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Photo, above:
Downtown as evening arrives is a great time to see the lights of the holidays. One of our favorite photographers, Greg Davis, captured this perfect shot of the skyline. Another special place is Bernice Garden in SoMa (South Main).
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SoMa (South Main)
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December 19, 20: Holiday Pop Up Shop extended, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.,
studioMAIN,
1423 South Main Street.
20 local artists have come together to bring locally handmade holiday gifts to your shopping experience. Every item in the shop has been hand crafted in Arkansas.
Learn more on Facebook.
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River Market District
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December 19: Closing Party at Juanita's,
614 President Clinton Avenue, 7 p.m. Learn more on
Facebook
.
December 22: Santa Claus
visits the
River Market Pavilions, 1-3 p.m.
and joins the legends from Ringllng Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. Following the Ringling Bros. performance, take pictures and enjoy a cup of hot cocoa. Co-sponsored by Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau and the legends of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Free and open to the public.
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Saturdays with Bobby's Bike Hike:
Bike Tour,
9 a
.m. Pork & Bourbon Bike Tour, 11:30 a.m.
Learn more.
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MacArthur Park Historic District
December 18-20: The Gingerbread Man. Arkansas Arts Center. Don't miss this wild and wacky holiday adventure!
December 24: Christmas Carol Karaoke, Stone's Throw Brewing Taproom, 501 E. 9th, 4-9 p.m.
Stone's Throw Brewing,
501 E. 9th:
Every
Wednesday: $1 off all pints
Every
Saturday at 4 p.m.: Randall Beer Infusion
Every
Sunday: Kickball Specials & Beer To Go
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Verizon Arena
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In Downtown North Little Rock,
1 Verizon Arena Way. For ticket information
link here (Verizon Arena) or here (Ticketmaster).
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| December 19 Arkansas Razorbacks vs Mercer Bears December 23-27 Ringling Brothers January 8 Harlem Globetrotters January 15-16 Monster Jam February 9 Def Leppard February 13 Disney Live! February 17-21, 2016 TORUK-The First Flight, the new Cirque du Soleil touring show inspired by James Cameron's Avatar. April 2 Winter Jam April 7 Mumford & Sons April 9-10 Professional Bull Riders Bad Boy Mowdown April 28 Carrie Underwood May 4-8 Disney on Ice Frozen May 31 Janet Jackson August 16 Journey and The Doobie Brothers |
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Argenta Arts District
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In Downtown North Little Rock. For more information
link here.
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December 18: Third Friday Argenta Art Walk, downtown Argenta., 5-8 p.m. Galleries open include Argenta Gallery, Greg Thompson Fine Art, North Little Rock Heritage Center, Mugs Cafe, Claytime Pottery Studio, House of Art, and Laman Library.
December 18- January 16: A Fertle Holiday, The Joint, 301 Main Street, 8 p.m. An original comedy by The Main Thing. Fridays and Saturdays. $22. Reservations recommended.
December 18: MAKE it Merry! at The Innovation Hub, 7-9 p.m. Take apart a holiday automaton, find out how to hack a string of lights and make an ornament on a 3-D printer or laser cutter. $20 per person. Food and drinks provided. Learn more.
December 19: Flyway Brewing Company opening, 314 Maple Street. More on
Facebook.
Thru December: Revelation by Virmarie DePoyster, Argenta Gallery, 413 Main. New works created for her show in Rome.
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January 17: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Winter Bridal Show, Statehouse Convention Center, 12:30-5 p.m.
Learn more.
January 18: Martin Luther King Day Mega King Fest 2016, UALR Jack Stephens Center, 6:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
Learn more.
February 13: Chocolate Fantasy Ball, 6 p.m. Statehouse Convention Center. Honoring Carla and Bob Gunderman. Chairs, Connie and Ed Bennett. Benefits Ronald MacDonald House Charities of Arkansas.
Learn more.
February 26-28: 25th Anniversary Arkansas Flower and Garden Show,
Statehouse Convention Center. Learn more.
