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.

LR Wind Symphony Christmas Celebration

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The Little Rock Wind Symphony will present its annual Christmas concert this evening at 7:30 pm.

To celebrate the season, the concert features an extravaganza of favorite Christmas carols performed by the Little Rock Wind Symphony and fabulous guest artists. Join the fun as Suzanne Hamilton, the winner of the Christmas baton, takes the podium to lead the LRWC in Leroy Anderson’s classic “Sleigh Ride.” And of course, don’t miss your chance to sing-along with the LRWS!

The concert features Suzanne Loerch, mezzo soprano as well as the Don Roberts Elementary School Children’s Choir.

The Little Rock Wind Symphony is under the baton of Karen Fannin.  The concert will take place at Second Presbyterian Church.

 

Ballet Arkansas presents THE NUTCRACKER

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One of the sure signs of the Christmas season is the return of The Nutcracker to ballet companies across America.  Ballet Arkansas presents the annual production this weekend on December 7, 8 and 9 at Robinson Center Music Hall.  (School performances are going on throughout the week.)

Celebrate the season with your professional ballet company as we continue a favorite Christmas tradition performing The Nutcracker accompanied by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Geoffrey Robson. Every year this fun field production creates lifelong memories for hundreds of Arkansas families. With gorgeous scenery, enchanting costumes and original choreography, Ballet Arkansas will present The Nutcracker at Robinson Center Music Hall on December 7th – 9th.

The Nutcracker tells the story of Clara and her magical nutcracker doll and their wondrous journey to the Land of Snow and Kingdom of Sweets. This year’s production boasts new choreography from Ballet Mistress, Marla Edwards, new to the company this season, as well as co-director Allison Stodola Wilson. These directors along with choreographers Traci Presley and Jana Beard have taken this much loved holiday favorite to new heights creating an enchanting production that will delight audience members of all ages.

This year’s production will feature the nine professional company members of Ballet Arkansas, comprised of Anna Maris (Arabian/Dew Drop), Sean Porter (Arabian/Russian/Rat King), Lauren McCarty Horak (Spanish/Marzipan), Paul Tillman (Snow King/Russian), Katchiri Tillman (Snow Queen/Marzipan), Amanda Sewell (Doll/Marzipan), Laurel Dix (Chinese), Toby Lewellen (Nutcracker Prince/Russian/Spanish) and Leslie Dodge (Sugar Plum Fairy). In addition to these nine company members, Ballet West Principal Artist and Ballet Arkansas Artistic Advisor, Michael Bearden, will grace the stage, dancing the roll of the Cavalier. Other corps rolls will be danced by Ballet Arkansas II company members Akiko Kyong-McClain, Mysti Kirkpatrick, Rachael Schwartz, Haley Jones, Laura Russell and Elizabeth Wing in addition to 175 other Arkansas students and performers.

The Nutcracker is the perfect yuletide gift, the ideal means of introducing children to the power and beauty of classical dance, and a delightful way for the entire family to ring in the holiday season. Make Ballet Arkansas’ Nutcracker part of your holiday celebration this December! To purchase tickets for the December 7th, 8th or 9th public shows to The Nutcracker, visit www.balletarkansas.org or call 501-666-1761. Tickets range from $20-$45.

Ballet Arkansas performances of The Nutcracker are generously sponsored by: Orthodontic Associates, Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau, Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Pleasant Ridge Towne Center, The Dance & More Store, Arkansas Times along with support from the Arkansas Arts Council.

Legacies & Lunch: Annie Abrams

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The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies will host Annie Abrams as the speaker for Legacies & Lunch on Wednesday, December 5, at noon in the Main Library’s Darragh Center, 100 Rock Street.  Abrams has been involved in Arkansas politics for over 60 years and will discuss experiences gained with her many civic and political duties.

Abrams has served as a consultant to many Arkansas governors, including Winthrop Rockefeller, Dale Bumpers, Bill Clinton, Jim Guy Tucker, and Mike Beebe. She currently serves on the board of directors for Our House and as commissioner for the Fair Housing Commission.

The Butler Center’s Legacies & Lunch program is free and open to the public, and supported in part by the Arkansas Humanities Council. Attendees are invited to bring a sack lunch; drinks and dessert will be provided.

The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies is a department of the Central Arkansas Library System. It was founded in 1997 to promote the study and appreciation of Arkansas history and culture. The Butler Center’s research collections, art galleries, and offices are located in the Arkansas Studies Institute building at 401 President Clinton Ave. on the campus of the CALS Main Library.

Art of Architecture – Artists, Architects and Community: The Public Art Equation

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Jack Becker,  who has a long and distinguished career in the field of  public art, is scheduled to speak tonight at the Arkansas Arts Center. His talk, “Artists, Architects and Community: The Public Art Equation”, is the third in the Architecture and Design Network’s Art of Architecture lecture series, now in its ninth season.

