Farmers market set to mark 40th season
The River Market Farmers Market will start its 40th season in May and celebrate by extending its hours for the first time for a trial run of a night market.
Every Saturday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. beginning in May and ending Oct. 25, the market will be set up in the pavilions at the downtown River Market District. A night market is set for noon to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays during the peak season from May 27 to Aug. 26.
Starting 3 p.m. on Tuesdays, street performers will provide entertainment as people shop for fresh fruits and vegetables. During the night market, the River Market’s Ottenheimer Hall will extend its hours for dinner before or after the night market, a news release states.
On opening day May 3, visitors can expect a birthday party celebrating the market’s 40th year that will feature cake, balloon animals and a welcome from a 6-foot-tall character, “Dean the Bean.”
Parking in the back lot off Ottenheimer is free Tuesdays and Saturdays for farmers market shoppers. Complimentary parking passes for the River Market parking deck also are available from market vendors, the release states.
On sister-city trip, 9 see U.K. art, soccer
City representatives and the executive director of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra returned Friday from their week-long trip to Little Rock’s sister city in England.
Members of the Sister Cities Commission traveled to Newcastle Upon Tyne on April 5 for a visit that focused on arts, sports and youth.
The nine representatives attended the Theatre Royal performance of Swan Lake and met the director of the Royal Northern Symphony, the only royal symphony in the United Kingdom. Queen Elizabeth II granted its charter last summer.
The group also attended a soccer match between Newcastle United Football Club and Manchester United. Little Rock has been a “Friendship City” with Newcastle since 2001.
The Sister Cities Commission will send student ambassadors to the English town this summer. The partnership aims to promote cross-cultural understanding and form opportunities in business, education, arts and sports.
Arcade’s theater on field-trip itinerary
Thousands of students will benefit from a partnership between the Central Arkansas Library System and the Museum of Discovery this spring, the organizations’ leaders said.
Students on spring field trips to the museum are now able to see the museum’s “Awesome Science” program in the new Ron Robinson Theater. The theater inside the Arcade Building in the River Market District is operated by the library system.
The use of the 315-seat theater allows the museum to increase the number of students it can serve during the field-trip season, a news release said.
The release said the museum has already booked 19 showings of the program over 10 days, serving 3,600 students from 36 schools. The schools are in 23 Arkansas communities, and one is in Memphis.
“The experience of seeing ‘Awesome Science’ in a modern theater with outstanding sound and lights will definitely be memorable for these students and furthers the museum’s mission to ignite a passion for science, technology and math in a dynamic, interactive environment,” said Kelley Bass, the museum’s chief executive officer.
Arkansas, Pages 17 on 04/13/2014