Category Archives: Museum

Coming Soon: HAM’s 44th Annual Christmas Frolic (Dec 4)

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Celebrate the holiday season like days past at Historic Arkansas Museum’s annual Christmas Frolic on December 4, from 1 to 4 pm.

Visitors can watch nails being forged at the new Blacksmith Shop, create tree ornaments and holiday cards, sip on hot cider and enjoy ginger cake, play pioneer games, listen to 19th century fiddle music, expect a visit from Father Christmas and do some holiday shopping in the Museum Store. And lots more!

Music will be provided by Arkansas Country Dance Band, Lark in the Morning and roaming fiddlers.

Plenty of free parking is available at 3rd and Cumberland Streets.  Historic Arkansas Museum is a museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

As a child, the Culture Vulture’s parents brought him to this every year. It kicked off the Christmas season for us.  Memories of the hot cider as a kid are almost as warming as the actual cider was.  My ADD however did not allow me to enjoy the candle dipping for very long.  I couldn’t understand why you just couldn’t put the wicks in the middle of the wax, let it harden and then cut them out.

 

Coming Soon: Holiday Open (Old State) House (December 4)

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This Sunday, December 4, from 1pm to 4:30pm, the Old State House becomes the Holiday Open (Old State) 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 may create unique holiday cards and more!

Delightful carols will be performed by local music groups. Visitors will also enjoy delicious cookies and punch.

It will also be a great time to revisit the galleries or see them for the first time. From the restored legislative chambers which tell the story of Arkansas’ leaders, to the First Ladies gowns to the exhibits: Arkansas Arkansaw-A State and Its Reputation and An Enduring Union — there is plenty to see.

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

The Old State House is a museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Penguins at Little Rock Zoo

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As the holiday season approaches, red and green are not the only colors en vogue.  Black and white is always a classic.  Tomorrow the Little Rock Zoo continues its breakfast series with Breakfast with the Penguins.

Seating is limited and prior reservations are required: call 661-7218.  The breakfast starts at 8am sharp.  Prices range from $12.95 for a member child up to $21.95 for a  non-member adult.

Earlier this year, the Little Rock Zoo formally opened the Laura P. Nichols Penguin Pointe exhibit with eleven penguins:  Blair, Billi, Mary Beth, Roy, Jack, Domino, Rippley, Gable, Brenton, Laura and Skipper.

The African blackfooted penguins came from other zoos as part of the Species Survival Plan (SSP). These penguins are on the endangered species list, but through SSP, the Zoo will fulfill its mission of conservation. Any baby penguins born will be donated to other zoos.

Over $2.3 million was raised through private and public sources to build the unique exhibit.

Arkansas Arts Center Museum School Sale

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The Arkansas Arts Center Museum School Sale will be held Saturday, November 19, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Clear Channel Metroplex (I-430 and Col. Glenn exit).

Museum School teachers and students sell their original artwork including drawings, photographs, paintings, sculpture, pottery, woodwork, prints, jewelry and glass objects. Artists accept cash and checks. The public is invited to attend. Parking and admission are free.

Museum School Sale Member Night
For the first time, there is a special Members-only preview.  It will be on November 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. Arkansas Arts Center Members will be able to view and purchase items before the Sale opens to the public. Memberships can be purchased at the door.

Finland at Forty-Two

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Finland! Finland!

Explore the world, but leave your passport at home!  Forty-Two, the restaurant at the William J. Clinton Presidential Center, continues Around the World Thursdays this month with a visit to the land of the midnight sun, a thousand lakes and mires.

Three courses for only $27.95 provide the opportunity to sample unique flavors in a beautiful setting.   Seating is limited, and reservations are required.  Due to extreme popularity of the events, advanced reservations are strongly recommended. Chef Stephen Burrow was recently crowned the Arkansas Hospitality Association Iron Chef 2011.

This is a great way to celebrate the 7th anniversary of the opening of the Clinton Presidential Center, which opened in November 2004.

Art and Dance HAM It Up at 2nd Friday Art Night

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Dance and Art intersect at Historic Arkansas Museum during the monthly 2nd Friday Art Night. 

At Historic Arkansas Museum, there will be a reception for Tesseract Dancing: Brett Anderson and Emily Galusha, a new exhibit opening in the Trinity Gallery for Arkansas Artists. Outside the north entrance, at 6 pm, the pARTy for Peg sculpture will be lit; and a blacksmith will demonstrate his trade in the new Shop on the Log House grounds. Throughout the evening, in various locations, Arkansas Festival Ballet will preview upcoming performances.

Started in 2005, this downtown art gallery walk in the River Market District vicinity showcases a variety of museums and galleries.  In addition to viewing art, there are refreshments and usually live music at the various stops along the way.  There is also a free art shuttle to take visitors from location to location. The event runs from 5pm to 8pm.

Among the various participating sites are Arkansas Studies Institute, Christ Episcopal Church, Hearne Fine Art, Mediums Art Lounge, Copper Grill, Dizzy’s Gypsy Bistro, Lulav and Third Street merchants of the River Market District.

Arts & Humanities Month: Boo at the Zoo!

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Boo at the Zoo is the largest family Halloween festival in Arkansas.  Now in its 20th year, Boo at the Zoo has become a family tradition.  Boo at the Zoo features trick-or-treating in a safe environment along with several amenities and attractions including: a hay maze, carnival rides, fair-style food & other concessions, the haunted train, a haunted house for older kids, a costume contest, magic show, Ghost Roast s’mores area, Frankenstein’s Dance Party, and much, much more.

Boo opened this year on October 20 and continues through Halloween night from 6pm to 9pm.

The Little Rock Zoo began modestly in 1926, with just two animals — an abandoned timber wolf and a circus-trained brown bear. Today, under the leadership of Mike Blakely, the Zoo includes more than 725 animals representing 200+ species, many on the endangered list. A recent addition is the Laura P. Nichols Penguin Pointe exhibit.

In addition to the many animals, there is the opportunity to eat at Café Africa and ride on the Arkansas Carousel, a one-of-a-kind Over-the-Jumps antique carousel that is the only fully operational carousel of its kind in the world.