1 ACROBATS
Aerialists, acrobats, contortionists, dancers, jugglers, balancers and strongmen will join the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and Associate Conductor Geoffrey Robson, performing to music by Georges Bizet, Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, Claude Debussy, Bela Bartok, Camille Saint-Saens, Igor Stravinsky and others for “Cirque de la Symphonie,” the final concert in the orchestra’s Acxiom Pops Live! series, 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday in Robinson Center Music Hall, West Markham Street and Broadway, Little Rock. Tickets are $18-$58, $10 for active military and college students, free to the Sunday matinee for K-12 students with a paying adult. Call (501) 666-1761 or visit ArkansasSymphony.org.
2 ALDEAN
Country music star Jason Aldean’s 2013 Night Train Tour arrives at North Little Rock’s Verizon Arena, 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $40.50-$68.50. Call (800) 745-3000 or visit ticketmaster.com. See story Page 4E.
3 APPRECIATE
With gardens in bloom and historic houses spic and span, the Quapaw Quarter Association presents the 49th Spring Tour of Homes in North Little Rock’s Park Hill district. Saturday’s Candlelight Tour includes self-guided tours with champagne and snacks, 5:30-7:30 p.m., followed by Gatsby in the Garden’s cocktail hour, dinner and dancing. Tickets are $125. The houses will also open for self-guided tours with trolley rides, food vendors and children’s activities, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 day of the tour. Call (501) 371-0075 or visit quapaw.com.
4 AGLOW
In honor of Mother’s Day, the Arkansas Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure presents Illuminate the Cure, in which several hundred pink floating lanterns will surround the Big Dam Bridge on Sunday. Lantern pick-up and purchase starts at 6:30 p.m. on both sides of the bridge. Lantern launch starts at 7:30. Lanterns are $25 and each lantern grants bridge access for two people. Children under 5 are free. Call (501) 202-4399 or visit komenarkansas.org.
5 AMUSEMENT
Mudbugs, music and motorcycles congregate in downtown El Dorado for Bugs, Bands & Bikes weekend, Friday-Saturday. Performers this year include Frank Foster, and Duck Dynasty’s Kay Robertson will appear as grand marshal. There will also be a poker run, celebrity crawfish-eating contest, children’s activities and arts and crafts. There are fees for some activities, including Miss Kay’s Duck Dynasty VIP Experience on Saturday ($20). Call (870) 862-4747 or visit mainstreeteldorado.org.
6 ALTO
Alto saxophonist Andy Wen, a faculty member at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, will solo in Scaramouche by Darius Milhaud with the UALR Community Orchestra and conductor Victor Ellsworth at 3 p.m., Sunday in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall. Fine Arts Building, UALR, 2801 S. University Ave., Little Rock. The program will also include the Festive Overture by Dmitri Shostakovich, Bizet’s Symphony in C, Prelude and a Dorian Dance by Wallace De Pue Sr. and “The Fair” from Petrouchka by Igor Stravinsky. Admission is free. Call (501) 569-3294 or e-mail evellsworth@ualr.edu.
7 APPLAUSE
The Royal Players will stage Dearly Beloved by Jessie Jones, Nicolas Hope and Jamie Wooten at 7 p.m. today-Saturday and May 16-18 and 2 p.m. Sunday and May 19 at the Royal Theatre, 111 S. Market St., Benton. Sponsors include St. John’s Chapel by the Creek. Tickets are $10, $8 for senior citizens, $5 for students. Call (501) 315-5483 or visit theroyalplayers.com. Sketch comedy team The Main Thing — Brett Ihler, Vicki Farrell and writer/director Steve Farrell — once again hot-dog it as the residents of tiny Dumpster, Ark., in Wiener Day at the Rollercade, a two-act comedy opening Saturday at The Joint, 301 Main St,, North Little Rock. Curtain time is 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday through July 20; tickets are $20, plus the cost of food, desserts, wines, craft beers, specialty coffees and soft drinks that you can consume during the course of the cabaret-style, all-ages show. Call (501) 372-0205 or visit thejointinlittlerock.com.
8 AQUATIC
Ride the waves in Hot Springs as the water portion of Magic Springs Water and Theme Park opens for the summer season at 11 a.m. Saturday. The water park will be open on weekends through May 19 and will shift to a seven-days-a-week schedule starting May 25. Season passes for the park are $74.99. Daily tickets are $39.99-$49.99 online, $44.99-$54.99 at the gate, $29.99-$33.99 for children and ages 55 and older. Call (501) 624-0100 or visit magicsprings.com.
9 ACTION
Rodeo, barbecue and carnival rides and games are all part of the 21st annual Esperanza Bonanza Festival, today through Saturday at the Marion Athletic Complex, 3821 Complex Road, Marion. Andy Child’s Band headlines at 8 p.m. Friday, with Dr. Zarr and the Amazing Funkmonsters on stage at 8 p.m. Saturday. A three-day pass is $15; individual day passes are $3-$10; $15 carnival wristbands get you on all rides, 4-10 p.m. today and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Income from the annual festival supports Crittenden County charities and scholarship programs. Visit esperanzabonanza.org.
10 ACE, ETC.
The third annual Arkansas Delta Rockabilly Festival will be held Friday and Saturday in Helena-West Helena, at Helena’s music pavilion on Cherry Street. Performers Friday include Brandon Cunning & The Stunning Cunning Band, Chilli & the Barracudas, C.W. Gatlin, Sleepy LaBeef, The Cate Brothers (with a tribute to Levon Helm) and Cooter and Cooter’s Garage Band. Performers Saturday, starting at 11 a.m. are D.J. Fontana & Stan Perkins, The Reba Russell Band, W.S. Holland, Ace Cannon, Linda Gail Lewis, Sonny Burgess & The Legendary Pacers with special guest Lance Lipinsky of the Million Dollar Quartet, Wanda Jackson, Travis Wammack and The Kentucky Headhunters. Tickets are $30, good for both days, and children under 12 accompanied by an adult will be admitted free. For more information, call (870) 338-3501.
Weekend, Pages 31 on 05/09/2013