FUN
The North Little Rock chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association is hosting the 1929 Ford Tri-Motor, one of the earliest luxury air travel planes, at the North Little Rock Municipal Airport, 8200 Remount Road, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Admission is free; visitors can book rides on the “Tin Goose,” as it was affectionately called, for $85-$105. (800) 359-6217; flytheford.com.
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is reviving its Puppy Mugs fundraiser, dormant since 2019, for the students in the UA Little Rock School of Art and Design. Pet owners can have professional portraits taken of their dogs, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday on the second floor of the Windgate Center of Art and Design at UALR, 2801 S. University Ave., Little Rock. Pet owners can even choose from one of four fun ‘crimes’ to add extra character. It’s a fundraiser for the purchase of digital cameras for students. The photo sessions are free; there’s a cost for pet owners to buy 5-by-7s, 8-by-10s or digital file. Email jklivaudais@ualr.edu.
MUSIC
Grammy-nominated Memphis-based roots, blues and soul band Southern Avenue performs, 6-9 p.m. Saturday as part of Argenta Vibes at Argenta Plaza, 510 Main St. , North Little Rock. They’re touring to promote their Alligator Records debut, “Family.”
Grammy-nominated jazz saxophonist Troy Roberts, in residence at the University of Central Arkansas, will give a concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Concert Hall of UCA’s Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts, 2150 Bruce St. at Donaghey Avenue, Conway. Admission is free with the donation of nonperishable food items for the UCA Food Pantry.
THEATER
The Downtown Playmakers Project, in partnership with Little Rock’s Martin Luther King Elementary School, stages “From Showers to Flowers: The Springtime Plays,” original short plays put together by third graders at MLK Elementary school in collaboration with adult professional writers and actors, at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 601 Main St., Little Rock. Admission is free, but it’s a good idea to reserve seats — (501) 378-0405; TheRep.org.
The Rep is also hosting “Skylarking,” part of the Unlimited Stages/Barrier Free Theatre project, an original one-act play with music, intended to make theater accessible to individuals of all abilities, including those with developmental or physical challenges, 6 p.m. Tuesday. It’s the inaugural program in a partnership with Easterseals Arkansas Adult Training & Wellness program.
And theater students at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock perform a student-devised work, 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday in Haislip Theatre, Center for Performing Arts, UA Little Rock, 2801 S. University Ave.. Mentoring the students is Jimmy Maize, a member of the Tectonic Theatre Company, which has been in residence at UA Little Rock for the semester. (501) 916-3291; email cdcolbert@ualr.edu.
Actors Theatre of Little Rock continues its run of “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf,” 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday through April 26 at Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church, 1601 Louisiana St., Little Rock. actorstheatrelr.org/tickets.
The University of Central Arkansas Theatre Department is staging “Eurydice” by Sarah Ruhl, a modern, poetic retelling of the classic Greek myth, 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday April 18-19 and 2 p.m. Sunday April 20 in the James M. Bridges Black Box Theatre in UCA’s Windgate Center for the Fine and Performing Arts. (501) 450-3265 or (866) 810-0012; web.ovationtix.com/trs/dept/2176.
Argenta Contemporary Theater, 405 Main St., North Little Rock, closes out its run of the musical “Gypsy” 7 p.m. today through Saturday. argentacontemporarytheatre.org.
And “Church Basement Ladies” continues onstage through Saturday April 19 at Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, 6323 Colonel Glenn Road, Little Rock, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 12:45 and 6:45 p.m. Sunday. Buffet opens 90 minutes before curtain. (501) 562-3131; murrysdp.com. Opening April 23, more adies: “Leading Ladies,” by Ken Ludwig. A pair of down-at-heel actors latch onto a scam involving an elderly woman’s will that leaves her fortune to two long-lost British nephews.
ART AND EXHIBITS
Opening this weekend:
The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, 501 E. Ninth St., Little Rock, opens on Saturday an exhibit of studio photographs by the late Kwame Brathwaite, who started out in the 1960s using photography to promote “Black is Beautiful.” The exhibition, up through Oct. 12, highlights the artist’s independent studio work in the 1970s, including a portrait of singer Nina Simone and capturing singer Marvin Gaye mid-performance. The museum is offering an exhibition tour at 10:30 a.m. April 26. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday. (501) 372-4000; arkmfa.org.
“Stitches,” fiber art combining painting with crochet that a news release describes as “(reframing) crochet from functional craft to a medium of reflection and storytelling” by Little Rock artist Annika Wade is on display through April 25 at the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub, 204 E. Fourth St., North Little Rock. There’s a 5-8 p.m. reception Friday during the Argenta District’s Third Friday Art Walk. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. arhub.org.
Also opening during Argenta’s Third Friday Art Walk, the Arkansas League of Artists Member Show opens Friday at the Argenta Library Gallery, 420 Main St., North Little Rock. The exhibition will be up through May 9, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday. (501) 687-1061; NLRlibrary.org.
Holding over:
And speaking of Argenta, “The Creative Collective III,” 80 artworks by high school students and faculty at Little Rock Central, Conway, Joe T. Robinson, Parkview, Bryant, Maumelle and North Little Rock, is on display through May 22, in the Thea Foundation Gallery, 401 Main St. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday, with extended hours (5-8 p.m.) during Argenta Arts District Third Friday Art Walk. theafoundation.org.
Continuing:
At UA Little Rock’s Windgate Center of Art + Design, 2801 S. University Ave., there’s a 5 p.m. reception on Friday April 17 for two current exhibitions:
“Dawn Holder: Strange Meetings,” mixed-media ceramics by Holder, a sculptor and installation artist, is on display through July 11 in the North and South Galleries. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday.
And “Beverly Buys: Gone But Not,” 11 cyanotypes by Hot Springs photographer Beverly Buys, is on display through May 30 in the Focus Gallery. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday.
Elsewhere at UA Little Rock, “William Beckman: On the Horizon,” oil paintings by Beckman, is up through June 30 in Gallery One in the Fine Arts Building. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays.
The 55th Juried Exhibition by the Mid-Southern Watercolorists remains on display, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday-Saturday through May 2 at the William F. Laman Public Library, 2801 Orange St., North Little Rock. (501) 758-1720; NLRlibrary.org.
And “Crimson Moon,” pieces from the jewelry collection of Leesa Renshaw, remains on display, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday through June 1 at ESSE Museum and Store, 1510 Main St., Little Rock, (501) 916-9022; essepursemuseum.com.