Elsewhere in entertainment, events and the arts:
FUN: SoMardi Gras
SoMardi Gras, SoMa 501 Little Rock Inc.'s annual New Orleans-style parade, rolls down Little Rock's Main Street at noon Saturday. The parade, with a "superheroes and villains" theme, starts at 24th and Main streets and proceeds to 12th Street, where it will transition into a SoMa block party, with live New Orleans-style music. Admission is free; the parade goes on, rain or shine. First-place float wins $500; second place, $250. Presenting sponsor is Rock Town Distillery.
Activities include the new Official SoMardi Gras 2023 Kiddie Corner, featuring bouncy houses, ball pits and face painting in the Nayles Medical Center parking lot, 1400 Main St. Semi-pro football team the Arkansas Punishers (part of the APDFL League) will host a football-throw game, with help from Arkansas Rock Squad, a NBA/NFL professional preparatory dance team.
The 10th annual Little Rock Beard and Mustache Contest, presented by The Root Cafe and the Arkansas Times, will take place in Bernice Garden at 14th and Main, with categories for Best Natural Beard Over 6 Inches, Best Natural Beard Under 6 Inches, Best Mustache, Best Groomed Beard, Most Original Beard and Best DIY Crafted Beard (Women's Category). The Bernice Garden will also host the beer garden.
Visit somalittlerock.com/somardigras.
Meow show
The Cat Fanciers' Association and the Arkansas Feline Fanciers Club brush up their second annual Little Rock All-Breed Cat Show, "New Cats in the Rock," 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. Saturday in the Hall of Industry at the Arkansas State Fairgrounds, 2600 Howard St., Little Rock. The competition will feature six rings for judging pedigreed cats representing more than 40 breeds, on health and appearance, by judges from across the United States. Cats are competing in four divisions: championship (breeding cats), premiership (for spayed and neutered pedigreed cats), kittens (pedigreed cats 4-8 months old) and household pets (mixed breeds and companion cats). There will also be a Feline Agility Competition and Cat Costume Contest. Vendors will sell items of all types for cats and people and feline rescue organization Community Cats of Central Arkansas will be on-site with animals for adoption. Admission at the door is $12, $10 for senior citizens, $8 for children 5-12, $25 for a Family 4-Pack that includes at least two children. Visit tinyurl.com/LRCatShow.
THEATER: 'Lucy Loves Desi'
"Lucy Loves Desi: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sitcom" by Gregg Oppenheimer, a touring radio-style show from L.A. Theatre Works, is onstage at 7:30 p.m. today in Reynolds Performance Hall at the University of Central Arkansas, 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway. The show is based on the true story behind the creation by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz of "I Love Lucy." Tickets are $30-$40, $10 for students. Call (501) 450-3265 or (866) 810-0012 or visit uca.edu/reynolds.
Youthfully 'Wrong'
A very sincere but totally inept company of actors attempting to stage a production of "Murder at Haversham Manor" encounters an avalanche of disasters and disasters in the making, including a ramshackle set, a leading lady with a concussion and a corpse that can't play dead in "The Play That Goes Wrong: High School Edition" by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in the Catherine M. Bellamy Theater at the Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, 701 S. Main St., Pine Bluff. Sponsor is Relyance Bank. Tickets are $18, $13 for center members and senior citizens, $10 for students.Call (870) 536-3375 or visit asc701.org/2023-season.
MUSIC: 'For Love of Art'
Art Porter Music Education's annual "For the Love of Art" series, recognizing late jazzman Art Porter Sr., features the group's Minors in Music students and their Mentors in Music, 7 p.m. Friday at the AC Hotel by Marriott, 201 W. Capitol Ave., Little Rock. And the Art Porter Singers and G-Music (former members of Minors in Music program), including "American Idol" contender Tania Kelley, aka Nia Renee, perform 6 p.m. Sunday at St. John Missionary Baptist Church, 2501 Main St., Little Rock. Admission to both events is free; donations are encouraged. Visit artporter.org.
Poetry and jazz
Marking Black History Month, the Clinton Presidential Center, 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, hosts "A Night of Poetry and Jazz," 6 p.m. Friday in the Great Hall. Poet Leron McAdoo will perform, accompanied by jazz musicians Tim Anthony and Friends. Light snacks and a cash bar will be available. Admission is free; registration is required, via clintonpresidentialcenter.org/events.
Big band
The 14-piece Stardust Big Band performs arrangements of tunes from the American standard songbook, contemporary arrangements of Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and Al Jarreau's "Get You Boogie Down" and long-term favorites "Satin Doll" and "Two O'Clock Jump," for a post-Valentine's dance, 3 p.m. Sunday at the at the Arlington Resort Hotel, 239 Central Ave., Hot Springs. Admission is $10, free for K-12 students. Visit stardustband.net.
ART & EXHIBITS: 'Imaginary' artwork
The Six Bridges Watercolor Group's exhibition "Imagine" opens with a Third Friday Art Walk reception, 5-8 p.m. Friday at Argenta Library, 420 Main St., North Little Rock. The exhibit remains up in the library gallery through March 8. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday. Admission is free. Call (501) 687-1061 or visit NLRLibrary.org.
'Arc of Justice'
"The Arc of Justice: The Life and Legacy of S.A. Jones," exploring the life of Scipio Africanus Jones, a prominent Little Rock lawyer during the late 1800s and early 1900s, opens with a reception at 5:30 p.m. today at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, 501 W. Ninth St., Little Rock. The exhibition is up through May 31. Museum hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Call (501) 683-3606, email Courtney.Bradford@Arkansas.gov or visit MosaicTemplars.com.
ETC.: Writing contest
April 21 is the deadline to submit entries for the statewide Arkansas PBS KIDS Writers Contest, open to children in grades K-3, "designed to promote the advancement of children's literacy skills through hands-on, active learning," according to a news release. Each entrant will receive a participation certificate and 12 winners — three from each grade — will receive an Arkansas PBS prize pack. First place winners will win a PBS KIDS Playtime Pad, loaded with educational games, music and videos. Contest rules, creative writing resources, entry forms and past winning stories are available at myarpbs.org/writerscontest. For additional information, email kwalker@myarkansaspbs.org.