FUN
Magic Springs Theme and Water Park, U.S. 70 E., Hot Springs, brings back Magic Screams this weekend, 2-11 p.m. Saturday and 2-9 p.m. Sunday through Oct. 27, with “amped-up scare zones and entertainment” that include “new attractions full of spine-tingling surprises and hair-raising adventures,” according to a news release.
Returning elements include the Wasteland Haunted House and the Last Laugh Scare Zone; new this year will be an indoor, on-stage theatrical illusion called “Lola the Haunted Doll”; the Undead Cemetery, a “roaming zombie hunt experience”; and various ghouls, clowns and other frightful characters that will roam throughout the park. Also returning this year, family-fun activities including the Trick-or-Treat Trail, Inflatable Corn Maze, Fraidy-Cat Pumpkin Patch, Cata-Punkin @ The Pond, Bumpin’ Carz 2.0 and Magic Farms Hay Maze.
Park admission is $39.99 (plus tax). Visit MagicSprings.com/MagicScreams.
THEATER
A-State ‘Almost, Maine’
Arkansas State University’s theater department stages “Almost, Maine” by John Cariani, 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday and Oct. 4, 2:30 p.m. Sunday and Oct. 6 in the Simpson Theatre, A-State’s Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Drive, Jonesboro. The show contains mild language, themes of love and heartbreak, brief physical violence and discussions of death. Tickets are $15, $10 for senior citizens and university faculty and staff, free for A-State students. Call (870) 972-2781 or visit AState.edu/tickets.
“Blessed are the Little Critters” by Trish Mounce won the Viewers’ Choice in the 2022 AR Village Quilt Show; Pati Trippel’s “Alaskan Adventure Extraordinaire” won Best in Show in the 2022 show. This year’s show takes place Friday-Saturday at the Benton Event Center. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette/Sharon Bowen)
ART
Quilt show
More than 200 quilts in 11 different styles, including traditional, modern, miniature, bed and one-of-a-kind original art quilts will be on display at the HSV Quilt Guild’s AR Village Quilt Show, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Benton Event Center in the Hickory Square Shopping Center, 17322 Interstate 30, Benton. Judge Kathi Eubank will award cash prizes for Best in Show, Viewers’ Choice, Workmanship and first place in each category. The show will also include vendors, door prizes, a scavenger hunt for the kids and a special exhibit, “From Generation to Generation,” of quilts from juniors to “super seniors” that “exemplify quilting as a lifelong journey,” according to a news release. Day passes are $10; two-day passes are $15; admission for children 13 and younger is free. Visit ARVillageQuiltShow.com.
AUDITIONS
‘Meet Me in St. Louis’
Benton’s Royal Players hold open-call auditions for the musical “Meet Me in St. Louis” (music and lyrics by Hugh Martin & Ralph Blane, book by Hugh Wheeler, based on “The Kensington Stories” by Sally Benson and the MGM motion picture), 10 a.m.-noon Oct. 19 and 2-5 p.m. Oct. 20 in the choir room at First United Methodist Church, 200 N. Market St., Benton. (Enter through the side door on West Conway Street across from the Benton School District Administration building.)
Production dates are Dec. 5-8 and 12-15. The cast will include 17 speaking parts (age 16 and up) and a small chorus of three boys and three girls (age 10 and up). Prepare a song of your choice and provide a way to play your music; the audition will also consist of cold readings from the script and/or a basic choreography/movement exercise. (Wear appropriate attire and shoes.) Arrive no later than 15 minutes before the auditions end and fill out at Google in advance via forms.gle/TBmkRhfh2owgGLRX8.
