Monthly Archives: April 2019

Enjoy Lit Feast in preparation for Arkansas Literary Festival.

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The Arkansas Literary Festival is April 25-28 and they’ve added some new activities and promotions…one being Lit Feast.

From April 18 to 28, five area restaurants will offer specials inspired by four of the fest authors’ books.

The list of menu items is below. Try one or all!

Visit arkansasliteraryfestival.org for full festival details.

Share with your friends, fellow book lovers, and those who enjoy a night out. I hope to see you at Lit Fest next week!

Allsopp & Chapple Restaurant + Bar
Barbecued Pork Chops and Ham Slices served with Deviled Eggs, Baked Beans with Thick Cut Bacon and Jalapeno Cornbread
Inspired by Rick Bragg’s memoir, The Best Cook in the World: Tales from My Momma’s Table

Capers
German Chocolate Cake
Inspired by Jeff Henderson’s book, If You Can See It, You Can Be It

Ciao Baci
Small plates of Polpettine Fritte (Fried Meatballs), Mortadella e Peperoni, Uova con Acciughe (Egg with Anchovy)
Inspired by Elizabeth Minchilli’s book, The Italian Table

Copper Grill
Red Beans and Rice
Inspired by Jeff Henderson’s book, If You Can See It, You Can Be It

The Root Café
Tomato Tart with Mustard and ricotta (breakfast only)
Lettuce Soup (lunch and dinner)
Soy-Sauce Egg with Sticky Rice (dinner only)
Apple Custard Crisp (dinner only)
Inspired by Dorie Greenspan’s book, Everyday Dorie.

Little Rock Look Back: Charles Moyer, LR’s 44th and 49th mayor

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On April 18, 1880, future Little Rock Mayor Charles E. Moyer was born in Glenwood, Minnesota. A man of contradictions, he was both a candidate backed by (and probably personally involved in) the Ku Klux Klan, yet he also brought the Goodwill Industries organization to Little Rock and Arkansas to help those less fortunate.

He came to Little Rock shortly after the turn of the 20th century as a clerk in the Post Office, and later served as a mail carrier. He then worked for Plunkett-Jarrell Wholesale Grocer Company in Little Rock. On January 1, 1921, he took office as County Judge for Pulaski County. In 1924, he ran against incumbent mayor Ben Brickhouse in the Democratic primary. Since Brickhouse had displeased the Klan, which was an active part of Democratic politics in Little Rock and throughout the nation at the time, Moyer won the primary.

Mayor Moyer led the City of Little Rock from April 1925 through April 1929. In 1927, the last lynching in Little Rock took place. While race-baiting crowds were surrounding City Hall demanding an African American prisoner be released to them for vigilante justice, Mayor Moyer was in hiding at an undisclosed location. Not able to get the prisoner they wanted, they took out their venom on another man who had assaulted a white woman and her daughter.

Mayor Moyer sought a third term, but was defeated in the 1928 Democratic primary.  After leaving office in 1929, Moyer moved for a time to Batesville. He returned to Little Rock and was a chief deputy sheriff. From 1937 to 1941, he served as Pulaski County Assessor. In 1941, he returned to the office of Little Rock Mayor after J. V. Satterfield opted to serve only one term and did not seek re-election. Mayor Moyer led Little Rock through most of World War II. He left office in April 1945 and died on May 29, 1945, barely one month after leaving City Hall.

Today at Clinton School, the Arkansas Rep production of NATIVE GARDENS

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The new Arkansas Repertory Theatre production of Karen Zacarias’ Native Gardens will be the focus of a noontime Clinton School program today (April 18).

What makes a good neighbor?

When a young, up-and-coming Latinx couple move in next door to an older, well-established white couple, everything is downright neighborly until it’s discovered that the fence separating their backyards is over the property line — a property line that cuts right through a prize-winning flowerbed! Cultures and generations clash with comedic results in this hip and hysterical new play written by one of the nation’s leading Latina playwrights, Karen Zacarias.

Audiences will love this sidesplitting contemporary comedy that critics have called a “‘woke’ DICK VAN DYKE SHOW for the stage.”

Zacarias is one of the most produced playwrights in the nation. She is one of the inaugural Resident Playwrights at Arena Stage in Washington D.C, and is a core founder of the LATINX THEATRE COMMONS. She is founder of Young Playwrights’ Theater, an award-winning company that teaches playwriting in public schools in Washington D.C.

All Clinton School Speaker Series events are free and open to the public. Reserve your seats by emailing publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu or by calling (501) 683-5239

Little Rock Look Back: Benjamin Harrison is first current POTUS to visit LR

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On April 17, 1891, Benjamin Harrison became the first sitting president to visit Arkansas.  He was on a cross-country railroad trip having left DC on April 13.

