FUN
Corvette show
Participants from as many as 18 states will gather in Hot Springs for the Central Arkansas Corvette Club’s 24th Corvette Weekend Show, Thursday-Saturday at the Hot Springs Convention Center, 134 Convention Blvd., Hot Springs.
Friday events include a 1-2 p.m. Corvette seminar and a 4 p.m. all-Corvette parade through Hot Springs National Park (with Hot Springs Mayor Pat McCabe in the lead car). Judging of the all-Corvette show begins at 10 a.m. Saturday with a 2 p.m. awards presentation. McCabe will present the Mayor’s Choice Award Trophy.
Admission is free. The event is a fundraiser for area nonprofits Spina Bifida Support Group of Arkansas, Ronald McDonald House, Beyond Boundaries, Arkansas Freedom Fund and Tyler Buck Foundation. The club has donated more than $550,000 to area charities over more than two decades.
A complete schedule and more details are available at CentralArkansasCorvetteClub.org and at facebook.com/CentralArkansasCorvetteClub.
Family carnival
Plaza Frida, 4001 W. 65th St., Little Rock, hosts the inaugural Frida Family Carnival, a multicultural celebration, 4-10 p.m. Thursday-Friday, noon-10 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, with rides, games, food and “a showcase of cultural pride,” according to a news release. North American Midway Entertainment, the midway provider for the Arkansas State Fair, is setting up the rides. Admission is $5 (free for all fathers on Sunday, which is Father’s Day), $3 for children. Parking is free. Call (501) 562-5770 or visit plazafridalittlerock.com/en.
MUSIC
Gospel celebration
Juneteenth Gospel Production’s Juneteenth Gospel Celebration, 4 p.m. Sunday at Philander Smith University, 900 W. Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive, Little Rock, will feature performances by George Dean & the Gospel 4; Alma Brown & the A1 Gospel Singers; Sensational Six; Men of Prayze; BKLR & Chosen; Lil Chris and United; Gloat Links of Harmony; Willie & the Gospel Wonders, Set Apart and Godsent Angelettes. Pastor Maurice Tatum is the emcee. The festivities include bounce houses, face painting and games for kids. Admission and food are free. Visit the Instagram page, juneteenthgospellr.
Trinitas Ensemble
The Trinitas Ensemble, a professional chamber choir, performs at 7 p.m. Friday at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 310 W. 17th St., Little Rock. The program includes two motets by Johann Sebastian Bach: “Komm, Jesu, komm,” BWV 229, and “Lobet den Herrn,” BWV 230; “Take him, earth, for cherishing” by Herbert Howells; “Lay a garland” by Robert Pearsall; “Jubilate Deo” by Ivo Antognini; “grandmother moon” by Eleanor Daley; “Tulerunt Dominum meum” by Hieronymus Praetorius; “Spaséñiye, sodélal” by Pavel Chesnokov; “Fest- und Gedenksprüche,” op.109 by Johannes Brahms; and “Sleep, fleshly birth” by Robert Ramsey. Colin MacKnight conducts from the keyboard of the cathedral’s portative organ; Jacob Wunsch is the guest cellist. Tickets are $15, free for children. Visit eventbrite.com/e/trinitas-spring-concert-tickets-1353773636389?aff=oddtdtcreator.
THEATER
‘Flurffy’s Secret Garden’
“Flurffy’s Secret Garden,” featuring Flurffy, the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts’ pink puppet dog in a tale about plans for a garden party to welcome a shy little girl who arrives in town, is onstage, 11 a.m. and noon Saturday, June 21 and 28, at the museum, 501 E. Ninth St., Little Rock. The performances are in conjunction with the exhibit “The Long View: From Conservation to Sustainability: Works from the Bank of America Collection,” opening this weekend. (See below.) The runtime is approximately 30 minutes. Admission is free. Visit events.arkmfa.org/event/flurffys-secret-garden.
ART & EXHIBITS
‘The Long View’
“The Long View: From Conservation to Sustainability: Works from the Bank of America Collection,” photographs, paintings, prints and sculptures “by artists who use their art to advocate for the conservation and protection of the planet,” according to a news release, opens Friday in the Harriet and Warren Stephens Galleries at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, 501 E. Ninth St., Little Rock.
The exhibition, up through Aug. 31, is available through the Bank of America Art in our Communities program, which lends fully curated exhibitions from the Bank of America collection to museums and nonprofit galleries around the world.
The exhibition is four thematic sections:
◼️ “The Beginnings of Conservation,” with works by late 19th- and early 20th-century artists including John James Audubon and Carleton Watkins, whose works influenced the founding of the Audubon Society and the National Park Service, respectively.
◼️ Moving into the early 20th century, “Push and Pull — Industry and Environment” includes art by Regionalist artists Thomas Hart Benton and Grant Wood alongside Arthur Rothstein’s Dust Bowl images that explored the impact of unsustainable farming practices.
