In 2017, the Pine Bluff City Council adopted a resolution creating the Delta Rhythm and Bayous Cultural and Entertainment District in downtown Pine Bluff. The Pine Bluff City Council’s Development and Planning Committee recently voted to allow people to drink alcoholic beverages in an outdoor entertainment district as long as the drinks were bought from establishments in the district that hold permits for on-premises consumption.

The full council must vote on the measure before it’s approved.

The district would run from 2nd Avenue to 4th Avenue from State Street to Main Street and, according to the resolution, the city “affirms a commitment to work with the Delta Rhythm and Bayous Alliance, along with other community groups and the general public to develop a strategic plan in the proposed district which will encourage the installation of public art relating the narrative of music and arts accomplishments in the Greater Jefferson County area and the broader Delta Rhythm and Bayous region, develop outdoor live music venues which can serve as an ideal area for festivals accommodating multiple vendors and attract permanent cultural institutions and entertainment institutions in the area.”

State Senator Trent Garner of El Dorado was the primary sponsor of a new state law allowing the practice of outdoor alcohol consumption in designated entertainment districts.