1 SNICKERING
Comedian Kevin Hart brings the laughs to North Little Rock's Verizon Arena with his "The Irresponsible Tour", 7 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $28-$128. Call (800) 745-3000 or visit ticketmaster.com.
2 STORYTELLING
Dozens of authors from all over the world will celebrate the power and variety of the written word at the Arkansas Literary Festival, today-Sunday at locations across Little Rock and North Little Rock. The festival will include musical performances, lectures, panel discussions, art displays and even a baking demonstration. Most events are free but some require tickets (and fees). Call (501) 918-3000 or visit arkansasliteraryfestival.org.
3 SIPPING
Sip chardonnay and maybe meet a critter or two at Wild Wines at the Little Rock Zoo, 1 Zoo Drive in Fair Park. VIP Night with high-end wine and food and music starts at 7 p.m. Friday. The "Mane" Event, 7-10 p.m. Saturday, features more than 250 wines, food from more than 40 restaurants, music and animal ambassadors. Tickets are $75 for Saturday, $150 for both nights. Call (501) 661-7218 or visit littlerockzoo.com.
4 SLURPING
A traveler seeking food finds something even more precious -- a friend -- as the Arkansas Arts Center Children's Theatre closes its 2017-18 season with Stone Soup, adapted from the folk tale and directed by Keith Smith, 7 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday through May 13 at the Arts Center, 501 E. Ninth St., Little Rock. There's a special Pay-What-You-Can preview performance at 7 p.m. today; the May 4 performance is Pajama Night. Tickets are $12.50, $10 for Arkansas Arts Center members. Call (501) 372-4000 or visit ArkansasArtsCenter.org/theatre.
5 SINGING
Two big choral works are on the musical docket this weekend:
• The Arkansas Choral Society and the University of Arkansas at Monticello Concert Choir will perform Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem, 7:30 p.m. Friday in the sanctuary at Calvary Baptist Church, 5700 Cantrell Road, Little Rock. Music Director Kent Skinner conduct the chorus, 25 members of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and soloists Mary Sandell, soprano; Diana Salesky, alto; Kyle Davis, tenor; and David Farwig, bass. Tickets are $20, $15 for students. Call (870) 820-9645 or visit lovetosing.org.
• The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Community Chorus and Concert Choir and the Choir of Second Presbyterian Church will perform Felix Mendelssohn's oratorio Elijah, 7:30 p.m. Saturday at First Presbyterian Church, 800 S. Scott St., Little Rock. Bevan Keating conducts chorus and soloists -- including bass-baritone Robert Holden in the title role -- with organist Adam Savacool and a chamber orchestra. Tickets are $20, free (one per) for UALR faculty, staff and students. Call (501) 569-3294 or visit ualr.tix.com.
6 SOLOING
Clarinetist Yoonak Kim, winner of the 2016 Concert Artists Guild International Competition, will perform clarinet sonatas by Francis Poulenc, Leonard Bernstein and Johannes Brahms, plus works by Claude Debussy and Jorg Widmann, with pianist Kevin Ahfat, 7:30 p.m. today at Saint Mark's Episcopal Church, 1000 Mississippi St., Little Rock. A reception will follow. Tickets are $25, free for students of all ages. Visit ChamberMusicLR.com.
• Kim will also solo with the Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra in Debussy's Rhapsody for Clarinet, 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Roosevelt Thompson Auditorium, Little Rock Central High School, 1500 S. Park St., Little Rock. The program also includes Leonard Bernstein's Candide Overture, Jean Sibelius' Finlandia and the "Bacchanale" from Samson and Delilah by Camile Saint-Saens. Geoffrey Robson conducts. Tickets are $10, free for K-12 students. Call (501) 666-1761, Extension 1, or visit ArkansasSymphony.org.
7 SALUTING
Thea Foundation will hold its fourth annual Into the Blue fundraiser gala, 6-9 p.m. Saturday at the Center for the Humanities and Arts, University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College, 3000 W. Scenic Drive, North Little Rock. Dorothy Morris will receive the foundation's annual Pillar of the Arts Award. Performers include current and former Arkansans (and Thea Foundation scholarship winners) -- opera singer Georgeanne Yehling; Selena Gordon, who performed on TV's America's Got Talent; Meredith Short Loy, a member of the Ballet Arkansas company; and University of Oklahoma sophomore Bennett "Tanner" Berry, one of 15 students selected for the Weitzenhoffer School of Musical Theatre's Class of 2020. Tickets are $100. Call (501) 379-9512 or visit theafoundation.org/into-the-blue.
8 SMITHING
See a blacksmith in action and learn a bit about cooking on the frontier, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Saturday at the Scott Settlement Rendezvous, 15525 Alexander Road, Scott. The event includes a Trail of Tears presentation, settlement tours, demonstrations and contests. Admission is $3, free for children under 6. Call (501) 944-0736 or visit scottconnections.org. See story on Page 8E.
9 STEPPING (ON THE GAS)
Fans of the automobile can spend the day checking out more than 200 vehicles at the Wheelin' & Healin' Car & Truck Show, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday at Goodsell Truck Accessories, 401 Municipal Drive, Jacksonville. Entry fee for the fundraiser for Arkansas Baptist Health Foundation's Healthy and Active Youth Program is $25 for judged vehicles, $5 for display only. Spectator admission is free. Call (501) 982-2245 or visit goodselltruck.com.
10 SCULPTING
Ten artists across the South have created original, site-specific installations designed to enhance or contrast the natural beauty of Petit Jean Mountain for "Art in Its Natural State," a temporary outdoor art exhibition, kicking off, 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, 1 Rockefeller Drive, Morrilton, and at nearby Petit Jean State Park. The daylong event includes artist talks, demonstrations, performances and interactive events involving partner organizations and performers -- and food trucks. Daytime admission is free; a 5:30 p.m. Saturday reception at the institute is the chance to meet the artists, with food and beverages and performances by the Arkansas Symphony's Rockefeller Quartet and singer Bonnie Montgomery. Tickets are $50. To register for daytime events or reception tickets, visit tinyurl.com/ybyyf6xy.
Weekend on 04/26/2018