This Friday’s face is a bronze plaque of Andrew Carnegie. It can be found in the first floor of the main building of the Central Arkansas Library System.
A Scottish immigrant to the US, he amassed a great wealth as an industrialist, chiefly in the steel industry. He started funding libraries in the 1880s. He set up the Carnegie Corporation and used that as one of his avenues for philanthropy, especially for the establishment of libraries.
There were several Carnegie Libraries built in Arkansas. Little Rock’s first public library, which opened in 1910, was one of these libraries. It was located at the southwest corner of 7th and Louisiana.
The original building was razed in 1964, but the four columns which were on the front facade now stand outside the current Main Library building at 100 Rock Street.
It is Oscar month, so it is fitting to highlight at Arkansas’ own Academy Award winning actress, Mary Steenburgen on her birthday. She was born on February 8, 1953 in Newport, Arkansas. After moving to North Little Rock as a schoolgirl, she attended North Little Rock public schools and had her first starring role as Emily in the 1971 North Little Rock Northeast High School production of Our Town, which was the new school’s first play.
George Washington’s Inaugural Bible will be on exhibit at the museum during 2nd Friday Art Night on Friday, February 8, 5 – 8 pm; and on Saturday, February 9, 9 am to 5 pm. The bible is part of the museum’s upcoming exhibit, Treasures of Arkansas Freemasons, 1838 – 2013, on exhibit February 8 through July 12, 2013, in the museum’s Study Gallery.
“The museum is delighted to have the opportunity to exhibit two rare bibles closely associated with America’s preeminent Mason of the colonial era, and our nation’s first president—George Washington,” said Historic Arkansas Museum Deputy Director and Chief Curator Swannee Bennett.
Three on Three, Arkansas Literary Festival’s fast-paced sneak peek at a trio of authors on the 2013 Festival roster, tips off at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 7, in the Main Library’s Darragh Center.
The Baltimore Consort has delighted audiences on both sides of the Atlantic and earned their CDs a place on the Billboard Magazine Top-Ten list. The Baltimore Consort’s arrangements of early music from England, Scotland, France, Italy, and Spain speak to the heart as well as the mind, and their love for the early music of English/Scottish heritage has led them to delve into the rich trove of traditional balladry and dance tunes preserved in the Appalachian mountains and Nova Scotia. More recently, the group has explored the extraordinary repertory from the Iberian peninsula awill in a program entitled “Cancionero: Early Music from Spain.”
The UALR Opera Theatre will host “Songs From the Heart,” a gala in support of the university’s vocal arts program, at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, at the Governor’s Mansion at 1800 Center Street in Little Rock.
Little Rock Culture Vulture 