FUN
Nuts to you
The Arkansas Pecan Festival returns to downtown Keo, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free. Presenters are the American Pecan Council and Diamond Bear Brewery. Call (501) 285-5051 or visit facebook.com/keopecanfest.
The festivities kick off at 9 a.m. with the bicycle Pie Ride, departing from the Keo Airstrip just east of town on Pecan Road, parading through the town and crossing the finish line at the festival, with pie and cake. Visit bikereg.com/66859.
The festival will feature Santa and Mrs. Claus and mascot Keodore Squirrel, bounce houses for kids and a Squirrel Calling Contest. A car show (entry fee: $10) starts at 10 a.m.; there’s a $10 entry fee, which goes toward England High School’s Christmas Kids program. Call or text (501) 285-0377 to enter or get more details.
Judging begins at noon for the state Pecan Pie Championship. Categories include Professional, Amateur and Junior pecan pies and everything pecan. The music lineup, starting at 1 p.m., includes the Second Street Baptist Gospel Choir, Steve Boyster and Tragikly White. Local vendors and food trucks will be present. Charlotte’s Eats & Sweets is sponsoring a Pie Raffle (tickets are $10) to win a free pie every month for a year.
Holiday magic
Five magicians — Kevin James, “The Inventor”; James More, “The Deceptionist”; David Williamson, “The Trickster”; Chris Cox, “The Mentalist”; and Pablo Canovas, “The Unforgettable” — team up for a show titled “The Illusionists — Magic of the Holidays,” 7:30 p.m. Friday at Little Rock’s Robinson Center Performance Hall, 426 W. Markham St. at Broadway. Tickets are $36-$104; call (501) 244-8800 or visit CelebrityAttractions.com or Ticketmaster.com.
MUSIC
Men’s Chorus’ Christmas
The River City Men’s Chorus offers its “HOLIDAY! 2024” concerts, 3 p.m. Sunday, 7 p.m. Monday and Thursday at St. James United Methodist Church, 321 Pleasant Valley Drive, Little Rock. The program: arrangements of the traditional French carol “Sing We Now of Christmas”; “Mary, Did You Know?” by Mark Lowry and Buddy Green; “Do You Hear What I Hear?” by Noel Regney and Gloria Shayne; “It’s Beginning to Look Like Christmas” by Meredith Willson; “The Christmas Song” (“Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”) by Mel Torme and Robert Wells; “The Christmas Waltz” by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne; “Christmas Day,” music by Michael W. Smith, lyrics Wes King and Cindy Morgan; and “All Is Well” by Smith and Wayne Kirkpatrick.
Also: “See Amid the Winter’s Snow” by Dan Forrest; “Gloria” by Randol Alan Bass; “And Suddenly” by Michael Engelhardt; “And in That Moment” by Tom Nichols and Jeff Chadburn; “At Christmas This Year,” music by James Eakin III, lyrics by Pamela Stewart; and a couple of medleys: “A Holiday Sing-Along,” arranged by Audrey Snyder, and “The Spirit of the Season,” arranged by Mac Huff.
David Glaze conducts. Admission is free; doors open one hour prior to each performance, and seating fills quickly. Call (501) 377-1080 or visit rivercitymenschorus.com.
Choral Society Christmas
The Arkansas Choral Society performs portions of George Frideric Handel’s oratorio “Messiah” — which it has done since 1930 — at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Calvary Baptist Church, 5700 Cantrell Road, Little Rock. Mezzo-soprano JoAna Rusche and bass Scott Bearden and 21 members of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra join the approximately 60 members of the chorus. Kent Skinner conducts. Tickets are $20, $15 for students. Visit lovetosing.org.
Tenor Randal Rushing solos Thursday with the Little Rock Wind Symphony. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
‘Windy’ Christmas
The Little Rock Winds and conductor Israel Getzov celebrate the holidays with a program titled “Mistletoe Melodies” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Center for Humanities and Arts Theater at the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College, 3000 W. Scenic Drive, North Little Rock. Tenor Randal Rushing will sing Ed Huckeby’s arrangement of “Still, Still, Still” and Adolphe Adam’s “O Holy Night.” The Arkansas Chamber Singers will sing “Christmas on Broadway,” “Winter Wonderland” and “Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas!” Arkansas Festival Ballet dancers will perform portions of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker.”
The band plays Leroy Anderson’s “A Christmas Festival” and “Sleigh Ride”; the Overture to “Miracle on 34th Street” by Bruce Broughton; “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” by Leon Jessel; “Good Swing Wenceslas” by Sammy Nestico; music from “The Polar Express” by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard; and “It’s Christmas!” arranged by Warren Barker.
Santa Claus makes an appearance and will pose for selfies during intermission and after the show. The organization’s annual Stocking Stuffer Silent Auction opens at 6:30 p.m. Concert sponsors are Dr. Rich and Dottie Brown. Tickets are $20, $5 for students. Call (501) 666-0777 or visit lrwinds.org/tickets.
Brass Band Christmas
The Natural State Brass Band performs seasonal music at 7 p.m. Friday at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 4106 John F. Kennedy Blvd. The program includes the Overture to “Glory in the Highest” by Marcus Venables; arrangements of “Greensleeves,” “Santa Claus-trophobia” and Morten Lauridsen’s “O Magnum Mysterium”; Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride” and “Bugler’s Holiday”; and Mark Freeh’s “The Nutcracker Sweet,'” based on music by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky. David Woodman will be the narrator for “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” words by Clement Moore, music by Anthony DiLorenzo. And there will be a Christmas singalong compiled by Andrew Wainwright. Nevada Mills conducts. It’s part of the church’s Festival of the Senses series. Admission is free. A reception follows in the church’s parish hall. Call (501) 753-3578 or baxternan@aol.com.
