Music & Art
Wildwood's Toast & Taste celebrates not just the culinary arts, but also the visual and performing arts. We're proud to showcase the talents of local musicians and artists whose creativity fills our spaces with energy and inspiration. Their performances and works remind us why the arts matter: they connect people, lift spirits, and enrich every experience. Join us in celebrating the musicians and artists whose work will be showcased at this year's event!
Featured Band: Pat Becker and the Rex Bell Trio
This year’s Toast & Taste offers a special treat for music lovers: an evening with Pat Becker and the Rex Bell Trio. These eclectic performers have performed all over the state and are recognized for their commitment to Arkansas arts community. Known for their outstanding jazz performances and a repertoire that reaches across genres, the group will help make this gathering at Wildwood a night to savor. Experience authentic jazz like you've never heard it before!
Featured musicians:
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Pat Becker, lead vocals
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Rex Bell, piano
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Brian Brown, percussion
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Ted Ludwig, guitar
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Joe Vick, bass
In the Spotlight: Pat Becker & Rex Bell
Vocalist
Pat Becker
Pat Becker’s love of performing has taken her a long way from her first professional singing engagement with a Houston swing band at age 15. Represented by the William Morris Agency by age 20, she built a career that included Las Vegas engagements, national television, and performances in England, Jamaica and Aruba. Whether singing with the Guy Lombardo Orchestra, opening for comedians such as Mort Sahl and Godfrey Cambridge, appearing at Caesar's Palace, or performing on the nationally televised Hollywood Talent Scouts, she has delighted audiences around the world. She is especially pleased to be making music with Rex Bell, whom she calls “a musical genius.”
Pianist
Dr. Rex Bell
Central Arkansas audiences may know Rex Bell from his frequent local performances, but his music has traveled much farther. His more than 20 independent recordings, ranging from jazz to classical, have earned praise from local and national reviewers and reached listeners through KLRE, KUAR, KABF, and NPR's Audiophile Audition. He has performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and through the Arkansas Arts Council’s Arts on Tour program. Dr. Bell holds a piano performance degree and he continues to find fresh directions for his talents by composing his own music and commissioning pieces from nationally and internationally recognized composers.
Featured in the VIP Pavilion:
Matt Stone, Guitarist
Matthew Stone is a multi-instrumentalist who performs with several bands around central Arkansas. He frequently plays with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra for their Pops concerts, and he also plays in the pit orchestra for musical theatre productions at Wildwood Park for the Arts and the Arkansas Repertory Theatre.
Featured Visual Artist: Tracy Rivers
We're honored to announce that visual artist Tracy Rivers will return for her second gallery show at Toast & Taste! Guest are invited to enjoy her exhibit and even purchase some of her artwork at this year's event. Tracy is also one of the featured sponsors in our 2026 Silent Auction.
Tracy Rivers is an abstract and 3D sculpture artist whose bold creativity has made her a leading artistic voice across the South. A graduate of the University of Central Arkansas with a focus in design and 3D art, she founded Angelfish Studios in 2001 and later co-founded AF Decorative with her husband, Brazilian artist Jean Da Silva. Her work has been featured in Architectural Digest, Country French, and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and she continues to inspire fellow artists to experiment, take risks, and create fearlessly.
About Tracy Rivers Artistry
"My art is a conversation — between texture and light, chaos and harmony, nature and soul. I work with gold leaf, shattered glass, resin, and raw Arkansas quartz to create pieces that feel both powerful and ethereal. My signature moonflowers bloom across canvases like nocturnal prayers — elegant, quiet, and luminous in their strength.
Each creation is layered, sculptural, and full of meaning — born from a process that is both intuitive and technical. From gilded botanicals to glowing, gem-like surfaces, I merge organic forms with striking finishes to create work that resonates on a deeper level. These are pieces that shimmer with movement, hold stories in their cracks, and catch the light in unexpected ways.
Rooted in the South, my work is shaped by place — by rivers and rocks, by memory, by moonlight. Whether I’m building a custom commission or curating a collection, my goal is always the same:
To craft art that evokes emotion, elevates space, and reminds us of beauty’s raw, radiant power.
Because this isn’t just what I do.
This is who I am."
Learn more about Tracy Rivers Artistry