Here’s the latest weekend entertainment roundup from Eric E. Harrison, culture reporter for the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
The six finalists of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s inaugural “Arkansas Talent” singing competition perform in two season-ending pop concerts, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday, at Little Rock’s Robinson Center Performance Hall, 426 W. Markham St. Broadway. Each finalist performs individually with the orchestra while competing for votes from the public and judges. The three celebrity judges — “American Idol” season eight winner Kris Allen, singer Bonnie Montgomery and jazz trumpeter Rodney Block — will also perform. Two winners, one from each show, will collaborate with the Arkansas Symphony in various ways, including participating in the “Home for the Holidays” pop concerts in December. ArkansasSymphony.org.
The Argenta Arts District hosts its May Dogtown Throwdown block party from 4pm to 10pm Friday and 7am to 10pm Saturday along North Little Rock’s Main Street between Broadway and Fifth Street.
The Friday night entertainment program, from 6pm, features Roper Romp Happy Hour and a 70s/80s Dance Party with DJ Drip Funk; at 7pm, Just Cuz presents covers from the 80s, 90s and current hits live on the steps of the Argenta Library.
On Saturday, animals at the North Little Rock Animal Shelter will be available for adoption from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. From noon to 2pm, several Argenta restaurants serve mimosas and special champagne for a “Sparkling Saturday” toast. At 2pm, Four Quarter Bar hosts a crawfish boil. At 5 p.m., Chris “Bucket” Shelton performs live acoustic music outside Blackberry Market. And at 7pm, Nik Parr & The Selfless Lovers perform on the main stage next to the Argenta Library. Entry is free; food and drink cost money. argentaartsdistrict.org.
Elsewhere in North Little Rock on Saturday, you can compete in video game and board game tournaments, test your knowledge in geeky trivia sessions, enjoy K-Pop music, show off your cosplay skills in a costume contest, and sponsor local vendors and artists at the North Little Rock Public Library System’s Laman Con 2024, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the William F. Laman Public Library, 2801 Orange St., North Little Rock. The event also features food trucks, face painting and other family activities for kids, a screening of Studio Ghibli’s “Howl’s Moving Castle,” a panel with local Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Masters. Entry is free. NLRlibrary.org/lamancon.
In a rare two-night musical reunion, Zach Bryan, with The Middle East and Levi Turner, performs at 7pm Monday and Tuesday at North Little Rock’s Simmons Bank Arena. simmonsbankarena.com
And soprano Asmik Grigorian sings the role of Japanese geisha Cio-Cio-San with tenor Jonathan Tetelman as her unfaithful lover, an American sailor named Pinkerton, in the Metropolitan Opera’s current production of Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, on screen as part of “The Met: Live in HD,” 11:55 a.m. Saturday, May 11, at the Movie Tavern in Little Rock and Central City 10 in Hot Springs. Mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong sings the role of Suzuki, with baritone Lucas Meachem as Sharpless. Xian Zhang conducts. It reprises Anthony Minghella’s 2006 production which, among other things, employs a bunraku doll as Cio-Cio San’s son, Sorrow. metopera.org.
Tune in every Thursday at 4:44 pm to hear Eric’s recap of arts and cultural events in central Arkansas during All Things Considered on Little Rock Public Radio.
