ENTERTAINMENT: BIG holiday parade set for Saturday; Keo hosts pecan festival | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

FUN

BIG Parade

The Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau’s BIG Little Rock Holiday Parade through downtown Little Rock starts at 3 p.m. Saturday at Broadway and West Markham Street (flanked by City Hall and Robinson Center), continuing east along Markham street through the River Market and concluding near Interstate 30.

This year’s theme is “Candy Cane Lane.” Parade participants are encouraged to bring their best and brightest peppermint-inspired elements via imaginative floats, costumes and designs. Entrants are competing for cash prizes, up to and including a $500 grand prize and trophy. (Deadline to sign up was Nov. 10.)

Pre-parade, beginning at 2 p.m., an array of downtown holiday experiences will include photos with Santa, an ornament craft station and more at the Statehouse Convention Center, Markham and Main streets. And after the parade, the Arkansas State Capitol Lighting Ceremony gets underway at 5:30 p.m., with the official lighting set for approximately 6:15 p.m. Arkansas PBS will live-stream the event.

Find a full list of activities being hosted downtown, at Littlerock.com.

Nuts to you

A pecan pie championship, food trucks and vendors, live music, pictures with Santa, a cycling event called the “Pie Ride,” bounce houses, a petting zoo, a car show and a squirrel calling contest are all part of the fourth annual Arkansas Pecan Festival, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday in downtown Keo. Admission is free. Call (501) 285-5051 or visit facebook.com/keopecanfest.

At 2 p.m., festival organizers are also hosting the inaugural Harvest for Hope Concert, featuring performances by U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford’s band, Triple Nickel, as well as Hannah Blaylock and Matt Stell, dedicated to raising awareness of the mental health challenges plaguing Arkansas farmers and the resources available to support them. Admission is free; financial donations will be collected on-site. It will also be live-streamed by Arkansas PBS.

Holiday Open Houses

Three downtown Little Rock museums — the Old State House, 300 W. Markham St.; Historic Arkansas Museum, 200 E. Third St.; and the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, 501 W. Ninth St. — host their annual Holiday Open Houses on Sunday. Visitors can participate in historic crafts and music, eat holiday treats and get a picture with Santa Claus. Admission to all three is free.

◼️ For the 58th annual Frolic, noon-4 p.m. on the grounds of Historic Arkansas Museum, visitors can make Springerle ornaments, Kwanzaa crafts, holiday cards, pomander balls and Chinese paper poppers and participate in candle dipping. There will also be woodworking, textile and cooking demonstrations, plus hot cider and gingerbread cookies. Sugar on the Floor, Lark in the Morning, Ricky Russell, Arkansas Country Dance, Aeolus Recorder Group and S. Juain Young & Artists United will perform. Father Christmas reads “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” aka “The Night Before Christmas.” Visit arkansasheritage.coevents/2025/12/07/default-calendar/58th-annual-frolic.

◼️ The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center will host its annual Holiday Open House, 1-5 p.m., with festive music and hot chocolate. Children can make crafts and get a picture with Santa. The center will also host its first Arkansas Made Black Crafted Christmas Market. Visit arkansasheritage.com/events/2025/12/07/default-calendar/mtcc-holiday-open-hous.

◼️ At the Old State House Museum, noon-4 p.m., the annual open house will feature craft activities (including a hands-on activity related to the “First Families: Life in the Public Eye” exhibit), sweet and savory holiday treats (including one made from a recipe by Liza Ashley, the chef for the Governor’s Mansion for many years) and holiday music, plus photo opps with the Christmas tree in the lobby. Visit arkansasheritage.com/events/2025/12/07/default-calendar/oshm-holiday-open-house.

MUSIC

‘Windy’ concert

The Little Rock Winds offer a “Happy Holidays” concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the Center for Humanities and Arts Theater at the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College main campus, 3000 W. Scenic Drive, North Little Rock. Brent Walker will be the announcer. Israel Getzov conducts.

Bass-baritone George Mayo sings “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” and will narrate Clement Clarke Moore’s “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” aka “The Night Before Christmas,” as the ensemble plays Randol Alan Bass’ musical setting. Tap-dance troupe UnTapped will perform a Christmas Swings routine. The Sylvan Hills High School Chorus joins in for a “Christmas on Broadway” medley.

The rest of the program: “Polonaise” from “Christmas Eve” by Nicolai Rimsky Korsakov; “A New Orleans Nutcracker Suite,” Michael Kamuf’s arrangement of music by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky; “Greensleeves Variants” by Robert E. Foster; “Tuba Christmas,” arranged by Robert W. Smith; “A Rhapsody on Christmas Carols” by Claude T. Smith; “Goin’ Home for the Holidays,” by Antonin Dvorak and Robert Allen; “The Ultimate Christmas Sing-Along”; and Theresa Morris, winner of the Christmas baton auction, conducting Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride.”

Santa Claus will greet fans and take Selfies with Santa. The group holds its annual Stocking Stuffer Silent Auction starting at 6:30 p.m., which includes the Flag Day Conductor’s Baton — the winner receives a free conducting lesson from Getzov and will lead John Philip Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever” at the annual Flag Day concert June 14 in MacArthur Park.

Concert sponsors are Dr. Rich and Dottie Brown. Tickets are $20, $5 for students. Visit lrwinds.org/tickets.

