Yearly Archives: 2014

Little Rock Look Back: Matthew Cunningham MD, LR’s First Mayor. And Doctor. And Husband of First Woman. And Father of First Baby. And….

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M_Cunningham_fFuture Little Rock Mayor Dr. Matthew Cunningham was born on July 5, 1782 in Pennsylvania. After receiving his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, he ended up in New York City.

It was there he met and married a young widow, Eliza Wilson Bertrand. After a brief stint in St. Louis, Dr. Cunningham was one of the first settlers of Little Rock in February 1820. He became the first physician in Little Rock.

In September 1820, Mrs. Cunningham and her children joined him. She became the first female in the Little Rock settlement. Dr. and Mrs. Cunningham had a son, Chester, who was the first white baby born in Little Rock. (Though not supported by any public records, there is some unsubstantiated thought that one of the African American slaves they had gave birth to a child before Chester was born.) The Cunninghams had several other children.  One daughter, Matilda, would marry Little Rock businessman Peter Hangar.  (The Hangar Hill neighborhood is named after Peter Hangar.)

In 1831, Dr. Cunningham was elected the first Mayor of Little Rock. He won the race 23 to 15 over Rev. W. W. Stevenson. The first City Council meeting took place at the Cunningham house on the block which is the southwest corner of what is now 3rd and Main Streets. Records are incomplete as to where on the block the Cunningham house was located, but a plaque is on 3rd Street near Main on the side of the Fulk Building which Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods is now renovating for their future office space.

Dr. Cunningham served one year as Mayor. He lived until June 15, 1851 and is buried at Mount Holly Cemetery. His wife, son, and the Hangar family are buried next to him.  His stepson – Charles P. Bertrand – also served as Mayor of Little Rock.

31st Annual POPS ON THE RIVER sponsored by Arkansas Democrat Gazette; including performance by Arkansas Symphony Orchestra

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popsonriverPops on the River, presented by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, is the state’s largest Fourth of July celebration and takes place this year on Friday, July 4th in downtown Little Rock.

Pops on the River, in it’s 31st year, is FREE to the public and will begin at noon outside the main gates of the First Security Amphitheater in the River Market Pavilions with a Kid’s Pavilion and Car Pavilion. The event will also have a marketplace with shopping, food trucks, a car show and other activities below the River Market Pavilions.

2-8:30pm – Military Appreciation Tent

All Military members (active, retired or dependents) are encouraged to check-in to receive a discount card to many of the vendors at Pops on the River. Other giveaways including t-shirts and koozies will be available while supplies last.

 

12:00pm – 8:30pm – Kids Pavilion (East Pavilion) sponsored by Arkansas Children’s Hospital

Join the fun at the pavilion with free bounce houses, crafts, games and activities for the kids. Free Hiland Dairy milk for the kids.

Join us as we Salute the Troops – kid’s are invited to write a letter or color a picture to send to a service man or women serving overseas. Sponsored by St. Vincent.

 

12:30pm – 1:45pm – Jeremy Geyer performs (Pavilion Plaza)

 

2:00pm – 8:00pm – Caricatures by John Deering (Kids Pavilion)

John Deering is the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s editorial cartoonist. The fee of $10 goes to support Our House Children’s Center.

 

2:00pm – 4:00pm – Uncle Sam (Kids Pavilion)

Uncles Sam visits the kids and will perform magic tricks and make balloon animals.

 

2:15pm – 3:30pm – Valley Ray performs (Pavilion Plaza)

 

4:00pm – 5:15pm – Northeast Northwest performs (Pavilion Plaza)

 

5:30pm – Gates to amphitheater open

Chairs, blankets are encouraged. Open amphitheater seating is available, but limited. You can purchase reserved seating for $10 in advance online. No coolers or outside food or drinks. No pets or fireworks allowed.

 

5:30pm – 8:30pm – Smile Photobooth presented by Delta Dental (Kids Pavilion)

Take July 4th themed pictures in the fun photobooth and leave with a free photostrip. You can also view and get a digital copy of your photo at http://www.facebook.com/DeltaDentalAR

 

5:30pm – 9:30pm – Salute to the Troops. Sponsored by St. Vincent (Riverfront Park)

Record a video message to our men and women in the military in our Salute the Troops tent. Free t-shirts to the first 100 who record their videos.

 

6:30pm – The Oh Say! Can you Sing? Finalists perform. (First Security Amphitheater)

Help the judges decide who will sing the National Anthem with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and win $500. See the finalists online now at http://www.arkansasonline.com/sing

 

7:00pm – Air National Guard Band of the Southwest (First Security Amphitheater)

The Air National Guard Band of the Southwest, historically known as the 531st Air Force Band, has over a sixty year history of sustaining the traditions and heritage that has become the hallmark of military bands. This forty-member concert band will provide patriotic and Americana music, from Sousa to Broadway to Motown.

 

8:30pm – The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, presented by Delta Dental (First Security Amphitheater)

Conducted by Philip Mann. The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra performance is one not to miss.

 

9:15/9:30pm – Fireworks

Celebrate our nation’s independence with the Pops on the River Fireworks finale – shot over the Main Street Bridge and visible to all of downtown Little Rock.

Experience a Frontier Fourth of July at Historic Arkansas Museum

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hamlogoThis year celebrate Independence Day as it was celebrated on the Arkansas frontier. At Historic Arkansas Museum from 2pm to 4pm, there will be special activities.  The afternoon activities include an old-time patriotic parade (at 3pm), 19th century music and encounters with people from the past.

