06/01/2026
🚨😱Thank you Arkansas for voting Allsopp & Chapple best restaurant in the state in AY Magazine’s Best Of 2026!!!! 🥰
NEW ISSUE! Flip through our June issue of AY Magazine here: > https://aymag.com/digital-issue/
ON THE COVER
Friendly faces in award-winning places — it is time to unveil the winners of the “AY’s Best of 2026” readers’ poll!
See all the winners here:> https://aymag.com/ays-best-of-2026-winners/
Letter from our President and Publisher Heather Baker:
It hardly seems possible that we have already reached the midpoint of 2026, but the rising temperatures and call of the lake cannot be wrong — it’s summertime!
If you were to ask 100 Arkansans whether they preferred the blue skies of summer to the crisp bite of, say December, I’d bet the answer would be almost unanimous for the former, blazing heat and all. The Natural State doesn’t slow down as the humidity goes up, as this edition of AY About You attests.
Maybe your summer jam is music, and, if so, we’ve got your covered. Not only do we spell out some of the best live music in the state this month — like we do every month — but AY is the source for interviews with headliner artists as they prepare to play the state. This month, we sit down with rocker Melissa Etheridge and country hunk Jake Owen, both of whom will soon return to entertain their Arkansas fans.
We also preview the upcoming Arkansas Folklife Festival, coming to the North Little Rock riverfront. This special event celebrates everything Arkansas, as well as the 250th birthday of our great nation, with music, art, food and good times. Country rock superstar Lucinda Williams and blues legend Bobby Rush will headline this incredible, family friendly event — and it’s free!
Also in this issue, we salute the top vote-getters in the “AY’s Best of 2026” readers’ poll. From accounting to zoos and barbecue to yard work, the people have spoken on the very best the state has to offer. Hundreds were nominated, thousands of votes were cast, and only one was left standing in each category. Congratulations to them all!
There’s so much to see and do in Arkansas; it is a good thing that the days are at their longest just to fit it all in. Wherever you do this month, take AY About You along, and don’t forget to share your adventures with us. We’d love to see what you’re up to in the Natural State!
