Yesterday’s Architeaser featured Byrne Hall on the St. John’s campus in the Heights. The building currently houses the offices of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Yesterday the ASO concluded the 2011-2012 MasterWorks series. This evening at the Clinton Presidential Center, this year’s final River Rhapsodies Chamber Concert will be held at 7pm.
This week we will look at some of the animals in Little Rock which are not at the Little Rock Zoo.
The Little Rock Zoo is making April special for visitors.
All kinds of activities are lined up promising some extra fun.
The zoo kicked off its special lineup today at an “egg toss” event where the zoo’s otters were given large egg shaped toys to play with.
The following events will be hosted by the zoo this month:
April fun at the Zoo kicks-off this Saturday, April 7, with breakfast or lunch with the Easter Bunny. Guests will dine in Caf Africa, decorate Easter egg shaped cookies, an Easter basket, and get a chance to have their picture taken with the Easter Bunny. At 11:00 a.m. the public is invited to watch as the Easter Bunny delivers large egg shaped toys to the big cats and otters. Advanced reservations for breakfast or lunch are required and can be made by calling (501) 661-7218. The cost is $9.95 for children and $14.95 for adults for members and $18.95 per person for non-members.
The fun continues on Saturday, April 14, as the Zoo celebrates Earth Day with Party for the Planet: An Earth Day Celebration sponsored by Central Arkansas Water. The day-long celebration features interactive educational booths set-up throughout the zoo where guests can learn all about conservation and our natural world. Other activities and programs will take place around the zoo and on the Civitan Amphitheater stage during the day and Radio Disney will be at the Over-the-Jumps Carousel with their Rock-n-Road show from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Guests can also vote on their favorite photograph from the Outdoor Photography Club’s annual Zoo photo contest sponsored by Bedford Camera.
Penguins take center stage at the zoo all day on Saturday, April 21, for the celebration of World Penguin Day. Special activities for kids will be available at stations set-up by the Laura P. Nichols Penguin Pointe exhibit as well as a special opportunity to purchase paintings done by some of the zoo’s penguins. There will also be three special penguin keeper chats at the exhibit and a special presentation with one of the zoo’s penguins at the Civitan Amphitheater stage.
Adults will enjoy learning all about the strange, curious, and downright hilarious world of animal mating at Woo at the Zoo, April 28, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Guests to this adults-only event will get a special tour of the zoo to learn all about some of the mating habits of zoo animals. Did you know that a female rhino will ram a male rhino at more than 30 miles per hour to test his strength? After the tour, guests will congregate at the Civitan Amphitheater for food, beverages, and to jam to the tunes of the Shannon Boshears Band. Tickets are $35 per person and can be bought online at LittleRockZoo.com/woo or by calling (501) 661-7208. All proceeds benefit the Arkansas Zoological Foundation and the Little Rock Chapter of the American Association of Zoo Keepers.
Click here for more about all of the zoo’s April events.
In celebration of Disney’s Platypus Day, join Radio Disney 99.5 FM at the Little Rock Zoo with interactive entertainment including “Phineas and Ferb”- themed activities, music, and prizes.
The Radio Disney Road Crew will be on-site teaching “The Platypus Walk,” a catchy spy-surf-rock song and dance!
While the Little Rock Zoo doesn’t have platypus, there are over 600 animals representing 170 species. So there are plenty of other animals to experience before and after celebrating Platypus Day.
THOR
The Little Rock Zoo’s Sloth Bear, Thor, predicted the quick arrival of spring today during a weather prediction ceremony this morning at the Zoo.
Punxsutawney Phil may “hog” most of the attention on Groundhog Day, but Thor is the one to watch. When presented with two treat boxes- one representing “spring,” the other representing “winter”- Thor sniffed out the “spring” treat box, indicating an early spring for Arkansans.
Zoo General Curator Mark Shaw read Thor’s proclamation aloud after the sloth bear made his prediction, “Here ye, here ye, what do I see? An early spring is in store for thee. With the snort of my nose, winter will come to a close, and that sounds good to me.”
Zoo staff welcomed the prediction and said they are eager to start the spring season and invited everyone to visit the best place for family recreation and conservation education, the Little Rock Zoo.
The Little Rock Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). Look for the AZA logo whenever you visit a zoo or aquarium as your assurance that you are supporting a facility dedicated to providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for you and a better future for all living things. With its more than 200 accredited members, AZA is a leader in global wildlife conservation and your link to helping animals in their native habitats. For more information, visit http://www.aza.org.
Over 300,000 people visited the LR Zoo in 2011, which was the highest attendance in over ten years. Daily attendance was 286,815, which was a 16.7% increase over 2010. When special events were factored in, the attendance figures rose to 307,437.
According to Zoo director Mike Blakely, “There’s no doubt that the public is very excited about the new penguin exhibit and that more people are returning to the Zoo to see the penguins,” he said. “The Zoo also features more daily activities and events such as the Wild Wonders Animal Show and animal encounters that give guests an up-close-and-personal learning experience with animals.”
As the holiday season approaches, red and green are not the only colors en vogue. Black and white is always a classic. Tomorrow the Little Rock Zoo continues its breakfast series with Breakfast with the Penguins.
Seating is limited and prior reservations are required: call 661-7218. The breakfast starts at 8am sharp. Prices range from $12.95 for a member child up to $21.95 for a non-member adult.
Earlier this year, the Little Rock Zoo formally opened the Laura P. Nichols Penguin Pointe exhibit with eleven penguins: Blair, Billi, Mary Beth, Roy, Jack, Domino, Rippley, Gable, Brenton, Laura and Skipper.
The African blackfooted penguins came from other zoos as part of the Species Survival Plan (SSP). These penguins are on the endangered species list, but through SSP, the Zoo will fulfill its mission of conservation. Any baby penguins born will be donated to other zoos.
Over $2.3 million was raised through private and public sources to build the unique exhibit.
The Quapaw Quarter Association continues its monthly education series this year entitled “Preservation Conversations.” They take place the third Monday of each month at historic Curran Hall, which serves as the QQA headquarters in addition to being the Mayor’s Official Reception Hall.
Tonight is the November conversation – “Period Furnishings and Colors.” It will be presented by Becky Witsell. For 30 years, Witsell has combined her love of art, architecture and history in the field of preservation restoration. Among the many, many projects with which she has been associated are the State Capitol, the Little Rock Zoo carousel horses, the Old State House, St. Edward Catholic Church, The Cathedral of St. Andrew, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, First United Methodist Church and countless homes.
Beginning at 5:00, Curran Hall will be open for patrons to enjoy a glass of wine, programs start at 5:30 p.m. and last for one hour. After the official program concludes, all are invited to keep the conversation going and enjoy a discounted dinner at nearby Copper Grill, 300 East Third Street.
The Quapaw Quarter Association is a non-profit historic preservation advocacy organization whose mission is to promote the preservation of the historic buildings and neighborhoods of Greater Little Rock. Rhea Roberts is the Executive Director.
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