Monthly Archives: May 2013

Military History Museum Hosts Author Today

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1368546527-enduringlegacyOn Saturday, May 18, the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History will host author and professor, Dr. Stuart Towns, as he tours to promote his new book Enduring Legacy: Rhetoric and Ritual of the Lost Cause (University of Alabama Press, 2012).  Dr. Towns will speak at 2pm at the museum in MacArthur Park.

Enduring Legacy explores the vital place of ceremonial oratory in the oral tradition in the South. It analyzes how rituals such as Confederate Memorial Day, Confederate veteran reunions, and dedication of Confederate monuments have contributed to creating and sustaining a Lost Cause paradigm for southern identity. Towns studies in detail post—Civil War southern speeches and how they laid the groundwork for future generations, from southern responses to the civil rights movement and beyond. The Lost Cause orators that came after the Civil War, Towns argues, helped to shape a lasting mythology of the brave Confederate martyrs and of the southern positions for why the Confederacy lost and who was to blame.

W. Stuart Towns is recently retired from Professor and Chairman of the Department of Communication Studies at Southeast Missouri State University. Before that he was Professor and Chair of Department of Communication at Appalachian State University and the University of West Florida. After spending over 30 years in the Active Army Reserves, Stuart retired as a Colonel. While in the Reserves, he served with the 361st Civil Affairs Brigade, and was a member of the Consulting Faculty Program at the U. S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

The MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History relates the military heritage of Arkansas and its citizens to a diverse and widespread audience. Located in the historic Arsenal Building in MacArthur Park—one of Central Arkansas’s oldest surviving structures and the birthplace of one of this country’s foremost military heroes—the museum collects, preserves, and interprets our state’s rich military past from its territorial period to the present.

Friday Food Trucks at LR Film Festival

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Slide-523x350Along with an amazing line-up of films, music and parties at the 7th Annual Little Rock Film Festival this year, the LRFF in association with FOOD XING has a mouth watering line-up of Little Rock’s finest mobile eateries (a.k.a. FOOD TRUCKS!) open and available from during the festival weekend Friday  through Sunday -10:30 a.m. until 10 p.m.

Take your pick from a variety of options as you stroll down downtown Little Rock this year, while waiting on your next screening/event or are simply just hungry and want a taste of Little Rock’s finest. Eat you heart away!

Fridays- May 17 at Capitol and Main on the plaza. Open from 10:30 a.m. until 4 p.m.

1. Prawn Stars– fresh gulf shrimp and crawfish, corn, potatoes and craw daddy sandwich

2. KBird– garden rolls with peanut sauce, papaya salad, pad Thai (chicken/tofu), fried rice (pork/chicken/tofu), vegetable red curry with fried egg, red curry beef, green curry salmon, fresh mango and coconut sticky rice

3. Big Daddy’s Dogs– grilled hot dogs and sausages with fresh sautéed peppers, onions and mushrooms available along with other fixing’s, brownies

4. The Food Commander-catfish straws, boneless chicken wings, slaw burgers and dogs, crawfish etouffee, fried noodles, homemade fried pies

5. Lobolly Creamery– hand crafted, small batch ice cream and frozen novelties

Kirk Anderton will be playing live music. SYNC will have a display set up with games and will be giving out prizes.

Friday night , May 17 at 6th and Main at the BEST Day Parking lot (across from The Rep). Open from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m.

1. Bryant’s BBQ– fresh cut fries, smoked pork and beef, jerk chicken and Cajun beans and rice, hand squeezed lemonade

2. Prawn Stars– fresh gulf shrimp and crawfish

3. Mexicana Alicia’s – tacos, tostadas, fajitas, burritos and quesadillas

LRFF 2013 – Day 3

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IMG_5408A documentary by acclaimed sitcom creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason is one of the highlights of the third day of the Little Rock Film Festival.

Throughout the day at a variety of venues, shorts and features of both the narrative and documentary variety will be screened in downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock.

In contention for the Golden Rock Narrative Award are Wajma-an Afghan Love Story by Barmak Akram,  Hide Your Smiling Faces by Daniel Patrick Carbone, Coldwater by Vincent Grashaw, Zero Charisma by Katie Graham and Andrew Matthews, Junk by Kevin Hamedani, The Discoverers by Justin Schwarz and This Is Where We Live by Josh Barrett, Marc Menchaca.

