Category Archives: Holidays

Celebrate Christmas at Old State House Museum’s Holiday Open House today from 1pm to 4:30pm

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OSH logoToday is the day for the Department of Arkansas Heritage museums in Little Rock to celebrate the holidays.

This afternoon from 1pm until 4:30pm, the Old State House Museum will be hosting a 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.

Call (501) 324-9685 for more information. Admission is free

The 49th Annual Historic Arkansas Museum Christmas Frolic today from 1 to 4

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ham-frolicWhen the Culture Vulture was just a Culture Chick, his parents took him to then-Arkansas Territorial Restoration Christmas Open House.

Thankfully, this event continues and celebrates Christmas as it was in the 1800s with living history, carols, reenactments, live music, dancing and more. Visitors come from across the state every year for our famous hot cider and ginger cake, as well as Arkansas-made holiday shopping in the Museum Store.

Celebrate Christmas as it was in the 1800s with living history, carols, reenactments, live music, dancing and more plus:

  • Live music by the Arkansas Country Dance Band, Lark in the Morning, Sugar on the Floor, fiddler Ricky Russell and friends and the Aeolus Recorder Konsort.
  • Meet Linda Palmer Williams, author and artist of Champion Trees of Arkansas
  • Visit with Susan Williamson on her line of Plant Me Seed Cards
  • Take a holiday picture by the reconstructed 1830s Pleasure Wagon!

The fun continues from 1pm until 4pm today.  Watch for HAM director Bill Worthen to dance the Virginia Reel, which members of his family have been dancing in Arkansas since the 1820s.

This weekend – ELF the Musical at Robinson Center

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Broadway returns to Robinson Center with Elf, The Musical today, December 3, and tomorrow, December 4.  There will be four performances of this Sparklejollytwinklejingley musical!

ELF is the hilarious tale of Buddy, a young orphan child who mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported back to the North Pole. Unaware that he is actually human, Buddy’s enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth. With Santa’s permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father, discover his true identity, and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas. This modern day Christmas classic is sure to make everyone embrace their inner ELF.

Produced by NETworks Presentations, LLC and WarnerBros. Theatre Ventures, Elf features songs by Tony Award nominees Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer), with a book by Tony Award winners Thomas Meehan (Annie, The Producers, Hairspray) and Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone).  The production features direction by Sam Scalamoni and choreography by Connor Gallagher.

The New York Times says that ELF is “SPLASHY, PEPPY, SUGAR-SPRINKLED HOLIDAY ENTERTAINMENT!” USA Today calls ELF, “ENDEARINGLY GOOFY!” Variety proclaims, “ELF is happy enough for families, savvy enough for city kids and plenty smart for adults!”

Performances are at 3pm and 8pm today and at 2pm and 7pm tomorrow.  ELF is brought to Little Rock by Celebrity Attractions.

A CHRISTMAS STORY opens tonight at Arkansas Rep.

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All Ralphie Parker wants for Christmas is an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle with a compass in the stock, and this thing which tells time. All his parents can say in response? “You’ll shoot your eye out!”

Based upon the memoirs of Jean Shepherd, the 1983 film A Christmas Story has become a modern holiday classic. This winter, relive your favorite moments from the movie as they come to life onstage at Arkansas Repertory Theatre.  The play was adapted by Philip Grecian.  The play opens tonight and runs through December 25.

Enjoy Ralphie’s hilarious misadventures as his family struggles to enjoy an All-American Christmas on the brink of World War II. Armed with an overactive imagination and the wide-eyed optimism of childhood, he creates fantastic schemes to guarantee that he will find a BB gun under the tree, which backfire with hysterical results.

Bullies, his salty Old Man, even a store Santa, all conspire to prevent Ralphie from attaining his heart’s desire in this bittersweet, quirky slice of life from a more innocent time. In the end, nothing can defeat the spirit of Christmas when you are surrounded by a family who loves you, warts and all.

“We’ve got a wonderful present to wrap up and put under the tree this year at The Rep,” said Director Mark Shanahan. “Audiences will be delighted as this classic Christmas tale comes to life in a uniquely theatrical way. A Christmas Story transports us to the bygone era of the 1940s and the recollections of a family Christmas like no other. Full of wit, imagination and heartfelt nostalgia, A Christmas Story is a holiday gift you’ll remember all year-round.”

The Rep triple-dog dares you to keep a straight face at A Christmas Story. This raucous, heartwarming yuletide favorite will have the whole family rolling in the aisles. It is not for the fra-gee-lay of heart!

Holidays in the Wild – with a Kick – tonight at the Little Rock Zoo!

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Kick off the holiday season with the wildest party in town at the Little Rock Zoo on Thursday, Dec. 1, at Holidays in the Wild – With a Kick! This adults only version of the zoo’s festive event will feature a holiday light show, rides on the South Pole Express train and unique adult beverage stops along the way. You also won’t want to miss pictures with our Santa and Mrs. Claus! Live music and food trucks will also be available.

Proceeds from Holidays with a Kick benefit the conservation of the Somali Wild Ass, a critically endangered animal in the wild that is also found at the Little Rock Zoo. This Wild Ass party will help support efforts to survey the number of asses in Somalia and other parts of Africa in order to design conservation strategies that will help protect these beautiful animals.

Must be at least 21 years old to attend. Please bring photo ID.

$25 per person in advance. $30 at the gate.

Kick of the Christmas Season at the Capital Hotel

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2016-cap-hotel-treeOn the day after Thanksgiving, the Culture Vulture goes to the Capital Hotel to see the Christmas tree arrive and be erected.  This year’s tree is 34 feet tall. It very nearly touches the stained glass ceiling in the Capital Hotel lobby.

Over the weekend, the busy elves of Tipton Hurst work to get the tree decorated in time for the treelighting festivities.

Tonight (Monday, November 28) Santa makes his first 2016 appearance in downtown Little Rock for the annual Christmas Tree Lighting!

The Capital Hotel will be roasting chestnuts, enjoying Christmas cookies and sipping on hot chocolate and our famous eggnog. The festivities begin at 5:00pm with the tree lighting at 6:30pm.

There will be music, merriment, and more.

RobinsoNovember: The Ten Tenors in concert tonight

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ten-tenors-rcmhTonight is the first vocal event at the new Robinson Center.  And what better way to test the new acoustics than the vocal stylings of ten tenors?

Home for the Holidays is a magical experience for the whole family that will dazzle, delight and captivate audiences. Join Australia’s rockstars of the opera as they amaze and enthrall with their unique selection of traditional and contemporary seasonal favorites. With soaring versions of Joy to the World, Sleigh Ride, White Christmas, Amazing Grace, Winter Wonderland, Feliz Navidad and many more, Home for the Holidays is the perfect way to celebrate the spirit of the season.

The TEN Tenors are undoubtedly one of Australia’s most successful touring entertainment groups of all time, with more than 90 million people worldwide witnessing their unmistakable charm, camaraderie and vocal power.  Following 17 years of sell-out performances across the globe, including more than 2000 of their own headline concerts, THE TEN TENORS have cemented their place as one of the world’s most loved classically based contemporary music groups.

Tickets are available at Celebrity Attractions’ website.