March 5-6, 2016: Little Rock Marathon
and Little Rockers Kids Marathon (March 5).
Learn more
or stay informed on
Facebook
.
March 10, 2016: Downtown Little Rock Partnership Annual Meeting, Statehouse Convention Center, 11:30 a.m. For more information call 501-375-0121.
March 12: City Wide Cleanup sponsored by Keep Little Rock Beautiful.
Learn more.
April 2 Springfest
, presented by
Riverfest
for families.
Learn more
.
June 10: Feast in the Field, Heifer International.
Learn more.
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September 24, 2016: Main Street Food Truck Festival
November 12, 2016: Opus Ball, debut of newly renovated Robinson Center ballroom. |
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Downtown Update
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December 18, 2015
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Downtown Notes
FIS, a global leader in financial services technology that started in Little Rock as Systematics, announced Thursday a collaboration with downtown Little Rock's Venture Center to launch the FinTech Accelerator. Powered by FIS, this is an initiative committed to accelerating development and innovation in the global financial technology industry. This exciting announcement came at the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce's 150th Anniversary Annual Meeting this week with guest speaker Gary Norcross, FIS CEO. Learn more (Arkansas Business).
Also at the Chamber's Annual Meeting, board members elected as the 2016 Chair Jeff Hathaway of Coldwell Banker Hathaway Group, who takes over for Van Tilbury of East-Harding.
The Dust Bowl Lanes & Lounge, a throwback to the classic bowling alleys of the 1970s, is in preliminary stages for development at 307 E. Capitol, along with a German beer hall, Fassler Hall. Both proposed establishments replicate businesses owned and operated by The McNellie's Group out of Tulsa.
Curtis Barnett has been named by the
Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield
board of directors to succeed CEO Mark White upon his retirement at the end of 2016, the company announced this week.
Learn more
.
Sericia Cole, director of the
Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, will step down January 8 to take a new job. Assistant Director Quantia Fletcher will become interim director.
Thomas Schmidt has been added to the
Flake & Kelley Commercial brokerage team as an account executive. Schmidt is a graduate of Little Rock Catholic High and the University of Mississippi.
Arkansas's tourism sector appears to be outpacing the nation in growth. Travel and tourism spending continued to grow nationally in the third quarter, but at a slower rate than earlier in the year.
In Arkansas
, tourism growth seems to be a bit stronger. Collections for the 2% tourism trust fund tax, the most common way the health of the industry is measured were up 7.6% for theyear to date at the end of August, the most recent numbers
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Si
mmons Tower had its first tree lighting ceremony this week with Hank Kelley and John Flake on hand to flip the switch.
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available. Comparatively, at the end of June, or the second quarter, growth for the year was at 6.35%.
Learn more (
Talk Business).
Finalists for the 2016 Arkansas Parks and Tourism Henry Awards include: Arkansas Life (Media Support Award);
Historic Arkansas Museum's Nog-Off (The Bootstrap Award); Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission (Arkansas Heritage Award) and
Esse Purse Museum (Natural State Award).
The Henry Awards honor Henri de Tonti, the man historians consider to be among the first "Arkansas Travelers." The winners will be revealed at the 42nd Annual Governors Conference on Tourism to be held in Springdale March 13-15.
Eight grants totaling $150,000 have been awarded to Arkansas arts organizations from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in its first round of fiscal year 2016 funding. Downtown Little Rock organizations included in the funding are Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and The Oxford American.
Big Ideas for 2016...take a look at the annual list published by Arkansas Times of suggestions from readers and experts on how to improve life in Arkansas (and downtown!). Link here.
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| Little Rock (LRCVB) event listings also posted here. |
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December 18-January 3: Disney's The Little Mermaid, The Rep.
601 Main Street. Adapted from the beloved fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson, a lavish theatrical spectacle you won't want to miss. Plunge into the colorful depths of an undersea wonderland as the stage is transformed into an aquatic playground underscored by a funky Calypso beat. For tickets and details on the following special events, link
here
.
