Tag Archives: Department of Parks Heritage and Tourism

Holiday Open House and Sweet Potato Pie Baking Contest today at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center

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mtcc-say_it_aint_saysThe Mosaic Templars Cultural Center will host its annual Holiday Open House this afternoon from 2pm to 5pm.  

One of the features is the “Say It Ain’t Say’s” Sweet Potato Pie Baking Contest.  The Holiday Open House is a festive and fun opportunity to enjoy a day full of holiday cheer. We will have a wide variety of entertainment and this year’s event will feature our 3rd annual “Say It Ain’t Say’s” sweet potato pie contest, in honor of Little Rock’s black Santa, Robert “Say” McIntosh. Bring the kids to check out an awesome variety of holiday craft stations. Free and open to the public.

Two of the MTCC sister museums will also have holiday events this afternoon.  The Old State House Museum and the Historic Arkansas Museum will also be hosting holiday open houses.  All three museums are programs of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

The 47th Annual Christmas Frolic & Open House today at Historic Arkansas Museum

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hamfrolic2014This marks the 47th year that Historic Arkansas Museum has hosted an annual Christmas Open House.  For many families, attending this event on the first Sunday afternoon in December is a multi-generational family tradition.
This event celebrates Christmas as it was in the 1800s with living history, carols, reenactments, live music, dancing and more. Visitors come from across the state every year for our famous hot cider and ginger cake, as well as Arkansas Made holiday shopping in the Museum Store.
Among the activities will be blacksmithing demonstrations, the Arkansas Country Dance Band, Lark in the Morning, Sugar on the Floor, fiddler Ricky Russell and friends, Carolers in the Kitchen and the Aeolus Recorder Konsort.
Admission is free. The event runs from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.
Two of HAM’s sister museums will also be hosting holiday events today.  The Old State House Museum and Mosaic Templars Cultural Center both have Holiday Open Houses this afternoon.  All three museums are agencies of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Old State House Holiday Open House this afternoon

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IMG_9317[1]Today from 1:00 p.m. until 4:30 p.m., the Old State House Museum will host its annual Holiday Open 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 can create unique holiday cards and more. Delightful carols will be performed by local music groups.

Visitors will also enjoy delicious cookies and punch.

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

Two of of the Old State House Museum’s sister institutions, Historic Arkansas Museum and the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, will also be celebrating the holidays with activities today.  All three museums are agencies of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Sandwich in History at Little Rock’s House House today at noon

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Joseph W. House HouseToday at noon the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program’s Sandwiching in History tour visits the Joseph W. House House at 2126 Arch Street.

The “Sandwiching In History” program is a series of tours that seeks to familiarize people who live and work in central Arkansas with the historic structures and sites around us. The tours take place on Fridays at noon, last less than an hour, and participants are encouraged to bring their lunches so that they can eat while listening to a brief lecture about the property and its history before proceeding on a short tour. A representative from the property is encouraged to attend also and address the group.

The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage. All tours are free and open to the public.

Joseph W. House House, 2126 S. Arch Street, Little Rock. Located in the Governor’s Mansion Historic District, this home was built about 1892 for prominent attorney and statesman Joseph Warren House, Sr. He served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War and later practiced law at Searcy. In 1871 House was elected to represent White County in the General Assembly and helped draft Arkansas’s fifth and current constitution during the convention of 1874. In 1892 he moved to the home at 2126 S. Arch Street, where he lived until his death in 1926.

 

Old State House Key to Clinton Story

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1992apg-horizontalIn conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the Clinton Library opening, many people are visiting the Old State House Museum.  It was at this location he announced his bid in 1991.  In the same spot (but with many more people) he delivered his acceptance speech on Election Night in 1992. Four years later, he again delivered his acceptance speech in 1996.

Current exhibits at the Old State House Museum include Pillars of Power; On the Stump: AR Politics. 1819-1919; Legislative Chambers and First Families of Arkansas. In addition the museum features “Different Spokes” and “Lights! Camera! Arkansas!”

The Old State House Museum is free.  It is open from 9-5 Monday through Saturday and 1-5 on Sunday.

The Old State House Museum is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Today at noon Clinton School features 30 Years of Main Street Arkansas with Patrice Frey

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Main Street ArkThis year marks the 30th anniversary of Main Street Arkansas being created.  To mark that, the Clinton School of Public Service is hosting Patrice Frey.

She is the first President and CEO of the National Main Street Center. The National Main Street Center, Inc. is an extension of the 33-year-old Main Street program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which uses historic preservation as a tool for economic development in downtown and neighborhood commercial districts. More than 2,000 communities have participated in the Main Street program since its inception, leading to more than 235,000 building rehabilitation projects and the creation of nearly 475,000 jobs in those cities and towns.

Since 1984, Main Street Arkansas has been a leading advocate for downtown revitalization providing resources, education and professional assistance to spark life into Arkansas’s traditional commercial areas. Since that time, Main Street Arkansas cities have yielded a net gain of 3,907 jobs, 1,151 new businesses and 1,066 business expansions and relocations into downtown. A total of $145,650,659 in investment has financed 3,272 facade renovations, rehabilitations and new construction projects. The Main Street cities have seen 844 public improvement projects valued at $25,193,767 and 545,536 volunteer hours on Main Street matters.  Main Street Arkansas is a division of the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Patrice Frey is President and CEO of the National Main Street Center, where she oversees the Center’s work, offering technical assistance, research, advocacy, and education and training opportunities for Main Street’s network of approximately 1,100 communities. Based in Chicago, Illinois, the National Main Street Center is a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and has participated in the renewal of more than 2,000 older commercial districts during its 30-year history. Before joining the National Main Street Center in May 2013, Patrice serviced as the Director of Sustainability at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, where she oversaw the National Trust’s efforts to promote the reuse and greening of older and historic buildings, including research and policy development work through the Seattle-based Preservation Green Lab.

LR Cultural Touchstone: Jane Rogers

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Jane RogersJane Rogers is a Little Rock native who has had a hand in developing two different cultural entities in her hometown.  She helped organize the first Riverfest to be held in Riverfront Park in 1983.  Continuing her involvement, she later served as the first full-time executive director of Riverfest.  Under her leadership the festival experienced significant growth.  This, in turn, brought more people down to the banks of the Arkansas River and the new Riverfront Park.  Because of this, more people were familiar with the area which helped the fledgling River Market take hold in the mid-1990s.

Shortly after he became Governor, Mike Huckabee tapped her to lead the Department of Arkansas Heritage.  In that capacity, she oversaw the Arkansas Arts Council, Old State House Museum, Historic Arkansas Museum, Delta Cultural Center, Arkansas Historic Preservation Program and Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission.  She served as Director for two years.

In 2003, she was appointed to the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees.  In that capacity, she has been involved in efforts to strengthen cultural offerings and facilities at the various campuses in the University of Arkansas system.

Her most recent cultural endeavor has been as a founder of Sculpture at the River Market.  In 2007, she helped recruit volunteers to create Little Rock’s first nation-wide sculpture invitational show and sale.  Since that time, Sculpture at the River Market has built a $2,000,000+ collection of public sculpture placed in beautiful surroundings along the banks of the Arkansas River in downtown Little Rock.  As a result of pieces of these efforts, the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden was created in Riverfront Park.