The Weekend Ten: Top things to do, places to be

— 1 BEND

A group of women find comfort and expression through quilting in Gee’s Bend, the latest production at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, through Feb. 10. Showtimes are 7 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday and Sunday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $25-$40. Tonight’s performance includes a pre-show talk with the creative team at 6:15 p.m. and student tickets are available for $15. Call (501) 378-0405 or visit therep.org. See story Page 5E.

2 “(NO) BOUNDARIES” Former American Idol Kris Allen headlines a show with opening act Jillette Johnson, 8:30 p.m. Saturday at the Rev Room, 300 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. Tickets are $12, $15 day of show, $50 VIP. Call (501) 823-0090 or visit revroom.com/site/ shows. See story Page 4E.

3 BEETHOVEN Guillermo Figueroa, music director of the New Mexico Symphony and principal guest conductor of the Puerto Rico Symphony, will be the guest conductor for the Arkansas Symphony’s Masterworks concerts, 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at Robinson Center Music Hall, West Markham Street and Broadway, Little Rock. David Gerstein, the orchestra’s principal cellist, will solo in the Variations on a Rococo Theme by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky; Figueroa will also conduct Ancient Airs & Dances, Suite No. 1, by Ottorino Respighi and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2. An American Airlines Concert Conversation will precede the concert an hour before “curtain” in Robinson Center’s Room 102. Tickets: $14-$52, free to the Sunday matinee for K-12 kids with a paying adult; call (501) 666-1761 or visit ArkansasSymphony.org. See story Page 5E.

4 BUCKS The Big Buck Classic, the annual hunters’ shopping extravaganza, returns to the State Fairgrounds, Little Rock, 1-9 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. In addition to the vendors selling all manner of outdoor paraphernalia, there will be a chili cook-off, a bow shoot, Bwana Jim’s Live Animal Kids’ Show and a variety of displays. Admission is $10, $5 for children 5-12.

Call (501) 985-1533 or visit bigbuckclassic.com.

5 BRIDGE Poorly built houses and rickety bridges are the settings as three pigs and three goats face off with a wolf and a troll, respectively. Classic fairy tales get the musical treatment in The Three Little Pigs and Three Billy Goats Gruff, which opens at the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre, 501 E. Ninth St., Friday. The show continues through Feb.

10 with performances at 7 p.m. Fridays, 3 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $10-$12. Call (501) 372-4000.

6 BUFFOONERY The Main Thing (Vicki Farrell, Brett Ihler and writer/director Steve Farrell), the resident sketch comedy trio at The Joint, 301 Main St., North Little Rock, continues to portray all the residents of tiny Dumpster, Ark., this time showing up for the closing-down-after-30-years final night at their favorite honky-tonk in The Last Night at Orabella’s, 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday through April 27. Admission is $20 to the cabaret-style show (snacks, desserts, wines, craft beers, specialty coffees and soft drinks are available throughout the show). Call (501) 372-0205 or visit thejointinlittlerock.com.

7 BLAZE Tommy Blaze, billed as “America’s premier relationship comic,” headlines at 7:30 p.m. today ($7, free for women on “Ladies Night”), 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday ($10) at the Loony Bin Comedy Club, Breckenridge Village Shopping Center, Interstate 430 and North Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock. Call (501) 228-5555 or visit loonybincomedy.com.

8 BROTHERS The Punch Brothers - mandolin player Chris Thile, guitarist Chris Eldridge, banjo player Noam Pikelny, violinist Gabe Witcher and bassist Paul Kowert - will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday in Worsham Student Performance Hall, Student Life and Technology Center, Hendrix College, 1600 Washington Ave., Conway. Sponsors are Hendrix Special Events, the college’s Office of Student Activities and campus radio station KHDX-FM, 93.1. Admission is free; doors open at 7:30. Call (501) 450-1291 or e-mail activities@hendrix.edu.

9 BIRDS DeGray Lake Resort State Park at Bismarck will be a haven for birds and bird lovers during their annual Eagles Et Cetera weekend, Friday-Sunday. Eagles and their fellow birds of prey have taken up winter residence in Arkansas and the park will host a weekend of activities including tours, falconry demonstrations, presentations and hikes. The Little Rock Zoo will be on hand with its own birds of prey. Most activities are free. Eagle boat tours are $9, $5 for children 6-12. Call (501) 865-5850 or visit degray.com.

10 BLYTHEVILLE The Petar Jankovic Ensemble - guitarist Petar Jankovic and a string quartet (Sophie Bird and Minju Kim, violins; Rose Wollman, viola;

and Kyra Saltman, cello) - will give a concert at 7 p.m. Friday at the Ritz Civic Center, 306 W.

Main St., Blytheville, under the auspices of the Arts Council of Mississippi County. The program, titled “From Spain to Tango,” includes works by Manuel de Falla, Federico Moreno Torroba, Isaac Albeniz, Radames Gnatalli, Paul Bellinati, Jose Luis Merlin and Astor Piazzolla.

Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door, free for children 12 and under with an accompanying adult. Call (870) 762-1744 or visit artsmissco.org.

Weekend, Pages 33 on 01/24/2013

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