Author Archives: Scott

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About Scott

A cultural thinker with a life long interest in the arts and humanities: theatre, music, architecture, photography, history, urban planning, etc.

Marching Band to Parade through trails at Hillary Clinton Children’s Library

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Today at 4:30pm, Little Rock residents will have the opportunity to experience a unique event in the trails between 12th Street and I-630.

In the fairy tale, the Pied Piper led children out of town. At the Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library & Learning Center, children and adults will be having too much fun to leave as the acclaimed and rowdy 20-piece marching band, What Cheer Brigade, leads a parade for all to join along the nature trails of the Children’s Library on Tuesday, July 23, at 4:30 p.m.

The public is encouraged to come in costume and to bring homemade instruments and noisemakers. Face painting and giant puppets will add to this noisy celebration of summer fun.

What Cheer Brigade, of Providence, Rhode Island, is a 20-piece marching band that defies boundaries and appeals to young and old alike. The band has been performing since 2005 at a variety of events, has received a grant from the state of Rhode Island to play during the recess periods of six elementary schools, and has been described as “an explosion of good cheer” by the New York Times.

The parade is free and open to the public. The CALS Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library & Learning Center is one of fourteen CALS branches serving Pulaski and Perry counties. For more information, call 978-3870 or visit www.cals.org.

Korean War focus of 3 Exhibits this week

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koreanwarThis week there are exhibits on the Korean War on display at three different locations in Central Arkansas — the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Arkansas State Capitol and Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs.  This year marks the 60th anniversary of the ending of the three year conflict.
The Korean War has often been overshadowed by other conflicts, such as World War II and the Vietnam War. Much of the history of the war exists only in the memories and mementos of its veterans. Approximately 6,300 Arkansans served in the war, including six who received the Congressional Medal of Honor.

In addition to the displays this week, the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies is gathering Arkansas-related Korean War materials to preserve this important history.

On Wednesday, July 24 at 10am, there will be a ceremony at the Arkansas State Capitol in the second floor of the rotunda.

The Butler Center is located at 401 President Clinton Avenue in Little Rock.
The Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs is located at 2200 Fort Roots Dr # 65  in North Little Rock.

Sculpture Vulture: Laughing Sally

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LaughingsallyToday’s Sculpture Vulture is Shelley Buonaiuto’s Laughing Sally.  It is located by the River Market Tower on Third Street in downtown Little Rock.

The sculpture was purchased at Sculpture at the River Market show and sale and installed in May 2009.  The plaque accompanying the sculpture says:

Here sits “Laughing Sally.”  May she make your day a little brighter!  A gift from River Market Tower LLC and Moses Tucker Real Estate to the Citizens of Little Rock.  May 2009.

Shelley Buonaiuto and her husband Michael are both artists.  They met while studying sculpture and painting at the University of Massachusetts.  They have also lived in New York and New Mexico.  A few years ago, they moved to Fayetteville where they reside today.  Shelley won “Best of Show” at the first Sculpture at the River Market for her sculpture “Wind.”  She spends several months a year producing new one-of-a-kind clay pieces and also takes commissions for portraits.

Mount Holly continues Saturday Summer Special Events

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Flag Day 4Mount Holly Cemetery, burial site of Little Rock Mayors, Governors, Senators and Pulitzer Prize winners, will host another in their Garden Series today at 9:00am.

Presented by the Downtown Dames, this month’s event features a program on water gardening.

The Mount Holly Garden series is presented by the Downtown Dames. A $5.00 suggested donation benefits Mount Holly. Refreshments served and we always have door prizes. Ample parking inside the cemetery and along 13th Street.

Entrance will be via the 13th Street gate only.

The next program will be on August 17.

Founded in 1843, Mount Holly has been called “The Westminster Abbey of Arkansas.” Thousands of visitors come each year. Those interested in history come to see the resting places of the territorial citizens of the state, including governors, senators, generals, black artisans, and even a Cherokee princess.

For others the cemetery is an open air museum of artistic eras: Classical, Victorian, Art Deco, Modern––expressed in gravestone styles from simple to elaborate. Some come to read the epitaphs that range from heartbreaking to humorous to mysterious.

The cemetery is maintained by the Mount Holly Cemetery Association, a non-profit organization with a volunteer Board of Directors. The cemetery is located at 1200 South Broadway in Little Rock, Arkansas. Gates are open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. in the summer.

Reynolds Foundation Continues Support of Museum Network

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adnlogoEarlier this week, the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation announced it is is continuing its major support for an innovative seven-museum partnership known as the Arkansas Discovery Network.  Since the launch of the museum collaborative in 2006, the Reynolds Foundation has awarded more than $13.6 million in funding for the state-wide effort

The latest $3.5 million grant will bring a number of the nation’s top interactive museum exhibits to the state.  The grant will continue support for a 40-foot mobile museum truck that delivers hands-on science education to the most rural areas of the state.  It will also provide stipends for underserved schools to visit partner museums, and the grant also will support The Arkansas Discovery Network’s most recent initiative, the establishment of Tinkering Studios at partner museums across the state.  Tinkering Studios are designated museum spaces in which visitors can stop and build, play, engineer, and tinker with paper, circuits, magnets, and a variety of materials.

