FUN
The Downtown Little Rock Partnership, Central Arkansas Library System, Plaza Frida and Mexican Consulate of Little Rock team up for the fourth official Day of the Dead (“Dia de Muertos”) celebration, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Friday in Count Pulaski Way, the alley next to the Ron Robinson Theatre, 100 Rock St., Little Rock. The event, which celebrates Mexican culture and heritage, includes a seven-layer-tall ofrenda, a set of interconnected altars, created by Mexican artist and Northwest Arkansas resident Vicente Yañez. Also part of the celebration: towering papier-mâché figures, intricate sawdust carpets, sculptures and traditional offerings. The event will also feature authentic Mexican food, drinks and music. Admission is free. Visit cals.org/day-of-the-dead.
Vitamin String Quartet performs Sunday at the University of Central Arkansas’ Windgate Center for Fine + Performing Arts in Conway. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
Take your Vitamin
Vitamin String Quartet, a Los Angeles-based ensemble that features a rotating cast of musicians (for this performance, Rachel Grace and Wynton Grant, violins; Tom Lea, viola; and Derek Stein, cello) plays classical arrangements of songs by Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and BTS and the music from the Netflix show “Bridgerton,” 7 p.m. Sunday at the University of Central Arkansas’ Windgate Center for Fine + Performing Arts, 2150 Bruce St. at Donaghey Avenue, Conway. Tickets are $20-$40, with discounts for senior citizens, UCA faculty and staff; $10 for students. Call (501) 450-3265 or (501) 470-7572 or visit uca.edu/publicappearances/single-ticket-information.
Coterie concert
Bluegrass and folk performers — fiddler, singer and teacher Tim Trawick, 13-year-old fiddler Gwyneth Davis and 10-year-old guitarist Lottie Davis — “headline” the monthly meeting of the Little Rock Musical Coterie, 2 p.m. Sunday at Trinity United Methodist Church, 1101 N. Mississippi St., Little Rock. The program includes the “Orange Blossom Special” by Ervin T. Rouse, “Ashokan Farewell” by Jay Unbar, Jimmy Driftwood’s “Battle of New Orleans/Eighth of January” and other American fiddle and folk tunes to be announced during the program. Admission is free. Call (501) 269-9020.
Closing concert
The North Little Rock Community Concert Band closes out its 2024 season, 3 p.m. Sunday at the Patrick Henry Hays Center, 401 W. Pershing Blvd., North Little Rock, with a concert titled “Special Occasions.” Music Director Rico Belotti conducts “Parade of the Charioteers” by Miklos Rozsa from his score for “Ben Hur,” arranged by Robert Hawkins; Alfred Reed’s setting of “Greensleeves”; James Swearingen’s arrangement of Karl King’s “Torch of Liberty”; “Dashing Through the Snow” by Richard Saucedo; “Each Time You Tell Their Story,” by Samuel R. Hazo; “Slidin’ Saints” by James Christensen and Mark McDunn; and John Philip Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” Associate Music Director Bill Spainhour conducts “Haunted Carnival” by Rob Grice. Admission is free. Call (501) 920-2539 or visit nlrcommunityband.com.
‘Out of This World’
The Delta Symphony Orchestra and conductor Neale Bartee perform a concert titled “Out of This World” at 3 p.m. Sunday in the Sloan Auditorium in Brown Chapel and Fine Arts Building at Lyon College, 2300 Highland Road, Batesville. The program includes Gustav Holst’s “The Planets” and John Williams’ “Star Wars Suite for Orchestra.” Attendees can dress in costume as their favorite “Star Wars,” celestial or sci-fi characters to compete in pre-show competitions in three categories: Children under 11, youngsters 12-17 and adults 18 and older. Winners will be announced at intermission. Admission is free; donations will be accepted. Email Carol.Langston@lyon.edu.
THEATER
Conway ‘Clue’
Red Curtain Theatre, 913 W. Oak St., Conway, stages “Clue” by Sandy Rustin, based on Jonathan Flynn’s screenplay for the 1985 Paramount movie (inspired in turn by the classic board game), 7:30 p.m. Friday and Nov. 8, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Nov. 9 and 2:30 p.m. Sunday and Nov. 10. Tickets are $22; a VIP upgrade, $17, includes preferred seating (five minutes before general admission), a stage pass and post-show digital photos with cast members, a show poster autographed by the cast and 25% off concessions. Visit redcurtaintheatre.com/store/p349/CLUE.html.
Walnut Ridge ‘Mousetrap’
The Williams Baptist University theater department stages Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap,” 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday in the university’s recently renovated Startup Chapel, 56 McClellan Drive, Walnut Ridge. Tickets are $5, $3 for students and senior citizens. Call (870) 759-4141 or email mwilliams@williamsbu.edu.
ART
Art and wellness
Missy Graff-Ballone, the founder of Wellness for Makers, gives an artist lecture at 6 p.m. Friday in the Windgate Center of Art + Design at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2801 S. University Ave., Little Rock. It’s part of the UALR School of Art and Design artWORKS Artist Workshop series. Admission is free. Visit ualr.edu/art/artworks.
“Silver Linings” by Matthew Hasty and “Shelter” by Linda Williams Palmer are on display this month at Justus Fine Art Gallery in Hot Springs. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
Spa City gallery
Southern landscapes by Matthew Hasty, colored pencil drawings of trees by Linda Williams Palmer and paintings that emphasize geometric forms by Steven Wise are among the works on display starting with a 5-9 p.m. reception Friday at the Justus Fine Art Gallery, 827A Central Ave., Hot Springs. The exhibit remains up through Nov. 30, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and by appointment. Admission is free. Call (501) 321-2335 or visit justusfineart.com.
Art Night on the Block
The three facilities that make up Pine Bluff’s ARTx3 Campus offer art exhibitions and live music for “Art Night on The Block,” 5-7 p.m. Friday.
◼️ “Picture Pine Bluff,” on display through Dec. 2 at The ARTSpace on Main, 623 S. Main St., views the city over the years and focuses on untold stories and historical moments that serve as a pictorial history of the Arkansas Delta. Teaching artist Elly Bates leads an art and literacy program showcase titled “My Community and Me,” featuring mixed-media collages by eighth-grade students that explore how they see themselves within the community.
◼️ Saxophonist Darnell Cann-Ward plays soulful jazz and R&B tunes at ART WORKS on Main, 627 S. Main St., part of the campus’ monthly Live@5 concert series. Admission is $10, $5 for members. You must be 21 or older.
◼️ “Glimmer” by Heidi Carlsen-Rogers and “Hysteria” by Brandi Parker remain on display at the Arts & Science Center, 701 S. Main St., where young visitors can explore interactive features, games and big blue blocks inside the Creative Construction Zone.
Call (870) 536-3375 or email srahmaan@artx3.org.
ETC.
‘West Wing’ watch
The Clinton Presidential Center and the Arkansas Cinema Society screen “20 Hours in America,” the two-part, season-four premiere of the TV series “The West Wing,” 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, 501 E. Ninth St., Little Rock. It’s part of the “Commanding the Screen” Watch Party series, in conjunction with the Clinton center’s current exhibit, “Commanding the Screen: The American Presidency in Film and Television,” on display through March 23. Tickets are $15, and $10 for senior citizens and children. Visit arkansascinemasociety.org/programs/the-west-wing-20-hours-in-america.
