I Feel Like Summer

 

Photo by Jeff Fuller-Freeman

“You can feel it in the streets, on a day like this, the heat — it feel like summer. I feel like summer.” I don’t know about you, but my stereo has been bumping all the bops of the season lately, like this one by Donald Glover. It’s a roof-off, patio-dining and pool-plunging kind of time, and this issue of AY About You reflects every bit of that. 

 

We’ve got to start off with this issue’s cover, a beautiful shot of North Little Rock’s Argenta District by our art director, Jamison Mosley. We love visiting our friends over in Argenta year-round, but I feel comfortable surmising that the district was made for summer. From the outdoor eats and drinks to the live music and the swanky new Argenta Plaza, it’s a place that truly has it all. We talk about all that and more in this issue. 

 

And the many summer travel destinations don’t stop there. Joe David Rice takes us on a journey to Mount Ida, a place as rich with history and heritage as it is a haven for tourists with the crystal mines and Mountain Harbor Resort on Lake Ouachita. Our Quick Getaways special section features even more ideas for your seasonal agenda, be it your “wild” side at the Little Rock Zoo or Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, or at the seat of the River Valley in Russellville, the solace of Gaston’s White River Resort, or the tried and true Central Arkansas Library System. 

 

This month also marks the time for another rendition of the Arkansas Country Music Awards, held on June 7. We break all the categories down for you in this issue and feature local country artists David Adam Byrnes and Anna Brinker. Speaking of music, June is also African American Music Appreciation Month, which we’ve observed with a wonderful story about Pine Bluff’s deep footprint on the arts, which too often remains untold. The tunes and history continue with our story on some of St. Francis County’s favorite sons, Al Green and Charlie Rich. 

 

We also partnered with the American Heart Association to bring you plenty of heart-healthy content as we lead up to the association’s Go Red for Women Luncheon this month. Survivors of cardiac conditions bravely share their stories with us, and we talk to the experts on the best ways to prevent heart disease, which is the leading cause of death among both men and women in the United States. 

 

And, of course, we would never forget Father’s Day. The one-and-only Andrea Patrick (DishedbyDrea) designed a delicious charcuterie spread for the dad in your life. And our editor, Dustin Jayroe, featured FOX16 and 103.7 the Buzz’s Wess Moore, the ultimate girl dad, for our monthly media spotlight.

 

There are also the winners of AY’s Best of 2021 included in this issue. Would you believe all of this only scratches the surface of this jam-packed copy of AY? I could go on and on, but I think I’ll stop here and leave you to your reading and me to my boombox by the pool. (I know that’s an out-of-date reference, but “boombox” sounds so much cooler than “Bluetooth speakers.”)

 

Enjoy! 

Heather Baker,

President & Publisher

hbaker@aymag.com

 

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