Films screening today in contention for the Golden Rock Documentary Award are Village at the End of the World by Sarah Gavron and David Katznelson; Muscle Shoals by Greg ‘Freddy’ Camalier; William and The Windmill by Ben Nabors; Gideon’s Army by Dawn Porter; The Kill Team by Dan Krauss; The Death of Kevin Carter by Dan Krauss; Blood Brother by Steve Hoover; Bayou Maharajah by Lily Keber; After Tiller by Lana Wilson and Martha Shane; Spies of Mississippi  by Rick Powers and Dawn Porter; These Birds Walk by Omar Mullick and Bassam Tariq; and Bridegroom by Bloodworth-Thomason.

Two films shown today are part of the Made in Arkansas competition.  They are Pamela Uzzell’s  Unearthing the Dream and Juli Jackson’s 45RPM.

Arkansas Shorts: “Battles” including “Sky Begins to Storm” by Ron Walter, “The Van” by Nathan Willis and “December 1982” by Lyle Arnett. “Consequences” features “Twinkletown” by Scott McEntire, “Soul Winner” by Jennifer Gerber, “Blood Brothers” by Jason Miller and Seth Savoy, and “Diamond John” by Travis Mosler.

World Shorts: “American Dreams” includes “The Commitment,” “Sweet, Sweet Country,” “Kalifornija,” “The Acting Lesson,” and “An American Mosque.” “Some Times” featuring “When We Lived in Miami,” “Off Season,” “Black Metal,” “Ojala,” “Sleep” and “113 Degrees.”

Among the special events today are a Producers Forum featuring Courtney Pledger and a Little Rock Horror Picture Show Spotlight Screening Motivational Growth.

There will also be parties on Friday evening including the Junction Bridge Party and the Argenta Arts Rooftop Party for Gold Pass holders.

Oxford American hosts an evening with Nathaniel Rich

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odds-against-tomorrow-250x300The Oxford American magazine is pleased to welcome novelist Nathaniel Rich to Little Rock tonight.

Rich will read from his novel ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW.

Local writer Jay Jennings will emcee the event, and music will be provided by the John Burnette Duo. WordsWorth Books & Co. will have copies of the novel for sale.

The event is free and open to the public.  It starts at 7pm. The event will take place at the Oxford American headquarters at 1300 South Main Street

Nathaniel Rich is the author of The Mayor’s Tongue. His essays and short fiction have appeared in the Oxford American, Harper’s, The New York Review of Books, McSweeney’s, and The New York Times Magazine.

Born in New York City, he now lives in New Orleans. Visit his website at www.nathanielrich.com.

LRFF 2013 – Day 2

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lrff_mp_hdr_logoDocumentaries about Arkansan Levon Helm and Richard Nixon, films made in Arkansas and features and shorts from all over the world are on the roster for the second day of Little Rock Film Festival.

The second day of the 2013 Little Rock Film Festival kicks off with LRFFYouth! at 9am.  This is a two day workshop sponsored by AETN which is for aspiring filmmakers.

Throughout the day at a variety of venues, shorts and features of both the narrative and documentary variety will be screened in downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock.

In contention for the Golden Rock Narrative Award are Wajma-an Afghan Love Story by Barmak Akram, Good Night by Sean Gallagher and Hide Your Smiling Faces by Daniel Patrick Carbone.

Films screening today in contention for the Golden Rock Documentary Award are William and The Windmill by Ben Nabors; Village at the End of the World by Sarah Gavron and David Katznelson; Our Nixon by Penny Lane; Blood Brother by Steve Hoover; Gideon’s Army by Dawn Porter; After Tiller by Lana Wilson and Martha Shane; We Always Lie to Strangers by A.J. Schnack and David Wilson; The Kill Team by Dan Krauss; and Ain’t in It for My Health by Jacob Hatley.  The latter is the documentary about Levon Helm.

Four films shown today are part of the Made in Arkansas competition.  They are Larry Foley’s Up Among the Hills, Pamela Uzzell’s Unearthing the Dream, Juli Jackson’s 45RPM and Mark Thiedeman’s Last Summer.

