The Weekend Ten

The top things to do and places to be

— 1 DAZZLE

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra brings its “Lost Christmas Eve” show to North Little Rock’s Verizon Arena at 8 p.m. Friday. The show fuses elements of rock, classical, folk, Broadway and R&B into what the producer calls a “Capra-esque” world — a rundown hotel, an old toy store, a blues bar and a Gothic cathedral, plus their respective inhabitants — during an enchanted New York City Christmas Eve. Tickets: $43.50-$88.50 (includes a $1 donation to Play It Again Arkansas, which distributes new and used musical instruments to students who can’t afford them). The arena is using its paperless ticket system. Call (800) 745-3000 or visit ticketmaster.com or stonecityattractions.com. See story Page 5E

2 ‘DRINK (IN MY HAND)’

Eric Church , with gue sts Justin Moore and Kip Mo ore, will get Verizon Arena rocking when he stops by on his Blood, Sweat & Beers T our, 7:30 p.m. toda y. Tickets are $49-$59. Call (800) 745-3 000 or visit ticketmast er.com. See story Page 4E.

3 DANCE

The annual tradition of sugarplums and snowflakes with Ballet Arkansas and Arkansas Symphony Orchestra continues with their production of The Nutcracker at Robinson Center Music Hall. Public performances are 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday and tickets are $20-$45. Call (501) 666-1761 or visit balletarkansas.org or arkansassymphony.org. See story Page 5E.

4 DISPLAY One-of-a-kind, handmade gifts will be on display as the Arkansas Craft Guild’s Christmas Showcase returns to Little Rock, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday at the Statehouse Convention Center. More than 100 artists will sell their jewelry, photography, wood work, pottery, clothing, furniture, bath products and more. Admission is $5, free for children under 12. Admission is free to the early bird shoppers’ special, 8 a.m.-10 a.m. Saturday. Call (870) 269-4120 or visit arkansascraftguild.org.

5 DREAMY Homes throughout Little Rock and North Little Rock will be decorated in Christmas finery for the Wildwood Holiday Tour of Homes, Friday-Saturday. Wildwood Park, 20919 Denny Road, will be the setting for the Designer Breakfast, 9-10:30 a.m. Saturday. The tour itself is 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $75 for all three events, $50 for the breakfast and tour. The tour alone is $25 in advance and $30 Saturday. Call (501) 821-7275 or visit wildwoodpark.org.

A more centralized festive home tour is Sunday with the annual Christmas in the Quarter. From 2-6 p.m., homes in the Quapaw Quarter district will be on display for the tour, which starts at Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church, 1600 S. Louisiana Ave. Trolleys will give ticket-holders free rides between locations. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 the day of. Call (501) 375-1600 or visit qqumc.org/citq

6 ‘DECK (THE HALLS)’ The Arkansas Chamber Singers will be “Singing for Joy” at 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at the Old State House Museum, 300 W. Markham St., Little Rock. John Erwin will conduct the singers in a program of carols (including “The Holly and the Ivy” and “Deck the Halls (in 7/8)”) and songs of the season by Edwin Fissinger, Gustav Holst, William Billings, Howard Helvey, David Dickau and others. The museum’s sponsorship makes possible free tickets to all three concerts. Call (501) 377-1121.

7 DELIGHT Mezzo-soprano Suzanne Loerch, the Don Roberts Elementary School Children’s Choir and low-brass quartet Basso Voce (Greg Lindstrom and James Wilhite, tuba, and Elizabeth Taylor and J. Kyle Blackburn, euphonium) join the Little Rock Wind Symphony for “A Christmas Celebration,” 7:30 p.m. today at Second Presbyterian Church, 600 Pleasant Valley Drive, Little Rock. Karen Fannin conducts; Suzanne Hamilton, winner of the conductor’s baton auction, will be on the podium for Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride.” A pre-concert silent auction starts at 6:30. Tickets are $10, $8 for senior citizens, free for students. Call (501) 666-0777 or visit lrwindsymphony.org.

8DON

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Opera Theater will stage The Christmas Box, created by assistant professor of music Don Bernardini, at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Sunday in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall, Fine Arts Building, UALR, 2801 S. University Ave., Little Rock. The production also features young dancers from the Arkansas Festival Ballet and Arkansas Academy of Dance. Tickets are $15, $5 for students, free for UALR students. Call (501) 569-8993 or visit ualr.tix.com.

9 DENISOV, ETC. Clarinetist Narek Arutyunian, 19 and a winner of the 2010 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, will give a recital with pianist Solon Gordon, under the auspices of the Chamber Music Society of Little Rock, at 7:30 p.m. today in Parish Hall, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 1000 N. Mississippi St., Little Rock. The program includes sonatas by Leonard Bernstein, Johannes Brahms, Edison Denisov and Francis Poulenc. Tickets are $25, $10 for students. Call (501) 912-9867 or visit ChamberMusicLR.com.

10 DISCOVER See how 19thcentury pioneers celebrated Christmas at the annual Christmas and Candlelight celebration at Historic Washington State Park, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday. The historic homes around town will be decorated in traditional, handmade style and after dark, luminarias will light the way. Musical entertainment starts at 5 p.m. and the William’s Tavern Restaurant will serve a Christmas buffet for lunch and dinner. Tickets are $10, $5 for children 6-12. Call (870) 983- 2684 or visit historic- washingtonstatepark. com.

Weekend, Pages 31 on 12/06/2012

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