Monthly Archives: October 2019

Hitchcocktoberfest suffers from VERTIGO tonight at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater

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Vertigo PosterJoin the CALS Ron Robinson Theater for HITCHCOCKTOBERFEST! They will be screening FIVE classic Hitchcock films throughout October, and continue the series off tonight (October 17) with Vertigo

The screening starts at 7pm.

The 1958 film is the third collaboration between Alfred Hitchcock and Jimmy Stewart. It also featured Kim Novak (another in the long line of cool, attractive blondes which Hitchcock cast in his movies), Tom Helmore, Barbara Bel Geddes, Henry Jones, and Ellen Corby.

John “Scottie” Ferguson is a former police detective forced into early retirement because an incident in the line of duty caused him to develop acrophobia and vertigo. His fears are confronted when Scottie is hired by an acquaintance, Gavin Elster, as a private investigator to follow Gavin’s wife Madeleine, who is behaving strangely.

The movie was nominated for two Oscars: Best Sound and Best Art Direction.

7th annual AAC Fountain Fest is tonight!

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What better location for the 7th Fountain Fest in the Rock, than at 7th and Rock Streets?

With construction beginning at the Arkansas Arts Center’s MacArthur Park building this fall, the Contemporaries’ 7th Annual Fountain Fest is moving a few blocks down the street. This year’s fundraiser – featuring food, music, art and libations – will be on the lawn of the Terry House at the corner of East 7th and Rock Street in downtown Little Rock on October 17.

“We’re thrilled to be able to host Fountain Fest at the Terry House this year,” Contemporaries President Heather Wardle said. “Funds raised from Fountain Fest will support the Contemporaries continuing efforts to expand the Arkansas Arts Center Collection and provide exceptional arts programming for young professionals in Little Rock.”

The 7th Annual Fountain Fest will feature food from Petit & Keet and the Chenal Country Club, desserts by UA–Pulaski Tech Culinary Arts Institute, beer by Stone’s Throw Brewing and Back Forty Beer Company, and cocktails by Roxor Gin and Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Local duo Brian Nahlen and Jason Lee Hale will provide music. Museum School instructors and students will offer art-making experiences, and the Children’s Theatre will host a shadow-puppet photo booth.

“Fountain Fest is a great opportunity for the community to engage with everything the Arts Center and the Contemporaries have to offer,” Fountain Fest Chair Chris Smith said. “We’re excited to continue hosting this popular event even while the Arts Center’s MacArthur Park building is under construction.”

Fountain Fest will begin at 5:30 p.m. on October 17 on the Terry House lawn. Event tickets are $30 each or $50 for two and can be purchased at arkansasartscenter.org/fountain-fest or by calling (501) 372-4000. Sponsorship opportunities are still available; for more information contact Spencer Jansen at (501) 396-0337.

The event will also feature a chance drawing for a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle 20yr Bourbon. Drawing tickets are $10 each and can be purchased at arkansasartscenter.org/fountain-fest or at the event. The winner does not have to be present to win.

Fountain Fest provides an opportunity for the community to engage with the Contemporaries, an affiliate-membership group of the Arkansas Arts Center made up of art enthusiasts who wish to expand their knowledge and appreciation of the arts. The Contemporaries programs provide young professionals with an opportunity to experience the Arkansas Arts Center and become involved with the local art community. Through exclusive tours of the Arts Center, private homes and local galleries, the Contemporaries develop a more informed appreciation of art. The funds raised at Fountain Fest support acquisitions on behalf of the Arkansas Arts Center Foundation Collection and other programming that supports the Arts Center.

The 7th Annual Fountain Fest is chaired by Chris Smith. Fountain Fest is sponsored by CenterPoint Energy, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Datamax, and Peckham + Smith Architects, Inc. In-kind sponsors are 107 Liquor; Roxor Gin; Stone’s Throw Brewing; Tito’s Handmade Vodka; Back Forty Beer Company; Moon Distributors; O’Connor Distributing; Chenal Country Club; UA–Pulaski Technical College Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute; and Argenta Downtown Council.

Today at noon at the Clinton School: Brandon R. Brown looks at the stories and lessons INSIDE APOLLO

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Image result for brandon r. brownToday (October 17) at noon, the Clinton School presents a look inside the Apollo missions.

In celebrating the 50th anniversary of Apollo, the nation’s attention returned to the minute-to-minute missions, the brave astronauts, and the political machinery that launched the program.

We can also pause to ask: How exactly did the engineers solve so many daunting problems from scratch – from unstable engines and extreme temperatures to the many unknowns of regions beyond Earth’s orbit? This presentation will crawl into Apollo’s chariot, revisiting some fascinating and lesser known engineering stories, informed at every step by interviews with the Apollo-era engineers. Importantly, what did we learn and what are we still learning from America’s first moon missions?