◼️ “The Emergence of Conservation Activism” focuses on postwar works and the emerging social and political focus on ecology during the late 1960s and 1970s and includes Robert Rauschenberg’s design for the first Earth Day celebration in 1970 and Michael Heizer’s prints using plates made from recycled scrap metal waste.
◼️ “Working Towards a Sustainable Vision” highlights contemporary artists Aurora Robson and John Sabraw, who repurpose pollutants including plastic debris and acid mine drainage as their materials, alongside artists who emphasize the need to safeguard our planet in the face of its radical and continuing transformation.
Admission is free. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday. The galleries will close at 4:45 p.m. Thursday. Call (501) 372-4000 or visit arkmfa.org.
Family Fest
Also in conjunction with the exhibition, the museum is offering Family Fest: Into the Wild, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday: “Experience nature’s wonders through interactive artmaking, outdoor adventures and hands-on activities,” according to the museum website. “Meet fascinating animals from the Little Rock Zoo, create nature-inspired fish prints and outdoor and animal sketches with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and join interactive demonstrations on fishing, hiking and biking with Pinnacle Mountain State Park.” Admission is free. Visit events.arkmfa.org/event/family-fest-into-the-wild
Small Works, collected
“Small Works on Paper: From the Permanent Collection,” a retrospective exhibition consisting of 40 pieces from the Arkansas Arts Council’s 2006-2023 annual “Small Works on Paper” touring exhibitions, opens with a 5 p.m. reception Friday in the Trinity Gallery at the Historic Arkansas Museum, 200 E. Third St., Little Rock. An out-of-state juror selects up to 40 pieces, no larger than 18-by-24 inches, for each year’s touring exhibition. Since 2006, nearly 150 pieces have received purchase awards and have been added to the Arkansas Arts Council’s permanent collection.
The 40 pieces in this exhibition, up through Sept. 21, were chosen “to represent the history of the program in quality of work, diversity of media and range of subject matter over the years,” according to a news release. Gallery admission is free. Museum hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Call (501) 324-9351.
‘We Shall Overcome’
“We Shall Overcome,” photographs by Art Meripol honoring the history of the Civil Rights Trail sites, opens with a 6-8 p.m. reception Friday in the lobby of Arkansas State University’s Humanities and Social Sciences Building, 2401 Aggie Road, Jonesboro.
The exhibit, put together by the university’s public radio station KASU-FM, 91.9, includes photos of Central High School and Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock and the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala.
The exhibit will remain on display at least through December, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-noon on Friday during campus summer hours, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday starting in August.
Meripol originally took the photos for a book, “The Official United States Civil Right Trail: What Happened Here Changed the World,” commissioned by Lee Sentell.
Meripol, a journalism graduate from the University of Arkansas, worked as a news photographer for 13 years at the former Arkansas Gazette and subsequently joined the staff of Southern Living magazine as the senior travel photographer. He is now a Birmingham-based freelance photographer. The exhibit opening is in conjunction with the KLEK-FM Juneteenth Celebration in Jonesboro and is free and open to the public.
Email lfuhr@AState.edu for more information.
TICKETS
Two comedians
Two comedians have shows planned for Arkansas:
◼️ Tickets — $62.65-$152.20 with a $218.90 VIP package that includes special seating, VIP laminate and lanyard and a meet-and-greet + photo opportunity — are on sale for a “Live in 2025” tour show by comedian, actor, singer, and writer Rodney Carrington, 7 p.m. Sept. 27 at Little Rock’s Robinson Center Performance Hall, 426 W. Markham St. at Broadway. The show is billed as “for mature audiences only.” Visit Ticketmaster.com.
◼️ Tickets — $38.53-$145.48 — are currently on sale for two Arkansas performances by comedian and storyteller Ali Siddiq: 7 p.m. Oct. 11 at Fayetteville’s Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St. Call (479) 443-5600 or visit waltonartscenter.org. And 7 p.m. Nov. 1 at Little Rock’s Robinson Center Performance Hall, 426 W. Markham St. at Broadway. Tickets are $32.50-$52.50 (all prices subject to change); visit AliSid7 p.m.diq.com/#tour or Ticketmaster.com. The shows are suggested for audiences 16 and older. Siddiq, a Houston native whose “unique style of stand-up originated behind the walls of incarceration, an incubator for interesting experiences and good stories,” according to a news release, released a comedy special titled “My Two Sons” on YouTube on May 11; a second, “Rugged,” premieres on YouTube on Sunday.
‘Blippi: Join the Band’
Tickets — $8.90-$81.75 (including fees) — are on sale for the “Blippi: Join the Band Tour,” 6 p.m. Nov. 5 at Little Rock’s Robinson Center Performance Hall. The show, aimed at youngsters 2-7, features Blippi and his best friend Meekah from the preschool TV show “bringing even more dancing, singing and fun to families” live on stage. Call (501) 244-8800 or visit Ticketmaster.com.