January 2: The After-Party
December 18-20: The Foreigner, The Weekend Theater. Winner of two Obie Awards and two Outer Critics Circle Awards as Best New American Play and Best Off-Broadway Production, this off-beat comedy demonstrates what can happen when a group of devious characters deal with stranger.
Learn more.
December 24-25: Christmas Services Downtown:
Christ Episcopal Church,
December 24, 5 p.m., 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
First United Methodist Church, December 24, 12 noon, 4 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. 723 Center Street.
December 31: New Year's Eve Party, Little Rock Marriott, 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Ring in the New Year with Little Rock's first New Year's Eve Ball Drop. Entertainment by Boom! Kinetic, Rodney Block and VJ/DJ G-Force. Ticket sales at the door begin at 5 p.m. Room Packages available at Little Rock Marriott.
December 31: "Downton Abbey" New Year's Eve Extravaganza, The Empress of Little Rock Bed and Breakfast.
Black-tie dinner and dance in the Victorian parlors, 8 p.m. Add an overnight stay! Learn more.
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Nearby DLRP Member Events
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December 18-20: Holiday Pops! with the ASO, Connor Performing Arts Center. Featuring holiday music you know and the best artists from around the state. For tickets link here.
December 18-20: Neil Berg's Broadway Holiday,
Maumelle Performing Arts Center. Learn more at
Celebrity Attractions.
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9th & Commerce, MacArthur Park
Free docent tours at 1 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays.
Super Sunday Free Family Fundays, 12 noon, the second Sunday of every month.
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art-from the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Thru January 17, 2016.
Life in Light: Photographic Travels through Latin America with Bryan Clifton. Thru
February 14, 2016.
Paul Signac Drawings and Watercolors: the James T. Dyke Collection.
Thru December 27.
47th Collectors Show and Sale. Thru January 3.
Learn more. Little Rock Soiree article
here. Learn more by calling 501-372-4000.
Ongoing: Arkansas Arts Center Permanent Collection.
Museum School: Adult Winter classes, January 4-March 12, 2016.
Learn more.
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ASI Building, 401 President Clinton Avenue
Gene Hatfield: Outside the Lines.
Thru December 26.
1200 President Clinton Avenue
Oval Office "Opening"--have a commemorative photo taken.
Coca Cola: An American Original
. Thru February 15, 2016.
Christ Church
Sixth Street Library, 509 Scott Street
One Block: A New Orleans Neighborhood Rebuilds, with Little Rock photographer Dave Anderson. Thru December.
What's Inside: A History of Women and Handbags, 1900-1999.
A Very Vintage Holiday Thru January 3, 2016.
Learn more
.
Pyramid Place, 221 W. 2nd
Fall into Art Show.
200 E. Third
Neal Harrington & David Carpenter, Arkansas artists.
Thru February 7.
Art. Function. Craft: The Life and Work of Arkansas Living Treasures. Thru February 15, 2016.
Joe Barry Carroll: Growing Up in Words and Images.
Thru January 3.
We Walk in Two Worlds: The Caddo, Osage and Quapaw in Arkansas
Arkansas Made Gallery
MacArthur Park, 503 E. 9th Street, free admission
Waging Modern Warfare: General Wesley K. Clark
Vietnam, America's Conflict
Undaunted Courage, Proven Loyalty: Japanese American Soldiers in World War II
501 W. 9th Street
Freedom! Oh, Freedom! Thru December 31.
500 President Clinton Avenue
How People Make Things. Thru March 27, 2016.
300 W. Markham Street
Different Spokes.
Thru February 2016.
Ongoing: Arkansas First Ladies' Gowns; Pillars of Power; On the Stump: Arkansas Politics, 1819-1919; First Families of Arkansas; As Long as Life Shall Last: The Legacy of Arkansas Women.
602 President Clinton Avenue
Lil' Wild Ones, second Saturday, 2 p.m. for 4-8 year olds. November 21-Free Range Day.
Fish feeding every Wednesday, 2 p.m.
Alligator feeding every Friday, 2 p.m.
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