THE WEEKEND TEN

The top things to do and places to be

By The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

LITTLE ROCK — 1 QUACK UP

The annual Wings Over the Prairie festival in Stuttgart gears up with carnival and midway,

arts and crafts, gumbo cook-off, the 10K duck race and the World Championship Duck Calling Contest. The main festival events will be Friday-Saturday, although the carnival is open 1-10 p.m. today and the Kingdom Dog

Ministries will wrap things up at 10 a.m. Sunday. General admission is free. Call (870) 673-1602 or visit stuttgartarkansas.org.

2 CRACK UP

Comedians Bruce Bruce, Lavell Crawford

and Gary Owen will be the lineup for the “Thanks for the Laugh” comedy show at 8 p.m. Saturday at Robinson Center Music Hall, West Markham Street and Broadway, Little Rock. The Arkansas Regional Organ Recovery Agency is putting on the show with Urban Icon Entertainment; sponsors are the Arkansas Minority Health Commission and Bank of the Ozarks. Tickets are $37-$47 plus facility fee and handling charges, at Ticketmaster locations, by phone at (800) 745-3000 or online at ticketmaster.com.

3 TWANG THANG

Country singer-songwriters Jamey

Johnson and Randy Houser will bring their “CMT on Tour ’09” show to the Spa City with a show at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Summit Arena, 134 Convention Blvd., Hot Springs. Johnson’s hits include “In Color” and “High Cost of Living.” Houser’s hits: “Anything Goes” and “Boots On”; he also co-wrote the singles “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” for Trace Adkins and “Back That Thing Up” for Justin Moore. Tickets are $28 plus handling charges; call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 or visit the Web site, ticketmaster.com.

4 BLAST OFF

Budding artists have a chance to work

their magic with bandages and aluminum foil at the annual ArtBlast, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. The Hot Springs Civic & Convention Center’s Hall A, 134 Convention Blvd., Hot Springs, will be packed with interactive art activities, including book- and instrument-making and 3-D sculptures, for ages 4-18. Tickets are $5, free for accompanying adults. Call (501) 625-3992 or visit artblasths.org.

5 STOP BUY

Also at the Hot Springs Civic & Convention Center, grown-ups can discover some potential gift items at the 22nd annual Winter Wonderland Arts and Crafts Festival, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Admission is free. Call (501) 262-3651.

6 ANIMAL HOUSE

Heifer International encourages a different form of Christmas gift with its Celebration of Living Gifts, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at Heifer Village, 1 World Ave. Visitors are invited to meet the animals Heifer provides to people around the world, take pictures, and participate in craft activities. Admission is free. Call (501) 907-2697 or visit heifer.org/heifer village.

7 PEAK PERFORMANCE

Visit the 1800s at Petit Jean State Park’s

annual Mountain Rendezvous. Re-enactors will show off their mountain camps and teach visitors about black powder, rope-making, children’s games and toys and other parts of Arkansas history. Hours for the camp are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. Call (501) 727-5441 or visit arkansasstateparks.com.

8 BANGING BANQUET

In case you’re worried about still being

stuffed the day after Thanksgiving, the All-You-Can-Stand Rock-n-Roll Buffet, 9 p.m. Friday at the Low Key Arts Building, 118 Arbor St., Hot Springs, will be serving tunes, not food. Seven regional bands — Frown Pow’r, Sea of Separation, Perpetual Werewolf, Blue Screen Skyline, Ace Spade & the Whores of Babylon, the Itinerant Locals and the Ramen Noodles — will set up in a giant circle with the audience in the middle. As soon as each finishes its 20-minute set, the next one starts. Admission to the all-ages show is $7. All proceeds go toward the March 2010 Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival. Call (501) 282-9057.

9 CLAUS OUT

Santa Claus, singing and rides will

celebrate the start of the Christmas season at the Promenade at Chenal on Saturday. Hosted by KURB-FM, 98.5’s Lisa Fischer and Jeff Matthews, the Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony will feature the arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus, train and carriage rides, carolers and children’s activities starting at 3 p.m. Performances by Chenal Elementary’s fifth-grade class, Arkansas Chamber Singers and Ballet Arkansas start at 4:30 p.m. and the tree lighting and fireworks display starts at 6 p.m. The Promenade is at 17711 Chenal Parkway. Admission is free. Call (501) 821-5552.

10 DUCK IN

Santa Claus will also make an

appearance — as the honorary duck master — at The Peabody Little Rock Hotel’s Storybook Holidays, beginning at 11 a.m. Sunday. A tree lighting ceremony, cookies and photos with Santa will follow at the hotel, 3 Statehouse Plaza. Admission is free. Call (501) 399-8059 or visit www.pea bodylittlerock.com.

Weekend, Pages 48 on 11/26/2009

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