Yearly Archives: 2012

Museum of Discovery to Feature Annual Native American Event

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As part of its educational programming, the Museum of Discovery welcomes back the Dancing Eagles for its popular annual Native American event. Tribal Trails will be held November 15-17, 2012.

Mike and Lisa Pahsetopah, with daughter Heaven, will return to present their interactive, cultural programs for both school and general audiences. Mike is an award-winning Fancy Dancer who performs the Eagle Dance and Hoop Dance. Lisa and Heaven will present the Southern Cloth, Jingles and Fancy Shawl styles of dancing. Mike will serve as the program’s cultural historian, explaining the traditional, handmade costumes and customs. Also, he will play native music on a wooden flute.
Each performance will feature the Dancing Eagles in a first-person narrative of Native American culture. Students and other audience members will be exposed to a different culture, learning the customs and history of Native Americans, particularly the Osage, one of the four major tribes in Arkansas prior to their relocation to Oklahoma.
Public Show Times:
Thursday, November 15: 2:00 pm
Friday, November 16: 2:00 pm
Saturday, November 17: 11:30 am; 1:00 pm; 3:00 pm
Tribal Trails is made possible in part by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council.

Little Rock Look Back: Woodrow Wilson Mann

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Future Little Rock Mayor Woodrow Wilson Mann was born on November 13, 1916, in Little Rock.

In 1955, he ran as the Democratic nominee for Mayor of Little Rock and defeated two term incumbent Pratt C. Remmel, a Republican.  He took office in January 1956 and immediately set about to make a lot of changes.  In addition to revitalizing the City’s bus system, and removing some color barriers at City Hall, he oversaw the dismantling of the copper dome on top of Little Rock City Hall (as opposed to the repair of the dome championed by Mayor Remmel).

Mayor Mann was caught up in a grand jury investigation into purchasing practices at City Hall as well as within the City government in North Little Rock.  Partially in response to this, Little Rock voters approved a new form of government in late 1956.  Mayor Mann opposed the switch to the City Manager form and refused to set the election for the new officials but was ultimately compelled to do so.

He was also Mayor during the 1957 integration of Little Rock Central High School.  He sought to keep the peace and to broker a deal between President Dwight Eisenhower and Governor Orval Faubus.  His powers within the city were, no doubt, hampered because of his lame duck status as Mayor.  In November 1957, he chaired his last City Council meeting and left office.

Mayor Mann’s signature on the final City Council minutes of his term.

Because of ill will toward him due to the Central High crisis and grand jury investigation, Mayor Mann felt it would be difficult to maintain his insurance business in Little Rock. He moved to Texas in 1959 and remained there the rest of his life.  He died in Houston on August 6, 2002.

 

ASO Chamber Series Tonight: Masterworks

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The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s third concert of the Parker Lexus River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series features two great masterworks of the chamber music repertoire. The concert will be held Tuesday, November 13 at 7:00 p.m. at the Clinton Presidential Center.

The program features Trio Arkansas playing Ravel’s Piano Trio in A minor, which ASO Associate Conductor Geoffrey Robson says shows Ravel’s mastery of piano and string instruments, with impressionistic stylings and influences from the Far East. Next ASO’s resident Quapaw Quartet will perform Beethoven’s great quartet Op. 130/133, which Robson says is one of Beethoven’s late great works. “It is large scale, in six movements. The original last movement (Grosse Fuge) was replaced by a shorter, simpler movement after initial publication, but the Quapaw Quartet will perform the original version intact!”

General Admission tickets for River Rhapsodies concerts are $22, and Student tickets are available for $10. Tickets can be purchased online atwww.ArkansasSymphony.org, over the phone at (501) 666-1761 or at the door.

Featuring

Quapaw Quartet
Eric Hayward, violin
Meredith Maddox Hicks, violin
Ryan Mooney, viola
David Gerstein, cello

Trio Arkansas
Louis Menendez, piano
Geoffrey Robson, violin
David Gerstein, cello

Program:

Ravel, Piano Trio in A minor – Menendez, Gerstein, Robson

Intermission

Beethoven, String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, Op. 130 with Grosse Fuge – Hayward, Hicks, Mooney, Gerstein

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 47th season in 2012-2013 under the leadership of Music Director Philip Mann. ASO is the resident orchestra of Robinson Center Music Hall, and performs more than thirty concerts each year for more than 42,000 people through its Stella Boyle Smith Masterworks Series, ACXIOM Pops LIVE! Series and River Rhapsodies Chamber Series, in addition to serving central Arkansas through numerous community outreach programs and bringing live symphonic music education to over 24,000 school children and over 200 schools.

Veteran’s Day Sculpture Vulture: Korean War Memorial Plaza

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In honor of Veteran’s Day, the Sculpture Vulture today features the Korean War Monument in MacArthur Park.

The Arkansas Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated on June 25, 2007, the 57th anniversary date of the beginning of the Korean War.  Located in MacArthur Park, the Memorial Plaza features a 3′ tall black granite pentagon bearing the emblems of the five military branches; a nearly 12′ by 12′ frosted gray granite entryway; and three larger than life-size bronze statues stand in the center of the plaza.

Three larger than life-size bronze statues are the central focus of the Arkansas Korean War Veterans Memorial Plaza.  One statue is a combat soldier representing the fighting that took place in South Korea.  The second statue honors the brave sacrifices that Combat Medics and Navy Corpsmen made to save the lives of others during this conflict.  The third statue features two Korean children representing the suffering of the Korean people during the war and the future generations of Koreans that have rebuilt that nation. The statues were designed and constructed by Light and Time Design Studio and Art Foundry located in Royal, Arkansas.

