THE WEEKEND TEN

LITTLE ROCK — FEED

Don’t miss those famous spaghetti dinners at the 114th Tontitown Grape Festival, 4:30-8:30 p.m. today-Saturday ($12, $6 for kids). The festival also features music each night, a Saturday walk/run/fun run and a carnival (festival armband passes are $20 for all ages). A complete schedule of events and entertainment is available at tontitowngrapefestival.com; call (479) 361-2615.

2 SEED It’s rind-and-seed season in southwest and northeast Arkansas this weekend:

The 36th annual Hope Watermelon Festival gets under way at noon today, continuing through Saturday in Hempstead County near the state’s southwest corner. Opening-day events include a Kiwanis chicken dinner, a dog show and the preliminaries of the Watermelon Idol Talent Contest, plus a 7:30 p.m. concert and street dance featuring Ace Cannon and his “tuff sax.” Friday’s highlights include a Lions Club fish fry and a concert featuring Allen Frizzell and the Dove Brothers. Saturday’s schedule includes an antique car show, a kids’ fishing derby, watermeloneating and seed-spitting contests, the Watermelon Idol finals and a closing concert by country singer Easton Corbin. (Advance tickets: $12, $6 for children 4-10; day of show, $20. Take a lawn chair.) Festival admission is free; a $3 parking fee benefits the Chamber of Commerce, the Boy Scouts and the Hope Rotary Club. Call (870) 777-3640 or visit hopemelonfest.com.

Meanwhile, the Cave City Watermelon Festival also runs today-Saturday in Cave City, straddling Independence and Sharp counties, with watermelon judging, music and, on Saturday, a Kiwanis pancake breakfast, the Cave City Cruisers Annual Car Show, a parade, watermelon games and a 4 p.m. free watermelon feast. Call (870) 283-5969 or visit cavecityarkansas.info.

3 BREED It’s prized pooches on parade at the Arkansas Kennel Club dog show, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday-Sunday at the Arkansas State Fairgrounds Hall of Industry, 2600 Howard St. Admission is $3, $2 for ages 6-18. Call (501) 288-7492 or visit onofrio.com.

4 GREED? Bargains Galore on 64, a gigantic, extended yard sale, will stretch for 160 miles from Fort Smith to Beebe along U.S. 64, today-Saturday. Call (888) 568-3552 or visit bargainsgaloreon64.com.

5 HEED

Southern historical figures, including Huey Long, Martin Luther King Jr. and Elvis Presley, share a stage in Southern Cross by Jon Klein. The stage is at the Weekend Theater, West Seventh and Chester streets; performances are 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday through Aug. 25. Tickets: $16, $12 for students and senior citizens 65 and older, available in advance only through weekendtheater.org; for more information, call (501) 374-3761.

6 SHE’D

Little Rock’s Top of the Rock female close-harmony chorus blends “sizzling choreography and dazzling costumes with beautiful barbershop harmonies” for its annual summer concert, titled “Hot August Night: Fireworks!” 7 p.m. Saturday in the University Theater Center for the Performing Arts, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2801 S. University Ave., Little Rock. Conway High School women’s a cappella group No Boys Aloud will also perform. Tickets are $20 in advance, $15 for senior citizens 60-plus and students 17 and under; $25 at the door. Call (501) 258-1389 or visit topoftherockchorus.org.

7 KEYED Brinkley native and famed rhythm and blues father Louis Jordan is the subject of a special celebration at the Old State House Museum, 5-8 p.m. Friday. As part of the monthly Second Friday Art Night, the tribute will include performances by the Greasy Greens and a screening and discussion of Is You Is: A Louis Jordan Story. On Saturday, the whole family can take a hands-on approach to the past with the Saturday History Programs, which include games of the 1800s at 11 a.m. and Arkansas pottery at 2 p.m. Activities will start on the hour from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free. Call (501) 324-9685.

8 CREED Magic Springs’ final Celebrate the Word weekend of the summer will feature Christian pop-rock group Newsboys (Jody Davis, Michael Tait, Jeff Frankenstein and Duncan Phillips) at 8 p.m. Saturday and contemporary Christian trio Point of Grace (Denise Jones, Shelley Breen and Leigh Cappillino) at 7 p.m. Sunday in the Timberwood Amphitheater, at Magic Springs Water and Theme Park, U.S. 70 (East Grand Avenue), Hot Springs. Inspirational speaker Marian Jordan will open the Sunday night show at 6. Get through the gate as part of the park’s general admission price — $44.99, $29.99 per “junior” (under 48 inches) and “senior” (55 and older). Call (501) 624-0100 or visit MagicSprings.com.

9 READ Sort through an abundance of books, maps, photos and other paper products at the annual Arkansas Book and Paper Show, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. Antiques, first editions and autographed books on a variety of topics will be on display at the Jacksonville Community Center, 5 Municipal Drive, Jacksonville. Admission is $5. (501) 590-0071.

10 MEAD If you haven’t had a chance to immerse yourself in Harry Potter’s World, time is running out. The exhibit, which explores the inspirations and real-world basis for the popular novels at the Central Arkansas Library System’s Main Library, 100 Rock St., ends Saturday and a handful of teen-oriented events will round things out. A Harry Potter cooking class starts at 4:30 p.m. today and the final Potter film, Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, will be screened at 4:30 p.m. Friday. The final festivity will be a Harry Potter Party aimed at ages 13-18 at 2 p.m. Saturday. This weekend’s hours are 9 a.m.-8 p.m. today, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Admission is free. Call (501) 918-3000.