“Open-ended experiences like tinkering activities are great ways for kids to experiment with basic science principles and for families to connect,” said Arkansas Discovery Network Director Kathleen Lawson.  “We appreciate the continued support from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation,” continued Lawson. “Their generosity will allow us to continue to grow and expand the important interactive learning experiences we provide to children and families across the state through our partner museums and programs.”

Arkansas Discovery Network partners include the Network’s managing museum, Museum of Discovery in Little Rock, as well as Mid-America Science Museum in Hot Springs, Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas in Pine Bluff, Texarkana Museums System, Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources in Smackover, Arkansas State University Museum in Jonesboro and the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Museum, Amazeum, which will break ground soon in Bentonville.

Steve Anderson, President of the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation remarks, “It’s been nearly 10 years since we realized how impactful it could be for museums to complement the school classroom experience with vibrant, interactive learning opportunities for children.  More important, we have found that museums can get far more for their money and provide more programs to rural communities when they all work together as a team.”

The Network’s partnering museums have served more than 2 million Arkansans, and it has been an accomplishment involving many in Arkansas.  Lawson notes, “Since the Foundation’s initial grant to seed theArkansas Discovery Network, many corporate and foundation sponsors have invested in these important hands-on science programs that enrich a child’s school experience, bring families together in the community, and provide teachers with creative ideas for teaching science in their own classrooms. We are grateful to all these supporters as well.”

The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation is a national philanthropic organization founded in 1954 by the late media entrepreneur for whom it is named.  Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, it has committed more than $80 million to enrich hands-on learning experiences for kids, their families, and their teachers through its Children’s Discovery Initiative.

For more information, visit www.arkansasdiscoverynetwork.org.

Rembrandt Lecture at Arkansas Arts Center tonight

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Rembrandt van Rijn Portrait of the Artist, ca. 1665 Oil on canvas Kenwood House, English Heritage, Iveagh Bequest (88028836) Photo courtesy American Federation of Arts

Rembrandt van Rijn
Portrait of the Artist, ca. 1665
Oil on canvas
Kenwood House, English Heritage, Iveagh Bequest (88028836)
Photo courtesy American Federation of Arts

Tonight at the Arkansas Arts Center, there is a lecture in conjunction with the Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London exhibit.

The Arkansas Arts Center is presenting “Rembrandt and Fallibility,” a lecture by Jon L. Seydl, the Paul J. and Edith Ingalls Vignos, Jr., Curator of European Painting and Sculpture, 1500-1800, at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

The program begins at 5:30 p.m. with a reception followed by a 6 p.m. lecture at the Arkansas Arts Center.  The admission is $10 for non-members; free for members and students.

A specialist in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Italian art, Seydl was awarded a B.A. in Art History from Yale University in 1990, and then earned his M.A. (1998) and Ph.D. (2003) in Art History from the University of Pennsylvania, writing his dissertation on images of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the eighteenth century. His exhibitions include Rembrandt in America (2011-12); The Last Days of Pompeii: Decadence, Apocalypse, Resurrection, on Pompeii in the modern imagination from the eighteenth century to the present day (2012-13); and is currently planning projects on Golden Age Seville, the Renaissance painter Savoldo, and art in the age of Shakespeare.

Attendees are welcome to stay after the lecture to view Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London during the exhibition’s special extended hours.

Best Impressions restaurant will also be open during the extended hours.

Movies in the Park: BIG

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215px-Big_PosterMovies in the Park has a big night tonight.  The feature is the 1988 film Big.  A quarter of a century after it was first released, this film still is hilarious and heartwarming.

Tom Hanks’s star turn cemented his status as a Hollywood leading man.  The film also firmly established Penny Marshall as a feature film director.

Joining Hanks in the cast are Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia, John Heard, Jon Lovitz, Mercedes Ruehl, David Moscow and Jared Rushton.   The film was nominated for two Academy Awards: Hanks received his first ever Best Actor Oscar nomination and screenwriters Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg were nominated for Original Screenplay.

Movies in the Park is a free outdoor movie series in Little Rock’s River Market. They take place at the First Security Amphitheatre. The mission of Movies in the Park is help foster a sense of community and enjoyment in downtown Little Rock and throughout Central Arkansas by bringing people together to enjoy a movie in a unique setting along the scenic banks of the Arkansas River.

Movies start at dark. Visitors are welcome to bring picnics but please no glass containers and pick up afterwards. Those choosing not to bring their own picnic, the park does have concessions available for sale.

Bring bug spray, picnic and family and have a good time!

The Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau Technical Services department provides all the equipment for the movies.