A Woodstock-style festival of the Walmarts is coming to small-town Arkansas.
The For Music + Art + Technology festival, or FORMAT, is set to include musical performances as well as immersive pieces by visual artists in a bid to invest in the region’s creative economy, according to a Tuesday report by the Wall Street Journal. The event also offers a glimpse into the cultural ambitions of the festival’s backers, the younger Walmart heirs, several of whom have waded into the art world in recent years.
The festival has been in the works since 2020, when Triadic, a creative firm, pitched the idea to Olivia Walton, who is married to Tom Walton, the grandson of Walmart founder Sam Walton. The couple said they viewed the idea as a great way to revive Bentonville, where Walmart’s headquarters is located, after the pandemic.
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“If you love a museum, you go a couple times a year, but if you love a band, you’d go see them play a couple times a month if you could — you’re more stoked to go,” Olivia Walton told the outlet.
The festival will feature a wide array of musicians and genres.
“People aren’t looking for one type of experience anymore — they want it all,” said Roya Sachs, a Triadic co-curator working with the Waltons.
Organizers aim to attract a crowd of around 17,000 people in their 30s and 40s rather than the larger crowds typically seen at other mainstream music festivals.
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The couple, along with Tom Walton’s brother Steuart, is spearheading the event, which is set to take place the weekend of Sept. 23.
Ticket prices will start at $275, and attendees can reserve camping sites outside the festival grounds, which will be held on a 300-acre field owned by the Waltons.