‘Brass Band Christmas’

The Natural State Brass Band offers a concert titled “A Brass Band Christmas,” 7 p.m. Friday at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 4106 John F. Kennedy Blvd., North Little Rock, part of the church’s Festival of the Senses series

The program: “City of David” by Philip Rayment; “O Holy Night” by Adolphe Charles Adam, arranged by Tom Kubis; “The Message of Christmas” by William Himes; “Candlelight Carol” by John Rutter, arranged by Chris Mallet; “Frosty the Snowman” by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins, arranged by Sandy Smith; “The Snowman” by Howard Blake, arranged by Philip Sparke; “’Twas the Night Before Christmas,” poem by Clement Moore, music by Anthony DiLorenzo, arranged by Michael Green; “A Christmas Finale” by Paul Lovatt-Cooper; “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” traditional English carol, arranged by John Rutter. Nevada Mills conducts; Dave Woodman will narrate.

Admission is free. A reception (with food and drink) will follow in the church’s Parish Hall. Call (501) 753-3578 or email [email protected].

The band will repeat the program at 6 p.m. Sunday at Levy Baptist Church, 3501 Pike Ave., North Little Rock, and at 3 p.m. Dec. 14 at Lakewood United Methodist Church, 1922 Topf Road, North Little Rock. Admission to both is free.

Brass quintet Christmas

The Five Star Brass, the 106th Army Band’s brass quintet, performs a holiday program at 2 p.m. Saturday at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, 503 E. Ninth St. in Little Rock’s MacArthur Park. The 106th Army Band is part of the Arkansas Army National Guard; the Five Star Brass — SFC Cody Jernigan and SSG David Hixson, trumpet; SSG Layne Martens, trombone; SPC Saelah Carvin, French horn; and SPC Billy McCarrell, tuba — performs for military ceremonies and public celebrations, with a repertoire that includes classical, jazz, marches and popular music. Admission is free. Call (501) 376-4602 or visit littlerock.gov/macarthur.

Conway Christmas

The Conway Symphony Orchestra swings in the holiday season with singer Shaleah Adkisson and the Cool Yulers, a group of 28 young Conway area singers and dancers, 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Reynolds Performance Hall at the University of Central Arkansas, 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway.

Adkisson will perform a variety of jazz arrangements, including “My Favorite Things” from “The Sound of Music”; “Cool Yule,” also featuring tap and jazz dancers from Stage Door Dance Arts and Irby Dance Studio; “Jingle Bells ala Barbra”; and Donnie Hathaway’s “This Christmas.”

She and the Cool Yulers singers will perform“Do You Hear What I Hear?” and “Children Will Listen” from Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods.” She and sister Kelsie Adkisson will sing the duet “For Good” from “Wicked.” The orchestra will play selections from Peter Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker,” seasonal pieces by Leroy Anderson, and the Concert Suite from “The Polar Express.” CSO Music Director Israel Getzov conducts.

Tickets are $34.50-$57.50, $23-$46 for the UCA “community,” faculty and staff; $17.50 for students. Conway Corp is providing a limited number of free kids tickets, available with the purchase of a regular adult ticket (limit two per family). Call (501) 450-3265 or visit conwaysymphony.org.

Coterie Christmas

Arkansas piano teachers perform for the Little Rock Musical Coterie’s holiday program, 2 p.m. Sunday at Highland Valley United Methodist Church, 15524 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock. The program: Howard Duff performing a “Christmas Peace Medley” in his own arrangement; Trudy Kincade and Sabrina Shivley performing Brian Lockard’s arrangements of “What Child Is This?” and “Ukrainian Bell Carol”; “Grand Fantasia on I Saw Three Ships” Overton/Galway, with flutist Sharon Burrall and pianist Janine Tiner; Sharon Burrall, Barbara Cantley and Tressa Tiner singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” with Janine Tiner at the keyboard; Nancy Griffin and Kay Lindley playing a piano duet version of the “Waltz of the Flowers” from “The Nutcracker” by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky; Kristin Duckworth playing “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”; and Duckworth and Genni Sutano playing the “The Nutcracker March.” Admission is free. A reception will follow. Call (501) 240-7765.

THEATER

Junie B. is back

The Children’s Theatre at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts stages “Junie B. in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells!” by Allison Gregory, based on Barbara Park’s bestselling book series, 10:30 and 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13 and 20; 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14 and 21 in the Performing Arts Theater at the museum, 501 E. Ninth St., Little Rock. Tickets are $15, $12 for museum members, free for children 2 and younger if seated in an adult’s lap. Visit events.arkmfa.org/series/junie-b-jones.

The 10:30 show on Dec. 13 features audio description; the 2 p.m. show that day will feature ASL interpretation and a post-show Member Mingle, 3:15-4 p.m., in which museum members can meet the cast and explore the stage. The Dec. 14 show is billed as being a sensory-friendly performance. And Dec. 21 is Holiday Dress Up Day.

Royal ‘Christmas Pageant’

The Royal Players stage “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: The Musical” (all music and lyrics by Malcolm Hillgartner, book and lyrics by Jahnna Beecham, based on the play by Barbara Robinson), 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and Dec. 11-13 and 2 p.m. Sunday and Dec. 14 at the Royal Theatre, 111 S. Market St., Benton. Sponsor is Everett Buick GMC. Tickets are $18; $15 for senior citizens 60-plus, college students and members of the military; $8 for youngsters in grade 12 and younger. Visit onthestage.tickets/the-royal-theatre.

ART

‘Headline’ paintings

Paintings by Donnie Copeland, John P. Lasater IV and Sammy Peters are among the “headliners” in the December exhibit at Justus Fine Art Gallery, 827A Central Ave., Hot Springs, opening with a monthly Hot Springs Gallery Walk reception, 5-9 p.m. Friday. The exhibition is up through Jan. 31. Admission to the gallery and the reception is free; this and other participating galleries will be collecting monetary donations benefiting the Project Hope Food Bank of Garland County. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and by appointment. Call (501) 321-2335 or visit justusfineart.com.