Searcy Beats & Eats

Searcy Beats & Eats began in February 2017 when Heather Kemper put together a group of interested people for a meeting at Think Idea Studio. Each person had expressed a desire to start a festival of some type for our community where people could come together for the common purpose of enjoying each other and celebrating our wonderful small town. Each came with their own ideas and the synergy was dynamic. By the end of that hourlong meeting, Searcy Beats & Eats was born!

Mission: We seek to promote unity and growth in our community by providing a place for local artisans, musicians, and entrepreneurs to share their craft while facilitating an environment that encourages conversation in a family-friendly way.

Our first Beats & Eats was April 2017; since that time, we have hosted over forty events in Searcy, varying from smaller summer concerts downtown all the way to our Fourth of July events with thousands of people. 

The committee itself was started with twelve people and has four or five people who have remained constant since its beginning.  Others have come and gone as time permitted them to participate or life situations changed. However, the synergy and dynamic has remained high with the committee, whoever is involved. 

We began this effort under the umbrella of the Searcy Arts Council, a non-profit under which we could operate legally as an entity collecting monies and taxes. This collaboration worked well until our work outgrew that relationship. At that time, we started our own 501c3 non-profit organization under which to operate Searcy Beats & Eats and other community organizations that shared common goals and purposes to make Searcy a better community for all. Creative Group of Arkansas was formed in 2019 and has grown to include STEAM/TINKERFEST, HEAL, THINKART/ART ALLEY, and others. It is open to any entity that shares similar goals for our community.