FUN
Bark in the Park, formerly known as Barkus on Main, billed as Little Rock’s largest dog-friendly event, returns, noon-4 p.m. Sunday in a new location — the MacArthur Park Pavilion and Unleashed Dog Park, 601 E. Ninth St., Little Rock. The event, a celebration of all things canine, includes a 2 p.m. dog parade and costume contest, live entertainment, beer garden and beverage stations and food trucks. Local vendors and pet-focused businesses will set up on the grounds. Bring your dogs — all breeds are welcome — even if they are not participating in the parade. Free parking is available at the William H. Bowen School of Law, 1201 McMath Ave. at the eastern edge of MacArthur Park.
Concerts, shopping, food concessions from 40 area establishments, carnival rides, children’s activities and the World Championship Toad Races are all part of Toad Suck Daze, Friday-Sunday, centered on Oak Street in downtown Conway. (501) 327-7788; toadsuck.org.
MUSIC
Cellist Gabriel Martins solos in the Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major by Franz Joseph Haydn as the Arkansas Symphony closes out its Masterworks season 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday at Little Rock’s Robinson Center Performance Hall, 426 W. Markham St. at Broadway. Also on the program: Claude Debussy’s “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun” and Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8. Valery Saul conducts. (501) 666-1761; arkansassymphony.org.
Jazz guitarist Steve Kovalcheck performs for Jazz at the Joint, 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Act II Sharon Heflin Theater, 315 Main St., North Little Rock. JazzAtTheJoint.org.
DANCE
Original choreography by Ballet Arkansas company members Murray McCormack, Kerridwyn Schanck, Liev Ewart, McKenna Ulbrick and Deanna Stanton make up the season-closer, “Origins,” 7 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Sunday at the new North Little Rock Event Center, 120 Main St., North Little Rock. BalletArkansas.org/tickets.
THEATER
Argenta Contemporary Theatre, 405 Main St., North Little Rock, continues its run of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” runs, 7 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday through May 9. argentacontemporarytheatre.org.
Actors Theatre of Little Rock closes out its run of August Wilson’s “Fences,” 7:30 p.m. todayThursday-Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church, 1601 Louisiana St., Little Rock. actorstheatrelr.org/tickets.
When Monty Navarro finds out that he's eighth in line for an earldom, he chooses to knock off the relatives standing in his way in “Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,” onstage at the Weekend Theater, 1001 W. Seventh St. at Chester Street, Little Rock, 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. weekendtheater.org.
And “Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville,” Ludwig’s comedy-thriller adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes mystery “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” is onstage through May 23 at Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, 6323 Colonel Glenn Road, Little Rock. Buffet opens 30 minutes before curtain time — 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday (except Wednesday matinees only April 29 and May 6), 12:45 and 6:45 Sunday. (501) 562-3131; murrysdp.com.
ART AND EXHIBITS
New this week:
“Will Barnet: Seasons of Life,” works on paper by Barnet from the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts Foundation Collection, goes on display Saturday at the museum 501 E. Ninth St., Little Rock, opening with a free tour, 10:30-11:30 a.m. and remaining up through Oct. 11. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday. amfa.org.
Art in Dreamland
Artists of Little Rock, a group of 30 artists, primarily former Arkansas Arts Center students and faculty, presents Art in Dreamland, a curated art sale featuring glass, pottery, jewelry, paintings and mixed-media works by area artists, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at the Dreamland Ballroom, 800 W. Ninth St., Little Rock. facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565160690467.
“Aggregate: BFA Projects,” work in drawing, graphic design, painting, ceramics, illustration, furniture design and metalsmithing by bachelor of fine arts students at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s School of Art and Design, opens with a 5-7 p.m. reception today Thursday at the Windgate School of Art + Design at UA Little Rock, 5617 W. 28th St., Little Rock. The exhibition is up through May 17. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. (501) 916-5117.
Thea Foundation, 401 Main St., North Little Rock, celebrates 25 years with the opening of “The Creative Collective IV,” showcasing student artwork created through the foundation’s Arts Reconstruction Program, , 5-7:30 p.m. todayThursday. theafoundation.org.
Continuing:
“Remote Wonder: Richland Creek Wilderness,” recent photographs by Paul Caldwell centering on Richland Creek, a tributary of the Buffalo River, up through July 18 at Cantrell Gallery, 8202 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. (501) 224-1335; cantrellgallery.com.
“The Three SoMa Sisters: History, Nature, Wellness, and Anita Davis’ Mission to Thrive in SoMa” is on display through Aug. 30 at ESSE Museum & Store, 1510 Main St. in Little Rock’s SoMa neighborhood. The exhibit explores how Davis has created a community focused on her three SoMa enterprises: the museum, the Bernice Garden and The Authentic Self Collective. (501) 916-9022; essepursemuseum.com.
“Impressions of Spain,” paintings by Sean LeCrone inspired by a recent journey through the Iberian Peninsula, on display through May 16 at the Art Group Gallery, in the Pleasant Ridge Town Center, 11525 Cantrell Road, Little Rock. Gallery hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. (501) 690-2193; artgrouparkansas.com.
Hearne Fine Art, 1001 Wright Ave., Little Rock, is showing “Women Create Space. Grace. Power: A Multimedia Survey of Thirteen Black Women Artists,” through June 13. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday. (501) 372-6822; hearnefineart.com.
“Do You See What I See,” works from the Six Bridges Watercolor Group, is up through May 8 in the Argenta Library Gallery, 420 Main St., North Little Rock. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday. (501) 687-1061; NLRlibrary.org.
“Disfarmer: Portraits of Rural Arkansas,” early 20th-century black-and-white portraits of Arkansans by Mike Disfarmer, is up through June, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday, at the Old State House Museum in Little Rock. (501) 324-9685.
“Thomas Hart Benton,” a traveling exhibition of original artwork created by the artist during World War II, is up through July 31 at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, 503 E. Ninth St., Little Rock. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. (501) 376-4602; littlerock.gov/macarthur.
And “Kuimeaux’s World,” drawings and paintings by late Little Rock native Dwight “Kuimeaux” Drennan, is on display through spring 2027 at Little Rock’s Historic Arkansas Museum, 200 E. Third St. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. (501) 324-9351.
