1 BAKLAVA Volunteers will dish up plates full of baklava, pastitso and gyros as the International Greek Food Festival returns, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 1100 Napa Valley Drive. This year’s festival adds Indian food to its usual menu of Greek and Mediterranean favorites. Drivethrough service is offered, but those who stick around can shop at the old-world market and watch the many dance performances throughout the day. There’s free trolley service from Asbury United Methodist Church at 1700 Napa Valley Drive and Pulaski Academy, 12601 Hinson Road, Little Rock.
Admission is free. Call (501) 221-5300.
2 BUZZ Directors, actors and film fans have congregated in Little Rock and North Little Rock for a long list of screenings, workshops, panels and special events. The Little Rock Film Festival (showing Village at The End of The World, pictured below) continues through Sunday at various locations in both cities. Passes range from $50-$300. Call (501) 205-0400 or visit littlerockfilmfestival.org.
3 BALLET Arkansas Festival Ballet hopes audiences will get the “pointe” of Carlo Collodi’s puppet turned-boy story as it stages a ballet version of The Adventures of Pinocchio, 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Arkansas Arts Center in MacArthur Park, 10th and Commerce streets, Little Rock. Julia Aronson dances the title role in the full-length storybook ballet, which Rebecca M. Stalcup has choreographed to film music by Charlie Chaplin (with an assist from conductor Carl Davis). Tickets are $20, $15 students and children in advance, $25 and $20 at the door.
Call (501) 227-5320 or visit arkansasdance.org.
4 BELAYA, BLOOMFIELD, ETC.
The Arkansas Symphony Chamber Orchestra, the Arkansas Chamber Singers; soloists Anna Belaya, soprano; Crystal Jarrell, alto; Chauncey Packer, tenor; Benjamin Bloomfield, bass and conductor Philip Mann will collaborate on a performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem, 7 p.m. today at Little Rock’s First United Methodist Church, 723 Center St. The concert concludes the orchestra’s 2013 Stella Boyle Smith Intimate Neighborhood Concert Series, sponsored by the Stella Boyle Smith Trust. Tickets are $35. Call (501) 666-1761 or visit ArkansasSymphony.org.
5 BOATS Teams of 20 paddlers with a drummer and steerer will race in authentic, Hong Kong-style, 46-foot-long dragon boats in the inaugural River Cities Dragon Boat Festival, Saturday on Victory Lake at North Little Rock’s Burns Park. The first round of heats starts at 9 a.m., the last at 3 p.m.; best times decide the gold, silver and bronze medal winners. Chinese, Mexican and Irish cultural groups will perform in the morning; four local bands will provide music in the afternoon.
There will be a kids’ area and at least half a dozen food trucks will provide concessions. Admission is free; registration fees and donations benefit the Children’s Protection Center, which treats child abuse survivors and their families and works to prevent child abuse. Visit rivercities.racedragonboats.com.
6 BBQ The folks at 103.7 The Buzz invite barbecue chefs to prepare rubs and sauces for the annual Buzz-B-Q, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday in Downtown Riverside RV Park, 50 Riverfront Drive, North Little Rock. This year’s musical lineup is The Dirty White Boys, Canvas and Jeff Coleman and the Bottom Feeders. Proceeds from the barbecue cook-off and music festival benefit Camp Sunshine, a camp for child burn survivors.
Tickets are $10. Call (501) 664-9410 or visit 1037thebuzz.com.
7 BOXERS Fashion models, local celebrities and other “infamous” volunteers will parade the boxer shorts that will be up for auction at the first Boxers & Brewskis at Biggs to benefit Special Olympics, 6-9 p.m. today, at Ernie Biggs Dueling Piano Bar, 307 President Clinton Ave., in Little Rock’s River Market District. The $10 admission donation to Special Olympics includes “brewski” sampling from Golden Eagle of Arkansas and door prize entry. Call (501) 588-0246, Extension 450, or visit HnHAgency.com or specialolympicsarkansas.org.
8 BOOKS The Friends of Central Arkansas Libraries (FOCAL), which usually holds its used book sales at the Central Arkansas Library System’s downtown Main Library, is going “on the road” and holding sales, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday-Saturday, at three branch locations: the Oley Rooker Library, 11 Otter Creek Court, Little Rock; Amy Sanders Library, 31 Shelby Drive, Sherwood; and Williams Library, 1800 Chester St., Little Rock. Paperbacks are 50 cents; hardbacks are $1. Proceeds go toward CALS programs. Call (501) 918-3000 or visit cals.org.
9 BATH Public bathing is encouraged at the annual Stueart Pennington Running of the Tubs, 9 a.m. Saturday in downtown Hot Springs. Contestants will race down the street in wheeled bathtubs while observers are encouraged to get in on the act with water guns. Admission is free for spectators, $25 for teams. Call (501) 321-2277 or visit hotsprings.org.
10 BOOTHS More than 100 exhibitors from 14 states are expected at the Antique Alley Arkansas Antique Show, noon-7 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday at the Conway Expo Center, 2505 E. Oak St., Conway. Friday admission is $5. Saturday and Sunday admission is $3, $1 for children 12 and under. Call (501) 230-5728 or visit antiquealleyarkansas.com.
Weekend, Pages 33 on 05/16/2013