Category Archives: Lecture

Legacies & Lunch looks at Language

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cals“Down in the Holler: A Lesson in Ozarks Folk Speech” is the topic for April’s Legacies & Lunch program.

The words heap, poke, and middlin’ have suprising origins. Learn about the history of the Ozark dialect with Susan Young during the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies’ Legacies and Lunch program on Wednesday, April 3, at noon in the Main Library’s Darragh Center, 100 Rock Street.

Young’s presentation will look at how Ozark dialect was influenced by 16th century England as well as Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Words used by Chaucer  and Shakespeare are still alive today in the Ozarks. Young serves as Outreach Coordinaor at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale. She is a fifth-generation Ozarker.

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 (CALS). 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.

For more information, call 918-3029.

Running on a Tin Roof

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talesfromsouthThe first week of each month, Tales from the South features one person sharing their life story. They call it Tin Roof Project.  April features elite runner Leah Thorvilson.

In 2012, Thorvilson qualified to run in the US Olympic Team Marathon Trials where she finished with a time of 2:42:09.

On March 4, 2012, Thorvilson won the Little Rock Marathon for the fourth year in a row with a personal best time of 2:37:26. On April 28, 2012 Thorvilson won the Frisco Railroad Run 50 Mile Race in Willard, Missouri with a time of 6:00:31. This is the fourth fastest 50 miler by a female ever.

Music is by the Salty Dogs and blues guitarist Mark Simpson

Tales From the South” is a radio show created and produced by Paula Martin Morell, who is also the show’s host. The show is taped live on Tuesday. The night is a cross between a house concert and a reading/show, with incredible food and great company. Tickets must be purchased before the show, as shows are usually standing-room only.

“Tales from the South” is a showcase of writers reading their own true stories. While the show itself is unrehearsed, the literary memoirs have been worked on for weeks leading up to the readings. Stories range from funny to touching, from everyday occurrences to life-altering tragedies.

The program takes place at Starving Artist Café.  Dinner is served from 5pm to 6:30pm, the show starts at 7pm.  Admission is $5, not including dinner.

You MUST purchase your ticket before the show

Previous episodes of “Tales from the South” air on KUAR Public Radio on Thursdays at 7pm.

MacArthur Museum hosts Cissy Rucker, Veterans Affairs Director

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macmusAlicia (Cissy) RuckerAlicia “Cissy” Rucker, the director of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs, will speak Saturday, March 23, at 1pm about the current state of women in the United States military.  Rucker spent thirty-three years in the Arkansas National Guard, retiring with the rank of colonel. Her assigned duties included Airfield Commander, Surface Maintenance Manager, Maintenance Manager and State Public Affairs Officer.

Rucker is a member of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Committee, as well the Women’s International Helicopter Pilots Association.   Prior to her appointment to Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs, Rucker served as the administrator of the Arkansas Career Training Institute.

The program will commemorate “National Women’s History Month,” celebrated each March in the United States.  The 2013 theme,Women Inspiring Innovation through Imagination, honors generations of women who throughout American history have used their intelligence, imagination, sense of wonder, and tenacity to make extraordinary contributions.

Only a few weeks ago, the Pentagon officially lifted the ban on women in combat, but women have served this country in combat roles for years.  During the American Revolution, Mary Corbin worked a cannon in combat and was awarded a soldiers pension by the Continental Congress for her service – although she only received half pension because of her gender.  In every war this country has fought, women have been exposed to the same hardships and risk for personal injury or death as male soldiers, but it is only now that women can officially serve in combat.

Colonel Rucker will speak about her experiences as a female soldier, and on her current duties as the Director for the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs.  Last year, Rucker became the first woman inducted into the Arkansas Military Academy Hall of Fame.  The event begins at 1:00 p.m. and is free to the public.

 

The MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History relates the military heritage of Arkansas and its citizens to a diverse and widespread audience. Located in the historic Arsenal Building in MacArthur Park–one of Central Arkansas’s oldest surviving structures and the birthplace of one of this country’s foremost military heroes–the museum collects, preserves, and interprets our state’s rich military past from its territorial period to the present.

