Date: October 1, 2024 |
From music and film festivals to holiday lights and more, our semi-annual guide to statewide arts and cultural events is back
ASO on the Move
For the 2024-25 season, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra (arkansassymphony.org) moves to its new home in the Stella Boyle Smith Music Center in Little Rock’s East Village. Ground broke last August on the orchestra’s eagerly anticipated $11.75 million facility, the first of its kind in the state. The sleek new digs mark the first permanent home for the ASO since inception, nearly 60 years ago. While full ASO performances will remain at Robinson Center, the new location has room for smaller ones plus classrooms for music education, a recording studio, and rehearsal space. WER Architects of Little Rock designed the space, and it was built by Bailey Construction and Consulting.
Ready to hear the music for yourself? In early October, the ASO brings the Quapaw and Rockefeller quartets and other guests to the new center for a “River Rhapsodies” performance featuring works by Beethoven, Czech composer Leoš Janáček, and more. The popular “Beethoven & Blue Jeans” event hits Robinson Center the first weekend in November, with a line-up that includes works by Saint-Saëns and contemporary Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz. Tchaikovsky’s “Souvenir de Florence” anchors a November 5 performance at the new center, with Artist of Distinction Andrei Ioniță.
Main Street El Dorado MusicFest
October 4-5
A longstanding music event that has welcomed headliners from Brad Paisley and Boyz II Men to Dwight Yoakam and ZZ Top, MusicFest (musicfesteldorado.com) returns the first weekend in October. Vendors, 5K and 10K races, a Miss MusicFest pageant, food trucks, and a beer garden complement three packed music stages for two full days. A children’s area offers interactive STEM-based activities and a petting zoo. Musical headliners this year include Vertical Horizon, Jake Miller, and BlackTop Mojo.
King Biscuit Blues Festival
October 9-12
The sounds and rhythms of this storied American art form will once again fill the air of Helena this fall. The King Biscuit Blues Festival (kingbiscuitfestival.com) returns for its 38th year, with a line-up featuring “Detroit’s Queen of the Blues” Thornetta Davis, 11-time Blues Music Awards winner Curtis Salgado, 2024 B.B. King Entertainer of the Year Bobby Rush, and more. From Thursday to Sunday, the genre’s best bands and musicians will pack six stages in a multi-block radius of historic downtown. Join in early for the popular Warm Up Wednesday, a day before the official festival begins. A whole slew of parties, food samplings, pop-up bars, plus the Flour Power 5K run, Tour Da Delta bike race, and yoga also fill the weekend. Individual day tickets are $50, and three-day tickets are $95.
Peacemaker Festival
October 11-12
Downtown Fort Smith draws masses to the banks of the Arkansas River for this favorite annual music festival, now celebrating its 10th season. The Peacemaker Festival (peacemakerfest.com) spans music genres, from country and rock to blues and Americana, and this year, features 49 Winchester, Morgan Wade, Reckless Kelly, Josh Meloy, and more. Proceeds benefit local charities and the arts community. Tickets start at $69.50.
Kanini Fest
October 11-13
One-act plays, dance workshops, drum circles, art installations, and more make up this inaugural Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) festival this fall at The Momentary in Bentonville. KaniniFest (themomentary.org) was created by the Momentary’s current artists-in-residence, Christopher Alexander Chukwueke and Tenisi Davis, and is intended to provide a platform for underserved, up-and-coming BIPOC playwrights. Weekend non-member passes start at $85 for adults and $30 for students. Children 10 and under are free.
War Eagle Craft Fair
October 17-20
For 70 years, a small town in Northwest Arkansas known as Hindsville has brought together craftspeople and creators from all over the Ozark region to showcase their arts and crafts. This year’s War Eagle Craft Fair (wareaglefair.com) will feature over 250 booths highlighting handmade products and the creative works of area makers. Peruse art, pieces created by woodworkers, jewelry, and more, all while devouring a turkey leg or funnel cake at this long-standing favorite.
Admission is free.