Cheer “huzzah” during a reading of The Declaration of Independence — and watch out for Red Coats, who have nothing good to say about it!

Children can walk on stilts and play other pioneer games, and they’ll be invited to take up brooms and wooden rakes to train with the militia.  They will also have the opportunity to create flags, streamers and signs to use in the parade.

Come join us for an afternoon of old-fashioned fun! All activities are free and open to the public.

Events are free.

Susan Paulsen’s photos of Wilmot Ark are featured at Arkansas Arts Center through September 28

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Susan Paulsen, Wilmot, 2011, photograph, courtesy of the artist

Susan Paulsen, Wilmot, 2011, photograph, courtesy of the artist

Wilmot is a little town in Ashley County, in southeast Arkansas. . . .A few years ago, Susan Paulsen set out to tell a kind of story, to chronicle a place in Arkansas through evocative photographs taken there over the course of many visits, in all seasons of the year. . . . Together, they form a picture of a place. For the artist, that place has a personal importance—part of her family comes from there, and for generations it has been a kind of homing place for them. Through her photographs of this particular place, she wants, as she has said, to make a sort of poem about all such places; to find commonalities among these individuals and people in other places. Her goal, from the outset, has been to evoke all the Wilmots, wherever they might be. But still there is this town, these people. . .”  –

From the essay by George T. M. Shackelford, Susan Paulsen: Wilmot.

The evocative visual poetry of Susan Paulsen: Wilmot comes to the Arkansas Arts Center in the form of more than 70 photographic prints and groupings of photographs that she took in Wilmot, Arkansas between 1995 and 2012. Most spectacularly, one large wall is covered by a grid of 90 photographs. Susan Paulsen: Wilmot was organized by Maison européenne de la photographie, Paris. The images are coming home to Arkansas for their American debut. They will be on view in the Townsend Wolfe Gallery from June 27, 2014 until September 28, 2014.

Sponsored by:

Brenda Mize
June and Edmond Freeman

MacArthur Military Museum to host Air National Guard Band of the Southwest tonight

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macmusThe MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History will host the Air National Guard Band of the Southwest, also known as the 531st Air Force Band, for an outdoor concert on Wednesday, July 2.  The band is part of the Texas Air National Guard and is attached to the 136th Airlift Wing, a C-130 unit based in Fort Worth, Texas.  The free concert will occur behind the museum, located at 503 E. 9th St., and will start at 7:00 p.m.  In case of inclement weather, it will be moved to the Children’s Theater at the Arkansas Arts Center, also in MacArthur Park.

The concert will feature the band’s most popular ensemble, its 40-member concert band, which performs a variety of Americana selections including Sousa marches, Broadway show tunes, big band jazz, and patriotic favorites.  The band performs for military ceremonies, music festivals, state fairs, military balls, and community events across the country, promoting Air National Guard units from Arizona to Arkansas.  In recent years the Air National Guard Band of the Southwest has given overseas concerts in Barbados, Bolivia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Nicaragua, Trinidad, Vanuatu and stateside concerts in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin.

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 the country’s foremost military heroes – the museum collects, preserves, and interprets the state’s rich military past from its territorial period to the present.   For more information call 501-376-4602 or visit the museum website at www.ArkMilitaryHeritage.com. The museum is a program of Little Rock Parks and Recreation.

Fight the Summer Heat – Enjoy FROZEN at Movies in the Park tonight

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MitP10 FrozenThe 2013 film Frozen is tonight’s film at Movies in the Park.

Directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, it is inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen story “The Snow Queen.”  This Oscar winning movie stars Kirsten Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Santino Fontana, Alan Tudyk, Ciaran Hinds and Edie McClurg.  Frozen was named Best Animated Feature at the Oscars. It also won the Best Song Oscar for “Let It Go” by Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez.

Now in its 10th season, Movies in the Park is a free outdoor film series at the First Security Amphitheater in Riverfront Park.  The move starts at dark (around 8:30).

Movies in the Park has grown to a season of eight films per year, on average, reaching audiences of up to 4,000 people. It’s a staple event in Central Arkansas. Communities from across the state, and the country, have reached out for guidance as they have tried to implement similar programs in the own communities.

Since 2008, the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau has been managing Movies in the Park.

Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act tonight from 6pm to 8pm at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center

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To commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Arkansas Psychological Association and Mosaic Templars Cultural Center will hold an event to discuss the importance of psychologically healthy workplaces and honor two local civil rights advocates, political and social justice activist Mary Brown “Brownie” Williams Ledbetter, and psychologist and member of the Little Rock Nine, Dr. Terrence Roberts, from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 2, at Mosaic Templars.

BrownieLedbetterThe free and public event is designed to raise the awareness of the effect of discrimination in the workplace on the groups named in the 1964 Civil Rights Act which was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2, 1964. A reception will follow.

Ledbetter is being honored posthumously for her work through the Arkansas Public Policy Panel. She served as volunteer executive director until her retirement in 1999.

Terrence RobertsRoberts is best known as being one of the nine students to desegregate Little Rock’s Central High School, but as an adult, he became a psychologist and through his private practice he has counseled organizations on equitable practices in both industry and business including serving as a desegregation consultant to the Little Rock School District.

The UALR Institute on Race and Ethnicity, Office of Governor Mike Beebe, City of Little Rock, Central High School National Historic Site, and Social Justice Initiative at Philander Smith College are all sponsors of the event.For more information, contact Dr. Patricia L. Griffen, president of the ArPA at 501.223.8883.