Tag Archives: Central Arkansas Library System

Youth Artists on display at Butler Center Galleries

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cals youth_art_2015School will be starting back soon in Arkansas.  Through the end of this month, there is a chance to see artwork produced by students prior to this school year.

The Butler Center Galleries are showcasing the State Youth Art Show 2015: An Exhibition by the Arkansas Art Educators.  The exhibit is on display through August 29 in the Butler Center Underground Gallery.

This show features dynamic works of art by talented students across Arkansas, from kindergarten through twelfth grade. The works featured are the Best of Show winners from seven regions of the state. The Arkansas Art Educators is a group of art teachers from around the state who work with the Arkansas Department of Education to provide high quality in-service training and to promote student art.

August 9 is National Book Lover’s Day

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bldAugust 9 is National Book Lover’s Day (or Book Lovers Day or Book Lovers’ Day — take your pick).

However you punctuate it, today is a day for those who love to read.  It is set aside to encourage you to kick back and relax with a great book. From shaded spots under arching trees to being tucked up warm in bed, there’s no better way to celebrate today than to while the hours away lost in a book.

A few years ago Huffington Post offered these suggestions as activities for this “holiday.” I’ve annotated them with thoughts of my own.

1) Visit your local library (bonus points if you hum “A Trip to the Library” or “Marian, Madame Librarian” when you do)

2) Reread an old favorite (CliffsNotes don’t count-except for Faulkner because Mala Rogers said it was okay.)

3) Drop some literary references (commiserate a sports loss with a “there is no joy in Mudville;” describe something tiny as Lilliputian; express frustration with “Fiddle dee dee”)

4) Get a new bookshelf (or build one.  or get a book about how to build one.)

5) Give the gift of reading (read to someone — just make sure it is age appropriate — the original Grimm Folk Tales are not intended for pre-school audiences)

6) Hit up a literary haunt (Jay Jennings can probably suggest several Arkansas locations, or you can go to the Capital Bar–many journalists have scribbled notes on napkins there which have made there ways into political books)

7) Host your own book club (or crash your neighbor’s)

8) Host a book lovers party (or tell people you went to one dressed as the Invisible Man–either Wells or Ellison version)

9) Contact your favorite living author (just make sure there isn’t a restraining order because you already have tried this.  repeatedly. at inappropriate locations and times)

10) Donate (it does seem a sin to throw away a book. so pass it on)

 

So visit the Central Arkansas Library System or WordsWorth Books.  Make a pilgrimage to Piggott to see where Hemingway wrote part of A Farewell to Arms (which my classmates and I dubbed A Farewell to Leg because of the line, “I put my hand on my knee, it wasn’t there.”).  Crack open that book at home.  Go down a rabbit hole in search of your Green Light, your Dulcinea, or your Holy Grail.

For younger audiences, chew on a board book, marvel at a pop-up book, experience a scratch ‘n’ sniff book.

Whatever you do today, don’t let it go by without touching a book!  (Episcopalians have it covered with the BCP.)

The John Bush Quintet play at the Ron Robinson Theater tonight as part of Arkansas Sounds

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john_bushTonight at 7pm at the Ron Robinson Theater, saxophonist John Bush and his quintet will play vocal and instrumental jazz favorites.  Seating is General Admission, and tickets are $10.

Jazz saxophonist John Bush’s musical upbringing occurred in Little Rock in the late 1950s and early 1960s, along with jazz enthusiasts John Stubblefield, James Leary, and Claudine Meyers. While Bush’s contemporaries pursued professional careers playing jazz music, he took another direction in that he came back to music later in life.

His aspiration is to uphold the original edict that drove all of the players he grew up with, as well as recognize the same Arkansas jazz traditions and honor the paths taken by musicians like The Original Yellow Jackets, Louis Jordan, Al Hibbler, and Pharaoh Sanders.

