1 MUSIC
K-LOVE Christmas welcomes the holidays with performances by Steven Curtis Chapman (left), Plumb (above), We Are Messengers and Marc Martel, 7 p.m. Saturday at Robinson Center Performance Hall, Markham Street and Broadway, Little Rock. Tickets are $20-$86. Call (800) 745-3000 or visit ticketmaster.com. See Music Scene on Page 5E.
2 MILES
Get a head start on working off those pumpkin pie calories with the Go!bbler Turkey Trot, 8 a.m. today. The run or walk, with options of 3, 4 and 6.5 miles, starts at Go! Running, 1819 N. Grant St., Little Rock. There is no timing and there are no awards for first-place finishers, but there are chances to win free pie. There are also costume prizes and meetings with Santa. Admission is free; canned food and cash donations for Arkansas Foodbank are requested, and optional donations to help offset costs are appreciated. T-shirts are $25. Call (501) 663-6800 or visit gorunning.com.
3 MOUNTAIN
Explore the life of early Arkansas pioneers at the 20th annual Mountain Rendezvous, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday-Sunday at Petit Jean State Park near Morrilton. The encampment offers demonstrations in muzzle loading and tomahawk throwing, cooking and other pioneer days skills. Admission is free. Call (501) 727-5441 or visit petitjeanstatepark.com.
4 MARTINA MCBRIDE
Country singer Martina McBride will sing in the season with her "The Joy of Christmas" concert, 7:30 p.m. Sunday in the First National Bank Exhibit Hall, Fort Smith Convention Center, 55 S. Seventh St., Fort Smith. It's part of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith's Season of Entertainment 37. Tickets are $40-$50. Call (479) 788-7300 or visit tickets.uafs.edu.
5 MALLARDS
Quacking competitions, a carnival midway and the World Championship Duck Gumbo Cook-off are all part of the 82nd annual World's Championship Duck Calling Contest and Wings Over the Prairie Festival through Saturday, Stuttgart, billed as the "Duck and Rice Capital of the World." The midway opens at 3 p.m. today. The midway and festival open at 10 a.m. Friday with a crafts fair, sporting collectibles and the second annual Trap Shoot Competition at Mack's Prairie Wings, 2335 U.S. 63. Duck calling contests start at 11 a.m. on the main stage on Main Street. The Great 5K/10K Duck Race kicks off at 8 a.m. Saturday; exhibits, booths, carnival, and the sporting collectibles show and the duck calling contests open at 9. The cook-off starts at 11 a.m. with the duck calling championship contest at 2. For a full schedule, visit tinyurl.com/duckwings.
6 MOUSE KING, ETC.
Sugar Plum Fairy visions dance in the heads of children, and on the stage as well, as the Hot Springs Children's Theatre Company performs P.I. Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker, 7 p.m. Friday and Dec. 1, and 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday and Dec. 2 at LakePointe Church, 1343 Albert Pike, Hot Springs. Tickets are $20 and $30, $10 and $15 for students. Call (501) 655-6815 or visit hscdtc.org.
• The company will also hold three Nutcracker Tea Parties, 2 p.m. Dec. 12, Dec. 14 and Dec. 19 at the Arkansas Governor's Mansion, 1800 Center St., Little Rock, featuring Nutcracker characters from the Kingdom of the Sweets and performances of short portions of the ballet. Tickets are $50. Visit tinyurl.com/yda8hkx3.
7 (HAND)MADE
Pottery, jewelry, soap, baskets and other crafts will offer unique Christmas gift shopping at the Ozark Folk Center State Park's Holiday Craft Show, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. today-Friday in Mountain View. The center's artisans will sell their pieces in the Craft Village and the park's Administration Building, and admission is free. The center will also host a Thanksgiving buffet in the Skillet Restaurant, 10:45 a.m.-6 p.m. today for $16.95, $8.95 for children 9 and under. Call (870) 269-3851 or visit ozarkfolkcenter.com.
8 MOVIES
This weekend is a perfect time to get out of the house and forget all those holiday meal dishes by seeing a movie. This weekend sees the opening of Coco by Pixar and The Man Who Invented Christmas. For those who want something very family friendly, there's the Christmas-themed The Star and the inspirational Wonder. The remake of Murder on the Orient Express has something for mystery buffs, while, for superhero fans, there's always Thor: Ragnarok or Justice League.
9 MALLS
Deck the malls with boughs of dollars. Once upon a time, the Christmas shopping season started on the day after Thanksgiving; now, of course, it starts the day after Christmas. And many -- too many, perhaps -- retail outlets are open today to take advantage of throngs of shoppers who have gotten bored with the turkey carcass (and friends and family and even football). Even more will no doubt be camping out for hours (if not days) in front of big-box stores seeking Black Friday doorbuster deals. (North Little Rock's McCain Mall, 3929 McCain Blvd., for example, will be open 6 p.m.-1 a.m. today, reopening at 6 a.m. Friday. Santa has been on the premises since Saturday, and the mall is providing a special Caring Santa event for children who need a "more subdued environment" to meet the jolly old elf, 9-11 a.m. Dec. 3 at the mall's Center Court. Make reservations at tinyurl.com/y9xsqy52.) In the meanwhile, avoid intersections where major retail outlets will make traffic heavy, and as always, be careful out there.
10 MEALS
And find a limited list of restaurants opening their doors for Thanksgiving in our Transitions column, starting elsewhere on this page.
Weekend on 11/23/2017