1 RACING
The thrill of pounding hooves returns as Oaklawn, 2705 Central Ave., Hot Springs, opens Friday for the 2019 racing season. Post time is 12:30 p.m. opening and closing days; 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Sunday; 1 p.m. Saturday, Super Bowl Sunday and holiday Mondays. General admission is free; reserved seating is $2.50 weekdays, $4.50 weekends. Call (800) 625-5296 or visit oaklawn.com. See story on Page 4E.
2 HUNTING
Snakes, dogs, 'gators and other creatures big and small are part of the spectacle at the Big Buck Classic, 1-9 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday at the State Fairgrounds, 2600 Howard St., Little Rock. Events will include deer scoring, climbing wall, animal shows, mechanical bull riding, displays, chili cook-off and live animal shows. Admission is $15, $5 for children 5-12. Call (501) 985-1533 or visit bigbuckclassic.com.
3 FREEZING
Things will get a little chilly in Maumelle with the Polar Plunge, noon Saturday behind Starbucks and U.S. Pizza on Maumelle Boulevard. The fundraiser for Special Olympics Arkansas encourages wacky team names and crazy costumes. Registration starts at 10:30 a.m. Minimum donation is $50. Call (501) 771-0222. There will also be Saturday plunges in Saline County, Paragould and Batesville. Visit specialolympicsarkansas.org.
4 GROWING
Pinnacle Mountain State Park, 11901 Pinnacle Valley Road, Little Rock, keeps an ancient tradition going with its National Seed Swap Day, 9 a.m.-noon Saturday. Park interpreters and master gardeners share the history of the traditional exchange, native local plants and distribute a few seeds of their own. Admission is free. Call (501) 868-5806 or visit arkansasstateparks.com.
5 TELLING
Talya Tate Boerner, journalist and fourth-generation Arkansas farm girl, tells tales based on her childhood for "The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee with Talya Tate Boerner," 7 p.m. today Thursday at The Joint, 301 Main St., in North Little Rock's Argenta Arts District. It's the opening event in the 2019 Potluck & Poison Ivy Southern storytelling and dinner series. Doors open at 6. Singer Stephanie Smittle will perform. Tickets are $35. Call (501) 940-7012, email info@potluckandpoisonivy.org or visit potluckandpoisonivy.org.
6 CONCERTIZING I
Pianist Andrew von Oeyen solos in Frederic Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and conductor Philip Mann, 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at Robinson Center Performance Hall, West Markham Street and Broadway, Little Rock. The program also features the Overture to Giuseppe Verdi's opera La Forza del Destino and the Symphony No. 3, "Scottish," by Felix Mendelssohn. Metal Recycling Corp. is the sponsor. Tickets are $16-$68, $10 for students and active duty military, free for K-12 students to the Sunday matinee with a paying adult. Call (501) 666-1761, Extension 100, or ArkansasSymphony.org.
7 CONCERTIZING II
We're sure it's just a coincidence, but the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas and conductor Paul Haas are playing an almost identical program -- same overture and concerto, a pianist named Andrew (Tyson), different composer's third symphony (Robert Schumann's "Rhenish,"), at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Baum Walker Hall at Fayetteville's Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St. Tickets are $32-$55. Call (479) 443-5600 or visit sonamusic.org.
8 SINGING
Roughly two dozen young singers from hither and yon will take their first steps on what they hope will be a journey of musical fame and fortune as they compete in the Metropolitan Opera Arkansas District auditions, 1 p.m. Saturday in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall, Fine Arts Building, University of Arkansas Little Rock, 2801 S. University Ave., Little Rock. It's free to listen. Winners go to regional competition, 1 p.m. Feb. 16, also at UALR -- the first year they'll take place in Little Rock. Regional champs perform at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York -- semifinals March 24 and finals March 31. Email melissat@thomathoma.com.
9 PLAYING
Violinist and composer Philip Wharton and pianist John Krebs play sonatas by Robert Schumann and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wharton's own Le Tombeau de Ravel; and the Suite italienne by Igor Stravinsky, 7:30 p.m. today in Reves Recital Hall, Trieschmann Fine Arts Building, Hendrix College, 1600 Washington Ave., Conway. Admission is free. Call (501) 450-1245 or email krebs@hendrix.edu.
10 SOARING
For the 40th year, DeGray Lake Resort State Park turns its attention upward with its annual Eagles Et Cetera Festival, Friday-Sunday, 2027 State Park Entrance Road, Bismarck. This year's lineup includes a falconry hunt, guided nighttime outings and cruises. Some activities have participation fees. Call (501) 865-5850 or visit degray.com.
Weekend on 01/24/2019