1 CREATURES
Things get wilder, crazier and just a little spookier at the Little Rock Zoo as it transforms again for the annual Boo at the Zoo festival with costume contests, music, dancing, a hay maze, rides, games and haunted things. It starts with Adult Night, 6-9 p.m. Friday and then continues with the whole-family party, 6-9 p.m. Saturday-Oct. 31. Last admission is at 8:30 p.m. each night. Adult Night tickets are $30, $25 for zoo members. Otherwise, tickets are $20 and $15, free for kids 2 and younger. Call (501) 666-2406 or visit littlerockzoo.com. See story on Page 4E.
2 (CORN)BREAD
Sweet and savory creations compete for prizes at the Arkansas Cornbread Festival, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday in downtown Little Rock's South Main Street district, centered on the Bernice Garden, 1401 Main St. In addition to the cornbread competition, musicians will perform, there will be games including Human Connect Four and Heifer International will have some of its animals on hand. Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 at the gate; VIP tickets are $50. Call (501) 396-9587 or visit arkansascornbreadfestival.com.
3 'COUNT ON ME'
Pop superstar Bruno Mars will rock North Little Rock's Verizon Arena, 8 p.m. Sunday. The concert is sold out. Call (800) 745-3000 or visit ticketmaster.com.
4 CONTEMPORARIES
The Arkansas Arts Center's Contemporaries young professionals group will hold its fifth annual Fountain Fest fundraiser, 5:30 p.m. today at the Carrie Remmel Dickinson Fountain in front of the Arts Center in MacArthur Park, 501 E. Ninth St., Little Rock. The event, featuring food (heavy hors d'oeuvres by the Arts Center's Canvas restaurant), music (guitar-vocal duo Luke Johnson and Brian Nahlen), art, libations (beer by Lost Forty Brewing and Stone's Throw Brewing and cocktails by Roxor Gin) and a raffle, plus the revelation of a "surprise" installation in the fountain. Tickets are $25. Call (501) 396-0337 or visit arkansasartscenter.org/tickets. Raffle tickets are $10; visit arkansasartscenter.org/fountain-fest.
5 CONCERTO
Single-name pianist Ji (right) will solo in Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra with Associate Conductor Geoffrey Robson on the podium for his first Masterworks concerts, 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday in the Robinson Center Performance Hall, 426 W. Markham St. at Broadway, Little Rock. The "French Connection" program will also include Darius Milhaud's Le Boeuf sur le toit (The Bull on the Roof), Kurt Weill's Symphony No. 1, "Berliner Sinfonie," and Claude Debussy's Petite Suite. Tickets are $15-$65, $10 for students and active duty military, free for K-12 students to Sunday's matinee with a paying adult. Call (501) 666-1761 or visit ArkansasSymphony.org.
6 CONCERT
U.S. Navy Band Mid-South will close out the "Little Rock Salutes" concert series, 7 p.m. Friday, in the River Market pavilions, 400 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. The series is a joint project of the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau, the city of Little Rock and the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service. Admission is free. Visit Facebook.com/LRRiverMarket.
7 CHILDREN'S ART
Art by some special young artists decorates the walls this month at the Thea Foundation, 401 Main St., North Little Rock: works by Arkansas Children's Hospital patients. The hospital's artists in residence, Hamid Ebrahimifar and Elizabeth Weber, will talk about the pieces and the hospital's art program at a reception, 5-8 p.m. Friday. Regular gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Call (501) 379-9512 or visit theafoundation.org.
8 CUBS
Actors 12-15 of the Young Players Center Stage will perform The Lion King Jr. (music and lyrics by Elton John and Tim Rice, additional music and lyrics by Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, and Hans Zimmer, book by Roger Allers & Irene Mecchi, based on Julie Taymor's Broadway production), 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday and Oct. 27-28, 2 p.m. Sunday and Oct. 29 at the Royal Theatre, 111 S. Market St., Benton. Sponsor is Everett Buick GMC. Tickets are $15, $12 for senior citizens, military and college students, $6 for students (high school and below). Call (501) 315-5483 (LIVE) or visit theroyalplayers.ticketleap.com.
9 CADDO VALLEY
Painters, photographers, carvers and all types of artists in and around Arkadelphia will open their studio doors for the Round About Art Studio Tour, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 1-4 p.m. Sunday. Maps are available at the Arkadelphia Arts Center, 625 Main St., Arkadelphia, and the Diamond Lakes Regional Visitor's Center, 124 Valley Road, Caddo Valley. Admission is free. Visit caddoriverartguild.com.
10 CRAFTS
Avid shoppers and vendors will swarm normally sleepy War Eagle in Benton County for the annual War Eagle Fair, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. today-Saturday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. The 63-year-old fair features artisans from across the country selling handcrafted items. Admission is free; parking is $3. Call (479) 789-5398 or visit wareaglefair.com.
Weekend on 10/19/2017