FUN
‘So Long Summer’
The North Little Rock Public Library System hosts a “So Long Summer Library Adventure” party, 4-6:30 p.m. Thursday across the Laman Plaza, main entrance and lecture hall of the William F. Laman Public Library, 2801 Orange St., North Little Rock. A classic backyard theme includes lawn games, water inflatables (among them, Fire Island, a 50-foot inflatable water obstacle course), snacks and a Tiny-Tots Zone. In the Lecture Hall, a running slideshow will showcase memorable moments from the library’s summer programs. Guests can enter, through July 31, to win goodie bags filled with fun surprises. In case of inclement weather, most activities will move indoors. Call (501) 758-1720 or visit NLRLibrary.org/sla2024 for more information.
Christmas in July
Magic Springs Theme and Water Park, 1701 E. Grand Ave. (U.S. 70), Hot Springs, will serve Christmas cookies, hold Christmas-theme contests and games hosted by Santa Claus and add extended time in the wave pool as it celebrates “Christmas in July,” 6-8 p.m. Friday. The park is also collecting food donations through Aug. 9 to support Project HOPE Food Bank’s Backpack Program, which helps provide nutritional food items to students across five Arkansas counties. For more information, visit MagicSprings.com.
A mixed-media representation of an extra-terrestrial by artist Jack Edwards, who is teaching a series of classes on how to paint a realistic alien at Russellville’s River Valley Arts Center. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
UFO Festival
The River Valley Arts Center, 1001 E. B St., Russellville, hosts its inaugural UFO Festival on Friday, marking the one-year anniversary of former U.S. Air Force officer David Grusch’s testimony to Congress that the federal government is hiding evidence of UAPs (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena) and “non-human biologics.”
The festival will include a series of workshops, starting with a “Paint a UFO (UAP)” class at noon. The schedule also includes open mic time “for anyone who has a UFO story to share,” according to a news release, plus a lesson on how to use a planisphere and a session on putting together a personalized star chart. “And we will end the event with a garden art sculpture reveal after dark.” There is a $15 fee for the “Personalized Star Chart” class and a $20 fee for the “Paint a UFO” class (all materials included for each); register at rivervalleyartscenter.org/purchase. Admission to other sessions, including the open mic time, is free. Call (479) 968-2452 or visit rivervalleyartscenter.org.
Phillips County festival
Phillips County is staging a weekend-long community festival it’s calling “There’s No Place Like Home,” featuring a new community splash pad, food and live performances, plus a push for clean water.
It’s part of a larger national campaign called “Arts for EveryBody” in which 18 big cities and rural counties offer large-scale participatory art projects to champion arts participation as good for the health of individuals and communities. Admission is free.
On Saturday in Court Square Park, 622 Cherry St., Helena-West Helena, Phillips County Judge Clark Hall, Tri County Rural Health director Scott Smith, festival executive director Lenora Marshall and Main Street Helena director Kevin Smith will speak at the 11 a.m. opening of the Splash Pad Market. From noon-5 p.m., the festival will feature poetry, speakers and performances, including line dancing; “WOZEN: Extraordinary African Americans who Shaped American History and Rocked the World!,” a stage show directed by Delta Cultural Center director Kyle Miller; area youth bands; blues musicians Bre Wooten, James Morgan, Vera Rogers and the Just Groovin’ Experience Band; and “American Idol” contestant Lucy Love from Holly Grove and her Dallas-based band. The event also includes announcement of the winners of the Clean Water Art Contest.
The opening of Living Waters, along the banks of the Mississippi at Helena River Park, starts at 5 p.m. with a catfish fry and songs and poems from Brenda Hughes, Maple Edwards, Lita Moore, Vivian Hoskins, CarVian Hughes, Salem Harmonizers and the Rev. Jason Smith, followed by a gospel concert featuring Hughes, Edwards, Moore, the Selvy Singers, New Spiritual Keys and Salem Harmonizers.
