Editor’s note: A photo gallery from the event appears at the end of this story. Photos by Matthew Wonderly.

With dancing in the streets, and much more, the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival launched a new outdoor event series on Saturday.

“Dogwood Nights” filled Hay Street in downtown Fayetteville with vendors, live music and dancing, first responders, food, and school supplies for children. The event included giving away more than 400 backpacks for students, who return to school on August 24.

The “Back to School Bash” kicked off the event series, which continues on the second Saturday in September (“Around the World”), October (“Oktoberfest Street Party”), and November (“Sock Hop + Classic Cars”).

child sits in fayetteville fire truck
man and woman stands with fayetteville police offiver
‘Dogwood Nights,’ a new outdoor street party from the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival, kicked off with a back to school theme on Saturday, August 8, 2026.
four cumberland county sheriff's deputies

Matt Hennie is CityView's editor-in-chief. Before joining CityView in January 2026, he covered state politics for Courier Texas and was editor-in-chief of Phoenix New Times. He spent much of his career covering local news in Atlanta, where he served as co-publisher of Project Q Atlanta, a digital news site covering LGTBQ+ issues he launched in 2008.