MANY A CROSSWORD SPOKEN: The Central Arkansas Library System's Literary Festival continues today with Arkansas Puzzle Day at the Clinton School of Public Service. Deb Amlen, columnist and editor of "Wordplay," The New York Times' crossword column, will be the featured speaker at 1 p.m. Amlen earlier wrote It's Not PMS, It's You! A Totally Non-hormonal Analysis of Male Behavior. After Amlen's talk, a 30- to 40-minute puzzle-related trivia contest for teams of three or four players will be held. Afterward, the tournament begins and is expected to conclude by 4 p.m.
In an effort to reach the more casual crossword-solvers, those who don't wish to formally participate in a competition can solve the puzzles but decline to turn them in. And speed counts only in the final round and only for those who are competing. Event organizers also are seeking more Sudoku-solvers, with the same above principles applying.
PRESIDENTIAL PUZZLE: In related news, former President Bill Clinton and Little Rock traffic Judge Vic Fleming recently partnered to create a crossword puzzle that will soon appear in The New York Times. The newspaper's celebrity co-writing series pairs regular constructors (the puzzle will be Fleming's 46th for the newspaper) with famous people. Led by the puzzle's editor, Will Shortz, the special series continues throughout the year in celebration of the 75th anniversary, back in February, of the newspaper starting its first puzzle. Stay tuned here for further details.
STAR GAZING: Academy Award-winning actress Geena Davis returns to Northwest Arkansas this year for the third annual Bentonville Film Festival. The festival, which she co-founded, is set to run Tuesday through Sunday.
In addition to the film screenings, some festival highlights include Davis and a few of her celebrity pals -- this year including Meg Ryan -- gathering to swap gender roles as they read scenes from some of Hollywood's favorite scripts. They will underscore bias in scripts during an hourlong session at 4 p.m. Thursday at The Record North. Then Davis and select cast members from A League of Their Own will gather at Arvest Ballpark in Springdale to take to the field, with the Rockford Peaches competing against celebrity and professional athletes for a game to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the film during a family-friendly afternoon.
GOING FOR THE GOLD: Speaking of competition, Little Rock-based Rock Town Distillery's four-grain sour mash Arkansas bourbon whiskey has landed a gold medal at the 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The event drew 43 spirits experts and featured 2,100 entries. Rock Town's winning bourbon is Arkansas-grown, using 73 percent Arkansas-grown corn along with wheat, rye and malted barley.
Contact Linda Haymes at [email protected] or (501) 607-0675
Metro on 04/30/2017