Weekend Entertainment Roundup for November 21, 2024

FUN

On Saturday, the Museum of Discovery, 500 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, debuts an entirely new set of galleries aimed primarily at youngsters and offering “interactive learning that fosters curiosity and discovery.” Small Fry Fish Camp, for children 6 and younger and their families, will feature Rainbow Trout Crawler, a large, interactive fish sculpture for climbing and exploring; Jump In!, a “sensory-rich play area for infants and toddlers” and Fish Shack, “a creative play café in which children run a restaurant and serve pretend snacks to other guests.” Curiosity Spot, designed for ages 6-9 (though not age-restricted), will include Kaleidoscope, which gives youngsters the feeling of being inside of a color-changing toy kaleidoscope; Make a Face, using digital and physical features to create self-portraits; and Make a Fiddle, in which kids can build fiddles and experiment with sound. It’s the first complete gallery turnover since the museum moved to the River Market in 1998. museumofdiscovery.org.

Piccolo Zoppé’s Winter Circus returns to downtown North Little Rock, Saturday through Dec. 8, under a big top in the parking lot at Bishop Lindsey Avenue and Magnolia Street. (Look for the dog acts.) secure.piccolozoppe.com.

The 2024 Northern Lights Holiday Festival takes place 3-7 p.m. Saturday in Argenta Plaza, 510 Main St., in North Little Rock’s Argenta Arts District, featuring a holiday market; light displays; photos with Santa; live music by Bad Habit; and a 38-foot Christmas tree. Food trucks and nearby Flyway Brewing will make food and drinks available for purchase. Admission is free. facebook.com/events/511875371332672.

And speaking of tree lighting, the Downtown Little Rock Partnership flips the switch to turn on the lights on the 32-foot tree in Capitol Plaza, Capitol Avenue and Main Street, at 6 p.m. Monday. Festivities get underway at 5:30. Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr., members of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, the Saint Mark Sanctuary Choir, Santa Claus “and friends” will be taking part. Snack on complimentary cookies from Community Bakery with hot chocolate or coffee while you sing carols or snap a selfie with Santa. Vendors will be selling additional food and drink. Activities for youngsters include a trackless train, a bouncy house and a “snow” machine. The installation will be up through early January. facebook.com/events/432101352984151.

THEATER

Help Santa save Christmas with the help of “the most famous reindeer of all” and his friends from the 1964 stop-motion animated television special as a touring company brings “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical” to the University of Central Arkansas’ Reynolds Performance Hall, 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway, at 4 p.m. Sunday. (501) 450-3265 or (866) 810-0012 or visit uca.edu/publicappearances.

Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, 6323 Colonel Glenn Road, Little Rock, is staging Irving Berlin’s musical “White Christmas” 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday (12:30 p.m. Wednesday matinee only, Nov. 27) and 12:45 and 6:45 p.m. Sunday through Dec. 31. The buffet opens 90 minutes before curtain time. (501) 562-3131; murrysdp.com.

MUSIC

The Vienna Light Orchestra brings its “The Greatest Showman LIVE TRIBUTE” show, 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Little Rock’s Robinson Center Performance Hall, 426 W. Markham St. at Broadway. The orchestra backs singers from seven different countries for music from the film “The Greatest Showman” and other film music, includ- ing “Once Upon a December” from “Anastasia,” “Let it Go” from “Frozen” and music from the scores of “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Phantom of the Opera.”

At North Little Rock’s Simmons Bank Arena, R&B singer Fantasia, with Anthony Hamilton, performs March 28; Tyler Childers performs April 6; and contemporary Christian band MercyMe, with Zach Williams and Sam Wesley, performs April 27. Ticketmaster.com.

And at Little Rock’s Robinson Center Performance Hall, “Ain’t Too Proud — The Life and Times of the Temptations” will be onstage Jan. 31-Feb. 2, and “Beatles vs. Stones” — a show by tribute bands Abbey Road and Satisfaction — is onstage June 1. Ticketmaster.com.

ART AND EXHIBITS

“The Soul of Color,” recent mixed-media paintings by Rex Deloney “that explore emotional energy through the use of intense color and symbolism,” is on on display, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday and by appointment, through Nov. 28 (closed Thanksgiving Day) at Thea Foundation, 401 Main St. in North Little Rock’s Argenta District.. theafoundation.org.

“Treehouse Treasures: A Collector’s Collection Part 1” remains on display through Jan. 18 at Cantrell Gallery, 8208 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, works from the collection of original gallery owner Helen Scott, who is downsizing her home, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday or by appointment. (501) 224-1335; cantrellgallery.com.

“The Natural State in Four Seasons,” 33 photographs North Little Rock native Brian Cormack took over 14 years that capture the beauty of Arkansas through the changing seasons, on display through Nov. 27 (also closed Thanksgiving Day) at the William F. Laman Public Library, 2801 Orange St., North Little Rock, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday-Saturday. (501) 758-1720; NLRlibrary.org.

“Two Minutes to Midnight and the Architecture of Armageddon,” photographic essays on the Cold War by Jeanine Michna-Bales and Adam Reynolds, on display through Jan. 5 at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, 503 E. Ninth St., Little Rock. (501)-376-4602; littlerock.gov/macarthur.

And “Commanding the Screen: The American Presidency in Film and Television,” continues to offer a look at material from more than 30 movies and television shows portraying fictional and real-life U.S. presidents, through March 23 at the Clinton Presidential Center, 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. clintonpresidentialcenter.org/exhibits.