Visit artsforeverybody.org.
“Fall Arrives at Old Main (University of Arkansas),”https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2024/jul/24/entertainment-russellville-hosts-ufo-festival/”Poipu Shoreline,”https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2024/jul/24/entertainment-russellville-hosts-ufo-festival/”Signature Hole #2 (Red Apple Inn and Country Club)” and “Springtime Reflections at Thorncrown Chapel (Eureka Springs)” by Jay Ewing are on display, Friday-Oct. 19 at Little Rock’s Cantrell Gallery. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
ART
‘Natural State and Beyond’
“The Natural State and Beyond,” landscapes and seascapes in oils and watercolors by Jay Ewing, goes on display Friday with a 6-8 p.m. wine and cheese opening reception at Cantrell Gallery, 8208 Cantrell Road, Little Rock. The artist will also be available during the day Saturday. The exhibition remains up through Oct. 19. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Admission is free. Call (501) 224-1335 or visit cantrellgallery.com.
Father-son exhibition
Two exhibitions open with a 6-7:30 p.m. reception Saturday at the South Arkansas Arts Center, 110 E. Fifth St., El Dorado:
◼️ “Lines & Layers: The Art of Gary Bachers & Christopher Bachers,” in the center’s Merkle and Price Galleries, is the first time works by the father-son duo (Gary, father, and Christopher, son), both artists from Texas, will be featured together.
◼️ “Chree Journeys,” prints by Paragould artist Mandy Maxwell Mooneyham “inspired by the symbiotic connection between trees and chairs,” according to a news release, will be in the Lobby Gallery.
Both exhibitions remain up through Sept. 5. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Admission is free. Call (870) 862-5474 or visit saac-arts.org.
THEATER
‘Finding Nemo Jr.’
The Foundation of Arts’ Young Artist Theatre stages Disney’s “Finding Nemo Jr.” (music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson and Robert Lopez, book adapted by Lindsay Anderson based on the 2003 Disney/Pixar film), 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 and 6 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Forum Theater, 115 E. Monroe Ave., Jonesboro. Presenter is Arvest Bank. Tickets are $15-$17, $13-$15 for children 3-12, $14-$16 for senior citizens 65 and older, military and Arkansas State University students, faculty and staff. The Saturday evening show is “pay what you can.” Call (870) 935-2726 or visit foajonesboro.org.
ETC.
KIRK wins literary prize
The Central Arkansas Library System’s Butler Center for Arkansas Studies is awarding its annual Booker Worthen Literary Prize to John Kirk, the George W. Donaghey distinguished professor of history at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, for his biography, “Winthrop Rockefeller: From New Yorker to Arkansawyer, 1912-1956,” published by the University of Arkansas Press in 2022.
The book covers the first 44 years of the future governor’s life, before he came to Arkansas, including facts about his early life, his World War II military career and his years working in the oil fields. Kirk is working on a second volume on Rockefeller covering his Arkansas years and his tenure as governor.
The prize, established by the library system in 1999 in memory of William Booker Worthen, a longtime library supporter and a 22-year member of the system board of trustees, includes a $2,000 monetary award. It goes each year to the best work by an author living in Arkansas published within the previous three years.
TICKETS
‘Peter Pan’ on tour
Tickets — $34-$114 — for the touring production of “Peter Pan” go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday for shows at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 13, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 14 and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sept. 15 at Little Rock’s Robinson Center Performance Hall, 426 W. Markham St. at Broadway as part of a major national tour. Call (501) 244-8800 or visit CelebrityAttractions.com or Ticketmaster.com. The show is a new adaptation by playwright Larissa FastHorse that also includes, from previous Broadway productions, music by Morris “Moose” Charlap (additional music by Jule Styne) and lyrics by Carolyn Leigh (additional lyrics by Betty Comden & Adolph Green), all based on the original play by James Barrie.
