Kick off the month of the John Willis curated Sessions at South on Main with a Repeal Day Bash with Dizzy 7 tonight

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Join the folks at South on Main in celebrating the most joyous of holidays – REPEAL DAY – the end of Prohibition!

This is the perfect event to kick off their December Sessions at South on Main, curated by John Willis.

Celebrate the  right to imbibe by sipping on a classic cocktail and jitterbugging to music from the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s from Dizzy 7! Come dressed in 20’s/30’s/40’s garb and they will grant you a “Happy Hour Hall Pass” which gets you happy hour prices any time of the day or night for the entire month of December.

The concert starts at 8 pm. Purchase advance tickets for $8 or pay $10 at the door. Tickets do not guarantee you a seat. Please call (501) 244-9660 to reserve a table.

ABOUT DIZZY 7
The Dizzy 7, founded in 2008, plays music that ranges from Motown to Big Band, Latin to Dixie. It features a full rhythm section, a three-man horn section, and Craig Wilson on lead vocals. Dizzy 7 is composed of accomplished musicians who love what they do.

ABOUT JOHN WILLIS
John Willis is a singer, songwriter, pianist, composer, arranger, and musical director based in Little Rock. He currently performs on his own and as one-sixth of the multi-vocalist synth-pop group Silver Anchors. His most recent original release, “Try Again,” can be found on all online music outlets. In addition to performing, writing, and arranging, Willis spends a lot of time in the theatre, both playing and directing for musical theatre. Recent credits include Hedwig and the Angry Inch and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, both at The Studio Theatre in Little Rock.

Willis is thrilled to celebrate his birthday month as well as the holiday season with great shows each Wednesday in December at South on Main. Catch Willis himself fronting a veritable Little Rock all-star tribute to the music of Radiohead to close out this month’s Sessions on Wednesday, December 26.

Count Pulaski subject of December Legacies and Lunch

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As they do from time to time, the Clinton School of Public Service is co-presenting this month’s Butler Center for Arkansas Studies Legacies and Lunch program.  The program, focusing on the life of Count Casimir Pulaski, will begin at noon today at the Ron Robinson Theater.

Authors Mel and Joan Gordon will discuss the life of General Casimir Pulaski, a Polish immigrant who saved George Washington’s life at the Battle of Brandywine and died at age thirty-four after being wounded at the Siege of Savannah in Georgia.

The Gordons published a historical novel about Pulaski, who was known as the “Father of American Cavalry.” The authors were recently inducted into the Lafayette Order in France in recognition of their work on Pulaski and the Marquis de Lafayette. December 15 will mark the 200th anniversary of the establishment of Pulaski County in Arkansas, one of seven counties in America named for Pulaski.

All Clinton School Speaker Series events are free and open to the public. Reserve your seats by emailing publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu or by calling (501) 683-5239.

Little Rock Look Back: 1938 Mayoral Primary

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Two term incumbent R. E. Overman was challenged by businessman J. V. Satterfield for the 1938 Democratic mayoral primary in Little Rock.

It has been said that Overman never met a New Deal program he did not like, regardless of financial circumstances.  Partially in response to concerns about the City’s finances, a group of business leaders approached Satterfield about running for mayor. (Interestingly, at the time Satterfield lived just a few doors down from Overman.)

J. V. Satterfield was not a creature of politics. He had been a successful in the financial services industry. But he had not been active in the City’s political life.  In addition to concerns about the City’s finances, Overman was viewed as vulnerable due to the fact he had alienated most of the City Council.  (In fact, after renaming Fair Park in his honor, in a fit of pique the Council reversed course a few months later and returned the name to Fair Park. It is now War Memorial Park.)

In the campaign Overman proudly proclaimed his administration had given the City a public water utility, an airport, art museum, auditorium, golf courses, and street paving program.  Satterfield countered that many of those projects were actually federal projects and some had started before the Overman administration.  In a swipe at Overman, the Satterfield campaign noted that the incumbent forgot to take credit for the State Capitol in Baton Rouge and Soldier’s Field in Chicago.

Overman countered that Satterfield had no proposals and was a tool of the utilities.  He called the Bond Broker candidate. In return, Satterfield noted that Little Rock’s 1938 debt was $15.8 million, up from $2.04 million in 1935. He followed that with “and still bills go unpaid.”

