THE WEEKEND TEN

LITTLE ROCK — TEN!

Party with the ducks at the Peabody Little Rock’s New Year’s Eve Party, starting at 8 p.m. Friday. CRISIS, Tragikly White, Rodney Block and Wine and Roses as well as dueling DJs Tre’ Day and G-force will give guests plenty of musical styles to choose from. There will also be dancing, a light show, a midnight balloon drop and a champagne toast. Tickets are $45 in advance, $55 the day of the party. Call (501) 906-4000 or visit rivertopparty.com.

NINE!

Celebrate the flip of the calendar in wild, old-Hollywood style at the Little Rock Zoo. For New Year’s on the Nile, 8 p.m.-midnight Friday, the Zoo’s Cafe Africa will be transformed into Hollywood’s Grauman’s Chinese Theatre with drinking, dancing and dinner. Shannon Boshears Band will supply the music. Tickets are $75 in advance, $100 at the door; reservations are recommended. Call (501) 661-7208 or visit littlerockzoo.com.

EIGHT!

Ring in the new year out on the water. The Arkansas Queen Riverboat is offering two celebratory chances for New Year’s Eve - a twohour dinner cruise at 6:30 and a 2 1/2-hour party cruise at 10 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $44.98 for the dinner, $39.98 for the party, $69.98 for both.

Reservations required. Call (501) 372-5777.

SEVEN!

You can find a bunch of other New Year’s Eve parties and music on Friday. Revolution Music Room, 300 President Clinton Ave., will host Hayes Carll with opening acts Grace Askew and Travis Linville, 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $20. Call (501) 823-0090. NeverTrain supplies the music for the party down the road at the Flying Saucer, 323 President Clinton Ave., which starts at 7 p.m. Friday; $10 for members, $15 for nonmembers. Call (501) 372-8032. Juanita’s, at 1300 S. Main St., hosts a show starring Together at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are $10, $25 for VIP. At the door prices are $15 and $30. Call (501) 372-1228.

SIX!

Marc Camoletti’s farcical Boeing-Boeing, adapted by Beverly Cross, closes out its highflying run at Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, 6323Colonel Glenn Road, Little Rock, with a special New Year’s Eve show. Dinner starts at 6 p.m.

Friday with curtain at 7:40; after the show, the stage area becomes a dance floor and a DJ spins tunes. Staff begins to distribute hats, noisemakers and champagne shortly before midnight; after midnight, the buffet is re-set as a breakfast bar. Tickets are $60. Call 562-3131 or visit murrysdinnerplayhouse.com.

FIVE!

Claude Stuart headlines two New Year’s Eve shows, 7 and 10 p.m. at the Loony Bin, Breckenridge Village Shopping Center, Interstate 430 and North Rodney Parham Road. Henry Coleman will be the featured act, with Ray Dee Oh as opening act/host.

Tickets to the first show are $12.50; for the second, $25, which includes hats, noisemakers, champagne at midnight. Call (501) 228-5555 or visit loonybincomedy.com.

FOUR!

Many restaurants will be offering special menus Friday (and will be filling up - so making reservations is advised). A few possibilities are:

Vieux Carre, 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, (501) 663-1196. The restaurant will serve a chef’s dinner menu with several appetizer, entree and dessert selections a la carte so guests may eat as much or as little as they choose.

Next door, The Afterthought will feature New Year’s party favors, a champagne toast at midnight and entertainment by William Staggers (R&B, soul). Cover is $20 per person.

Acadia, 3000 Kavanaugh Blvd., (501) 603-9630. The restaurant is offering a reservations only, three-course dinner for $57.75.

The Empress of Little Rock, 2120 Louisiana St., Little Rock, (501) 374-7966. The bed and breakfast hosts its annual New Year’s Eve Wine-Dinner Dance beginning at 8 p.m.

Friday with a four-course gourmet wine dinner, music, dancing and a champagne toast.

Cost is $250 per couple.

THREE!

Oaklawn Racing & Gaming in Hot Springs promises the Largest New Year’s Eve Party in Town, from 6 p.m. to midnight Friday with a prime rib buffet ($19.99 for those with playing cards, $25 for those without), a cash drawing and entertainment. Call (800) 625-5296.

TWO!

Revelers too young for the late-night festivities can take part in Radio Disney’s Noon Year’s Eve party, 10 a.m.-noon Friday. Small fry will get their own countdown to noon, music, games and prizes at Veterans Park Community Center, 508 N. Lincoln St., Cabot.

Admission is free. Call (501) 663-3300.

ONE!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The 42nd Collectors Show and Sale, a collection of works from more than 20 New York galleries, ends its run at the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock’s MacArthur Park on Sunday. Hours this weekend are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. today-Friday, closed Saturday, then open again 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. Call (501) 372-4000 or visit arkarts.com.

Weekend, Pages 31 on 12/30/2010

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