ENTERTAINMENT NOTES

FILE — Police Officer Tommy Norman gets a fist bump from Roderick McClinton as he hands out water, snacks and toys to children at 16th and Sycamore streets while on patrol in July 2016 in downtown North Little Rock. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
FILE — Police Officer Tommy Norman gets a fist bump from Roderick McClinton as he hands out water, snacks and toys to children at 16th and Sycamore streets while on patrol in July 2016 in downtown North Little Rock. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

Elsewhere in entertainment and the arts:

THURSDAY

Join the 'banned'

The Central Arkansas Library System's Arkansas Literary Festival opens on Thursday a Banned Books Week writing contest, based on the classic A Thousand and One Nights. The collection of nearly 400 folk tales, short stories, parables, fables and morality lessons, also known as the Arabian Nights, introduce the characters Aladdin, Sinbad, Ali Baba and, as the framework, the story of King Shahryar and Shahrazad, also known as Sheherezade.

Protests against the book have occurred as recently as 2010. In Egypt, it has been challenged for sexuality, offensive language and "passages which posed a threat to the country's moral fabric." U.S. Customs delayed imports of the book in English during the 1920s.

Contestants can create a short story -- between 50 and 500 words -- that include either Sinbad the Sailor or Shahrazad. The contest is open to residents of Pulaski and Perry counties, one entry per person. Include on the first page of each submission the author's name, age, address, email address and telephone number, and, if under age 18, a parent's signature. Handwritten entries will be accepted from authors under age 12. All other entries must be typed. Entry deadline is Sept. 19.

Winning entries will be selected based on creativity, flow, style, originality and their fit with the rest of the tales. There will be one $300 grand prize and three $100 honorable mentions, one for each age group -- under 12, 12 to 17 and 18 and above.

Submit via email -- [email protected] (writers under 18 should include a parent's name, phone number and email address) -- or by mail to Arkansas Literary Festival Arabian Nights Contest, c/o Brad Mooy, 100 Rock St., Little Rock, Ark. 72201. Visit cals.org.

ASU portraits

Portraits by artists Delita Martin, Nina Katchadourian, Tad Lauritzen Wright and Andrew Kilgore are on display through Oct. 9 at Arkansas State University's Bradbury Art Museum, Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Drive, Jonesboro.

"Night Women: Delita Martin," large-scale portraits of black women that combine printmaking, drawing, painting, collage, stitching and found objects, occupies two galleries; Martin's installation, "Dinner Table," occupies a third.

Also on display: Katchadourian's "Seat Assignment: Lavatory Self-Portraits in the Flemish Style," created with a hand-held camera phone in airplane restrooms while in flight; Wright's "Continual Myth," child-like line drawings depicting ancient mythological characters; and "Arkansas Neighbors: Work From the Permanent Collection," black-and-white photographs by Kilgore.

Gallery hours are noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 2-5 p.m. on Sunday and by appointment. Admission is free. Call (870) 972-2567.

TICKETS

Fairy-tale fundraiser

North Little Rock Police Officer Tommy Norman, much honored for his work in the community and Arkansas Stop the Violence's Man of the Year, will be the featured speaker at United Cerebral Palsy of Arkansas' "Once Upon a Time" fundraiser, 6 p.m. Sept. 8 in the Wally Allen Ballroom, Statehouse Convention Center, Markham and Main streets, Little Rock. The event will feature a performance by jazz trumpeter Rodney Block, food from the Little Rock Marriott kitchen and silent and live auctions. Tickets are $125; deadline is Sept. 6. Visit ucpark.org.

Style on 08/30/2016

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