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Last weekend, I ate my weight in spaghetti and grape ice cream at the Tontitown Grape Festival. Just like I’ve done many an August night since my first Grape Fest experience as a junior high kid who couldn’t wait to risk his life on the Gravitron and risk his reputation flirting with girls from the school across town.

Twenty years or so later, the Grape Fest is still serving up delicious spaghetti dinners and is still an absolute gold mine for spotting awkward junior high kids try to impress one another.

But the Grape Fest represents a whole lot more than good food and people watching. It’s a 126-year-old tradition that honors the legacy of a scrappy band of Italian immigrants who traded mosquito-swarmed cotton fields for rocky Ozark hills, planted grapevines where others saw only stone, and turned survival into celebration.

Today’s NWA Yesterday shares a brief history of Tontitown and a roundup of history and culture-related events happening around Northwest Arkansas this week.

Spaghetti, Grapes, and Grit: The Making of Tontitown

Far from Northwest Arkansas, a group of Italian immigrants arrived in Sunnyside, Arkansas, in the hope of finding fertile land. Instead, they found swamps, malaria, and back-breaking cotton work.

So, in 1898, Jesuit priest Father Pietro Bandini gathered 40 families and set out north to the Ozark hills in search of a new home.

They stopped their search just west of Springdale, but frankly, the land didn’t scream “easy living.” It was rocky, winters were harsh, and the nearest big city was a long wagon ride away. But there were hillsides for grapes, clear water, and, most importantly, room to build something of their own. They named the settlement Tontitown after the 17th-century Italian explorer Henri de Tonti.

The first winter nearly broke them. Families huddled in drafty cabins, lived on rabbits and garden scraps, and fought off the cold. But they persevered, kept planting, and slowly produced enough to harvest, trade, and support a community.

They hosted their first harvest picnic in June 1898, which continued annually and grew into the Tontitown Grape Festival that we still have today.

By 1909, Tontitown was ready to incorporate, with Bandini as its first mayor. Vineyards and orchards flourished, supplying markets and even Welch’s in nearby Springdale.

Through it all, Father Bandini was more than a priest. He was a mayor, diplomat, fundraiser, and sometimes doctor. In 1911, his work earned recognition from Pope Pius X and Queen Mother Margherita of Italy. His greatest legacy, though, was the town itself, with its vineyards, orchards, and hard-won sense of belonging.

Tontitown isn’t just an immigrant or a small-town story. It’s a survival story about turning rocky ground into something sweet and keeping traditions alive. And as modern life presses in, perhaps, as grapes are pressed into wine, Tontitown will keep yielding stories worth celebrating.

— TM

History & Culture Events This Week

• 📖 Holy Fixer-Upper: The Benton County Historical Society is hosting a hands-on Bible Repair Workshop on Thursday, Aug 21, at 6p. Learn how to mend torn pages, reattach loose ones, and fix cracked hinges.

• 🕵️‍♂️ Killer Weekend Plans: The historic 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa is hosting a Murder Mystery Weekend from Friday, Aug 22, to Sunday, Aug 24—and you're part of the plot. Play detective as a fictional crime unfolds around you, complete with twists, clues, and immersive characters. Meals included!

• 🌸 Peel Out and Smell the Roses: Take a free guided garden tour at the Peel Museum & Botanical Garden on Saturday, Aug 23, from 9–10a. Site manager Dietrich Thurston will lead the walk, sharing history and pointing out seasonal blooms.

• 🐞 Bug Out in Cane Hill: Explore the wild world of insects at Historic Cane Hill College on Saturday, Aug 23! From 9a onward, UA entomology experts will help you catch, ID, and learn about creepy crawlers. It’s free and fun for all ages—just register in advance to help prep supplies.

• 🎶 Jam Sesh in the Ozarks: Head to Ozark Folkways in Winslow for Squirrel Jam on Sunday, Aug 24, from 5–7p. Musicians of all skill levels are welcome to play along as lyrics and chords light up the screen—or just sit back and enjoy the tunes. Free and all are welcome!

Sources Consulted

1. Encyclopedia of Arkansas, "Tontitown (Washington County)"

2. Only in Arkansas, "Tontitown: The Back Story"

3. Tontitown Grape Festival, History

4. Wikipedia, "Pietro Bandini"