THE WEEKEND TEN

The top things to do and places to be

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette photo illustrations/DUSTY HIGGINS
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette photo illustrations/DUSTY HIGGINS

1 ON THE FLY

This weekend is for the birds.

photo

AP file photo

William Shatner brings his one-man show to Walton Arts Center.

Petit Jean State Park, 1285 Petit Jean Mountain Road, Morrilton, is holding its Eagle Awareness Weekend Saturday-Sunday, two days devoted to the bald eagle. Programs include “An Introduction to Eagles,” a live raptor show and field trips to nearby Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge to look for wintering eagles and other birds. A schedule is available at petitjeanstatepark.com. Admission is free. Call (501) 727-5441, email petitjean@arkansas.com.

Meanwhile, Bull Shoals-White River State Park, 153 Dam Overlook Lane, Bull Shoals, will host its Eagle Awareness event Friday and Saturday, with guided bird walks, lake and river tours, speakers, bird demonstrations and entertainment. Admission is free, except for the cruises - river: $15 per person, two person minimum, four person maximum, and lake: $9, $5 children. Call (870) 445-3629, email bullshoalswhiteriver@arkansas.com or visit arkansasstateparks.com/bullshoalswhiteriver.

And Lake Dardanelle State Park celebrates all that winter brings with its Winter at the Lake event, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday at the park’s visitor center.

The day’s activities include educational programming and crafts, and will end with a special tree trimming at which visitors will help decorate a tree with edible ornaments for the park’s birds.

Admission is free. Call (479) 967-5516 or visit arkansasstateparks.com.

2 HORSING AROUND

The horses shoot out of the starting gate as Oaklawn Park, 2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs, begins its 2014 season Friday. The gates open at 11 a.m. Thursday-Sunday and Jan. 20 and Feb. 17. First posts are1:30 p.m. weekdays and Sundays, 1 p.m. Saturdays and holidays. Admission is $2, $4.50 for reserved seats. Call (800) 522-4700 or visit oaklawn.com.

See story on Page 4E.

3 IN STEP

This weekend at the Arkansas Arts Center, in MacArthur Park, Ninth and Commerce streets, Little Rock - call (501) 372-4000 or visit arkansasartscenter.org:

Learn or practice your tango skills today with “Art of Motion: Tango” - get a dance lesson from local and national tango teachers at 7 p.m. and practice your new moves at 8 at the “Milonga” in the arts center’s lower lobby. No partner necessary. Admission is $10, free for Arkansas Arts Center members.

Artists will “Face Off” in a dueling portraiture competition, 2-5 p.m. Saturday in the center’s Alice Pratt Brown Atrium. The two top winners will see their art go on display at the arts center. Interested in competing? Email lpalermo@arkansasartscenter.org. Admission is free.

4 THE BUTLER DID IT

A new collection of sculptures and two-dimensional works opens with a special reception as part of Second Friday Art Night, 5-8 p.m. Friday at the Butler Center Galleries, 401 President Clinton Ave, Little Rock.

“Unusual Portraits: New Works by Michael Warrick and David O’Brien” will remain on display through March 22. Admission is free and hours are9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Call (501) 918-3033.

5 ON THE RUN

Take a run or walk over the river at the MLK 5K, 8 a.m. Saturday.

This fundraising race starts at the base of the Big Dam Bridge at Cooks Landing, crosses the river, goes along the River Trail, then returns to the north side. Registration is $20 in advance, $25 on race day, and proceeds benefit Youth Home and Sober Living. Call (501) 231-3730 or visit mlkrunwalk.org.

6 DOG DAYS

Empty nesters adopt a street smart canine that changes their lives in Sylvia! by A.R. Gurney, opening today at Center on the Square, 219 W. Arch Ave., Searcy. The opening-night and Jan. 23 performances will be “dessert theater” - coffee and dessert at 6:30 p.m., curtain at 7 ($18). For dinner theater shows Friday-Saturday and Jan. 17-18 and 24-25, dinner is at 6:30 p.m. and curtain at 7:30 ($29, $24 for senior citizens and students); for the Jan.

26 brunch matinee, 12:30 p.m. meal, 1:30 curtain ($27, $21). Show-only seats are $15. (All ticket prices plus sales tax.) Call (501) 368-0111 or visit centeronthesquare.org.

7 VITAL ORGANS

Organist Nathan Laube, who has recently joined the faculty of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., will give the 20th annual Richard Hixson Birthday Recital, underwritten by and honoring the birthday of the North Little Rock dentist and organist, 8 p.m. Friday at Christ Episcopal Church, 509 Scott St., Little Rock. Laube will play the Passacaglia and Fugue, BWV 582, and two other works by Johann Sebastian Bach and the Phantasia und Fugue, S.259, by Franz Liszt. Sponsor is the central Arkansas chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Admission is free. Call (501) 375-2342.

8 HERE COMES MCBRYDE

In its Live at Laman series, the William F. Laman Public Library, 2801 Orange St., North Little Rock, offers a new music presentation at 7 p.m. the second Thursday of every month. Today, the library presents singer-songwriter Ashley McBryde, known for her raw talent and “a whiskey-washed sense of humor.” Admission is free. Call (501) 758-1720 or visit lamanlibrary.org.

9 PAPER TRAIL

“Small Works on Paper,” an annual touring visual art exhibition coordinated by the Arkansas Arts Council, kicks off its2014 statewide tour today at the Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, 701 Main St., Pine Bluff. The center will host a public reception, with talks by the artists, 5-7 p.m. Jan.16. The exhibition, 40 works by 39 Arkansas artists, will be up through Jan. 30, and then travels to 10 Arkansas galleries during the year. (See a schedule and list of artists at arkansasarts.com.) Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 1-4 p.m. Saturday. Admission to the reception and the exhibition is free. Call (870) 536-3375.

10 KEEPING TREK

Take a tour through Shatner’s World as actor William Shatner brings his one-man show to Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. The show follows Shatner’s life and career, 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $ 50-$125. Call (479) 443-5600 or visit waltonartscenter.org.

Weekend, Pages 29 on 01/09/2014

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