fun
Wildwood Park for the Arts, 20919 Denny Road in Little Rock, will once again host park-wide illuminations through the Lantern Festival on Thursdays and Fridays from 6 to 10 p.m., and Saturdays from 2 to 10 p.m. The festival allows visitors to sample food, attend performances (including a Grand Ole Opry-style stage show), and view crafts from four cultures: China, Argentina, England, and Nashville, Tennessee. It features a small “world trip” where you can do things like , and two fantasy lands for children: Fairytale Forest and Pirate Land.
Hundreds of luminarias line the forest paths between each venue. The free stage show, featuring country singers and dancers, will be held indoors at Cave Festival Theater each night at 7pm, 8pm and 9pm. Like last year, visitors can purchase floating lanterns and float them into Swan Lake in the center of the park.
Gates open at 5:30pm today and Friday, and 2pm on Saturday. Sunday will be a rainy day. If the event is canceled due to rain, tickets for that day will be valid for other days. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door, and children 12 and under are free. Guests must purchase his WildBucks scrip at stations throughout the park to exchange for food and drinks, or his floating lantern. Proceeds benefit the park’s nature trails, gardens, concerts, stage shows, and arts education programs. Free parking is available on Chenal’s Promenade in the 17000 block of Chenal Parkway. A free shuttle to the park runs every 20 minutes.
Call (501) 821-7275 or visit wildwoodlanterns.org.
theater
‘American Beauty’
Weekend Theater, 1001 W. Seventh St. at Chester Street, Little Rock, Stage “American Beauty” (Music and Lyrics: Michael Rice, Book: Jack Heifner, Romulus Linney, Kent R. Brown, Hank Bates, Mary Rohde Skade, Cliff Fannin Baker), April 26-27, 5 Fridays and Saturdays, March 3-4, 7:30 p.m., April 28 and Sunday, May 5, 2:30 p.m. The beauty pageant pastiche focuses on seven young women (Sacha Bass, Berkley Courtney Moore, Maya Johnson, Bella Insalaco, Lauren LaSeigne, Annabelle Owen, and LeAnn Roberson) who win Compete for the contest. The title of Miss Delta Queen. includes a talent contest, a montage of country, pop, and opera singers. Marimba player. tap dancer. Twirler. And a bad dramatic monologue. The cast also includes Jamie Boshiers, Kelly Ponder, and Drew Jansen. Directed by Bob Bidewell, with Jeannie Cross serving as musical director. The show, originally titled “Pageant,” premiered at the Arkansas Repertory Theater in January 1988. Tickets are $25, $23 for students, seniors and military. Visit centralarkansastickets.com.
Lamb’s theater?
royal players stage “Bonnie & Clyde” (Music: Frank Wildhorn, Lyrics: Don Black, Book: Ivan Menchel), 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday through April 28, Royal, 111 S. Market St., Benton.・At the theater. Tickets are $18, $15 for military and college students age 60 and older with valid ID. $8 for K-12 students. Visit TheRoyalPlayers.TicketLeap.com. For more information, call (501) 315-5483.
ASU-Beebe “Wonderland”
Arkansas State University’s Beebe School of Drama presents student-written adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s classic “Alice in Wonderland,” It will be held today, Friday and Sunday at 7 p.m., and Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m. at the Owen Center Theater, 1102 W. College St. in the Beebe. Tickets are $5. Call (501) 882-8855 or visit asub.Ticketleap.com.
music
on screen, in concert
Please listen and see “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” In concert, screenings of the film with a live orchestra (Arkansas Symphony Orchestra) performing John Williams’ score will be held at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday at 426 W. Markham St. on Broadway in Little Rock. It will be held in the Robinson Center Performance Hall. Tickets range from $56 to $126. Call (501) 244-8800 or visit Ticketmaster.com.
Organist Beau Baldwin will present his “Festival of the Senses” recital Sunday at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in North Little Rock. (Democratic Party Gazette Special)
Sponsored recital
Beau Baldwin, organist and music director at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Little Rock, said: recital Sunday, 3 p.m., St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 4106 John F. Kennedy Blvd., North Little Rock, part of the church’s Festival of the Senses performing arts series.