Nightmare in the Ozarks Film Festival
October 24-26
The weekend before Halloween brings a spooky experience to Eureka Springs. Featuring selected showings of submitted feature films and shorts, Nightmare in the Ozarks Film Festival (nightmareintheozarks.com) is held for two full days (plus an opening night kick-off) at the historic City Auditorium. On Saturday night, dress up and join in for a hair-raising culminating event: a zombie crawl through the streets
of downtown.
Lights of the Delta
Nov. 25 – Dec. 27
Blytheville brings back the sparkle this holiday season, with its popular Lights of the Delta (lightsofthedelta.com) event, opening on November 25. Visitors from all over the state—and world—have made this annual festive drive-through part of their family tradition. Over the 1.5-mile route, expect 6 million lights and nearly 60 illuminated displays depicting scenes from steamboats and crocodiles to diving penguins and angels. Visit on a Tuesday, Friday, or Saturday for your chance to snap a photo with Santa, or kick it up a notch by booking a hayride for an additional fee.
ON POINTE
Stay on your toes about these upcoming performances by Ballet Arkansas
CARMEN
Enjoy the world premiere of this tale of passion and betrayal infused with modern art at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in Little Rock. Four performances will be held October 11-13.
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
For one night only—October 24—guests can dine on themed libations and hors d’oeuvres while experiencing live music and intriguing dance performances that depict these infamous sins at an adults-only event held at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre.
NUTCRACKER SPECTACULAR
Get into the holiday spirit as the company and community cast present this classic story with live music from the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Four performances will be held at Robinson Center on December 13-15.
For tickets and more information, visit balletarkansas.org.
Culture Cravings
Find more ways to enjoy the arts in Arkansas throughout the season
NOW-SEPT.27: “Between Two Worlds” abstract and realism contrast show featuring the works of Shirley Anderson and Sean LeCrone at Art Group Gallery in Little Rock
SEPT. 22-29: Central Arkansas Library System hosts the Six Bridges Book Festival
SEPT. 26: Opening reception for 2nd Annual “By Design,” featuring the marriage of fine art and function at MIXD Gallery in Rogers
OCT. 5: Fall Festival with reenactments, film screenings, arts and crafts, food trucks, and more at the Fort Smith National Historic Site
OCT. 7: “Sounds in the Stacks” community concert series brings Casey Penn and Tiffany Turner to Terry Library in Little Rock for a one-hour show
OCT. 9: Intro to Needle Felting class at Van Buren’s Arts on Main
OCT. 17: Brazilian jazz guitarist Romero Lubambo joins clarinetist-saxophonist Anat Cohen and jazz pianist Peter Martin for a show title “Rio Meets New Orleans” at Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in Little Rock
OCT. 18-20: Arkansas Symphony Orchestra presents “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in Concert” live to film at Robinson Center in Little Rock
OCT. 25-26: “Six: The Musical” Teen Edition performed by Arts on Main’s Arts-In-Education program at the King Opera House in Van Buren
OCT. 27: San Diego-based Thee Sacred Souls brings 1960s soul and early 1970s R&B to The Momentary Green in Bentonville
NOV. 7-9: The Mountain View Bluegrass Fall Festival returns featuring an all-gospel Thursday evening performance, The Waddington Brothers, The Grascals, and the Simply Southern Cloggers
NOV. 23-DEC. 8: European circus family the Zoppés bring ballerinas on horseback and much more to Argenta for the enchanting Piccolo Zoppé Winter Circus
NOV. 23-APR. 13, 2025: Best In Show: Pets in Contemporary Photography, featuring works by 25 global artists, will be on display at The Momentary in Bentonville
DEC. 3: Emmy and Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth performs at Baum Walker Hall at Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville
DEC. 6: Christmas at the Peel Museum in Bentonville with a three-course meal by chef Matthew Cooper, silent auction, and more. Tickets on sale October 7.
DEC. 14: Ben Folds performs with Lindsey Kraft at Baum Walker Hall at Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville
DEC. 13-15: Arkansas Chamber Singers head to the Old State House Museum in downtown Little Rock for their annual holiday concert