Encircling the statues are eight 3′ wide x 6′ tall black granite tablets. The tablets, weighing in excess of 3,000 pounds each, are engraved with the names of the 461 Arkansas servicemen and women killed in action, a description of Korean War events and a map of Korea.

The memorial plaza stands to the east of the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History in MacArthur Park.  Though not affiliated with the museum directly, they share a common connection to both Douglas MacArthur and the role Arkansans played in the Korean conflict.

The REAL 3 Bs of Music: Beethoven, Blue Jeans and Brats

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The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra invites new listeners to put on their favorite pair of blue jeans and take part in the annual Beethoven & Blue Jeans concert and Beer & Brats Street Party on Saturday, November 10 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, November 11 at 3:00 p.m. at the Robinson Center Music Hall. This is the third concert of the Stella Boyle Smith Masterworks Series.

This casual concert kicks off with the Beer & Brats Street Party at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. Concert ticket holders can enjoy free brats, $2 Diamond Bear beer and the sounds of the Episcopal Collegiate School Steel Drum Band. Concert goers can follow @ARSymphony and the hashtag #BeethovenAndBlueJean via Twitter to get inside scoop about the Street Party and learn insights about the concert in progress.

The jean-clad ASO begins the program with the concert’s namesake in Beethoven’s extraordinary classical overture, Creatures of Prometheus. Next, listeners will recognize sounds from Tan Dun’s hit film scores for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero in his Concerto for String Orchestra and Pipa, featuring world renowned pipa player, Wu Man. (Pipa is a Chinese lute-like instrument.) Then, East meets West in the telling of Sinbad and Arabian Nights in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade – always an audience favorite and a perfect piece to introduce new listeners to the ASO experience.

Beethoven & Blue Jeans attendees can also support the Arkansas Foodbank by dropping off a frozen turkey at the BBJ Street Party. And as a thank you, turkey donors will receive a pair of free tickets to any concert from the ASO’s 2012/2013 Season.

Concert-goers can learn more about the program before the concert at the American Airlines Concert Conversation. These informances are free and are located in Robinson Room 102 one hour prior to each Masterworks concert.

Tickets range from $14-$52 and can be purchased online at www.ArkansasSymphony.org or over the phone at (501) 666-1761. Thanks to the Entergy Kids Ticket, all kids through 12th grade are free on Sundays with the purchase of an adult ticket. For more information, visit www.ArkansasSymphony.org.

 

Giving Thanks for 2nd Friday Art Night (with HAM and BBQ)

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In this month of gratitude, it is a good time to visit some of the stops along the way on 2nd Friday Art Night and be grateful for creative expression which makes life more enjoyable.

Tonight from 5pm to 8pm at various downtown museums and galleries, guests can view art and enjoy live entertainment.  Admission is free.

There are many places participating.  Here are highlights from the Historic Arkansas Museum (HAM).  They will feature two new exhibits, two authors, award winning barbecue and live music.

Beyond the Expected: Norwood Creech, Paulette Palmer and Edward Wade, Jr.
From Northeast Arkansas, Norwood Creech presents a collection of photographs, reflecting the rural, agricultural landscape of Arkansas’s Northeastern Delta region, North of Interstate 40.Mountain View artist Paulette Palmer’s mixed media sculptures evoke fairy tales, memories and children’ stories. Artist Ed Wade, of Marianna, uses watercolor to explore colors and shapes, and their relationship with each other and reflect life in the Delta.

Jared Hogue: Mini Faces
This exhibit of caricatures by Jared Hogue includes work from three categories: Notable Arkansans, In Memoriam, and Pop Culture. Hogue has worked as a freelance artist since 1990, creating illustrations, portraiture and political cartoons, along with caricatures. He lives in Cabot and teaches at the Arkansas School for the Deaf.

In the Museum Store, meet Edmond Davis, author of Pioneering African-American Aviators, and Kat Robinson, author of Arkansas Pie, and Grav Weldon, will have his pie photographs. Jeannie Whayne will have a few copies of her latest book, DELTA EMPIRE on hand. Get your books signed – from 5 to 7 pm, during 2nd Friday Art Night, November 9.

RAFT OF THE MEDUSA continues at Weekend Theater

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The Weekend Theater’s production of Joe Pintauro’s Raft of the Medusa opened last weekend.  It is scheduled to continue this weekend and next on Friday and Saturdays at 7:30pm.  However, due to a car crashing into the Weekend Theatre building, further performances may be postponed.  Please check the Weekend Theatre’s website for updates.

Joe Pintauro’s drama presents a microcosm of those affected by AIDS in the earlier days of the crisis through the device of a diverse therapy group clashing, confronting, and comforting each other as they work through their emotions about their devastating diagnosis.

The cast includes Alan Douglas, Ryan Whitfield, Jimmy Walker, Brad Burleson, Rachel Bland, Dale Ellis,  Drew Ellis, Madison Hannahs, Morgan Henard, Grace Lytle, Josh Peace, Byron Taylor and Manny Urban.  Ralph Hyman directs, marking his 50th production at the theater.
Tickets, $16 for general admission and $12 for students and seniors age 65 and older, can be purchased on-line at http://www.weekendtheater.org or, based on availability, at the door. For information only, call 501-374-3761; reservations are not taken by phone.