MUSIC<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Youthful big band<\/strong><\/p>\n The Northwest Arkansas Jazz Society\u2019s All-Star Youth Ensemble, a 20-piece jazz big band made up of high school students from seven regional high schools, makes its 10th-season debut with guest \u201cstar\u201d jazz saxophonist Adam Larson, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Fayetteville\u2019s Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St. Tickets are $23. Call (479) 443-5600 or visit waltonartscenter.org.<\/p>\n The students have been studying jazz big band repertoire, improvisation techniques and the art of ensemble performance weekly with Larson, Rick Salonen from the University of Arkansas and Ryan Yumang from the University of North Texas.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div> DANCE<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Fairy tales en pointe<\/strong><\/p>\n Western Arkansas Ballet stages\u00a0\u201cSnow White & A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream\u201d\u00a0\u2014 a ballet adaptation of the Grimm Brothers fairy tale with original choreography by Artistic Director Jared A. Mesa, paired with the story of a fairy forest where the course of love does not run smooth, based on William Shakespeare\u2019s comedy with a score by Felix Mendelssohn \u2014 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. May 3 at the ArcBest Corp. Performing Arts Center, 55 S. Seventh St., Fort Smith. Professional dancer Nicholas C. Mesa from Yuma, Ariz., joins a cast of local children. Tickets are $35, $20 for children through university students with ID. Visit waballet.org.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div> ART & CRAFTS<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Pottery Festival<\/strong><\/p>\n The Community Creative Center, 505 W. Spring St., Fayetteville, hosts the fifth\u00a0Arkansas Pottery Festival, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. May 3.<\/p>\n Festival highlights include live pottery demonstrations and lectures by ceramic artists Sean O\u2019Connell and Catherine Lemaire Lozier on Friday and Saturday; an exhibition and sale of work by more than 50 potters from Arkansas and surrounding states; and a display of historic pottery from the Arkansas Archeological Survey. A flowerpot and plant sale fundraiser features a selection of affordable handmade planters and locally grown plants.<\/p>\n Sponsors are the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation, First Horizon Bank and Sherrill Mudtools. Admission is free. Call (479) 571-2706 or visit communitycreativecenter.org\/about-us\/arkansas-pottery-festival.<\/p>\n Digital exhibition<\/strong><\/p>\n The University of Arkansas Libraries\u2019 Special Collections Division, in collaboration with the School of Art in the UA Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, has launched a new digital collection titled\u00a0\u201cThe Fine Arts Center: The First Years,\u201d\u00a0accessible at digitalcollections.uark.edu\/digital\/collection\/FNARhistory.<\/p>\n This digital exhibit \u2014 curated by UA archivist Catherine Wallack and co-coordinated with John Blakinger, endowed associate professor and program director of art history at the School of Art \u2014 allows scholars and arts enthusiasts across the country, particularly those studying mid-century modernism in the United States, \u201cto discover Arkansas\u2019 role in this significant architectural and cultural movement,\u201d according to a news release.<\/p>\n The exhibit gathers digitized materials documenting the university\u2019s Fine Arts Center\u2019s development and programming, including photographs, correspondence, programs, catalogs, flyers and exhibition announcements regarding the center \u2014 designed by Fayetteville native, noted architect and UA alumnus Edward Durell Stone \u2014 which opened in 1951. It was among the first academic buildings in the nation to bring art, architecture, music, theater and dance together in a single, purpose-built space.<\/p>\n The launch of the digital exhibition coincides with the 75th anniversary of the Fine Arts Center, 340 N. Garland Ave., Fayetteville, and its recent $38 million restoration.<\/p>\n ETC.<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Genealogy workshop<\/strong><\/p>\n The Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives, 201 Arkansas 195, Washington, hosts a genealogy workshop titled \u201cFinding Your Early Arkansas and American Ancestors,\u201d part of the U.S.\u2019 250th anniversary, 10 a.m.-noon May 9. Participants will hear a presentation from SARA archivist Melissa Nesbitt on how to start their own genealogy research. Participants can also use the archives\u2019 research resources and obtain individual research assistance from staff. Admission is free but registration is required, via tinyurl.com\/mtuscrdd. For more information, call (870) 983-2633 or email [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/wehco.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com\/img\/photos\/2026\/04\/24\/FZ-FEA-POTTERY-002_t800.jpg?90232451fbcadccc64a17de7521d859a8f88077d\")
\n(NWA Democrat-Gazette file photo\/Andy Shupe)<\/figcaption><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n