ENTERTAINMENT NOTES

Folk musician Dave Smith performs for the inaugural “Echoes of the River Valley" series today at Arkansas Tech University at Russellville.
Folk musician Dave Smith performs for the inaugural “Echoes of the River Valley" series today at Arkansas Tech University at Russellville.

Elsewhere in entertainment, events and the arts:

TODAY

Free folk music

Stone County-based folk musician Dave Smith will be the featured performer for the inaugural "Echoes of the River Valley" series event, 7 p.m. today in Room 300B of Arkansas Tech University's Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center, 305 W. Q St., Russellville. Admission is free. Call (479) 964-0569 or visit libguides.atu.edu/echoes.

Needle-felted sculpture

DeLisa Eads-Wagar will create 3-D needle-felted sculptures, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. today-Saturday at the Arkansas Craft Gallery, 104 E. Main St., just off the Square in Mountain View. Eads-Wagar creates animals, fairies, gnomes, witches and other make-believe characters from paper, fabric, lace, wool, paint, clay, plastic, metal, beads and baubles. Call (870) 269-4120 or visit the Facebook event page, facebook.com/events/364785717390450, or arkansascraftguild.org.

Jazz Eureka

Eureka Springs runs both hot and cool during the annual Jazz Eureka festival, through Saturday. Highlights include the Roaring '20s Party on the lawn at the Crescent Hotel, 75 Prospect Ave., 7 p.m. today; admission is $10 -- call (877) 643-4972 or visit reserveeureka.com/attractions/jazzeureka. Headliner Larry Carlton plays at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at The Aud, 36 Main St. Tickets are $30-$60; visit theaud.org. There will also be performances at venues around town and free Friday-Saturday concerts in Basin Spring Park. Visit eurekasprings.org/jazz.

FRIDAY

Toy library

The family of Ruth Nita Nixon Wilson, a lifelong Jacksonville resident, library lover and grandmother of nine, will open Gran Gran's Toy Library, created from Wilson's toy collection, 10:30 a.m. Friday inside the Central Arkansas Library System's Nixon Library, 703 W. Main St., Jacksonville. Toys for borrowing, including, but not limited to, dolls and accessories, ride-on toys, costumes, blocks, Duplo sets, cars, trucks, mazes, play food, push toys, and walkers, appropriate for children 6 months to 5 years, will be available 11:15 a.m.-11:45 a.m. Wednesday and Friday, immediately after the children's programs on those days. Library card holders can check out two educational toys per visit. Admission to the celebration and the service are free. Call (501) 457-5038.

SATURDAY

Pop-up craft shop

In conjunction with The White House Collection of American Crafts: 25th Anniversary Exhibit, on display Monday-March 31 at the Clinton Presidential Center, 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, the Clinton Museum Store will host a Craft Artists Pop-Up Shop, featuring the work of more than a dozen area craftsmen, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Call (501) 748-0419 or visit clintonpresidentialcenter.org.

Food truck showcase

Food trucks, caterers, restaurants and retail locations from around the state will showcase the cultural diversity of black-owned businesses at the Arkansas Association of Black Professionals' third annual Black Food Truck Festival, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday in front of the James Cox Building, Philander Smith College, 900 W. Daisy Gatson Bates Drive, Little Rock. Entry and parking are free; food and items from various vendors, of course, will be sold. It'll go on rain or shine. Visit the Facebook event page, facebook.com/events/203349703704852.

Garden talk

Theo Witsell, ecologist and botanist with the state Department of Natural Heritage, will discuss "Ancient Botanical Wonders in Arkansas," 9 a.m. Saturday at Mount Holly Cemetery, 1200 Broadway, Little Rock, part of the monthly Mount Holly Garden Series sponsored by the Downtown Dames. Provide your own lawn chair. Admission is by suggested donation of $5, which benefits cemetery projects; the Downtown Dames will provide refreshments and door prizes. Call (501) 372-3372.

Royal Newsies

Benton's Young Players will stage Disney's Newsies the Musical (music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Jack Feldman, book by Harvey Fierstein), 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22 and 29 and 2 p.m. Sunday and Sept. 23 and 30 at the Royal Theatre, 111 S. Market St., Benton. Sponsor is the Saline Courier. Tickets are $15, $12 for senior citizens, college students and military, $6 for K-12 students. Call (501) 315-5483 or visit theroyalplayers.com or ticketleap.com.

Jonesboro Bee

An 11-year-old in south Chicago beats the odds and makes it to the National Spelling Bee in Akeelah and the Bee by Cheryl West, based on the novel by Douglas Atchison and the 2006 film of the same name. The Foundation of Arts will stage it, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Monday and Sept. 21, and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Forum Theater, 115 E. Monroe St., Jonesboro. Tickets are $15 and $13, $13 and $11 for senior citizens, military and Arkansas State University students, staff and faculty, $8 for children 12 and younger; "pay what you can" for the Sunday matinee. Visit foajonesboro.org.

History walk

The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program will take a "Walk Through History" tour through downtown Osceola, 11 a.m. Saturday, starting at the Mississippi County Courthouse. Co-sponsors are the Mississippi County Historical Society, the Mississippi County Museum and the Arkansas Humanities Council. Admission is free. Call (501) 324-9880, email info@arkansaspreservation.org or visit arkansaspreservation.org.

TICKETS

Combs at Verizon

Tickets -- $25-$50 plus service charges -- go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday for country singer Luke Combs' "Beer Never Broke my Heart" tour concert, with "special guests" Lanco and Jameson Rodgers, 7 p.m. Feb. 8 at North Little Rock's Verizon Arena. There is a limit of eight tickets per household. Call (800) 745-3000 or visit ticketmaster.com.

Les Mis in Memphis

Tickets -- $25-$125 plus fees -- go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday for the national tour of Cameron Mackintosh's new production of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg's Les Miserables, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 27-30, 2 and 8 p.m. Dec. 1 and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Dec. 2 at the Orpheum Theatre, 203 S. Main St., Memphis. Call (901) 525-3000 or visit orpheum-memphis.com.

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DeLisa Eads-Wagar (shown) will create 3-D needle-felted sculptures today-Saturday at the Arkansas Craft Gallery in Mountain View.

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DeLisa Eads-Wagar will create 3-D needle-felted sculptures (shown) today-Saturday at the Arkansas Craft Gallery in Mountain View.

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DeLisa Eads-Wagar will create 3-D needle-felted sculptures (shown) today-Saturday at the Arkansas Craft Gallery in Mountain View.

Weekend on 09/13/2018

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