Arkansas Shorts: “Futures” features “Foot Trackers” by Brandon Bogard, “Lasting the After” by Blake Elder, “Death of a Superhero” by Brandon Bristol and “Bad Water” by Amman Abbasi.  “Heartbeats” includes Joe York’s “Bump,” Zach Turner’s “Mary,” Nolan Dean’s “Last Shot Love,” and Daniel Campbell’s “The Discontentment of Ed Telfair.” “

World Shorts: “The Beginning, The Middle, The End” consists of “Hatch,” “Un mundo para Raul,” “Sahasi Chori,” “Movies Made from Home #6 and #16,” “Divine Rite,” and “Passio.”  “Quirks” includes “The Associate,” “The Audition,” “The Places Where We Lived,” “Die Like an Egyptian,” “Catnip: Egress to Oblivion?” “boy.girl.drum” and “Mousse.”  “American Dreams” includes “The Commitment,” “Sweet, Sweet Country,” “Kalifornija,” “The Acting Lesson,” and “An American Mosque.” “The Edge” consists of “Bo,” “Root,” “Grasshopper!,” “#PostModern,” “The Giant,” and “Organ Grinder.”  “The World Outside,” features “The Children Next Door,” “Eddie Adams: Saigon ’68,” “A Cidade,” and “Another Corner.”

LR Look Back: 50th Anniversary of Arkansas Arts Center opening

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IMG_5262Fifty years ago today, the Arkansas Arts Center officially opened in Little Rock’s MacArthur Park.  The project, which dates back to the early days of the Fine Arts Club, was formally authorized by the Little Rock City Board of Directors in September 1960 following a successful fundraising drive by supporters.  Future Governor Winthrop Rockefeller was a vital force in raising money and establishing the vision which transformed a small municipal art museum (the Museum of Fine Arts) into a comprehensive art center serving the entire state.

Since that day in May 1963, the physical plant of the Arkansas Arts Center has expanded several times. The programming has also grown. Though the degree-granting graduate school was abandoned in the late 1960s (because it nearly bankrupted the AAC), the Arkansas Arts Center now boasts an extensive and expansive Museum School offering classes in a variety of art forms to students of all ages.

Likewise the cutting-edge theatre company which was once in residence at the AAC is long-gone. After a few other programming attempts, the theatre space has been home to the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre since 1975.

The changes mentioned above and the expansions were shepherded by longtime Director and Chief Curator Townsend Wolfe.  Pictured above is a look at the main entrance to the facility, which has served in this capacity since an expansion which opened in February 2000.

Dr. Todd Herman is the current Executive Director of the Arkansas Arts Center. He joined the museum in the summer of 2011.

 

May 16 Architeaser: Mosaic Templars Cultural Center

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IMG_5421As part of Arkansas Heritage Month, today’s Architeaser focuses on the cornice over the entrance to the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center.

The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center began as a dream by community leaders who had grown up attending events at the Mosaic Templars of American National Grand Temple. This had been a centerpiece of African American life not just for Little Rock but for the mid-south.

In 1992, the building was slated for demolition so that a fast-food restaurant could be built on the lot. In late 1993, the City of Little Rock purchased the building for $110,000  to save it from demolition as organizers were raising funds for the restoration.  In 2001, the City transferred ownership to the State of Arkansas for the establishment of the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center.

Originally, the Center planned to restore the 1913 Mosaic Templars of America National Grand Temple, but the original building was destroyed by fire in March 2005. The new 35,000 square feet interior is a state-of-the-art museum complex with exhibits, classroom, staff offices, and an Auditorium that seats 400 people. The façade of the new structure is a facsimile of the 1913 building complete with the Annex building façade, which burned in 1984.

The cornice which is featured today is a copy of the original cornice.  The original cornice, as well as the cornerstone, are some of the few things which survived the 2005 fire.  The original cornice is on display.

A museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is dedicated to collecting, preserving, interpreting, and celebrating African American history, culture and community in Arkansas from 1870 to the present, and informs and educates the public about black achievements – especially in business, politics and the arts.

Through special events, education programs, ongoing research and exhibits such as the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame, the museum celebrates Arkansas’s African American heritage. Tours of the museum provide a detailed look at the history of African Americans in Little Rock and Arkansas.