Monthly Archives: September 2014

GO, DOG, GO! at Arts Center Children’s Theatre

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aacctdogThe Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre kicks off the 2014-2015 season with Go, Dog! Go! September 19 – October 5.

“Go, Dog. Go! takes the audience on an action packed journey that is familiar to so many generations,” said Todd Herman, executive director of the Arkansas Arts Center. “We invite the community to experience the nostalgia and enchantment of this wonderful play.”

“Go, dogs. Go! Just look at those dogs go! Why are they going so fast in those cars? Where are those dogs going?” Find out for yourself as the Children’s Theatre presents this captivating canine extravaganza. This production is adapted for the stage by Stephen Dietz and Allison Gregory from the original book written by P.D. Eastman.

The cast for Go, Dog. Go! includes:

  • Aleigha Garstka as Blue Dog
  • Genevieve Kimbrough as Hattie Dog
  • Nate Plummer as Green Dog
  • Jeremy Matthey as Yellow Dog
  • Courtney Bennett as Red Dog
  • Mark Hansen as MC Dog

Katie Campbell is the director for the production. Costumes are designed by Nikki Webster, technical direction by Drew Posey, lighting design by Penelope Poppers, setting and properties design by Miranda Young and Rivka Kuperman is the stage manager.

The Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre season sponsor is Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield and the fall season is sponsored by Centennial Bank.

2014 Reel Civil Rights Film Festival starts with Student Films

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lrff_film-projects_civil-rightsThough the Reel Civil Rights Film Festival commemorates a historic event, this year’s programming starts with an emphasis on the future.  The program starts at 6pm at the Riverdale 10 movie theatre.

The Youth Leadership Academy at the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site is designed to develop young leaders with a focus on social justice, youth empowerment, volunteerism and stewardship for the National Park Service; Little Rock Central High School’s Civil Rights Memory Project immerses students in the oral history of civil rights and human rights through hands-on, intergenerational learning, requiring students to analyze causes and effects of historical events and also the resulting impact on both individuals in their families and institutions in our communities.

Films will be screened from collaborative work with the National Park Service; Arkansas Education Television Network; the Young Historians, Living History collaboration with the Smithsonian Institute, Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, Historic Arkansas Museum, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, Center for Asian American Media and Smithsonian Affiliations.

The films will be followed by a performance of the Memory Project’s Readers Theater and a moderated discussion with student filmmakers and Casey Sanders, Arkansas Education Television Network producer.

Presenting Sponsor –Little Rock Film Festival

Premier Sponsor –Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site

Supporting Sponsors: arfilm|Arkansas Production Alliance, Central High Museum Inc., City of Little Rock, Conyers Institute of Public Policy, Jefferson National Parks Association, Little Rock Central High School, Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau, Little Rock School District, Marriott Little Rock, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, Moses Tucker Real Estate, Riverdale 10 Movies, National Park Service, Sue Smith Vacations/Vacation Valet, North Point Toyota, University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, Philander Smith College, Whole Hog Cafe –North Little Rock, Arkansas Education Television Network, and Arkansas Motion Picture Institute

Talk Like a Pirate at HOOK this evening

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CALS HookArrggghhh Matey!  Today is Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Don’t be a landlubber.  Discover the treasure at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater today at the screening of HOOK.

A Talk Like a Pirate Day pre-party begins at 6 p.m., followed by the movie at 7 p.m. The party will feature a pirate costume contest complete with prizes.  Tickets are $5 per person.

Directed by Steven Spielberg, HOOK features an adult Peter Pan (Robin Williams).  When Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman) kidnaps his children, an adult Peter Pan must return to Neverland and reclaim his youthful spirit in order to challenge his old enemy.  Also in the cast are Julia Roberts (Tinkerbell), Bob Hoskins (Smee) and Maggie Smith (a grownup Wendy).  The film was nominated for five Oscars.

The screening will feature free theme-related concessions and door prizes.

Late Night at Arkansas Arts Center tonight – Evening Lecture and Extended Hours

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AAC LinesTonight the Arkansas Arts Center is open until 9pm with a lecture, galleries and dining at Best Impressions.

