Yearly Archives: 2013

Adults can go “Back to School” with Science after Dark tonight

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scienceafterdarkaugust13The Museum of Discovery’s monthly adults-only Science After Dark goes “Back to School” this month.

Tonight, Wednesday, August 28 from 6-8 p.m. the program is celebrating back to school with a trip to fifth grade. They will have some hands-on science activities that you’ll remember from elementary school along with a few other things you once learned but have probably since forgotten.

And because no back to school themed event would be complete without a homage to the cafeteria, there will be a signature drink called a hot tater toddy. We might even have a cafeteria lady serving up some grub.

Tickets are $5 or free for members. There will be a cash bar.

Science after Dark occurs the last Wednesday of each month from 6pm to 8pm. Museum educators pick a science-related topic, and develop an event around it. The event is for ages 21 and older.

It is a great chance to explore the museum’s exhibits and enjoy downtown Little Rock.

Clinton School features two programs this week

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Clinton-School-of-Public-Service-LogoJust as the school year is underway, the Clinton School’s speaker series is getting back into full swing.  This week there are two different lunchtime programs.

Tuesday, August 27 – 12 noon “Feet, Forks and the Fate of our Families: Fighting Childhood Obesity,” Dr. David Katz

The epidemic of childhood obesity is having a significant impact on the future health status and workforce productivity of the people of Arkansas. Join us for a lecture about fighting the tide of childhood obesity in Arkansas and beyond by Dr. David Katz, founding director of Yale University’s Prevention Research Center. Katz is the editor-in-chief of the journal Childhood Obesity, the only journal that provides a central forum for exploring effective, actionable strategies for weight management and obesity prevention in children and adolescents.

He is also president-elect of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, founder and president of the nonprofit Turn the Tide Foundation, which was created to help combat obesity by developing, evaluating and disseminating creative, yet practical programs that can be used in the real world for free. In 2009, he was a widely supported nominee for the position U.S. Surgeon General. He was named one of the 25 most influential people in the lives of children by Children’s Health Magazine.

The program will take place at 12 noon today, Tuesday, August 27 at Sturgis Hall in Clinton Presidential Park.

 

Wednesday, August 28 – 12 noon “Immigration Reform in Arkansas,” a panel discussion

Immigration reform advocates are making a push in Washington, DC, and across the nation to rally support for an effort to overhaul our country’s broken immigration system. The US Senate has passed a bipartisan comprehensive immigration overhaul, and members of the US House of Representatives are at home during August Recess hearing from constituents about immigration reform among many other issues.

Immigrants have a tremendous impact in Arkansas. The immigrant population is the fourth fastest growing nationally, with a net economic impact of $3.4 billion in 2010 according to a study by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. Join us for a panel about immigration reform in Arkansas with a diverse group of speakers including:

– Jeffery Hall, Associate Director of National Affairs for the Arkansas Farm Bureau
– Dr. Zulma Toro, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock
– Dr. Sherece West-Scantlebury, President and CEO of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation
– Randy Zook, President and CEO of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce / Associated Industries of Arkansas

The program will take place at 12 noon, Wednesday, August 28 at Sturgis Hall in Clinton Presidential Park.

*Reserve your seats for both programs by emailing publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu or calling 501-683-5239.

Oxford American features Charles Portis film adaptation

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2e6b4_1320267846-oxa_logoToday, August 26, 2013, the Oxford American website features the world premiere of a film adapatation of Charles Portis’ “I Don’t Talk Service No More.”

In addition to the film, the website features an interview of the filmmaker Katrina Whalen.  Jay Jennings, who edited Escape Velocity: A Charles Portis Miscellany chats with Ms. Whalen about Portis and the process of making films.

Whalen worked in production for directors Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich; Adaptation; Synecdoche, New York) and Julie Taymor (Titus; Frida; Broadway’s The Lion King) after her undergrad education at Yale.  She then enrolled in graduate school at New York University.

Jennings is a freelance writer whose journalism, book reviews, and humor have appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the Oxford American, and many other newspapers and magazines.

To see the film, which features Peter McRobbie and Richard Marshall, visit the OA website.

Ark Arts Council announces 2013 Fellowship Recipients

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Arkansas_Arts_Council_logo_2Last week, the Arkansas Arts Council announced the recipients of its Individual Artist Fellowship awards. The artists will be recognized at a reception from 5:30-7:30 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 6, at the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock. The reception is open to the public. Space is limited and reservations are required. RSVP by calling (501) 324-9766.

The Arkansas Arts Council awarded nine artist fellowships in the amount of $4,000 each. Fellowships are awarded annually to artists in Arkansas in recognition of their individual artistic abilities. These fellowships enable artists to set aside time for creating their art and improving their skills. Three artistic disciplines are selected each year as categories for the awards.

The three categories for this year are Literary Arts: Playwriting; Performing Arts: Directing of Narrative and Documentary Films; and Visual Arts: Creating Contemporary and Traditional Crafts.

The fellowship recipients were selected by a jury of out-of-state professional artists, writers, performers and art administrators.

