Tag Archives: Department of Parks Heritage and Tourism

Sandwich in History at the Mills-Davis House today

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You are invited to join the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program’s next “Sandwiching in History” tour, which will visit the Mills-Davis House at 523 East 6th Street in Little Rock beginning at noon on Friday, October 4, 2019.

The Mills-Davis House is an outstanding example of Italianate architecture built in 1878. The house was originally occupied by Abraham Anderson Mills and his wife Eliza Missouri “Eudie” LeFevre Mills, who lived in the house until the early 1940s when Dr. Emmett N. Davis acquired the property. Davis later passed it to his son, famed Arkansas photographer William “Bill” E. Davis. The house has recently been restored by its current owner, Jennifer Carman.

Sandwiching in History tours are worth one hour of AIA continuing education credit. If you would like to receive email notifications of upcoming tours instead of postcards or need additional information, please contact Callie Williams, Education and Outreach Coordinator for AHPP, at 501-324-9880 or Callie.Williams@arkansas.gov.

State Fair Preview is theme of October’s Old State House Night at the Museum!

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Come get a taste of the Arkansas State Fair at Nights at the Museum on Thursday, Oct. 3!

Food trucks will be at the Old State House Museum selling your fair favorites, like corn dogs and funnel cakes. You can also play carnival games for FREE and win prizes! Nights at the Museum is for adults 21 and older, so you get the fun of the fair … without having to keep track of the kids.  As always, adult beverages will be available to purchase.

Nights at the Museum takes place on the museum’s iconic front lawn on the first Thursday of each month seasonally, March-October. (In case of inclement weather, the event will be indoors at the museum.)

Arkansas State House Society – Friends of the Old State House Museum, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting OSHM and its programs, hosts the Nights at the Museum. The society invites young professionals to come early for a networking opportunity from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

General admission starts at 6 p.m. and costs $5; food and beverages will be available for purchase. Tickets may be purchased in advance at https://squareup.com/store/ArkansasStateHouseSociety/ or at the gate.

The museum can validate parking at the DoubleTree hotel; metered parking near the hotel is free after 6 p.m.

This evening at the Clinton School – Theo Witsell discusses his Bicentenary interpretation of Thomas Nuttall’s exploration of the Arkansas Territory

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Image result for theo witsellThe year 2019 marks the 200th anniversary of the great botanist and naturalist Thomas Nuttall’s year-long journey of discovery through the Arkansas Territory, present day Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Tonight at 6pm, as part of the Clinton School Speaker Series, Theo Witsell will discuss Nuttall’s trek and the implications it has for today.

Nuttall would be the first trained naturalist to record observations and collect specimens in most of the territory. His first-hand account of this trip, later published as “A Journal of Travels into the Arkansas Territory in the Year 1819,” provides some of the earliest reliable information on the natural history of the region. These observations and his surviving botanical specimens are central to our understanding of what the region was like before it was forever altered by the ravages of human progress.

To commemorate the bicentennial of Nuttall’s trip, Theo Witsell, Ecologist and Chief of Research for the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission and the Curator of the ANHC Herbarium, worked for the past several years on a “200 years later” reinterpretation of all the natural history observations he made in Arkansas Territory.

This included retracing his route using both historical and modern geospatial datasets, updating the nomenclature and taxonomy of all the plants and animals he mentions, and weaving his own observations gained over the past 24 years conducting field work for the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission. The aim is to provide a fairly detailed interpretation of Nuttall’s natural history observations, and discuss changes in the landscape since his trip, specifically as they relate to ecological and biological diversity.

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.

Arkansas Heritage kicks off nominations for Food Hall of Fame today at 2pm

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Join Arkansas Heritage for coffee and pie at Franke’s Cafeteria, 2018 Arkansas Food Hall of Fame inductee, on September 30 at 2:00 p.m. to celebrate what makes Arkansas food so special. We are kicking off the nomination season for this food heritage program.

Nominations will be open the entire month of October.
2:00 p.m. on September 30th at Franke’s Cafeteria:
11121 N Rodney Parham Rd, Little Rock, AR 72212

 

NOMINATIONS OPEN OCTOBER 1

Nominations will be accepted at ArkFoodHOF.com in five categories:

• Arkansas Food Hall of Fame – This award recognizes those long-standing restaurants that have become legendary attractions in Arkansas.
• Proprietor of the Year – This award honors a chef, cook and/or restaurant owner in Arkansas who has made significant achievements in the food industry.
• Food-Themed Event – This award honors a community food-themed event or festival that makes our state a great place to live and visit.
• Gone But Not Forgotten – Remembers the collective culinary legacy of a once-and-always influential Arkansas restaurant that has since ceased operations.
• People’s Choice – Identifies the public’s favorite. This award is truly in the hands of Arkansans. The restaurant or food truck that receives the highest number of votes wins.

New exhibit, Hateful Things, opens at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center tonight

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“Someone will say ‘if you just stop traveling the country talking about race, racism will go away.’ That doesn’t even make stupid sense. The reality is that we won’t be who we need to be until we are mature enough to have the most difficult conversations about race.”

The man who said these words, David Pilgrim, professor and founder of the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia at Ferris State University, will speak at the Sept. 19 opening of the “Hateful Things” exhibit at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center.

The objects and images in “Hateful Things” trace the history of the stereotyping of African Americans from the late 19th century to the present. The Jim Crow Museum created the “Hateful Things” traveling exhibit as a teaching tool to promote tolerance and social justice beyond the museum’s reach.

“We chose to host this exhibit because we want to help people understand how these types of depictions create a culture of fear and hatred that has led to tragedies like the Elaine Massacre,” MTCC Director Christina Shutt said.

“David Pilgrim’s message concerning open, honest, even painful discussions about race is especially relevant here in Arkansas as we remember the 100th anniversary of the Elaine Massacre,” added Stacy Hurst, secretary of the Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism.