LITTLE ROCK — 1 Fight
Thousands of martial arts enthusiasts from around the world converge on Little Rock for the American Taekwondo Association’s annual Songahm Taekwondo World Championships. Official opening ceremonies featuring performances by demonstration teams and finalists start at 6 p.m. Friday at Verizon Arena, North Little Rock. Tickets are $21.60. Call (800) 745-3000. The tournament itself will be held at the Statehouse Convention Center. Hours are 2-8 p.m. today, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Sunday. Admission today-Friday is free. Saturday and Sunday admission is $10, free for ages 6 and under. Call (501) 568-2821 or visit ataonline.com.
2 DELIGHT
Art by local artists, and in a variety of
price ranges, is the highlight of A Taste of Art and Wine. This art show and sale is presented by The Art Group, an artist cooperative at 10840 Maumelle Blvd., North Little Rock. Show hours are 6-9 p.m. today, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 1-4 p.m. Sunday. Each day will include a special activity like entertainment, painting demonstrations, art projects and crafts for children. Admission is free. Visit theartgroupmaumelle. com or call (501) 690-2193.
3 SIGHT
Artists of the Mid-Southern Watercolorists
will display their works as Cantrell Gallery hosts the group’s open membership exhibit, Sunday-July 31. Visitors can meet many of the artists at the opening reception, 2-4 p.m. Sunday. The gallery is at 8206 Cantrell Road and hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Admission is free. Call (501) 224-1335.
4 HEIGHT
Life Source Church in Jacksonville will
hold its first Jacksonville Jamfest and Teddy Bear Parachute Drop, a fundraiser for the Arkansas Children’s Hospital burn unit, 5 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday in Dupree Park, Redmond Road, Jacksonville. Friday night’s musical headliner will be Seventh Day Slumber (tickets are $10); a concert at 7 p.m. Saturday will feature Tulsa pop band Stars Go Dim and several other bands (admission is free). For the parachute drop throughout the day Saturday, children can buy a teddy bear or bring their own; entry fee is $5 and teddy bear medics will be on hand in case of mishaps. All proceeds go toward the burn unit. There will be a large children’s play area, food and craft stalls and a dunking tank on the grounds. Call (501) 658-2847 or visit jvillejamfest.com.
5 IGNITE Bluesman Michael “Iron Man” Burks, described by the Chicago Sun-Times as “a fierce, flamethrower guitar slinger and an exciting, soulful singer,” will perform at 9 p.m. Saturday at the Historic Malco Theatre, 819 Central Ave., Hot Springs. Tickets are $17.50 (including processing fee) in advance, $20 at the door. Call (501) 321-4747.
6 WRITE
Prizewinning bluegrass singer-songwriterfiddler Stephanie Bettman will give a concert at 7 p.m. Friday at the Ozark Folk Center, 1032 Park Ave., Mountain View. (Bettman is also an actress, athlete and trapeze artist.) Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $10, $6 children 6-12. Call (870) 269-3851 or visit ozarkfolkcenter.com.
7 MIGHT
The Brick Car Derby Contest, barbecue cook-off, car and motorcycle shows and a parade are part of the events lineup for the annual Malvern Brickfest, today-Saturday in Malvern City Park. General admission is free. Call (501) 332-2721 or visit malvernbrickfest.com.
8 FLIGHT
Mount Magazine State Park welcomes its fluttery friends with the annual Mount
Magazine Butterfly Festival, Friday-Saturday. Visitors are invited to explore the park on their own or join in on the park interpreter led seminars and hikes. There will also be the Bug Bonanza pavilion, with live insects and spiders, buggy games and children’s crafts. Folk duo Still on the Hill will perform. The park is 19 miles south of Paris on Arkansas 309. Admission is free but nonperishable food donations will be accepted. Call (479) 963-8502 or visit mountmagazinestatepark.com.
Just a few miles away, downtown Paris presents its own Butterfly Festival with music, arts and crafts, art and quilt shows and parade. Admission is free. Call (479) 963-2244 or visit butterflyfestival.com.
9 RITE
Celebrate the mighty pea at the Purple-Hull Pea Festival & World Championship Rotary Tiller Race at Emerson High School, Arkansas 98, Emerson, on Friday-Saturday. Arts and crafts, music and fireworks will get things started Friday. Saturday events include the peas and corn bread cook-off, Million Tiller Parade, pea shelling competition, tractor exhibitions. The World Championship Rotary Tiller Race starts kicking up dust at 10 a.m. Saturday (the kids division is at 9 a.m.). Admission is free. Call (501) 416-4657 or visit purplehull.com.
10 BRIGHT
Participants in the Center on the Square’s four-week KidStage summer children’s theater workshop will stage Godspell, Jr., an adaptation of the musical Godspell for younger players — music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, adapted by John Higgins; conceived by John-Michael Tebelak, based on the Gospel According to St. Matthew — at 7 p.m. today-Saturday at the center, 111 W. Arch St., Searcy. Primary sponsor is Land O’Frost; associate sponsors are Beth Patterson Pediatric Dentistry, Searcy Children’s Clinic and Families Inc. Tickets are $8, $10 at the door. Call (501) 368-0111.
Weekend, Pages 31 on 06/24/2010