Literary Arts: Playwriting

Kelley Smith Pruitt, Little Rock – In a Year’s Time

Clinnesha D. Sibley, Fayetteville – Tell Martha Not to Moan

Werner Trieschmann, Little Rock – Disfarmer

 

Performing Arts: Directing of Narrative and Documentary Films

Joshua H. Miller, Little Rock – Pillow

Mark Thiedeman, Little Rock – Last Summer

Nathan Willis, Little Rock – “The Van”

 

Visual Arts: Creating Contemporary and Traditional Crafts

Ed Pennebaker, Osage – blown glass, stone and metal work

Timothy LaTourette, Fayetteville – wood, lighting and printmaking

Adam Posnak, West Fork – functional ceramic with stark black, white and red imagery

 

The Arkansas Arts Council is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Little Rock Look Back: The Quapaw Line

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quapawlineOn August 24, 1818, the Quapaw Line was drawn.  Starting at La Petite Roche and heading due south, this line formed the boundary between the Quapaw tribe lands and public lands available for settlement.  Though by 1824, the Quapaw were forced to give up all of their lands, the line continued serve as an important marker.  In the ensuing six years, the first permanent settlement of Little Rock took place and streets were planned.

It is interesting to note that the 1818 treaty referred to La Petite Roche as the Little Rock.  Some have speculated that this is the first official use of “Little Rock” to designate the outcropping.  When the Post Office was established in March 1820, it was given the name Little Rock.

There is a marker commemorating the beginning of the Quapaw Line located at La Petite Roche in Riverfront Park.  The first segment of the line is also noted in the park.  There are also sunken markers (such as the one to the left) place along the line at various points.  In MacArthur Park, at the corner of 9th and Commerce Streets, there is a marker noting that the line passed through at that location.

A good account of walking the Quapaw Line through downtown Little Rock can be found on this website.

Most of what is now called the Quapaw Quarter was located to the west of the Quapaw Line.  However, it did take its name from the fact that the tribe had once lived in that area and was later sequestered to lands near it.  The name for the area was chosen by a committee composed of David D. Terry, Peg Newton Smith, Mrs. Walter Riddick Sr., Dr. John L. Ferguson, and James Hatcher. They had been appointed to a Significant Structures Technical Advisory Committee to advocate for preservation of important structures as a component of the City of Little Rock’s urban renewal efforts.

Weekend Theatre production of Tony winning THE RIVER NIGER runs through this weekend.

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2262749picThe Weekend Theater’s production of The River Niger wraps up its run this weekend.  You can still catch the play tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm.

Winner of a 1973 Obie Award and the 1974 Tony Award for Best Play, The River Niger explores three generations of an American family.  Set in the Black Power 1970s, Joseph A. Walker’s play is full of both tragedy and comedy that is interwoven with the attempt of a revolutionary group to bomb a government target.

Johnny Williams, the father, is a housepainter and poet who lives in Harlem with his no-nonsense wife and inebriated mother-in-law. But his pride and joy is his son Jeff, an officer in the Air Force. Jeff’s return to his family and neighborhood precipitates explosive crises. What is true revolution? Where are the real battlefields? Provoking comparisons about the fight for racial justice then and now through unforgettable characters and scenes, this play is sure to entertain and educate diverse viewers about family, love, and making a proactive stand for what is right.

The play is directed by Akasha Hull and Margaret Parker.  The cast includes Ralusrai Richardson, Pamela Reed, Paula Flood, Brandon Allmon-Jackson, Tony McCoy, Candrice Jones, Jeremiah Herman, Bradley Gamble, John Barnes and Grover Lawson Jr.

Lilly Ledbetter is 2013 Ira Sanders Distinguished Lecturer tonight

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calsledbetterThe Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) 2013 Ira Sanders Distinguished Lecture will feature Lilly Ledbetter, an advocate for fair pay. The free lecture will be held Thursday, August 22, at 6:30 p.m. in the Main Library’s Darragh Center, 100 Rock Street. Ledbetter’s book, Grace and Grit: My Fight for Equal Pay and Fairness at Goodyear and Beyond, will be available for purchase at the event. A reception and book signing will follow the lecture.

In 1998, Ledbetter filed a gender pay discrimination suit against Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in federal court and won a jury verdict of more than $3 million. After a series of appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court later overturned the lower court’s ruling. Despite her defeat, Ledbetter continued her fight until the Supreme Court decision was nullified when President Obama, on January 29, 2009, signed into law the first new law of his administration: the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. While she will never receive restitution from Goodyear, Ledbetter said, “I’ll be happy if the last thing they say about me after I die is that I made a difference.”

CALS established the Rabbi Ira E. Sanders Distinguished Lectureship to commemorate the memory of Dr. Sanders’ 40 years of service on the library’s Board of Trustees. Dr. Ira E. Sanders served as rabbi at Temple B’nai Israel for 38 years. He was a founder of Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind, the Arkansas Eugenics Association (later Planned Parenthood Association), and the Urban League of Greater Little Rock, where he served as an executive and advisory board member for more than 30 years. Lectures honor Dr. Sanders’ commitment to intellectual freedom.

This event is free and open to the public. Reservations are appreciated, but not required. RSVP to pedwards@cals.org or 918-3009.