Singer-songwriter Martin Sexton, touring in support of his ninth studio release, Mixtape of the Open Road, performs at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Fayetteville's Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St. Tickets are $20-$30. Call (479) 443-5600 or visit the website, waltonarts-center.org.
A cappella festival
Also at Walton Arts Center this week: A cappella group VoicePlay -- Season 4 competitor on NBC's The Sing-Off -- headlines the principal concert for the center's fourth annual VoiceJam A Cappella festival, 7:30 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $15-$30. The three-day festival, in partnership with Vocal Asia, an Asian a cappella competition founded in 2010, kicks off with a free concert featuring 2017 Vocal Asia champion Narin, 7 p.m. Thursday in the center's Starr Theater. Narin also will perform during the VoiceJam Competition, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, at which seven groups will vie for the chance to perform at Vocal Asia in Taiwan this summer. Deke Sharon hosts. Tickets are $15-$30, plus fees. Call (479) 443-5600 or visit twaltonartscenter.org.
UAFS band
The UAFS Symphonic Band will perform at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the ArcBest Corp. Performing Arts Center, Fort Smith Convention Center, 55 S. Seventh St., Fort Smith, part of the university's Season of Entertainment 37. The program will include works by Dana Wilson, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Franz von Suppe, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Aaron Copland. Alexandra Zacharella conducts. Tickets are $6. Call (479) 788-7300 or visit tickets.uafs.edu.
African Night
The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith African Student Association will host its annual African Night cultural event, 6 p.m. Saturday in the Reynolds Room, Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center, 800 N. 49th St., Fort Smith.
The event will include a fashion show; African cuisine; performances by an African dance group and a university music team; a speech by Sherman Banks, the consul of the Republic of Ghana in Little Rock; and an educational piece on Africa. Admission is $15, $10 for UAFS students and children 13 and younger. Call (479) 788-7981 or email Williams.yamkam@uafs.edu.
Children's Theatre
The Arkansas Arts Center Children's Theatre will open its 2018-19 season Sept. 21-Oct. 7 with the musical Curious George: The Golden Meatball at the Arts Center in MacArthur Park, 501 E. Ninth St., Little Rock.
The musical adaptation -- music by John Kavanaugh, book and lyrics by Jeremy Desmon, based on the book series by H.A. and Margaret Rey -- takes the beloved monkey on a whirlwind culinary-centered adventure.
The rest of the lineup (all shows, 7 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday at the Arts Center):
• Oct. 26-Nov. 11: Hansel and Gretel's Gingerbread Games. Adapted "[extremely] freely" by Keith Smith from the Brothers Grimm.
• Nov. 30-Dec. 16: Jack Frost in Santa Land by Smith
• Feb. 1-17: This Little Piggy Went to Market by Smith
• March 8-31: Charlotte's Web, adapted by Joseph Robinette from the book by E.B. White
• April 26-May 12: The Hobbit, new adaptation by Smith of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic tale.
Season sponsor is Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield. For more information, visit ArkansasArtsCenter.org/18-19-season.
Season ticket packages range from the 3-Play Package (one ticket to three plays of your choice) to the Family Flex Pack (24 tickets to use any way you want). Call (501) 372-4000 or visit the website, ArkansasArtsCenter.org/theatre.
Style on 04/01/2018