FUN
Sixth Street Muralfest
Area artists, including Brennan Henson, Lindsey Witting, Barnum Samuel Hale, Bethannie Newsom Steelman, Jade Rivers and Kait Culberston, will “transform the underbelly” of the East Sixth Street railroad bridge in Little Rock’s East Village for MuralFest, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. The bridge separates the new Windgate Artspace development on the west and the East Village to the east. Crews have been powerwashing the area under the bridge to prepare the surface for the artwork to be applied.
In addition to the live mural painting and artist installations, starting at 11 a.m., a lineup of area musicians that includes Leta Joyner, Steven Boyster and Don Doc and the Devine,with a DJ set by Deja Blu, will perform at The Rail Yard, 1212 E. Sixth St., Little Rock. Also at the Rail Yard will be kids zone activities including a bounce house. Karaoke with a DJ starts at 8 p.m.
Presenters are the Downtown Little Rock Partnership and The Rail Yard. Admission is free. Visit littlerock.com/events/mural-fest.
MUSIC
Warfield picnic
The Memphis Grizzlies House Band, featuring guitarist and producer Garry Goin, performs for the annual Warfield Concert Series picnic, 6 p.m. Saturday on the lawn of Phillips Community College, 1000 Campus Drive, Helena-West Helena. Admission is free; take along lawn chairs, blankets, snacks and beverages. The show moves inside in case of inclement weather. Visit warfieldconcerts.com.
(Special to the Democrat-Gazette/Marty Sohl/Met Opera)
Met Live in HD
The Metropolitan Opera production of Grammy Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winner Gabriela Lena Frank’s first opera, “El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego,” with a libretto by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz, hits big screens, including the Movie Tavern in Little Rock and the Razorback Cinema in Fayetteville, noon Saturday as part of the Met: Live in HD series.
The opera’s surreal plot imagines Frida Kahlo (three-time Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard) returning from the underworld on the Mexican Day of the Dead to confront her unfaithful husband, Diego Rivera (baritone Carlos Álvarez) and relive their tumultuous love. The opera is sung in Spanish.
Ticket information is available at metopera.org/season/in-cinemas.
AMFA concerts
Annie and the Caldwells, a Mississippi gospel-soul group, opens the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts 2026-27 concert series Sept. 3 in the Performing Arts Theater at the museum 501 E. Ninth St., Little Rock.
The rest of the lineup (all concerts at 7:30 p.m. in the Performing Arts Theater):
◼️ Oct. 1: John Gallagher Jr., singer/songwriter and Tony award-winning actor (“Spring Awakening,” “American Idiot” and “Swept Away” on Broadway). The concert will follow a screening of the movie “10 Cloverfield Lane.”
◼️ Nov. 12: Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen. Cleary is a British-born, American funk and R&B musician based in New Orleans.
◼️ Jan. 13: Bluegrass musician Dan Tyminski, winner of 14 Grammy Awards and the man who sang “Man of Constant Sorrow” in the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
◼️ Feb. 18: Folk, soul, and Americana singer Dustin Dale Gaspard
◼️ April 1: Davina and the Vagabonds, jazz, blues and ragtime
◼️ May 6: Roots musician Dom Flemons.
Season tickets — $374, $339 for museum members — go on sale June 8 at arkmfa.org. Tickets for individual concerts — prices to be announced — go on sale July 1. Season tickets include access to pre-show lounges and complimentary tickets to film screenings and talks. Among them are a pre-show performance by Broadway star Fergie L. Philippe, best known for his role as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison in “Hamilton,” ahead of the performance by Annie and the Caldwells, and a live Q&A with actor Gallagher following the screening of “10 Cloverfield Lane.”
Scholarship winners
Winners of the Hot Springs/Hot Springs Village Symphony Guild scholarships, via auditions held May 9:
◼️ Percussionist Giea de los Reyes, a senior at the Arkansas School for Math, Science and the Arts in Hot Springs who will be attending the University of Central Arkansas this fall
◼️ Singer and flutist Anabelle Kramarenko, a senior at Fountain Lake High School who will attend Arkansas Tech University at Russellville in the fall
◼️ Tuba player Jonah Martin, a senior at Jessieville High School, who also plans to attend Arkansas Tech in the fall.
Visit symphonyguild.org/College-Scholarships.
ART & EXHIBITS
‘Arkansas Black Voices’
“Arkansas Black Voices: Shaping a Nation at 250,” highlighting “the powerful stories and lasting impact of Black Arkansans whose lives and legacies have helped shape the United States,” according to a news release, opens Thursday at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, 501 W. Ninth St. The exhibit, in partnership with the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame, includes personal histories, artifacts, photographs and stories. It’s part of Arkansas’ contributions to the nationwide America 250 commemoration and remains up through Aug. 29. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday- Saturday. Call (501) 683-3593 or visit mosaictemplarscenter.com.
‘Supplying the Battlefront’
“Manufacturing Victory in Arkansas: Supplying the Battlefront and Changing the Homefront During World War II,” an exhibit “highlight(ing) the role and contributions of ordnance plants in Arkansas during the war,” according to a news release, opens with a reception celebrating the 25th anniversary of the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, 4:30-7 p.m. Thursday at the museum, 503 E. Ninth St., Little Rock. Attendees can consume birthday cake and light refreshments.
“With resources such as coal, natural gas, water and electricity coupled with an expansive transportation network, good climate and the low cost of land, the military supported placing ordnance plants in Arkansas,” according to a news release. “Congress approved funds for construction in Jacksonville, Maumelle, Pine Bluff, Hope and El Dorado. Later, a sixth plant was approved in Camden.”
The exhibition remains up through Dec. 31, 2027. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. Call (501) 376-4602.
ETC.
Virtual author talk
PEN and Edgar Award-winning author Walter Mosley takes part in a virtual author talk, “An Evening with Walter Mosley,” 7:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday in the fifth-floor Fred Darragh Center for Intellectual Freedom, Central Arkansas Library System Main Library, 100 Rock St., Little Rock. The live simulcast reading and author question-and-answer session is in partnership with Pyramid Art, Books & Custom Framing and in association with the National Association of Black Bookstores. The event focuses on Mosley’s “Ghalen: A Romance in Black,” copies of which will be for sale at the event or by pre-order (includes a signed copy with custom artwork) through Pyramid.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Advanced registration is encouraged. The library will validate parking in the surface lot accessible from Second Street or the Library Parking Deck accessible from Rock Street via President Clinton Avenue. Visit events.cals.org/event/16536532.
Summer @ CALS
The Central Arkansas Library System offers Summer @ CALS, a seven-week summer series that includes weekly programs, activities and contests for readers of all ages centering on dinosaurs and the theme “Unearth a Story.”
Registration is underway via cals.org/summer; the series officially kicks off with a Prehistoric Kickoff Party, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. June 6 at the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library & Learning Center, 4800 W. 10th St., Little Rock, featuring “Jurassic-themed activities, snacks, and entertainment by Tommy Terrific,” according to a news release. Party sponsor is Wright Lindsey Jennings.
Activities continue systemwide through July 26. All registrants receive a tote bag or backpack, plus a ticket to Library Night at the Travelers on June 24, while supplies last. A full calendar of events is available at cals.org/summer or at individual library branches.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.arkansasonline.com ’
