Tag Archives: Riverfront Park

15 Highlights of 2015 – Riverfest announces new formats

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For the final fifteen days of 2015, a look back at some of the cultural highlights of 2015.

Up next –

Triverfesthe 39th annual Riverfest celebration will take on a new, expanded format with “Springfest” offered free on Saturday, April 2, and the traditional Riverfest music experience, minus the family activities, presented Friday through Sunday, June 3-5.

Springfest will fill Riverfront Park with many of the most popular daytime activities Riverfest traditionally has offered, including International Village; the Super Retriever Series dog jumping competitions; the Jesse White Tumblers and other roving attractions; Ruff on the River, the Rock ’n’ Stroll 5k Fun Run as well as children’s arts and crafts activities. A concert by acclaimed musical duo Trout Fishing in America will close Springfest.

Flowing on the River, the festival’s separately ticketed wine and craft beer event, will kick off Riverfest 2016 on Friday, June 3. As in years past, concerts by top-name musical acts, along with local and regional performers, will be presented on stages in Riverfront Park and the grounds of the Clinton Presidential Center on Saturday and Sunday, June 4-5. As always, Market Row vendors and popular Riverfest food and drink merchants will be featured during the weekend.

Ticket prices have not yet been set.

“The cost of booking quality musical acts has accelerated rapidly over the last many years, and Riverfest ticket prices have naturally reflected that trend,” said DeAnna Korte, Riverfest executive director. “We have worried that this has become a financial burden for families and others who aren’t as interested in the evening concerts, so this year we’re presenting many of the classic Riverfest activities for free. And those who want to see the headline concerts will still get that chance for a price that will be very competitive with if not significantly lower than the cost of attending other popular music festivals.”

Korte continued: “We know Riverfest serves two distinct audiences. After almost 40 years – an amazing run for any festival – it is time for a change to ensure all festival-goers’ needs.  In 2016, Riverfest will move off Memorial Day weekend for the first time in the festival’s history. Korte said that decision was made “because that weekend traditionally is a time when families go to the lake or engage in other start-of-summer activities. We wanted to remove that barrier as a reason people might not be able to attend Riverfest.”

More specific details for both the April and June expanded Riverfest experiences will be announced as they develop.

Culture Turkey – Lord Featherwick

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DSCF9009Happy Thanksgiving. Today’s entry comes from the Culture Turkey, not the Culture Vulture.

One of the newer sculptures in Riverfront Park is “Lord Featherwick” by Herb Mignery. It is sited near the Belvedere in the park.

“Lord Featherwick” is part of Mignery’s anthropomorphic series.  It whimsically depicts a turkey with a top hat, jacket, spats, umbrella and monacle.

He is probably very relieved to have made it through another Thanksgiving.

Sculpture Vulture: Native Knowledge

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Native American Face

November is Native American Heritage Month.  One way to learn more about Native Americans in Little Rock’s history is to visit Riverfront Park.

There are several exhibits in the park that discuss the importance of Native Americans in this region prior to and since the settlement of Little Rock.  Denny Haskew’s Native Knowledge is a tribute to the Caddo, Osage, and Quapaw Native American Cultures of Arkansas.

It is sited near the Quapaw Line and La Petite Roche.  The location is important because the Quapaw Line was used as demarcation to separate the Quapaw Tribe from land available for white settlers.  It ran from La Petite Roche due south.  In addition, La Petite Roche was a stop along the “Trail of Tears” as Native American tribes were resettled from their original homes in the American Southeast to points west.

Three bronze twice life-size representational sculptures are mounted on 6” thick hexagonal buff colored sandstone panels suspended between I-beam arches representing the outline of theout canoes of the Osage, Caddo and Quapaw. The bronze sculptures are patinated to match the stone panels giving the appearance of being carved from stone. The back of each panel is etched with a pottery design from each of the three tribes mentioned above.

Veterans Day Sculpture Vulture, Kathleen Caricof’s Stars and Stripes sculpture in War Memorial Park

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Veterans Day is a good day to visit Kathleen Caricof’s Stars and Stripes in the Sturgis Veterans Plaza at War Memorial Park.  This 36 by 40 feet stainless steel sculpture welcomes visitors to the park and was dedicated in 2008 in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of War Memorial Stadium.

There are five interlocked stars which represent the five branches of the military: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard – both the active duty and the reserve segments of each branch as well as their affiliated guard units.

The gleaming stainless steel is both light and durable to represent the strength and vitality of the men and women who protect the United States and have done so for centuries.

Caricof, a member of the National Sculptors Guild, was selected for the commission after a national competition by the War Memorial Stadium Commission.  She has several other pieces in Little Rock including several in Riverfront Park and the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden.

Twice Sax wraps up 2015 Jazz in the Park tonight at 6pm in Riverfront Park

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twicesaxThis fall sessions of Jazz in the Park end tonight with Twice Sax. 