In a rarity, the local Democratic primary took place on the actual General Election Day.  This boosted voter turnout.  Satterfield swept every precinct and every ward with a total of 6,432 votes while Overman garnered 2,978.

In April 1939, Satterfield easily won the City’s general election – he was unopposed.  At age 36 he became Little Rock’s 48th mayor.

Little Rock Look Back: Twelve Jailed Aldermen

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The Pulaski County Courthouse where the 12 Little Rock aldermen were arraigned.

On Monday, December 4, 1939, a dozen of Little Rock’s aldermen reported to the county jail to serve sentences for contempt of court.

The previous Monday, the twelve council members had voted against an ordinance which had been ordered by the judge in an improvement district matter.  The other aldermen had either voted in the affirmative or had been absent.  Because the twelve had refused to change their votes since that meeting, the judge ordered them jailed.

At the hearing, the judge brought each alderman up one by one. This seemed to be in order to further embarrass the aldermen.  The judge also interviewed Mayor J. V. Satterfield and City Clerk H. C. “Sport” Graham to put on the record that they had counseled the aldermen to obey the judge’s order.

Mrs. C. C. Conner, the only female alderman, was not jailed but was fined $50. The eleven men were held at the jail, though not in cells.  Newspaper photos showed the men playing cards in a conference room.  In order to get out of jail, the judge gave the aldermen the chance to change their votes.

Mayor J. V. Satterfield plead with the judge to let the aldermen leave the jail to attend the meeting at City Hall, which was nearby.  He requested that the city be allowed to maintain “what little dignity remained” by not having the meeting at the jail.  The judge relented, and the aldermen were escorted by deputies to the council chambers.

After the aldermen changed their votes, the judge suspended the remainder of their sentences.  The sentences were not vacated, they were only suspended.  The judge admonished them that should they attempt to reverse their reversal, he would throw them back in jail.

Reindeer on the River at the River Market today!

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After leading the Big Jingle Jubilee Holiday Parade yesterday, Vixen and Yukon are ready to meet more of Little Rock’s residents today!

Everyone is invited to come and take photos with the reindeer from 12 p.m. – 5 p.m. at the Little Rock River Market Pavilions.

There will be other fun holiday related activities but the reindeer will be the stars of the show.  Bring your cameras!

Little Rock Look Back: 1972 Christmas Parade with The Jackson 5 and Bozo

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On December 2, 1972, Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 performed in concert at Barton Coliseum. But earlier in the day, they were the grand marshals for the second annual Little Rock Christmas Parade.

They were featured in a full page ad for M. M. Cohn advertising the parade (and of course encouraging persons to stop by the store while they were downtown).

The Jackson 5 sang and waved from the upper level of a London style double decker bus. About fifty kids followed behind the bus yelling their appreciation and singing along.

Writing for the Arkansas Gazette, Bill Lewis notes that the biggest cheers at the parade, however, went to Gary Weir as KATV’s Bozo (even louder than the one’s for Santa).

2018 Big Jingle Jubilee Holiday Parade today – with 2 of Santa’s reindeer!

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Two of Santa’s reindeer will be in Little Rock LIVE to not only lead the Big Jingle Jubilee Holiday parade on Saturday, December 1, 2018 but also to be on-hand for photos  for a Meet and Greet event – Reindeer on the River – scheduled for Sunday, December 2 from 12 p.m.- 5 p.m. at the River Market. 

On Saturday, December 1, Beginning at Second and Broadway, the Holiday parade will start at 3:00 PM and travel south on Broadway, turn west onto Capitol Avenue and end at the State Capitol.

The lighting and fireworks display will follow at dark or approximately 6:00 PM.  Both events are free and open to the public.

School marching bands and non-profit community organizations will again have the opportunity to win cash prizes as part of the parade’s float and band competitions. The band cash prizes will be $1,000 and $500 for first and second places and $1,000, $750 and $500 for the top three winners among non-profit float entries.

Local guest judges will evaluate the competition and will be positioned along the parade route at an official judge’s stand.  Winners of the float and marching band competition will be posted on www.HolidaysinLittleRock.com by the following business week.