InArkansas.com

The 2013 - 2014 Arkansas Symphony Orchestra season will feature a great variety of classical works and fun events throughout the year.

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra recently announced its 2013-2014 season and it looks to be a fantastic lineup.

And if you're a new subscriber to an ASO season, you'll receive 50 percent off. That's something to be excited about!

Here is what you can expect this season, starting in September:

Masterworks

Sept. 21 - 22 -- Tchaikovsky & Rite of Spring: Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No. 1 and Stravinsky - Rite of Spring

Oct. 19 - 20 -- Barber's Violin Concerto: Barber - Concerto for Violin, Op. 14, Theofanidis - Rainbow Body, Rachmaninoff - Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27

Nov. 9 - 10 -- Beethoven & Blue Jeans: This free party for ticket holders will offer free brats, $2 Diamond Bear Beer and music by The Episcopal Collegiate School Steel Drum Band on Markham in front of Robinson before the concert featuring Beethoven, Roumain and Bernstein music. Talk about fun!

Jan. 25 - 26 -- Bohemian Rhapsody: Brahms - Concerto for Piano No. 2, Dvořák - Slavonic Dances

March 1 - 2 -- Verdi's Requiem: Verdi - Missa di Requiem

April 12 - 13 -- Mahler's Fifth Symphony: Theofanidis - Commissioned by the ASO Musicians, Mahler - Symphony No. 5

Pops Live!

Oct. 12 - 13 -- Halloween Spooktacular: Have a spooky time with your ASO - Come in costume, bring the family and hear familiar favorites.

Dec. 20 - 21 -- Happy Holidays: Christmas carols, sing-alongs, and the ASO - come celebrate the season with your favorite holiday music.

Feb. 15 - 16 -- Best of Broadway: Hits from Broadway's most beloved show tunes - get ready to smile!

March 8 - 9 -- Wizard of Oz Orchestra: Follow the yellow brick road to a a magical evening featuring the film "Wizard of Oz."

May 3 - 4 -- Shower the People: The Music of James Taylor: Enjoy songs like "Fire and Rain," "You’ve Got a Friend" and "Carolina in my Mind" as the ASO backs up the band, Jeans ‘n Classics.

Subscribe here.

Get more information about the season here.

Riverfest, the state’s largest festival, is happening this weekend (May 24-26) along the Arkansas River in downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock. 

The 36th annual event will feature musical acts Daughtry, Sugar Ray, Blackstone Cherry, Bush, Cody Belew, Florida Georgia Line, Dierks Bentley, Lupe Fiasco, Darius Rucker, Peter Frampton and more.

The full lineup can be found here.

The Stickyz Music Stage will house local and regional musical acts in a clublike setting. Other music will include classic rock, rap, country, modern rock, soul, and reggae. A complete lineup of musical acts (including times and locations) is available by clicking here.

New this year is the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette FamilyZone area with free entertainment on the grounds of the Clinton Presidential Center and Heifer International. Activities and entertainment include the Yarnell’s Family Stage, Super Retriever Crown Championship Series, Weenie Dog Derby, the K-9 Friz-B-Crew, Ruff on the River Pooch Parade, Rock ‘N Stroll Fun Run 5K (dress up as your favorite rock 'n roll star or cartoon character!), Arkansas Renewable Energy, International Village activities, a Baggo Tournament and much more. The Family Zone will be open from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

The Riverfest Fireworks display in memory of Jennings Osborne will be held at 9 p.m. Sunday (May 26) prior to headline acts. Music will be simulcast throughout Riverfront Park and broadcast on The Point 94.1.

In addition to awesome music and attractions, you'll stay full with all of the great food and drink options. See what you can expect here.

