El Dorado Food Festival runs through September | Festivals

The El Dorado Food Festival will return in September.

The month-long event is sponsored by the El Dorado Advertising & Promotion Commission along with El Dorado Insider magazine.

The Food Festival was created in 2020 following a statewide mandate that closed indoor dining at bars and restaurants. Local promoters began to develop other ways to restore lost business. The El Dorado Insider, the city’s quarterly community magazine, initiated the Food Festival and the El Dorado Advertising & Promotion Commission contributed funding to help deliver the message to a regional audience.

According to Don Hale, owner of The Diamond Agency and publisher of the El Dorado Insider, “The El Dorado Advertising & Promotions Commission has stepped up again this year to provide financial assistance and help stimulate traffic in our local restaurants.” The commission’s support allows the agency to place billboard ads, secure television spots, and print over 7,500 coupons.

“Participation from local restaurants has been great,” Hale said. In addition to the El Dorado A&P Commission and El Dorado Insider, other sponsors of the festival include Murphy USA, Michelob Ultra, Hepco Distributing, Glenn Mechanical, and Standard Lithium.

Participating restaurants are providing incentives for people to dine in or carry out. Many of the coupons offer free appetizers, desserts, drinks, or 10% off the ticket. The coupons will be distributed in the El Dorado Insider as well as the Arkansas Welcome Center, El Dorado-Union County Chamber of Commerce, and hotels and conference centers near El Dorado.

The festival is utilizing social media marketing to promote the event. Festival-goers will be encouraged to take a photo of their meal, tag @ElDoradoInsider, and post their photo on Facebook with the name of the participating location for a chance to win a $50 Murphy USA gift card plus $50 in cash.