1 CHOREOGRAPHY
"Ballet Arkansas in Concert" pairs high-profile works of classical and contemporary dance with live and recorded musical accompaniment, 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 601 Main St., Little Rock. The inaugural mixed-repertory program featuring the works of Tony Award-winning choreographers Agnes De Mille and Christopher Wheeldon and the world premiere of a piece in four movements by Ballet Arkansas Artistic Director Michael Fothergill. Pianist Drew Mays, gold medal winner in the 2007 Cliburn International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs, will accompany a couple of the pieces and play, solo, two Frederic Chopin pieces Friday, an Alexander Scriabin sonata Saturday and Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 for the Sunday matinee. Tickets are $40. Call (501) 223-5150 or visit balletarkansas.org/tickets or tickets.therep.org. See story on Page 4E.
2 CINCO
Heights Taco & Tamale Co. puts on its second annual Cinco de Heights street fiesta, to benefit the Arkansas Foodbank, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday on the street in front of the restaurant, 5805 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock. The event includes food -- including the HT&T StreetSide Taco Shack, roasted turkey legs and frozen treats from Loblolly Creamery -- plus music (by the Good Time Ramblers), a golf-cart build-off competition, a golf-cart giveaway, activities for kids and a mojito-margarita-beer zone (not for kids). Visit the Facebook event page, facebook.com/events/1677216022579435.
3 CELERY
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo in a fresh way at the Little Rock Farmers Market grand opening Saturday in the River Market pavilions, behind the Ottenheimer Market Hall, 400 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. This year's season opener will be a fiesta-style party, 9-11 a.m. with children's activities and animal rescue opportunities. The market is open 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays through Sept. 29, with special activities the second Saturday of each month. Admission is free. Call (501) 375-2552 or visit rivermarket.info.
4 CELEBRATION
Sip mint juleps and root for the ponies at the Old State House's Derby Day celebration, 3-7 p.m. Saturday on the front lawn of the museum, 300 W. Markham St., Little Rock. Southern summer attire is recommended for the party, which includes lawn games, music, food from Brewski's Pub & Grub and drinks leading up to live streaming of the Kentucky Derby. Tickets are $50, $75 for VIP. Call (501) 324-9685 or visit oldstatehouse.com.
5 CONSONANTS
Local TV and radio personalities keep their vowels and consonants straight at Spellebration: A Celebrity Spelling Bee, 6-8:30 p.m. today at Albert Pike Memorial Temple, 712 Scott St., Little Rock. The competition, which includes a cocktail hour and silent auction, and benefits AR Kids Read. Tickets are $50. Call (501) 244-2661 or visit arkidsread.org.
6 'COUNTRY-LEANING'
Singer-songwriter Bonnie Bishop closes out Oxford American magazine's 2017-18 Concert Series (and its subsidiary Americana Series), 8 p.m. today at South on Main, 1304 Main St., Little Rock. Doors open at 6 for food and drinks. Tickets are $30-$38. Call (800) 293-5949 or visit Metrotix.com. See Music Scene on Page 5E.
7 COLOR
The Thea Foundation, 401 Main St., North Little Rock, welcomes a new exhibit, "Meet Me in the Water" by Katherine Rutter, with a reception, 6:30-9 p.m. Friday, featuring hors d'oeuvres, beer and wine and the unveiling of Rutter's temporary mural. Reception admission is $10. The exhibit will remain on display through May 31, 9 a.m.-noon and 1-5 p.m. Monday-Friday; admission is free. Call (501) 379-9512 or visit theasartdepartment.com.
8 CARIBBEAN
Corruption, revolution and assassination follow Jean Jacques Dessalines declaring himself emperor of a previously independent Haiti in 1791 in William Grant Still's opera Troubled Island (libretto by Langston Hughes and Verna Arvey), which Opera in the Rock will stage 7:30 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Sunday at the Center for Humanities and Arts, main campus, University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College, 3000 W. Scenic Drive, North Little Rock. An all-black cast of local and regional operatic talent will sing the opera in English with supertitles. Arlene Biebesheimer directs; Paul Dickinson conducts. Tickets are $20-$60, $15 for students. Visit oitr.org or uaptc.edu/charts.
9 CONWAY
Marty Stewart and His Fabulous Superlatives and Lanco will headline this year's Toad Suck Daze, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday in downtown Conway. Activities include the Toadal Kids Zone, the Toad Market and the World Famous Toad Races. General admission is free. Call (501) 327-7788 or visit toadsuck.org.
10 CABARET/CABERNET
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, with guitarist and songwriter Richard Thompson, will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at Griffin Music Hall in the Murphy Arts District, 101 E. Locust St., El Dorado. Tickets are $32.50-$60. Call (870) 863-4547 or visit eldomad.com. It's the culmination of El Dorado's Murphy Arts District's fourth Southern Food & Wine Festival, Friday-Saturday, featuring internationally known guest chefs and sommeliers. See Music Scene on Page 5E.
Weekend on 05/03/2018