Bush is dedicated to playing in the same spirit of those who helped lay the foundations for this rich and beloved genre. The John Bush Quintet includes vocalist Kelley Hurt, bassist Bill Huntington, keyboardist Chris Parker, and drummer Bryan Withers.

Arkansas Sounds is a project of the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, a department of the Central Arkansas Library System. Focused on Arkansas music and musicians both past and present, Arkansas Sounds presents concerts, workshops, and other events to showcase Arkansas’s musical culture.

Marcie Cohen Ferris will discuss THE EDIBLE SOUTH at special Legacies & Lunch at noon today

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Marcie Ferris at her home in Chapel Hill, NC. Photo by Kate Medley

Marcie Ferris at her home in Chapel Hill, NC. Photo by Kate Medley

Marcie Cohen Ferris, author of The Edible South, is a professor of American studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ferris’ research and teaching interests include the history of the Jewish South and the foodways and material culture of the American South. The Edible South: The Power of Food and the Making of an American Regionexamines the visceral connection between Southern food and the politics of power from the colonial period to the present.

At this special Legacies & Lunch, co-hosted by the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies and the Clinton School of Public Service, Ferris will talk about the power of food to nourish cultures as well as people’s bodies and the way it helps people understand the South – from scholars and chefs to casual consumers and hardcore foodies. Books will be available for purchase, and Ferris will sign copies after her talk.

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.

The CALS Potter Marathon ends with HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART 2 at 7pm tonight

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RRT HP 0801 2It all comes down to this as the Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) Ron Robinson Theater’s (RRT) Harry Potter Movie Marathon shows Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Part 2 tonight at 7pm.

In the epic finale, the battle between the good and evil forces of the wizarding world escalates into an all-out war. The stakes have never been higher and no one is safe. But it is Harry who may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice as he draws closer to the climactic showdown with Lord Voldemort. It all ends here

David Yates directed this 2011 film, his fourth in the series.  Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Maggie Smith, and Michael Gambon return to Hogwarts for this film.

The cast also featured Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Domhnall Gleeson, Clémence Poésy, John Hurt, Helena Bonham Carter, Jason Isaacs, Helen McCrory, Tom Felton, Ciarán Hinds, Matthew Lewis, Afshan Azad, Freddie Stroma, Katie Leung, Bonnie Wright, Ralph Ineson, Jim Broadbent, Scarlett Byrne, Josh Herdman, Miriam Margolyes, Gemma Jones, David Thewlis, Julie Walters, Mark Williams, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Chris Rankin, David Bradley, Guy Henry, Nick Moran, Natalia Tena, Emma Thompson, Geraldine Somerville, Adrian Rawlins, Toby Papworth, Timothy Spall, Robbie Coltrane, and Gary Oldman.

The screening of all eight movies from Sunday, July 26 – Saturday, August 1 celebrates Harry Potter’s July 31 birthday. Special Harry Potter-themed concessions, activities, and prizes are part of the festivities at 100 River Market Avenue.

Tickets are $7 each for single tickets. Concessions will be available for purchase at every showing, and beer and wine are available at screenings scheduled after 5 p.m.

Some planned activities for movie-goers include being sorted into Hogwarts houses, competing for House Cup points, photo booths, and a horcrux scavenger hunt. Unique treats include candy from Kilwin’s and magical ice cream from Loblolly Creamery. Doors open and activities begin one hour before show time.

If you have seen one or all 8, be sure and use #CALSPotterMarathon on social media.

Final Day of CALS Potter Marathon starts with HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART 1

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RRT HP 0801 1The end is near as the Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) Ron Robinson Theater’s (RRT) Harry Potter Movie Marathon starts today with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 this afternoon at 1pm.

Part 1 begins as Harry, Ron and Hermione set out on their perilous mission to track down and destroy the secret to Voldemort’s immortality and destruction – the Horcruxes. On their own, without the guidance of their professors or the protection of Professor Dumbledore, the three friends must now rely on one another more than ever. But there are Dark Forces in their midst that threaten to tear them apart. Harry’s only hope is to find the Horcruxes before Voldemort finds him.

