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The Observer, also known as the Washington County Observer and the WCObserver serves residents in the towns and countryside of Washington County, Arkansas.
Under its current ownership a weekly newspaper was published on February 2, 2010. It revived the name of a weekly paper that was published for 27 years before shuttering its doors in 1999.
The Observer suspended the print edition in March, 2012 and focused exclusively on the online format.
The format, ownership and frequency of publication may have changed over the years but the mission remains constant. At the Observer, we’re committed to a single objective: giving readers a local perspective on news, culture and commentary.
We have local writers covering municipal and county government, culture and community life in our readership area. Our feature stories spotlight the newsworthy notables as well as chronicling the everyday lives of ordinary people.
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Walton Art Who?
By: Megan Webb
Today, October 30, 2011, I went to the matinee performance of West Side Story with my family. The Walton Art Center was buzzing with activity as the crowd surged in doors to get their tickets and find their seats. The ushers, polite as always, greeted us with a smile and a customary “hi, how are you”. Refreshments were available to be purchased in the main lobby, and water was free from the water fountains. However, amongst all this gaiety was darkness.
Sure, the Walton Art Center was doing a fine job playing host inside, but outside was a monstrosity of sorts. Parking that was usually free during the matinee time was twice as expensive as it should have been. Five dollars is a not a lot to pay, but this price is in addition to the Fifty-nine dollar ticket price. Most people I heard coming out for the parking lot was very upset about the five dollars, did they not fork over enough money for the ticket? If the Walton Art Center is that desperate for money they should, perhaps, ask for donations.
The Walton Art Center also disappointed in regards of the program. Of course, they provided a program with the cast information, but what about the pit players? I thumbed through the entire program and the included pamphlet and found nothing that even hinted at acknowledging the players. Did the Walton Art Center not realize that with-out these people there would not have been a play? Most of the people who were playing are very prestigious instrumentalist from the University of Arkansas and they deserve some sort of recognition. To add insult to injury the Walton Art Center made the players pay for parking. The lack of professionalism in this matter really irked many a folk.
I appreciated the cast of West Side Story. They were great actors and performed spectacularly. At the end of the play they stepped forward after their bow and clapped for the players who had kindly provided the music for their performance. The audience roared with approval at this gesture and clapped even louder than before. So, the Walton Art Center may not appreciate the hard working musicians (from the University or elsewhere), and refuse to acknowledge their good work, but the people know and will continue to speak out in support of these amazing artist. I am sure the Walton Art Center would not appreciate it if someone did not acknowledge their works or asked “Walton Art who?”