1 BALLPARK BALL DROP
The new year approaches. Saturday is New Year's Eve. Sunday is New Year's Day. So usher in 2017 with a bang at the Arkansas New Year's Eve Ball Dropping Celebration on Saturday at Dickey-Stephens Park, 400 W. Broadway, North Little Rock. There will be music, a direct link to the New York City Times Square celebration, fireworks and a ball drop. Gates open at 5 p.m. with the show following at 6. Tickets are $20-$100, free for children 5 and under. Call (501) 548-5811 or visit travs.com.
2 BUFFET X 2
Murry's Dinner Playhouse, 6323 Col. Glenn Road, Little Rock, closes out the year, and its run of Sorry! Wrong Chimney! by Jack Sharkey and Leo W. Sears, with a special New Year's Eve extravaganza Saturday. Things get underway with the usual dinner buffet, approximately 90 minutes before curtain (7:30 p.m.); following the show, guests can dance to a DJ in the space the roll-out stage ordinarily occupies, flaunt party favors and noisemakers and sip champagne at midnight, then line up for the breakfast buffet. Tickets are $60 if there are any left. Call (501) 562-3131 or visit murrysdp.com.
3 BWAHAHA
Comedian-guitarist Kristin Key headlines shows at 7:30 p.m. today ($8), 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday ($12) and the two New Year's Eve shows, 7:30 and 10 p.m. Saturday ($12 first show; $26 second show, includes hats, horns, noisemakers, leis, poppers and snacks) at the Loony Bin Comedy Club, in the Breckenridge Village Shopping Center, Interstate 430 and North Rodney Parham Road. Call (501) 228-5555 or visit loonybincomedy.com.
4 BAR BASH
The Flying Saucer Draught Emporium, 323 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, pours up a big New Year's Eve Bash, starting at 8 p.m. Saturday. The Crumbs will provide the tunes as the bar serves up a special tapping of Founders Lizard of Koz and shot specials, followed by a champagne toast at midnight. Cost is $40 for a table, $10 cover for the floor. Call (501) 372-8032.
5 GATSBY BASH #ONO17 (One Night Only) is putting on a Great Gatsby New Year's Eve Celebration, 9 p.m. Saturday at the Embassy Suites Little Rock, 11301 Financial Centre Parkway, Little Rock. It's being billed as a formal event -- "you can dress it up as much or as little as your heart desires," explains the description on the Eventbrite site, presumably in keeping with "The Great Gatsby Experience." Tickets are $20 general admission, $10 if you get there before 10, $30 VIP (includes complimentary coat check), plus processing fees. Visit tinyurl.com/gatsby17.
6 "NOON YEAR" BASH
Don't let the night owls have all the fun. Bring the kids out to the Museum of Discovery, 500 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, where they are ringing in the "Noon Year" on Saturday. Kid-friendly activities, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., include making centripetal-force noisemakers, creating photo props (for New Year's selfies), learning about time with hands-on activities, watching wintry science demos (with liquid nitrogen and dry ice), with a "whopping big museumwide countdown" -- to noon. Admission is $10, $8 for children 12 and younger, free for members and babies 1 and younger. Call (501) 396-7050.
7 BIKES AND HIKES
Get out and breathe a little fresh new year's air on New Year's Day:
• The Arkansas Bicycle Club will pedal in 2017 with a New Year's Day Bicycle Ride, 10 a.m. Sunday. The 30-mile ride starts in the Kroger parking lot at 2509 McCain Blvd., North Little Rock. Participation is free. Call (501) 912-1449 or visit arkansasbicycleclub.org.
• Get the new year off to a fresh start with plenty of fresh air. Arkansas' state parks are hosting First Day Hikes on Sunday as part of a national program. Parks across the state, including Petit Jean, Mount Magazine, Cane Creek, Devil's Den and Village Creek will all offer hikes and programs. Admission is free. Call (888) 287-2757 or visit arkansasstateparks.com. See Are We There Yet on Page 8E.
8 BRILLIANCE
Artworks of shiny, glittery glass will soon leave the Arkansas Arts Center. "Little Dreams in Glass and Metal: Enameling in America, 1920 to the Present," and "Glass Fantasies: Enamels by Thom Hall," both end their runs on Saturday at the Arts Center in MacArthur Park, East Ninth and Commerce streets, Little Rock. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is free. Call (501) 372-4000 or visit arkansasartscenter.org.
9 'BABY, I'M FOR REAL'
R&B/soul singer Will Downing performs at 8 p.m. Friday at Robinson Center Performance Hall, West Markham Street and Broadway, Little Rock. Tickets are $49.50-$59.50 plus possible fees. Call (800) 745-3000 or visit ticketmaster.com.
10 BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER
January is North Little Rock Restaurant Month, wherein, under the aegis of the North Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau, North Little Rock restaurants offer bargains and promotions to get folks through their doors. Win free tickets to University of Arkansas at Little Rock Trojans' Feb. 6 basketball game against Appalachian State -- show a January receipt from any North Little Rock restaurant at the Visitors Information Center in Burns Park (1 Eldor Johnson Drive) or the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce (100 Main St.). Enter the #EatNLR Foodie Contest by posting photos of of food, folks around the table or anything that captures the dining moment to Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #EatNLR; find contest guidelines and prize information at NLRRestaurantMonth.com/eatnlr-foodie-contest. Apply a special Chef Shuttle discount code -- NLRRest2017 -- at checkout for free deliveries up to $4.95 on the Chef Shuttle website, chefshuttle.com. Check out the Facebook page starting Sunday, visit NLRRestaurantMonth.com or call (501) 758-1424.
Weekend on 12/29/2016