LITTLE ROCK — Elsewhere in entertainment and the arts this weekend:
“The Haunted Evening Tour,” which introduces participants to “the ghostly side of Little Rock and the surrounding area,” kicks off for the season at 7 p.m. Friday. The tour starts at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History (supposedly one of the most haunted places in the South) in MacArthur Park, 503 E. Ninth St., Little Rock, and includes the Hanger House, the Empress of Little Rock Bed and Breakfast, Mount Holly Cemetery and, in North Little Rock, the Baker House B&B.The tour runs Friday nights through Nov. 25. Tickets are $40; space is limited. Call Arkansas Destinations at (501) 603-0113 for tickets and mandatory reservations; call Linda L. Howell at (501) 681-3857 or visit hauntedtoursoflittlerock.com for more information.
The Mexican Consulate will hold a Mexican Independence Day Celebration at 4 p.m. Friday on the grounds of the Clinton Presidential Center, 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. The festival of Mexican heritage and culture, celebrating the 201st anniversary of Mexico’s independence from Spain, will feature bands, kids activities and dancing; food vendors will be selling authentic Mexican food and beverages. A 7 p.m. program will feature the consul, Edgardo Briones. Admission is free and the event is open to all. Call (501) 372-6933.
Improvisational troupe ImprovLittleRock will open its seventh season at 10 p.m. Saturday at the PublicTheatre, 616 Center St., Little Rock. The show will split the troupe into female and male groups; the former will put on a reduced version of the “20/90” format (10 short-form scenes in 30 minutes), the latter a long-form musical titled “Meat Me in St. Hell.” Tickets are $8; refreshments will be available. Call (501) 374-7529 or visit improvlittlerock.com.
Low Key Arts Inc., a Hot Springs nonprofit community arts organization, will offer “So Many Open Houses,” a site-specific art exhibit consisting of a series of miniature open houses, each created by an artist or a group of artists, 6 p.m.Friday through 9 p.m. Saturday throughout the former Mountainaire Hotel, 1100 Park Ave., Hot Springs. At least 35 artists are constructing environment-oriented art installations in rooms of the twin four-story, art moderne buildings, built in 1947 and vacant since the mid-1990s. Admission is by donation ($5 suggested); proceeds benefit Low Key Arts programming. Call (501) 282-9056 or visit lowkeyarts.org.
The Ozark Folk Center, 1032 Park Ave., Mountain View, will host the 2011Arkansas State Fiddle Championship on Friday and Saturday. Fiddlers will compete for bragging rights and $1,650 in cash prizes in senior, junior and open divisions. The event starts with a 3:45 p.m. Friday workshop in the center’s Music Theater; senior division competition starts at 6:30 with a concert at 7. Saturday’s schedule starts at 10:30 a.m. with the junior division competition, followed by the open division competition at 2:30 p.m., the 6:30 final playoffs and a 7 p.m. concert. Judges Texas Shorty, Tim Crouch and Roger Fountain will also perform at the concerts. Admission is $10, $6 for children. Call (870) 269-3851 or visit ozarkfolkcenter.com.
Tickets - $32 in advance, $34 day of show; children 2-12, $17, $19 day of show; VIP, $127, $129 plus taxes and handling charges - go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday for a pair of freestyle motocross shows by Nuclear Cowboyz, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17-18 at North Little Rock’s Verizon Arena. Tickets available at the Verizon Arena Box Office, all Ticketmaster Outlets. Call (800) 745-3000 or visit ticketmaster.com.
Weekend, Pages 35 on 09/15/2011