Twenty years ago, on Election Day 1992, the eyes of the world were on Little Rock. That evening William Jefferson Clinton strode out through the front doors of the Old State House Museum and delivered his acceptance speech after being elected the 42nd President of the United States.
On this election day, you can visit the Old State House and visit the permanent exhibit they have on Clinton’s presidential announcement in 1991 and the election nights in 1992 and 1996. You can also view the exhibit “On the Stump” which looks at campaigns in Arkansas from 1819 through 1919.
In 1819 when the Arkansas Territory was created, the elimination of property requirements for voting combined with the raucous spirit of the frontier produced a new style of mass participation in American politics. The results were crude and often vulgar, but thoroughly democratic. This manifested itself in Arkansas politics less centered on political parties of Arkansas and the ideology of citizens than on the personalities of those involved. So personal were the politics of the times that political campaigns often culminated in duels. The exhibit was curated by Dr. Carl Moneyhon, Professor of History at UALR.
The Old State House is a museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage. It is open from 9am to 5pm Monday through Saturday and from 1pm to 5pm on Sunday.
Karen Kenney Graham will present “An Evening with My Favorite Composers” at Christ Episcopal Church in downtown Little Rock. She is a Dramatic Soprano who received her undergraduate and master’s degrees in Vocal Performance from the University of Central Arkansas. The recital will consist of selections by Wagner, Rachmaninoff, Puccini, Mendelssohn and David W. Allison. A reception will follow the performance.
Tonight at 7 and tomorrow at 2 and 7 are the final three times to catch the Arkansas Rep Young Artist production of Singin’ on a Star. The show is all about the actor’s journey from stardust to stardom, set to a toe-tapping soundtrack of modern song selections from the top pop charts and the Great White Way.
Henry Petroski, the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and professor of history at Duke University, will give the Fred K. Darragh Jr. Distinguished Lecture tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the Main Library’s Darragh Center, 100 Rock Street.
n the spirit of Halloween, Movies in the Park will host a special “Fright Night,” screening two spook-tacular films for a howling good time on Halloween night. It will take place in Riverfront Park by the Riverfest Amphitheatre.