The concert will take place from 6pm to 8pm in the History Pavilion in Riverfront Park.  In case of rain, it will be in the River Market pavilions.

Instrumental jazz/funk/blues project Twicesax came together in 2009 when sax-playing brothers-in-law Dave Williams II and Brandon Dorris solidified a group of musicians who had been regulars at a local jam.

The group performs a mix of originals and artfully arranged covers. Each musician plays professionally in many other bands and draws from their own influences of jazz, rock, bluegrass, funk and blues, creating a lively and complex sound that listeners have called “music that gets into your head, gets into your bones and moves you.”

Members include:

  • Dave Williams on sax
  • Brandon Dorris on sax and flute
  • Jason McHughes on drums
  • Matthew Stone on guitar and mandolin
  • Daniel Schoultz on bass

jazzinparkThe concert series is brought to you by the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau.  Lost Forty Brewing beers, select wines, soft drinks & water are available for sale. Proceeds benefit Art Porter Music Education, Inc. So please, NO Coolers. Picnic blankets and chairs are welcome. As are children and pets (please leash your pets)

Art Porter Music Education, Inc. (APME) continues its mission of keeping the musical legacies of local jazz statesman Art Porter, Sr. and his son, renowned saxophonist Art Porter, Jr. alive with community enrichment opportunities, volunteerism, and the awarding of scholarships. Through music, APME works to enhance education by helping students improve reading, language and mathematical skills. The partnership with the River Market to support Jazz in the Park, a free, family-friendly event featuring jazz in downtown Little Rock, is a natural fit for both organizations.

 

Tonight’s Jazz in the Park: Syn RG!

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jazzinparkThis September, on Wednesday nights from 6 pm – 8 pm., Jazz in the Park continues its partnership with Art Porter Music Education, Inc. in the Riverfront Park.
Tonight features Syn RG!  The concert will take place in the History Pavilion in Riverfront Park.  In case of rain, it will be in the River Market pavilions.
The concert series is brought to you by the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau.  Lost Forty Brewing beers, select wines, soft drinks & water are available for sale. Proceeds benefit Art Porter Music Education, Inc. So please, NO Coolers. Picnic blankets and chairs are welcome. As are children and pets (please leash your pets)
Art Porter Music Education, Inc. (APME) continues its mission of keeping the musical legacies of local jazz statesman Art Porter, Sr. and his son, renowned saxophonist Art Porter, Jr. alive with community enrichment opportunities, volunteerism, and the awarding of scholarships. Through music, APME works to enhance education by helping students improve reading, language and mathematical skills. The partnership with the River Market to support Jazz in the Park, a free, family-friendly event featuring jazz in downtown Little Rock, is a natural fit for both organizations.

 

Today from noon to 11pm, Legends of Arkansas in Riverfront Park

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LOA_logoLegends of Arkansas, the all-day, family-friendly live music and art festival, is Saturday, September 19, 2015. This is the third annual all-Arkansas, grassroots event to be held at Riverfront Park in downtown Little Rock, Arkansas. We will celebrate some of the best artists and musicians in Arkansas, as well as independent businesses from around the state with free admission to the public.

The music starts at 12:00 p.m. and continues until 11:00 p.m. with more than twenty live bands on two stages; the History Pavilion and First Security Amphitheater. Artists include Adam Faucett & the Tall Grass, The Wild Flowers, Barrett Baber, Good Foot, Whole Fam Damily, Ducktronaut, Collin vs. Adam, Big Piph, Stephan James, Makenzie Jordan, Franko Coleman, Fisher DeClerk, Sarah Cecil, Chris Long Acoustic, Brian Nahlen, Chris DeClerk Solo, Charlotte Taylor w/ Matt Stone, Mothwind, Federalis, Sick Numbles, Groovecluster, S!Bass Cadet, and DJ DripFunk. The Master of Ceremonies will be Mr. Mike Poe with special guest appearances from Shoog Radio’s own Aaron Sarlo and Kara Bibb from KABF.

On the main stage, in between the music, there will be performing artists, pitch competition finals, a hip-hop workshop and award presentations. ReCreation Studios will perform live art around the park throughout the day with stilt-walkers, hula hoop dancers, aerial silk performances on the main stage, and a special fire performance after headlining act, Adam Faucett. Paul Prater will amaze once again with his fringe style performing art. There will also be different artist demonstrating their art throughout the park.

The walkways around the amphitheater will be lined with local art and craft vendors, including some Etsy Little Rock vendors. Small businesses, including some of the finest local food trucks, will be set up around the festival to promote and showcase their businesses, as well as nonprofits, to educate on their causes. Legends of Arkansas, local businesses, and nonprofits hope to show the public how easy it can be to spend and keep our money in our own community.

Legends of Arkansas is family-friendly and admission is free.