Toure at Bless the Mic

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e1363269264.57As part of the Philander Smith College “Bless the Mic” lecture series, the Clinton School of Public Service will co-sponsor a lecture by Touré, co-host of “The Cycle” on MSNBC and author of Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness? What It Means To Be Black Now.

Toure’s book was named one of the Most Notable Books of 2011 by The New York Times and the Washington Post. It was also nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work of Non-Fiction. He has published three previous books and is currently at work on a book about Prince that will be published in 2013.

The event will take place at 7pm at the ML Harris auditorium on the Philander Smith campus.

Actor Robert Walden to speak at Clinton School today

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WaldenAs part of the ongoing efforts of the Clinton School of Public Service to bring innovative and interesting programming, today at noon the school is hosting a forum on the power of film to effect change.

Robert Walden is an Emmy-nominated actor best known for his portrayal of the reporter Joe Rossi on the television series Lou Grant. As artistic director of the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute Film Forum, Walden has assembled award-winning Hollywood professionals — directors, writers, teachers, coaches and actors — for three days of workshops, classes, panels and networking, March 21-24, at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute on Petit Jean Mountain.

Arkansas filmmaker Tim Jackson will interview Walden at the Clinton School about his work with more than 40 Oscar nominees and winners and the unique power of film and television to effect change.

The program will take place at Sturgis Hall on the Clinton School campus at 12 noon.

Later this year, Walden will be starring in the Arkansas Rep’s production of Death of a Salesman.

MR CHAIRMAN – Wilbur Mills to be discussed tonight at Clinton School

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MillsBefore Bill Clinton burst on to the national scene, Arkansas had a triumvirate of leaders in Washington who were revered and feared.  One of those was Congressman Wilbur D. Mills.

The Clinton School of Public Service is hosting author Kay Goss will discuss to discuss her book on Mills.  Mr. Chairman: The Life and Legacy of Wilbur D. Mills chronicles the life and career of the longest continuously serving chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Democrat Wilbur D. Mills of Arkansas.

Mills served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1939 to 1977 and is noted for his role as the “architect” of many policies including Medicare, tax reform, interstate highways and Social Security. Goss is a former associate FEMA director under President Clinton. On the state level, she served 10 years as then-Governor Clinton’s senior assistant for intergovernmental relations.

Goss is speaking this evening from 6pm to 7pm at Sturgis Hall, on the Clinton School campus.  Reserve your seats by emailing publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu, or calling 501-683-5239.

Reel Classics with the Rep: Treasure Island

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In conjunction with the current production Treasure Island, the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s monthly film series tonight will feature a film version of Treasure Island.  Reel Classics with the Rep starts at 6:00 pm.

Prior to the film, members of The Rep’s creative team will discuss the World Premiere of Treasure Island, The Musical by Brett Smock, Carla Vitale and Corinne Aquilina at Laman Library in North Little Rock.

Treasure Island runs through March 31.

This new musical offers a fresh take on the famous story by Robert Louis Stevenson. Set to a thrilling musical score and full of action, adventure and excitement, treasure hungry pirates and mutinous crew battle to discover the coveted Isle of Treasure.

Other special events in conjunction with Treasure Island include:

LITTLE ROCK FAMILY DAY
Saturday, March 23 | 1 p.m.- 4 p.m.
Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 601 Main Street, Little Rock
A fun day for families with activities in The Rep lobby, a preshow talk and a matinee performance of Treasure Island, A New Musical at 2:00 p.m. Sponsored by Little Rock Family.

PARTY LIKE A PIRATE sponsored by Colonial Wines & Spirits

Thursday, March 28 | 6 p.m. -7 p.m. |

Sample light bites, specialty rums and rum drinks in Foster’s prepared especially for you by local mixologist Joel DiPippa! Then grab your VIP seating in the First Mezzanine for Treasure Island, A New Musical at 7:00 p.m. Sponsored by Colonial Wines & Spirits.