There are plenty of fun things to do in Central Arkansas this weekend but we’ve whittled down a list of suggestions. Here are five things to consider doing this weekend.
1. Party at the Plaza
A benefit for Arkansas Hospice, 2-10:30 p.m. Saturday in North Little Rock’s Argenta Arts District, is centered on the Argenta Plaza, 510 Main St., with a focus on food, art, music and “family fun,” including the Pawty at the Plaza Dogtown Dog Costume Contest and free concerts by “American Idol” winner and Arkansas native Kris Allen and El Dorado native Jason D. Williams, The B-Flats, the Salty Dogs, the Rodney Block Collective and the Rocktown Sparks. Off-stage: Artists on the Avenue, a Memory Sidewalk and kid-friendly activities. Admission is free. Visit arkansashospice.org/plaza.
2. Wildwood Lanterns
This is a multicultural festival featuring lantern-lit stops through Wildwood Park for the Arts at seven different “countries.” Woodland paths lit with hundreds of luminaries guide guests from one “country”/”culture” — China, India, Germany, Mexico, Ireland, Canada and New York City — to the next for food, beverages, music, children’s activities and photo opportunities. Singing, dancing and martial arts performances from featured cultures will be onstage (indoors) at 7, 8 and 9 p.m. each night in the park’s Cabe Festival Theatre. Visitors can buy a floating lantern and set it adrift on the park’s central Swan Lake.
“Lanterns” is open from 6-10 p.m. through Saturday at Wildwood Park for the Arts, 20919 Denny Road, Little Rock. Tickets are $10, $5 for children 6-12 in advance, $12 and $7 at the gate, free for kids 5 and younger. Guests must buy WildBucks scrip at stations throughout the park to pay for food, beverages and floating lanterns. Call (501) 821-7275 or visit wildwoodpark.org. Free parking, with free shuttles to the park running every 20 minutes, is available at The Promenade at Chenal.
3. Free Folk Music Concert
The Rackensack Folklore Society of Pulaski County presents a free folk music concert from 3-5 p.m. Sunday at the Old State House Museum lawn, 300 W. Markham St., Little Rock, (501) 324-9685; tinyurl.com/33rexf6u.
4. “Acoustic Music Mornings”
This new event will be held from 10-11 a.m. Saturdays at Bernice Garden, 1401 Main St., Little Rock. People are invited to take musical instruments and chairs. (501) 410-3938.
5. Fordyce on the Cotton Belt
The little festival that could gets started today in the small town of Fordyce, hometown of legendary Alabama Crimson Tide coach Bear Bryant.
At 7:30 p.m. today, Fordyce festers will be treated to a concert by Ray Wylie Hubbard on the Dallas County Courthouse Square. The Saturday lineup includes: Fonky Donkey at 3:45 p.m., Willie White at 5 p.m., Billy Jeter at 6:15 p.m. and Bobby Rush at 7:30 p.m. (870) 313-1299; fordyceonthecottonbeltfestival.com.
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