Elsewhere in entertainment, events and the arts:
'Lionized' author
Fiona Davis will discuss her novel "The Lions of Fifth Avenue" (Dutton, 2020) for 2021's first Arkansas State Library "If All Arkansas Read the Same Book" event, 6:30 p.m. Thursday via Zoom. An audience question-and-answer session will follow. The program will also livestream via the library's YouTube page. "Admission" is free. Register (required) at tinyurl.com/zr8mfrrp; visit library.arkansas.gov/events/if-all-arkansas-read-the-same-book for more information. Davis' historical novels set in iconic New York buildings include "The Chelsea Girls," "The Masterpiece," "The Address" and "The Dollhouse."
Architecture lecture
Ethel Goodstein-Murphree, professor of architecture and associate dean of the University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture + Design will be the speaker for Preserve Arkansas' Women in Preservation Virtual Speaker Series, 3:30 p.m. today via Zoom. "Admission" is free; register at tinyurl.com/6c69mr46.
Award-winning poet
The University of Arkansas Press has awarded San Diego poet Maya Salameh the 2022 Etel Adnan Poetry Prize, worth $1,000, for her manuscript "How to Make an Algorithm in the Microwave," which it will publish in fall 2022 as the fifth title in its Etel Adnan Poetry Series. The series supports work by writers of Arab heritage.
Mural project
The Downtown Little Rock Partnership is seeking "skilled community volunteers" to participate in downtown's latest mural project. Artist Matt McLeod and the volunteers will paint the large-scale mural, which is to portray downtown as "Everyone's Neighborhood," based on a concept by graphic artist Josh Coker, will be on the north wall of the Cashion Co. Insurance Building, 321 Scott St. Painting begins this month with an expected completion later this summer. Sign up at signup.com/go/sGspTOp.
Bull rides are on
The Professional Bull Riders' "Unleash The Beast" tour brings the "2021 Bad Boy Mowers Mowdown" to North Little Rock's Simmons Bank Arena, 6:45 p.m. Aug. 14 and 1:45 p.m. Aug. 15, rescheduled from February. The "cast" includes the return of Hamburg's Chase Outlaw, who missed the event in previous seasons because of an injury.
Tickets are $19-$109 (plus service charges); prices increase $5 day of show; $375 "Elite Seats" include premium seating, a $10 concession voucher, pre-show production and bucking chute tour, souvenir Elite Seat credential and lanyard and an "exclusive merchandise item." There is a limit of six tickets per household. Call (800) 732-1727 or visit TicketMaster.com or pbr.com/tickets.