The Weekend Ten

LITTLE ROCK — 1 FESTIVAL

Toad races, carnival rides and music are just a few events planned for the annual Toad Suck Daze festival in downtown Conway from Friday-Sunday. Festival grounds officially open at 3:30 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday, with the bulk of activities Saturday. Also magic shows, car shows, motorcycle rally, a parade, the Toad Suck 5K/10K race, and a Friday night performance by Kris Allen. General festival admission is free, but there are fees for participating in some activities. Call (501) 327-7788 or visit toadsuck.org.

2 FIRE (AND rain)

Legendary singer-songwriter-guitarist James Taylor, he of the 43-year career filled with melodic folk rock hits, returns to North Little Rock’s Verizon Arena for a show in the arena’s theater configuration at 8 p.m. Friday. Seating is reserved; tickets cost $47 and $71.50. Call (800) 745-3000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.

3 FINERY

Nine private gardens and The Old Mill in North Little Rock will show off their finery at the Spring Garden Tour, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. This year’s theme is “Garden Artistry” and master gardeners and experts will be available at each stop to answer questions and offer insights. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 on tour days. Call (501) 663-7515 or visit glrcgc.net.

4 FILM

Just how historically accurate was the classic movie? That’s the question the Historic Arkansas Museum addresses in the new exhibit, “Reel to Real: Gone With the Wind and the Civil War in Arkansas,” Sunday-April 30, 2012. The exhibit includes a collection of Gone With the Wind memorabilia as well as items showcasing the effects the war had on Arkansas. Admission to the museum galleries, 200 E. Third St., is free. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Call (501) 324-9351 or visit historicarkansas.org.

5 FIGHT

The Old State House Museum gets Arkansas Heritage Month, “Conflict and Consequence: Commemorating the Civil War,” off to a big start with its kick-off event and exhibit opening, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday. During the Civil War-theme event, visitors can experience living history performances, take part in militia drills and play roles in the secession vote. Also, the Civil War exhibit, “An Enduring Union,” opens and will remain on display through March. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. Call (501) 324-9685.

6 FIFTH-GRADER

There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom at the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre, which is staging the play by Louis Sachar at 7 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, this weekend through May 15 at the Arts Center in MacArthur Park, 10th and Commerce streets, Little Rock. Owen Kyong-McClain plays the title role, the oldest kid in the fifth grade, a bully, a liar and a picker of fights with girls, who reforms with the help of the new school counselor (Katie Campbell). Tickets are $14, $11 for children. Call (501) 372-4000 or visit arkarts.com.

7 FUNNY

Little Rock-based teen improvisational troupe Armadillo Rodeo, en route to the 2011 Teen Comedy Fest on May 7 in Chicago, will perform twice this weekend, 8 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Sunday at the Public Theatre, 616 Center St., Little Rock. Tickets are $8; all proceeds go toward the Chicago trip. Call (501) 374-7529 (PLAY).

8 Falsetto

m The Arkansas Choral Society’s “An Evening of Musical Comedy” will feature Gilbert & Sullivan’s one-act operetta Trial by Jury and P.D.Q. Bach’s quasi-oratorio The Seasonings at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Little Rock’s First Baptist Church, 62 Pleasant Valley Drive. Kent Skinner conducts the Choral Society and students from the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Doors open at 6 for a silent auction. Tickets are $15, $10 for students, free for children under 12. Call (501) 376-8484 or visit lovetosing.org.

m The River City Men’s Chorus, which fits all the criteria for a glee club, presents a concert called “Glee Club!” at 3 p.m. Sunday and 7 p.m. Monday and May 5 at Trinity United Methodist Church, 1101 N. Mississippi St., Little Rock. The program will include arrangements of the traditional college drinking song “Gaudeamus Igitur,” Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” Lionel Richie’s “Endless Love,” the Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride” and Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.” David Glaze conducts. Admission is free. Call (501) 377-1080 or visit rivercitymenschorus.com.

9 FEET

Fifty touring dancers from the Russian National Ballet will perform Sergei Prokofiev’s storybook ballet Cinderella at 7:30 p.m. today in the Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall at the University of Central Arkansas, 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway. The performance closes the 2011-12 UCA Public Appearances “Night-Out Series.” Tickets are $30-$40, $27-$37 for senior citizens, $10 for students, with discounts for UCA alumni, faculty and staff. Call (501) 450-3265 or (866) 810-0012, or visit uca.edu/tickets.

10 “FOREVER”

Country singer-songwriter John Michael Montgomery will give a concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday as part of the grand opening for the Grand Prairie Center at Phillips Community College, Stuttgart, 2709 U.S. 165 South, Stuttgart. Tickets are $25-$59. Call (870) 673-4201, Extension 1896, or visit pccua.edu. Other grand opening weekend events include a Taste of Home Cooking School and Vendor Expo, 2-9:30 p.m. today; a fish fry and community concert, 5-7 p.m. today; and a “Blessing of the House” multidenominational worship service, featuring several community choirs, 3 p.m. Sunday.