From 6pm to 7pm, Ann Prentice Wagner, Curator of Drawings at the Arkansas Arts Center will present a lecture entitled “New Lines: The 12th National Drawing Invitational.”

Drawing lines is one of the oldest and most enduring of characteristically human endeavors. Ann Prentice Wagner will discuss how the 12th National Drawing Invitational challenges us to reconsider the nature of drawing. The exhibition includes distinctive graphic works by eight artists from the Mid-Atlantic region. Each artist finds a different way of imbuing marks on paper, or on Mylar, or walls, or vinyl, with meaning.

The lecture is free for members, $10 for non-members. Tickets are required.

To make reservations for dinner at Best Impressions, call 501-907-5946.

Jazz in the Park continues with The Tri-Tones

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jazzinparkJazz in the Park is back in Little Rock for the second half of the second season! Jazz in the Park is a free, family-friendly event featuring jazz in downtown Little Rock.

Things continue tonight from 6pm to 8pm with The Tri-Tones.

The event is completely free, but no coolers are allowed. Beer, wine, soft drinks and water will be available for sale, with a portion of the proceeds going to benefit Sculpture at the River Market. Lawn chairs and blankets are welcome, and there is some seating in the natural stone amphitheater at the History Pavilion.

This event is sponsored by Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau and the River Market, with special thanks to Arkansas Sounds Music Festival and the Central Arkansas Library System.

Jazz in the Park takes place Wednesday nights in September from 6pm to 8pm. They will take place in the History Pavilion near the Junction Bridge and the River Market.

New Illustrated Arkansas History book launched tonight

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cals launchArkansas in Ink: Gunslingers, Ghosts, and Other Graphic Tales, a special print edition of the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture (EOA), edited by Guy Lancaster and illustrated by Ron Wolfe, provides an entertaining look at Arkansas’s history through stories and cartoons.

It will take place in the Darragh Center inside the CALS main building on Rock Street.  The party will start at 6pm.

At the launch party, Lancaster and Wolfe will speak about the book and sign copies, which will be available for purchase at the event. A “drawing for a drawing” will also be held, in which one attendee will win a signed, framed, original illustration by Wolfe from the book. Beer, wine, and light refreshments will be served.

This event is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact 501-918-3033.

Trail of Tears Commemoration Day

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Today is Trail of Tears Commemoration Day.  There were several different routes on the Trail of Tears.  Little Rock was one of the only places (if not the only one), in which each of the tribes passed through on the way out west.

Much research on the Trail of Tears has been conducted by the UALR Sequoyah National Research Center (SNRC).

The SNRC recently opened an exhibit entitled “Toy Tipis and Totem Poles: Native American Stereotypes in the Lives of Children.”

"Ten Little Indians" spinning top for SNRC exhibit

Ten little Indians spinning top; Photography by George Chambers

The exhibit runs through Dec. 19. Held in the Dr. J.W. Wiggins Native American Art Gallery, the purpose of the event is to create awareness of the variety of native cultures and the achievements of contemporary American Indians and Alaska Natives.

The exhibit comes from the Hirschfelder-Molin Native American Stereotypes Collection, a collection of more than 1,500 museum objects and archival documents, possibly the largest such collection in the world.

The items were donated to SNRC in 2012 by Arlene Hirschfelder and Paulette Molin, professional educators and authors with decades-long experience in Native American education and Native American studies. SNRC archivist Erin Fehr will curate the exhibit with Hirschfelder, Molin, and SNRC staff.

The exhibit will highlight the areas of the collection dealing with children and Native American stereotypes omnipresent in the lives of American children.

By examining childhood objects – dolls, toys, books, games, clothing, sports memorabilia – the exhibit will create awareness of the inculcation of the images and the difficulty of changing mainstream thinking about Native American stereotypes.

In addition to presenting the stereotypes themselves, positive images and responses from Native people will be presented as an alternative.

UALR’s Sequoyah National Research Center is dedicated to the collection and preservation of all forms of Native American expression. Located in the University Plaza, SNRC has served as an archive for Native Americans for more than 30 years. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information contact Erin Fehr at ehfehr@ualr.edu or 501.569.8336.