David Yates directed this 2010 film, his third in the series.  Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Michael Gambon return to Hogwarts for this film.

The cast also featured Bill Nighy, Richard Griffiths, Harry Melling, Julie Walters, Bonnie Wright, Ian Kelly, Michelle Fairley, Fiona Shaw, Alan Rickman, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Helen McCrory, Jason Isaacs, Tom Felton, Timothy Spall, David Ryall, Robbie Coltrane, Brendan Gleeson, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Mark Williams, Domhnall Gleeson, Clémence Poésy, David Thewlis, John Hurt, Frances de la Tour, Rhys Ifans, Matthew Lewis, Freddie Stroma, Afshan Azad, Imelda Staunton, Toby Jones, Sophie Thompson, Kate Fleetwood, Adrian Rawlins, Geraldine Somerville and Miranda Richardson

The screening of all eight movies from Sunday, July 26 – Saturday, August 1 celebrates Harry Potter’s July 31 birthday. Special Harry Potter-themed concessions, activities, and prizes are part of the festivities at 100 River Market Avenue.

Tickets are $7 each for single tickets. Concessions will be available for purchase at every showing, and beer and wine are available at screenings scheduled after 5 p.m.

Some planned activities for movie-goers include being sorted into Hogwarts houses, competing for House Cup points, photo booths, and a horcrux scavenger hunt. Unique treats include candy from Kilwin’s and magical ice cream from Loblolly Creamery. Doors open and activities begin one hour before show time.

On Saturday the final two films will be shown at 1pm and 7pm.

If you see one or all 8, be sure and use #CALSPotterMarathon on social media.

 

 

On Harry Potter’s Birthday the CALS Potter Marathon features HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

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Today is Harry Potter’s birthday.  Things continue to get complicated for Harry Potter as the Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) Ron Robinson Theater’s (RRT) Harry Potter Movie Marathon with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Emboldened by the return of Lord Voldemort, the Death Eaters are wreaking havoc in both the Muggle and wizarding worlds. Hogwarts, once thought to be a safe haven, may no longer be safe. Harry suspects that new dangers may lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Harry will have to help him uncover a vital key to unlocking Voldemort’s defenses, a critical piece of information known only to Horace Slughorn, Hogwarts’ former Potions Professor. Dumbledore manipulates his old colleague into returning to his previous post with promises of more money, a bigger office and the chance to teach the famous Harry Potter.

David Yates returns to direct this 2009 film, becoming the second person to director more than one movie in the series.  Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon and Maggie Smith returned to Hogwarts for this film.

The cast also featured Geraldine Somerville, Mark Williams, David Thewlis, Julie Walters, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Bonnie Wright, Tom Felton, Matthew Lewis, David Bradley, Alan Rickman, Ashan Azad, Shefali Chowdhury, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Jim Broadbent, Helen McCrory, Timothy Spall, Freddie Stroma and Gemma Jones.

The screening of all eight movies from Sunday, July 26 – Saturday, August 1 will celebrate Harry Potter’s July 31 birthday. Special Harry Potter-themed concessions, activities, and prizes are part of the festivities at 100 River Market Avenue.

Tickets are $7 each for single tickets. Concessions will be available for purchase at every showing, and beer and wine are available at screenings scheduled after 5 p.m.

Some planned activities for movie-goers include being sorted into Hogwarts houses, competing for House Cup points, photo booths, and a horcrux scavenger hunt. Unique treats include candy from Kilwin’s and magical ice cream from Loblolly Creamery. Doors open and activities begin one hour before show time.

The movies continue in order through Friday at 7pm.  On Saturday the final two films will be shown at 1pm and 7pm.

If you see one or all 8, be sure and use #CALSPotterMarathon on social media.