Other Riverfest attractions:

• Merchant Row will feature vendors who will display and sell their wares at various locations throughout the Riverfest site. Check out arts and crafts, plus many more vendors.
• Wahl Face the Day Tour: The tour travels the country with a 30-foot mobile barbershop and a team of Master Barbers to give guys free trims, shaves and grooming advice. Read more about this later this week!
• The Arkansas Arts Center Artmobile will feature the exhibition "Weird and Wonderful," a selection of unique works of original art from the Arkansas Arts Center Collection that includes drawings, paintings, prints and craft.
• The Rock-N-Ride Poker Run, which will benefit the Wounded Warriors Organization
• Ruff on the River Pooch Parade for costumed canines at 10:30 a.m. Sunday (May 26) at the corner of River Market Avenue and President Clinton Avenue. Register your pooch at www.ruffontheriver.com.
• The Yarnell's KidZone Stage will boast a variety of family-friendly acts, including The Kazoobie Kazoo Show with Rick Hubbard, Radio Disney LIVE!, ventriloquist Wayne Francis, REALentertaining, Jamiah on Fire & the Red Machine, and Tommy Terrific's Wacky Magic. Arkansas favorite Trout Fishing in America will take the stage at 8 p.m. Sunday (May 26).
• The Riverfest Cheese Dip Classic (a regional event for the World Championship Cheese Dip Festival)

Quantities are limited for advance tickets, so the public is encouraged to act fast. Click here for a list of Walgreens store locations selling this year's tickets. Tickets are also on sale online here for $30. Three-day passes will be available at the gate for $35.

A $3 round-trip shuttle ride ($2 if you bring a non-perishable food item for Arkansas Foodbank) will take festivalgoers to Riverfest from the east side of War Memorial Stadium at Markham and Van Buren streets and the north parking lot of North Little Rock High’s West Campus at 22nd and Main streets.

For more information on the festival click here. To view a map of street closings during Riverfest click here. 

The live taping of the radio series will be at the Starving Artist Café, 411 Main St., North Little Rock tomorrow (May 21). Enter to win two tickets on the blog today!

The radio series "Tales From the South" will be ending their spring season tomorrow night (May 21) with a finale special featuring Keith Klamer and Charles Feild.

Have a chance to see the show -- for free!

Today (May 20), we are giving away two passes to the finale show here on the blog. All you have to do is comment in the box below, telling us why you would like to go to the show and who you would take with you! The deadline to enter is 3 p.m. TODAY. A winner will be notified via email by 5 p.m.

The live taping of the radio series will be at the Starving Artist Café, 411 Main St., North Little Rock, with live music by Brad and Amy Williams and bluesman Mark Simpson. Doors will open at 5 p.m., dinner and drinks are served from 5 - 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7.

For more information about the show and tickets, click here.

Just in time for the biggest festival of the year (Riverfest!), the Mark Twain Riverboat will be geared up and ready to go Thursday (May 23).

Currently docked on the North Little Rock side of the Arkansas River, the boat will offer formal and casual dining for lunch and dinner and a bar with full-view windows on the Main Deck. It is also available for private charters and cruises.

What's really cool is that the Mark Twain is one of the few authentic paddle wheel boats around.

Also new on the Arkansas River in North Little Rock is the Sandbar on Riverfront, where you can enjoy both indoor and outdoor top deck seating with a wide offering of of beverages and finger foods.  Dockside public dinners are available with advance reservations.

For more information, call the Dam Riverboat Company at (501) 372-5777 or email info@damriverboat.com.  Also visit their website here.

Heifer Village

Heifer International invites the public to attend free screenings of three of the films competing for Heifer International’s Social Impact Film Award. The screenings will take place today (May 17) at Heifer Village, which neighbors the Clinton Presidential Library in downtown Little Rock.

The recipient of Heifer’s Social Impact Award will be announced Saturday evening at Heifer’s Feast in the Field event (also highlighted on the blog today!). The winner will receive a $10,000 prize sponsored by Little Rock Central High School National Historical Site, a unit of the National Park Service

Also on Friday from 4:30 to 7 p.m., Heifer International will host a reception, which is open to the public and features the music of The Shannon Boshears Band and Cody Belew, a finalist from NBC’s The Voice. There will be free snacks, hot dogs for sale and a cash bar.

Screening times for the Social Impact Film Award submissions are as follows:

• William and the Windmill -- 12:15p.m.
• Blood Brother -- 2:15 p.m.
• These Birds Walk -- 7 p.m.

