Elsewhere in entertainment, events and the arts:
Legacies & Lunch
Author and photographer Eugene Richards will discuss his latest book, "the day i was born," stories of six men and women from Arkansas' Mississippi Delta, in a Central Arkansas Library System Bobby L. Roberts Library of Arkansas History and Art "Legacies & Lunch" session, noon Wednesday via a Zoom webinar that will also be simulcast on YouTube Live. Admission is free. Register at tinyurl.com/kn3k5tym.
Summer camps
The Mid-America Science Museum, 500 Mid America Blvd., Hot Springs, is offering summer camp sessions for children 6-12 in "mad" science, tech, Minecraft and even "Magic for Muggles," June 21- Aug 6.
The lineup (all sessions 8 a.m.-5 p.m.):
- ◼️ June 21-25: "Minecraft IRL (In Real Life)"
- ◼️ June 28-July 2: "Mad Scientist Lab," including "bubbling potions, exploding experiments and lots and lots of slime," according to a news release.
- ◼️ July 5-9: "ScienceMakes-ART (SMART)," the meeting place between science and art, focusing on automatas (self-operating machines), soap sculptures, toy take-apart and chemistry in painting
- ◼️ July 12-16: "Techtastic," on subjects including robots, coding, and 3D printing
- ◼️ July 19-23: "Down and Dirty," science under our feet, including "bugs, dirt, and dinosaurs."
- ◼️ July 26-30: "Inventor's Workshop"
- ◼️ Aug 2-6: "Magic for Muggles"
Drop-off starts at 7:45 a.m. and campers must be picked up before 5:15 p.m. Campers should take their own lunches and two snacks; the museum won't provide refrigeration and campers cannot buy candy, ice cream or soda during camp.
Cost per weeklong session is $225, $200 for members. Call (501) 767-3461 or visit midamericamuseum.org.
Opera guild, season
Ahead of opening its 2021 schedule, Little Rock-based professional opera company Opera in the Rock is introducing a new member guild, with the primary goal "to create a more robust opera experience for supporters while also providing more sustainability to the growing organization," according to a news release.
Annual memberships begin at $12 per month with tiered options that include expanded ticketing season packages. All members will receive access to the May 23 virtual Members Guild Brunch, early ticket access and discounts to forthcoming special events and "guild swag." Full details are available at oitr.org/guild.
The first "Cheers to the Members Who Brunch" virtual fundraiser includes a production of the mini-opera "Bon Appeetit!" by Lee Hoiby, with mezzo-soprano Sarah Dailey as Julia Child. Keely Futterer directs with music direction by Michael Rice.
The 2021 season also includes "Viva Violetta," a "reimagining" of Giuseppe Verdi's "La Traviata," starting with a workshop this month, a subsequent master recording, and further developing throughout the year into a hybrid live/virtual production.
Subsequent productions include (dates to be announced) Gaetano Donizetti's "Anna Bolena"; "Scalia/Ginsburg" by Derrick Wang, in partnership with the Clinton Foundation; and "Divas in the Rock." Audition notices will be announced soon. Visit oitr.org.
Ballet in the plaza
Ballet Arkansas, in partnership with the North Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau, will offer two weekends of classes and performances, May 1-2 and 21-23 at Argenta Plaza, 510 Main St., North Little Rock.
"Ballet Arkansas Presents Live at the Plaza" will include performances of works of classical and contemporary dance by choreographers, including Yoshito Sakuraba, Alice Flock and Florian Lochner, including settings of music by Alexander Glazunov, Johann Sebastian Bach, Scott Joplin and Erik Satie. Recreational classes will be accessible for all ages and abilities. A full schedule and more information is available at balletarkansas.org/plaza.
New writing award
The Ozark Society Foundation seeks submissions for its Sassafras Award for Excellence in Environmental Writing, a new $3,000 literary prize for work focusing on Arkansas, Missouri and Louisiana where the society operates. Authors can submit full-length unpublished manuscripts or collections and/or work published within the past three years through July 31. There is a $25 entry fee for each submission. Visit ozarksociety.net/foundation/foundation-literary-awards.
Eligible genres include fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, dramatic scripts, graphic novels, illustrated books, children's books, young adult fiction, edited compilations and published columns or blogs, but not scientific writing. If the winning work is unpublished, the foundation may consider it for publication. David McCombs, director of the University of Arkansas Program in Creative Writing and Translation, will serve as judge. The winner will be announced in January.
The name of the award refers to the sassafras leaf logo of the Arkansas-based nonprofit, which promotes conservation, education and recreation activity in the Ozark-Ouachita region.