Brandon R. Brown is Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of San Francisco, where he has also served as department chair, associate dean for sciences, and director of external affairs. His research work has spanned high-temperature superconductivity and sensory biophysics. His writing for non-physicists includes two books, “Planck” (2015) and “The Apollo Chronicles” (2019), as well as columns and articles in Scientific American, Smithsonian, Slate and other outlets. He completed a bachelor’s degree in physics at Rice University, a Ph.D. in condensed matter physics at Oregon State University, and post-doctoral training in science communication at the University of California, Santa Cruz. 

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.

Artober – Patterns….Quilts at Historic Arkansas Museum

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Stitched Together: A Treasury of Arkansas Quilts

Rocky Mountain Road by Elizabeth Rogers Manning and Martha Manning. part of Historic Arkansas Museum collection.

October is Arts and Humanities Month nationally and in Little Rock. Americans for the Arts has identified a different arts topic to be posted for each day in the month.  Next up is Patterns.

One way to highlight patterns is to look at some in the Stitched Together exhibit at Historic Arkansas Museum. Quilting is a skill that was carried to the New World by immigrants.  However, in the almost two and half centuries since the colonies became states, quilting has evolved into a uniquely American tradition.

Quilting is all about patterns, sometimes repeating, sometimes in response. But it is all about patterns.

Here are a few from the exhibit:

The first features my favorite fabric pattern: PLAID!

Log Cabin, a pieced quilt ca. 1950 by Clara Baker.  Part of Historic Arkansas Museum collection.

 

Signature. Made by members of the Women’s Missionary Society of Lonoke County. 1907. Part of the Historic Arkansas Museum collection.

Star of Bethlehem and unnamed pattern. Pieced and appliqued quilt. Mary Jane Vincent, ca. 1860. Part of Historic Arkansas Museum collection.

It started with seven – a decade of the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden

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The original seven sculptures. Clockwise from top left: Conversation with Myself; Straight and Narrow; Bateleur Eagle; First Glance; Sizzling Sisters; Cascade; and Full of Himself

After nearly a week of rain, the skies dried up and on Friday, October 16, 2009, the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden was dedicated.

Designed and created by the staff of the Little Rock Parks and Recreation Department, the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden started with seven sculptures. These were purchased at the 2007 and 2008 Sculpture at the River Market Show and Sales.

The original seven were: Full of Himself by Jan Woods, Cascade by Chapel, Bateleur Eagle by Pete Zaluzec, Sizzling Sister by Wayne Salge, Conversation With Myself by Lorri Acott, First Glance by Denny Haskew, and Straight and Narrow by Lisa Gordon.

The sculpture garden was named after the Vogel Schwartz Foundation in recognition of its contributions to the project. The garden was dedicated on the afternoon of the preview party for the 2009 Show and Sale.

The Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden did not have seven sculptures for long. New pieces have been added every few months since then.  In 2017, an expansion was dedicated which doubled the size and allowed for larger pieces to be installed.  Today there are over eighty sculptures in the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden and more than twenty elsewhere in Riverfront Park.

The 2020 Sculpture at the River Market “A Night in the Garden” party will take place on Friday, April 17, 2020, in the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden.

Artober – I Made This….

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October is Arts and Humanities Month nationally and in Little Rock. Americans for the Arts has identified a different arts topic to be posted for each day in the month.  Today’s feature is “I Made This.”

A few years ago, I took a class at the Arkansas Arts Center Museum School where we splattered paint onto a spinning canvas. My colors were inspired by my love of the New York Yankees and by actor Ben Piazza.  I first painted dark blue pinstripes on the canvas as a nod to the Yankees. Then I washed it with a watered down version of that blue.

For the colors, I chose Lime Green, Khaki, and White.  The white echoes the white and blue of the Yankees. The Lime Green and Khaki came from Little Rock native Ben Piazza’s plays “Lime Green” and “Khaki Blue.”

BLACK HAWK DOWN: THE UNTOLD STORY is October’s Movies at MacArthur

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Image result for black hawk down untold story

Black Hawk Down: The Untold Story presents the heroic efforts of soldiers from the 2nd Battalion 14th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division.  The movie will be shown tonight (October 15) at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History.

These men demonstrated extraordinary courage, skill, and discipline as they fought their way into a “baited ambush” to rescue special operations forces pinned down at the crash site of Super Six-One while also attempting a rescue a the crash site of Super Six-Four. Two soldiers were killed and eighteen wounded in what many have described as the most ferocious urban combat since the Battle for Hue during the Tet Offensive in 1968.

The movie is this month’s Movies at MacArthur at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History.  It starts at 6:30 pm.  The film series is presented in partnership with AETN, the Bruce Family Endowment, Stone’s Throw, and the City of Little Rock Parks and Recreation Department.

Special guest at the screening will be, Colonel Randall Larsen, USAF (Ret) who is the documentary’s Executive Producer/Director. He served in both the Army and Air Force for a combined total of 32 years of active duty military service and as military attaché at the US Embassy in Bangkok, the chief of legislative liaison at the US Transportation Command, and the commander of America’s fleet of VIP aircraft at Andrews AFB MD. His decorations include the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, and 17 awards of the Air Medal (3 with “V” Device for Valor).

Admission is free. Popcorn and Beverages will be provided.