“Territorial Arkansas: The Wild Western Frontier” will open at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History August 1st, 2019.
The exhibit will have a month long run and will end on August 26th.
The traveling exhibit consists of 15 panels that explore the history of Arkansas Territory though the collections of the Arkansas State Archives and their branch archives, the Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives in Powhatan and the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives in Washington.
Movies in the Park finishes its 15th season tonight with THE HELP.
Based upon the novel of the same name, The Help follows a young white woman and her relationship with two African-American maids during the Civil Rights Movement in Jackson, Mississippi in the year 1963. In an effort to legitimize her writing career, Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan decides to write a book from the maid’s viewpoints, exposing the racism they face from the white families that employ them.
It stars Octavia Spencer (in a performance very worthy of the Oscar she earned for it), Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain, Allison Janney, Sissy Spacek, and Cicely Tyson.
Families, picnics, and leashed pets are invited to the park to enjoy movies under the stars, but no glass containers. Don’t forget the bug spray! An adult must accompany all children under the age of 18 and an ID is required. Chaperoned youth, sports, church and other groups are welcome!
The First Security Amphitheater will open an hour before film showings (approx. 7:30) and movies with begin at sundown each week (approx. 8:30).
For more information about Movies in the Park and to see which films will feature live performances or other activities before the showings, visit www.rivermarket.info or find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lrrivermarket
“If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball!”
The man who spoke those immortal words, Rip Torn, shuffled off this mortal coil last week.
Completely coincidental (but perfectly timed), Movies in the Park presents Torn’s 2004 Opus DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY tonight.
Movies in the Park continues its 15th season tonight with Dodgeball.
Joining Torn in this film are Vince Vaughn, Christine Taylor, Ben Stiller, Justin Long, Stephen Root, Alan Tudyk, Missi Pyle, Gary Cole, Jason Bateman, Hank Azaria, and many more.
Families, picnics, and leashed pets are invited to the park to enjoy movies under the stars, but no glass containers. Don’t forget the bug spray! An adult must accompany all children under the age of 18 and an ID is required. Chaperoned youth, sports, church and other groups are welcome!
The First Security Amphitheater will open an hour before film showings (approx. 7:30) and movies with begin at sundown each week (approx. 8:30).
For more information about Movies in the Park and to see which films will feature live performances or other activities before the showings, visit www.rivermarket.info or find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lrrivermarket
On July 4, 1893, Arsenal Park opened in Little Rock. This was the City’s first municipal public park. Though it predated the establishment of a formal Parks and Recreation Department by several decades, it is the oldest part of that department.
The land now known as MacArthur Park had originally served as a horse racetrack in the early days of Little Rock. By 1836, the federal government purchased the land for construction of a military arsenal. The flagship building, the Arsenal Tower building, is the only remaining structure from that time period.
The land served as a military outpost until 1892. On April 23, 1892, a land swap took place where in the City of Little Rock was given the property with the stipulation that it would be “forever exclusively devoted to the uses and purposes of a public park.” (Never mind that the federal government took part of the land back for the construction of the Wilbur Mills Freeway.) Congressman William L. Terry was active in negotiating the land swap. (His son David would also serve in Congress.)
In return for giving the City this land, the federal government took possession of land on the north side of the Arkansas River (then part of Little Rock) – that 1,000 acres became Fort Logan H. Roots.
The park officially opened on July 4, 1893, with the name Arsenal Park. Since it was the City’s first and only park at the time, residents started referring to it as City Park. In time, the designation Arsenal Park fell from use. In fact, it is referred to as City Park exclusively and officially in City documents throughout the first 42 years of the 20th Century.
On March 9, 1942, Little Rock’s first public park was renamed by the Little Rock City Council. By a vote of fourteen ayes, zero nays and four absent, the alderman approved Ordinance 6,388 which renamed the park in honor of General Douglas MacArthur.
In 1952, General MacArthur (contemplating a run for the GOP nomination for President) visited Little Rock in March. Later that year, the eventual GOP nominee (and 34th US President) General Dwight Eisenhower visited the park.