For more information, call (501) 907-2697 or email heifervillageregistration@heifer.org.

Summer visitors ride the Cyclone at Wild River Country in North Little Rock.

North Little Rock's Wild River Country, 6820 Crystal Hill Rd., North Little Rock, is gearing up for its big opening day tomorrow (May 18) and they're excited to present a new and improved water park complete with refurbished and repainted slides with several additions, such as cabanas, a new mascot, family-fun nights and more.

Enjoy the park during its normal hours 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Saturday.

Join DC from the KLAL 107.7 FM morning show from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. tomorrow (May 18) for some fun in the sun.

What's really great is that tomorrow is also Armed Forces Day, where all service members will be able to get in free with a valid ID or contract.

And Memorial Day weekend is coming up pretty soon. The park will be open from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Saturday (May 25), 12 p.m. - 8 p.m. Sunday (May 26) and from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Monday (May 27).

One-day admission passes are available and range from $14.99 to $29.99, as well as season passes, which are $49.99, down from $89.99. Get all of the prices here.

For more information, check out its new website here.

David Sedaris

For all of those David Sedaris fans out there, the incomparable author will be making an appearance at west Little Rock's Barnes & Noble, 11500 Financial Ctr. Pkwy., later this month.

The book store is having a special reading with the Grammy-nominated humorist, NPR contributor and bestselling author on Tuesday, May 28.

The author will be reading excerpts from his latest book "Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls."

Get more information about the book here.

The reading will start at 6 p.m. You must purchase your book in-store during the day of the event and pick up a ticket. If you make a purchase at another Barnes & Noble, you must bring your receipt with you. A parent or guardian must accompany all minors. Photos are prohibited.

Call (501) 954-7646 for more information about the special event.

The end of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre's 2012 - 2013 season is almost here, but before the theatre closes its curtains on the season, one last production will take center stage -- "Avenue Q."

The laugh-out-loud musical, which will get its start Wednesday, June 5, is the winner of the Tony “Triple Crown” for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book.

The Sesame Street-meets-South Park musical is a laugh-out-loud story that tells the coming-of-age story of a recent college grad named Princeton who moves into a shabby New York apartment all the way out on Avenue Q. There, he meets Kate (the girl next door), Rod (the Republican) and other colorful types who help him finally discover his purpose in life.

There are a few special programs going on next month for the production, which will be running from June 5 - 30:

• Pay What You Can Night, The Rep, 601 Main St., Little Rock: Take advantage of The Rep’s “Pay What You Can Night” on Wednesay, June 5. Patrons can pay any amount they wish for their ticket. Tickets must be purchased in person at the Box Office at 601 Main Street the day of the performance. The Box Office will be open from 9 a.m. until the curtain time. Tickets are limited to (2) two per person. The show starts at 7 p.m.
• Preshow Director Talks, The Rep: A preshow talk will take place on the set with "Avenue Q" director Robert Kolby Harper and members of the creative team 6:15 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. before both shows on Wednesday, June 5 and Thursday, June 6.
• Opening Night, The Rep: Opening Night for "Avenue Q" on Friday, June 7, will include a post-show reception with the cast immediately following the show. Complimentary champagne and light hors d'oeuvres will be provided. The show starts at 8 p.m.
• Distinguished Lecture Series, Clinton School of Public Service, 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock: From noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday, June 6, The Rep Producing Artistic Director Bob Hupp will host the cast from The Rep’s current production. Admission is free. Call the Clinton School at (501) 683-5239 for reservations.
• Reel Classics with The Rep, William F. Laman Library, 2801 Orange Street, North Little Rock: At 6 p.m. members of The Rep’s creative team will discuss Robert Lopez, Jeff Marx and Jeff Whitty’s musical, "Avenue Q." Following the discussion, the audience will screen "The Muppet Movie" at the library.

Advance tickets are on sale now and are $5 off if purchased before Opening Day.

Purchase tickets online here, call (501) 378-0405 or visit the theatre Box Office. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evening performances are at 7 p.m., while Friday and Saturday evening performances are at 8 p.m. Sunday Matinees performances are at 2 p.m.