THE WEEKEND TEN

LITTLE ROCK — 1 ALL’S FAIR

The Arkansas State Fair starts today and runs through Oct. 18 at Little Rock’s State Fairgrounds. Admission is $8 adults, $4 children ages 6-12 and those 60 and older, free for children 5 and younger. Parking is $5 per vehicle. Call (501) 372-8341, www. arkansasstatefair.com. See full story, Page 4E.

2 ALL’S FUNNY Comedian Robin Williams performs at 8 p.m. Friday at Verizon Arena. Tickets are $45-$85. Call (800) 745-3000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.

3 BLUES CLUES The Arkansas Blues & Heritage Festival — formerly known as the King Biscuit Blues Festival — takes over downtown Helena-West Helena today-Saturday. Starting at noon each day, a full schedule of musicians including Lucious Spiller, Michael Burks, Kings of the Delta and J.P. Soars & The Red Hots will perform on two separate stages. Admission to the Main Stage area of the festival is $5 per day or $10 for a three-day pass. Call (870) 338-6583 or visit bluesandheritagefest.com.

4 ‘TIMELY’ SINGING “The Time Is Now” for the Arkansas Chamber Singers, who are opening their 31st season with a pair of Little Rock concerts by that name at 7:30 p.m. Friday at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 1000 N. Mississippi St., and 3 p.m. Sunday at the Clinton Presidential Library, 1200 President Clinton Ave. John Erwin will conduct Time Pieces, four songs by Stephen Chatman, and songs and arias by composers for whom 2009 is an anniversary year: Henry Purcell (born 1659), George Frideric Handel (died 1759), Franz Joseph Haydn (died 1809) and Felix Mendelssohn (born 1809). Tickets are $15, $10 for students and adults 60 and older; $18, $12 at the door. Call (501) 377-1121 or visit the Web site, www.ar-cham bersingers.org.

5 OPERA SINGING Music from Russian operas and Franz Joseph Haydn’s final symphony will be on the program for the Conway Symphony Orchestra as it opens its silver anniversary season at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Reynolds Performance Hall at the University of Central Arkansas, 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway. A 159-member chorus of singers from UCA, Hendrix College and the community joins the orchestra and Music Director Israel Getzov for the “Polovtsian Dances” (in Russian) from Alexander Borodin’s opera Prince Igor. Getzov will open the program with the “Russian Sailors’ Dance” from The Red Poppy by Reinhold Gliere and close it with Haydn’s Symphony No. 104, “London.” Sponsors are Acxiom and Smith Ford Inc. Tickets are $5-$35, with discounts for children, students and “the UCA community.” Call (501) 450-3265 or (866) 810-0012 or visit the Web site, www.uca.edu/tickets; for more information, call (501) 269-1066 or visit the Web site, conwaysymphony.org.

6 BIRTHDAY BASH Former Broadway star Lawrence Hamilton is helping the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau celebrate the 70th birthday of Robinson Center Music Hall with a free concert at 3 p.m. Sunday in the hall, West Markham Street and Broadway. Joining Hamilton will be actors Mary Steenburgen, Ted Danson and Laurence Luckinbill; Sarah Slocum, Miss Arkansas 2009; soprano Christine Donahue; singer Tawanna Campbell; Ballet Arkansas dancer Jonathan Bostick; Little Rock-based rapper “607” (aka Adrian Tillman); and an All-City Choir composed of central Arkansas high school and university choir students that Hamilton will conduct. Call (501) 376-4781. The concert closes out a week of events that started Sunday with the Beach Boys Band’s SuperPops! concert with the Arkansas Symphony and also includes today’s 7:30 p.m. performance of the touring musical Mamma Mia! Call (501) 244-8800.

7 BARRE NONE Arkansas Festival Ballet will open its 2009-10 season with a program called “At the Barre,” including ballet highlights from Igor Stravinsky’s The Firebird, Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet and Cesare Pugni’s La Esmeralda, plus a new, original work, Seeking Possibilities, choreographed by Artistic Director Rebecca Stalcup to music by Rachel Portman and Clint Mansell, at 7:30 p.m. today (the Friday performance has sold out) at the Arkansas Festival Ballet/Arkansas Academy of Dance Studio in Breckenridge Village, North Rodney Parham Road and Interstate 430, Little Rock. Tickets are $10. Call (501) 227-5320, e-mail info@arkansasdance.org or visit the Web site, www.arkansasdance.org.

8 HOME RUN Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock becomes a family’s playground for the Family Fun Fest, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. With more than 120 vendor booths, inflatables, games, rock-climbing wall and crafts, there will be activities and interests for all ages. At the Kids & Teen Zone, young people can take part in activities like the NLR Fire Department Safety House, Arkansas Twisters Football Toss, fingerprinting with McGruff the Crime Dog and giant Legos from the Museum of Discovery. A lineup including Brian and Terri Kinder, Radio Disney’s Rockin’ Road Show, Steve Perry and a host of other performers will entertain the crowds throughout the day. Admission is $3, free for children 12 and under. Free advance tickets are available at Wendy’s and Shell locations. Call (501) 372-5959 or visit nlrfamilyfunfest.org.

9 ART BREAK The Arkansas Community Arts Cooperative presents a show and sale of works by more than 20 local artists including Kali Empl, Kelly Turner, Jason Harrington, Cary Jenkins, Jennifer Perren and Byron Taylor. The reception, 6-10 p.m. Saturday, will give patrons a chance to buy new artwork, meet the artists, and enjoy refreshments and music. The show will also be open to the public noon-4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 17 and 18. The ACAC is at 900 S. Rodney Parham Road. Call (501) 244-2979 or visit acacarkansas.org.

10 ART THROB The Conway ArtsFest continues through Saturday with events all over town. Just be on the lookout for Pittsburgh’s Painted Pachyderm, a giant inflatable elephant sculpture. There are special exhibits and openings at the University of Central Arkansas, Hendrix College and the Faulkner County Library. Galleries and businesses downtown and on Front Street between Hendrix and Simon Park will host an Art and Music Walk, 4:30-7:30 p.m. Friday. Also look for demonstrations, music and hands-on activities in Simon Park starting at 10 a.m. Saturday. Dance performances at Hendrix, an architectural bike tour, creative writing readings and other art-related activities will be featured. Call (501) 450-3295 or visit artsinconway. com.

Weekend, Pages 31 on 10/08/2009

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