Founder and executive  director of Forecast Public Art,  a non-profit headquartered in St. Paul Minnesota, that provides consulting services to artists, communities  and government agencies, Becker is the publisher of Public Art Review, an award-winning journal that covers developments in the field worldwide.
In his talk, Becker will draw on his 35 years of experience as  artist and administrator to convey public art’s role  in meaningful place-making and  economic development. According to Becker,  “Art that engages the public can catalyze and sustain the revitalization of our shared environments, helping to create culturally vibrant and livable communities.”
While public art can be as simple as an object selected for placement in a public space, it can also come about through the collaborative efforts  of artists, design professionals and engineers. Many bridges,  bikeways and  trails, all  important elements of  infrastructure, have been produced by such joint efforts. Increasingly interdisciplinary, the field, according to Becker,  is also growing digital and ephemeral in its accommodation  to developments  in technology.
According to another professional, public art…”is about a city investing in itself. When done well it helps engender pride in place, adding meaning and a sense of history to the public realm.” The role of the community is key to a successful public art program.
Free and open to the public, Becker’s lecture  is sponsored by the Architecture and Design Network with the support of the University of Arkansas’s Fay Jones School of Architecture, the Central Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the Arkansas Arts Center. The 6:00 p.m. lecture is preceded by a reception at 5:30 p.m.
For additional information contact June Freeman at  projects4pi@mac.com

A Capital Christmas: Capital Hotel Tree Lighting Tonight

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The Capital Hotel is wrapped up in the Christmas spirit. The 2012 edition of A Capital Christmas actually kicked off yesterday with Ballet Arkansas’ Nutcracker Tea. But at the Capital this evening, the hotel lobby’s famous Christmas tree will be lit in a Christmas celebration.

Tonight’s festivities kick off at 5pm. In addition to the tree lighting, Chef Tandra’s gingerbread village will be unveiled. The front windows of the hotel have been wrapped for over a week as the village has been built in an enclosed section of the lobby.

Throughout December there will be many other events at the Capital Hotel. This Saturday (December 8) Ashley’s will host a Teddy Bear Tea. Pre-paid reservations are required for this event which is sure to sell out. Contact 501.370.7015 or lingold@capitalhotel.com.

Saturday the 8th, Sunday the 9th and Sunday the 16th, there will be Gingerbread House Workshops for children 5 and up. A special Adults only workshop will take place on Saturday the 15th. For pre-paid reservations, contact 501.370.7015 or lingold@capitalhotel.com.

There will be other events and special activities throughout the season.  For more updates, visit the Capital Hotel website.

Make Your Own History at Holiday Open Houses

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The three Little Rock based museums of the Department of Arkansas Heritage will host Holiday Open Houses this Sunday, December 2.

Christmas Frolic 2012Historic Arkansas Museumwill host the 45th Annual Christmas Frolic and Open House.  While I have not attended all of them, I did attend as a child and do return as an adult.  (Sipping the cider for me seems to officially start the Christmas season.)

HAM encourages visitors to:

Keep your family tradition going, or make a new one and join hundreds of others who have danced their first Virginia Reel in the Hinderliter Grog Shop, the oldest house in Little Rock. It’s always fun to watch your kids sashay down the line for the first time, or to brush up on your own steps.

From sack races to stilts, from fiddling to frolicking, this favorite seasonal event charms one and all with old-fashioned fun. Bring the whole family out and enjoy live music, crafts, carols, pioneer games and our famous hot cider and ginger cake.

Don’t forget to stop by the Museum Store for Arkansas-made holiday shopping. Kay Collett Goss will be in the Museum Store during the Frolic signing copies of her book Mr. Chairman: The Life and Legacy of Wilbur D. Mills.

The Christmas Frolic and Open House runs from 1pm to 4pm and is free.

 

The Old State House will host its own Holiday Open House.

The traditions of joyous family holiday celebrations past can be relived at Holiday Open House. Visitors will find the Old State House colorfully decorated for the season. Fun, hands-on activities will be available to children; they can create unique holiday cards and more! Delightful carols will be performed by local music groups. Visitors will also enjoy delicious cookies and punch.

The Open House at the Old State House runs from 1pm to 4:30pm and is free.

 


143657The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is the newest museum of DAH.  Though the new kid on the block, it is creating its own Holiday Open House traditions.  Their holiday celebration will include holiday music by local choirs, children’s activities, refreshments, and the first event sweet potatoe pie contest.  It is also a great opportunity to view the exhibit “A Voice Through the Viewfinder: Images of Arkansas’s Black Community” which closes on January 5, 2013.

The Open House at Mosaic Templars is from2pm to 5pm and is free.

CITY MOUSE, COUNTRY MOUSE, CHRISTMAS HOUSE at the Children’s Theatre

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It’s sleigh-loads of Christmas excitement at the City Mouse house with a whole lotta stirrin’ going on this Christmas Eve! It’s hardly the “silent-night-hot-cocoa-and-candy-canes-by-firelight” Christmas that Country Mouse expected with his City Mouse cousin. And to top it all off like a star on a tree, you’ll never believe who comes to visit!

This year’s holiday offering is an original script written by Keith Smith for the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre. The musical is very loosely based on Aesop’s fable “Town Mouse and Country Mouse.” Full of physical comedy, this production is a refreshing twist on a classic story.

The production opens tonight and runs through December 16.  Public performances are Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 1 and 3 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.