Baldwin’s program includes Dieterich Buxtehude’s Praerudium in G minor. Johann Pachelbel’s Fantasy in D minor. Felix Mendelssohn’s Sonata No. 2 in C minor. Improvisation of the hymn “What Wondrous Love Is This?” “Roshimidre”, one of three preludes to Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Welsh Hymn. The Testament of Master Tallis by Herbert Howells. and “Suite Médiévale” by Jean Langret.
Admission is free. The concert will also be livestreamed on his Facebook page (facebook.com/frcarey) and will be available for viewing at a later date on the church’s website, stlukeepiscopal.org. Call (501) 753-3578 or email baxternan@aol.com.
Angel Blue will sing Magda in Puccini’s “La Rondine” at the Metropolitan Opera with Jonathan Tetelman, who played Ruggiero. (Democrat-Gazette Special Feature/Karen Almond, Metropolitan Opera House)
opera in hd
Metropolitan Opera presents “film screening” of Giacomo Puccini’s works “La Rondine” The “Live in HD” series will be shown at 11:55 a.m. Saturday at movie theaters nationwide, including Movie Tavern, 11300 Bass Pro Parkway in Little Rock, and Central City 10, 909 Higdon Ferry Road in Hot Springs .
American soprano Angel Blue will sing the role of French courtesan Magda opposite Chilean-born tenor Jonathan Tetelman in her Met debut as Ruggiero. Conducted by Speranza Scappucci. Visit metopera.org/season/in-cinemas/2023-24-season/la-rondine/.
Silamore Special will perform Saturday during the Next Generation Concert at the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View. (Democratic Party Gazette Special)
generational bluegrass
Youth bluegrass and old-time music groups will perform. next generation concert, Saturday, 7 p.m., part of the Arkansas Folk Festival, at the Ozark Folk Center, 1032 Park Ave., Mountain View. The concert is a fundraiser sponsored by the Committee of Hundred for the Music Roots Program, which provides free music lessons and loaned instruments to homeschool and public school students in the Mountain View area.
The lineup includes the Sylamore Special. Taller Than You, featuring Ben Haigwood on hammered dulcimer. Ozark Strangers featuring state fiddle champion Tuette Brannon. 5 South, featuring state fiddle champion Kylie Spix. The Parker Unit features Mary Parker on fiddle and Gordan Parker on mandolin. A special performance by the Music Roots Ensemble, square dancers from the Ozark Folk Center. Guest appearance by Ozark Granny Chicks featuring Pam Setzer. Tickets are $15, $8 for children, and $35 for a family pass (admission for two adults and their children under 18). Get an extra $2 on show days. Visit OzarkFolkCenter.Ticketleap.com.
art
Argenta “Mother Road”
“Mother Road” The work of the Mothers, a Central Arkansas artist collective, will be on display with a Third Friday Art Walk reception at the Argenta Library, 420 Main Street, North Little Rock, on Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. Masu. The exhibition will run until May 10th. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free. Call (501) 687-1061 or visit NLRlibrary.org.
“Mothers” also stars Katie Adkins, Melissa Bacon, Kathryn Burton, Margo Duvall, Nancy Dunaway, Amanda Heinbockel Knauss, Tammy Harrington, Lana Johnson, Dolores Justus, Lisa Kranichfeld, Deborah Kuster, Hannah May, Jessica Mongeon, Marian Norley and Laura will be joined by artists Labaughn, Cary Smith, Dominic Simmons, Lisa Thorpe, Miranda Young and Emily Mole Wood.
etc.
conway wedding show
The Arkansas Democratic Party Gazette 13th Annual Conway Wedding Show, Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m., at the Stables at Cherokee Creek, 84 Cherokee Creek Lane, Conway. More than 40 vendors will be on hand to help engaged couples plan their weddings. Prizes will be given away throughout the afternoon. At 4 p.m., one couple will be randomly drawn to receive the Ultimate Her Wedding Package, valued at over $5,000, including photography, wedding jewelry, wedding cake, and a DJ package. Engaged couples will receive a free copy of the 2024 Democrat-Gazette Wedding Planner. Tickets are $10. Call (501) 378-3807 or visit arkansasbridalcommunity.com.
