 5 in every category. And only one will be the winner in May!
Not to wear you out, but we have another group of winners we are recognizing: the finalists for the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame have been announced in this issue. The winners for that uber-competitive competition will be featured in our March issue of AY. Plus, the WINNERS of the 2020 AY Magazine Readers Restaurant competition. That one recognizes all of your food favorites every March. I feel like I need to be the one to taste test every category. But it’s not possible as there are so many.
All this chow chat and I haven’t even told you my favorite part of the whole issue. It has to be the whirlwind weekend my family and I spent in Bentonville. We can’t quit talking about it. Have you been to the mecca that is the home of Walmart and the beautiful community surrounding it? I had heard from travelers how much they loved it. But I wasn’t sure there was something my entire family could do. I was wrong. The (free) walk through the Walmart Museum on the Bentonville Square is most impressive. I loved hearing the stories from the curator that a young Alice Walton, now heiress to the family’s money, once sold popcorn for a nickel outside the old Five & Dime there! And if you’re ever on “Jeopardy!”and this is a category, “Favorite Ice Cream Flavors for Billionaires,” be sure to hit the buzzer 700when Alex Trebek says, “Butter Pecan.” And you’ll enthusiastically shout, “WHAT WAS SAM WALTON’S FAVORITE YARNELL’S FLAVOR?” Sorry I put that in all caps, but it certainly makes me think I’d yell it if asked. Read about our travels to the northwest corner of the state, and you’ll see, there is something for everyone in Bentonville.
So much to do and so little time. It’s how I feel every month when we pack a magazine with 160 or so pages. We honestly run out of space. This month, we are featuring the folks at the Home Builders Show in North Little Rock, Feb. 15-16 at Simmons Bank Arena. Building a home, remodeling one or just kicking tires, it’s a great place to spend a few hours.
Until next month when the weather warms just a bit, I’ll be here deciding whatever cool place in the state I need to visit. Drop me a line, and maybe I’ll come to your neck of the woods.
Heather Baker, Publisher
hbaker@aymag.com