Conway Symphony conductor Israel Getzov greets Santa Claus. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
Conway Christmas
Mezzo-soprano JoAna Rusche and the University of Central Arkansas Concert Choir join the Conway Symphony Orchestra and conductor Israel Getzov for “Sleighbells at the Symphony,” 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Reynolds Performance Hall at UCA, 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway. The program includes orchestral works by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Ralph Vaughan Williams and selections from “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” “A Canadian Brass Christmas” and the animated film “Frozen.” The choir performs music from the movie “Home Alone” and selections from George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah.” Rusche’s part of the program includes a “Messiah” aria and “O Holy Night.” Getzov and Assistant Conductor George Fu will be on the podium; Judy Harkrider will be the guest conductor for Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride.” Sponsor is Palmer Music Co. Tickets are $30-50, with discounts for UCA faculty and staff, $15 for students (UCA Student Rush tickets are $9 in the 48 hours prior to the concert) and children, with a limited number of free children’s tickets with adult ticket purchase, courtesy of Conway Corp. Call (501) 450-3265 or visit conwaysymphony.org.
Stuttgart Christmas
The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra will give its “Home for the Holidays” concert at 7 p.m. Saturday in Riceland Auditorium in the Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas-Stuttgart’s Grand Prairie Center, 2709 U.S. 165 South, Stuttgart. The orchestra’s associate conductor, Valery Saul, will be on the podium; mezzo-soprano Satia Spencer and violinist Kiril Laskarov will solo in a program of traditional and pop Christmas tunes. Support for the concert comes from the Jimmie Jo and David Leech Endowment Fund, Entergy Arkansas and the Arkansas Arts Council. Tickets are $35 and $50, $25 for students, free for children 12 and younger. Call (870) 673-4201, Extension 1895, or visit pccua.edu/GPC.
THEATER
‘Madeline’s Christmas’
Between visits to the Eiffel Tower and the Paris Zoo, Madeline and her friends embark on a high-flying journey across Paris as the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts Children’s Theatre stages “Madeline’s Christmas” (music by Shirley Mier, book and lyrics by Jennifer Kirkeby, based on the book by Ludwig Bemelmans), 10:30 and 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14 and 21, 2 p.m. Sunday and Dec. 15 and 22 in the Performing Arts Theater at the museum, 501 E. Ninth St., Little Rock. Brielle Buffington and Jamie Schildknecht split the title role, with Paige Carpenter as Miss Clavel. Tickets are $15, $12 for members, free for children 2 and younger if seated in an adult’s lap. Visit events.arkmfa.org.
Cratchits’ Christmas
The Weekend Theater, 1001 W. Seventh St. at Chester Street, Little Rock, opens its production of “Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge!” by Christopher Durang at 7:30 p.m. Friday, with shows at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday through Dec. 21. Tickets are $20, $18 for senior citizens and students. Visit CentralArkansasTickets.com; for more information, call (501) 374-3761.
Benton ‘Silver Belles’
Benton’s Royal Players stage “Silver Belles (A Christmas Comedy)” by Lauren Grove, 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and Dec. 12-14 and 2 p.m. Sunday and Dec. 15 at the Royal Theatre, 111 N. Market St., Benton. Sponsor is Everett Buick GMC. Tickets are $20, $15 senior citizens 60-plus, members of the military and college students with valid ID; $10 for K-12 students. Visit TheRoyalPlayers.TicketLeap.com. For more information, call (501) 315-5483 or email trtboxoffice@gmail.com.
“Flowers” and “Horses by Justin Harrel; “Fog,” “Tire Shop,” “Pawn Shop” and “Perry’s Auto Shop” by Derrick Slagle; and “Pool” and “Sims” by Vince Griffin are part of “New Soil,” on display starting Friday at North Little Rock’s Laman Library. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
ART
Rose City reflections
“New Soil,” photographs by Derek R. Slagle, Vincent Griffin and Justin Harrel “capturing the intricate layers of Rose City, Arkansas” according to a news release, opens with a 6-8 p.m. reception Friday at the William F. Laman Public Library, 2801 Orange St., North Little Rock. The exhibition will be up, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday-Saturday, through Jan. 31. Admission to the reception and the gallery is free. Call (501) 758-1720 or visit NLRlibrary.org.
Detail from “Strange Garden” by Eleanor Barham and “Reflection” by Jacob King, both Valley View High School seniors, go on display Friday at Arkansas State University’s Bradbury Art Museum in Jonesboro. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
A-State exhibitions
Arkansas State University’s Bradbury Art Museum, in the Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Drive, Jonesboro, opens two exhibitions with a reception, 5-6:30 p.m. Friday.
◼️ “Inspired,” 57 works by students from 10 area high schools responding to things they saw during a tour of the museum, based on three fall exhibitions: “Contemporary Classic,” “Meaningful Disruption” and “Overture.” Juror Vitus Shell, a painter and professor from Louisiana whose work was featured in “Contemporary Classic,” selected a number of award winners that will be announced at the reception.
◼️ “Human Condition,” a Bachelor of Fine Arts BFA thesis exhibition put together by five graduating seniors from A-State’s Department of Art + Design: Ethan Balch, Grace Burton, Emilee Owen, Savannah Sifford and Marcy Wallace.
Both exhibitions will be up, noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, through Dec. 17. Admission is free. Call (870) 972-3765 or email visitBAM@AState.edu.
Spa City gallery
Ceramics by Michael Ashley and ink drawings by Clark Valentine are among the works in the “Holiday Exhibit,” opening with a 5-9 p.m. reception Friday and on display through Dec. 31 at Justus Fine Art Gallery, 827A Central Ave., Hot Springs. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and by appointment. Admission to the reception and the gallery is free. Call (501) 321-2335 or visit justusfineart.com.