Today, MacArthur Park is the anchor of the burgeoning MacPark district as well as the MacArthur Park Historic Distric.
Wayne Salge’s SIZZLING SISTERS, one of the original sculptures installed in the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden
On June 25, 2009, members of the Sculpture at the River Market committee and City leaders broke ground on the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden in Riverfront Park.
The groundbreaking followed an unveiling of the design plans for the new sculpture garden, which will be located east of the Peabody Hotel near the Forever a Rose garden and the Jack Fleischauer Garden.
“As part of the continuing improvements to Riverfront Park, we wanted to put more sculpture into the park to complement the new gardens, Peabody Park, and the upcoming La Petite Roche plaza,” said City Director Dean Kumpuris. “At the 2008 Sculpture at the River Market, six pieces were bought through proceeds from the show and sale to be placed in the park in 2009.”
According to Kumpuris, seven new pieces will join a dozen other sculptures in the park and along President Clinton Avenue that have been installed since 2004.
The sculpture garden features natural terraces and walkways. The design creates a space to host receptions, weddings or other events as well as to allow visitors to enjoy the sculptures in solitude.
The seven pieces which will be installed are “Full of Himself” by Jan Woods, “Cascade” by Chapel, “Bateleur Eagle” by Pete Zaluzec, “Sizzling Sister” by Wayne Salge, “Conversation with Myself” by Lorri Acott, “First Glance” by Denny Haskew, and “Straight and Narrow” by Lisa Gordon.
“This is only the start,” said Sculpture at the River Market Chair Jane Rogers. “In addition to continuing to place sculpture in Riverfront Park, the committee is discussing ways to place public art throughout the city. In the months to come, we hope to be able to make some more announcements about sculpture and public art in Little Rock.”
The sculpture garden is made possible through the support of the Vogel Schwartz Foundation. Robert Vogel represented the family during the ground-breaking ceremony commending the city of Little Rock on their efforts to support the art community.
Though President Truman was in Little Rock for a military reunion, he did conduct some official business while here. In his Presidential role, he spoke at the dedication of War Memorial Park on June 11, 1949.
(It is sometimes erroneously reported that he dedicated the stadium. That took place in September 1948, at a Razorback game with former Razorback player and future Lt. Governor Maurice “Footsie” Britt delivering the keynote.)
President Truman’s address took place inside War Memorial Stadium at 2:30 p.m.. It was not a brief dedicatory speech, but instead was a lengthy treatise on foreign affairs. The address was carried live on nationwide radio (though some radio networks opted to broadcast it later). The text of his address can be found here.
The stadium was by no means full. A major reason for that was that many thousand individuals had turned out to witness a parade downtown in which President Truman marched along side Governor Sid McMath. The parade was in conjunction with the military reunion. Given the June heat in Arkansas (in which parade spectators had been standing for several hours) and the difficulty of getting from the parade route to the stadium, most (if not all) parade spectators opted for skipping the presidential address.
Before the parade, President Truman (who was still riding high from his upset victory in the 1948 election) was asked by a local reporter if he would run in 1952. He refused to answer stating that the national media would think he had planted the question with a local member of the press.
Prior to the name War Memorial Park, the land had been known as Fair Park. It was a former location of the State Fair. In the 1930s, it had briefly been known as Overman Park in honor of then-Mayor R. E. Overman. The City Council had named it for him as a tribute to his work on a variety of projects. When he displeased them, they reversed their decision and renamed it to Fair Park.
The Little Rock Winds’ annual Flag Day concert will take place this evening in MacArthur Park at 7pm.
Sponsored, in part by the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, the concert is the Winds’ annual salute to the red, white, and blue.
Picnics are encouraged. There will also be free ice cream and free bottled water.
The Little Rock Winds, under the baton of Izzy Getzov, will play marches, patriotic songs, and Broadway show tunes. We’ll have your hands clapping and toes tapping in no time! This free performance is fun for the whole family!
Little Rock Culture Vulture 