The morning of the 17th he spoke in Memphis and then took the train to Little Rock.  Accompanying him from Memphis to Little Rock were a delegation which included Governor and Mrs. James P. Eagle, Mayor H. L. Fletcher and Col. Logan H. Roots.  Also in the party was Mrs. W. G. Whipple, a former first lady of Little Rock.

They arrived in Little Rock in the afternoon.  A parade took them from the train station to the State House (now the Old State House Museum) where the Governor formally welcomed the President and his party.

In his brief remarks, President Harrison spoke of the hospitality and the natural resources available in Arkansas.  He also touched on the Civil War, which at the time was less than 30 years in the past. He noted “The commonwealth rests upon the free suffrage of its citizens and their devotion to the Constitution and the flag is the bulwark of its life.  We have agreed, I am sure, that we will do no more fighting among ourselves.” These remarks were met enthusiastically by the crowd assembled.

The President concluded is brief remarks thanking the State officials and the citizenry.  He then took the train to Texarkana where he made his third set of remarks of the day.

Benjamin Harrison was on the Presidential ticket two times. The first time he lost the popular vote but won the Electoral College defeating incumbent Grover Cleveland. The second time he lost both the popular and electoral votes to Cleveland.  He did not carry Arkansas in either election. Though he was the first sitting president to visit Little Rock, there is nothing here named for him.  Since there was already a Harrison Street named after his grandfather, he is skipped between Cleveland and McKinley in the presidential streets.

Tonight at South on Main – John Burnette covers Dire Straits “Brothers in Arms” album

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In honor of her April birthday, Amy Kelley Bell is curating April Sessions by choosing her favorite local musicians to cover her favorite artists. For the third Wednesday in April, Amy has invited the extremely talented John Burnette to cover the Dire Straits Brothers in Arms album..

Show starts at 8 pm. Tickets cost $12 cover day of show. Tickets do not guarantee a seat. To reserve a table, please call (501) 244-9660. You must purchase advance tickets to confirm your reservation.

Singer-Songwriter and contract guitarist John Burnette is at work on follow up EP slated for early 2019 release.

John Burnette has been a contracting guitarist in various groups and organizations since his teenage years, helping forge his unique style that combines the lyric-driven descriptiveness of Classic Folk and Country, the technical challenges of Jazz and Classical, and the grit of his home between the Delta and the Ozarks viewed through the tragedy-tinged glasses of a millennial in the South.

His eponymous debut album was warmly received by the international music blogging community. John resides in Nashville, TN and has commenced production on a follow-up EP with an expected Spring 2019 release date.

Jazz in the Park features Genine LaTrice Perez tonight in Riverfront Park

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Jazz in the Park is a free happy hour style event featuring different Jazz musicians weekly from 6pm-8pm in the History Pavilion in Riverfront Park. Family and Pet Friendly.  It is offered each Wednesday in April and September.

Tonight features Genine LaTrice Perez.

A self-taught jazz and blues singer with a booming voice, Genine LaTrice Perez “captures the spirit of the live-sound era,” said Rex Bell of Infrared Records. Her performances With elegance, fun, and excitement in a jazz and R&B atmosphere,

Genine will keep you entertained by her musical journey back in time to the sounds of Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, The Staple Singers, Etta James, and Otis Redding. Not only does she take you on a journey back in time, she moves you forward with neo-soul by Jill Scott, Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Leelah James, and Chrisette Michelle.

She has two jazz projects: Self-titled, Genine LaTrice Perez on iTunes, and Cafe’ Windsong, a live project. She is also featured on two Rex Bell Trio albums: Two Faces: A Tribute to Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday’s 100th Birthday and Let me Sing it for You-A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald.

No Coolers Please. Lawn Chairs Welcome. (Rain Location is East Pavilion at River Market)

End of Life and Palliative Care is focus of film and discussion tonight

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April 17 is National Health Decision Day.  In conjunction with that, there will be a screening of the Oscar–nominated short documentary “End Game“, followed by a presentation by Dr. B. J. Miller. The evening will end with opportunity for interactive Q&A.

The program will begin at 6:30pm (doors open at 5:30pm) at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater.  It is presented by the UAMS Division Of Palliative Medicine funded by a grant from the Dorothy Snider Foundation.

BJ Miller, M.D., is a palliative care physician in San Francisco who began his “formal relationship with death”at age 19 when he was involved in an accident that resulted in the amputation of one arm below the elbow and both legs below the knee. Drawing on his expertise as a physician, former executive director of Zen Hospice Project, and as a patient, he is an advocate for a health care system that maximizes quality of life and that minimizes unnecessary suffering.

His TED Talk, “What Really Matters at the End of Life,” about keeping the patient at the center of care and encouraging empathic end-of-life care, and has garnered over 6 million views and ranks among the most viewed talks. He encourages us to reorient and reframe our relationship to the inevitable, that which we don’t control, and brings creative power and meaning-making to death, believing that death is the agent that helps us experience anything precious in life.