The top things to do and places to be
1 BROTHERS
Folk group the Avett Brothers will put on a concert in support of their new album, The Carpenter, at 8 p.m. Friday at North Little Rock’s Verizon Arena. Tickets are $46-$53; the arena is using its paperless ticket system. Call (501) 975-9000 or (800) 745-3000 or visit TicketMaster.com. See story on Page 4E.
2 BRIGHT
The big day is over a month away, but you can still indulge in Christmas splendor at the CARTI Auxiliary Festival of Trees, through Saturday at Little Rock’s Statehouse Convention Center. The daddy-daughter Sugar Plum Ball is sold out, but there are other activities like Festival After Dark, 7 p.m. Friday, $50; the child-centric Breakfast with Santa, 9-10:30 a.m. Saturday, $15; and the formal evening of dining and dancing at Tux ’n Trees, 6 p.m. Saturday, $200. Or you can look at more than 20 elaborately decorated trees when you Stroll Through the Forest, 1:30-4 p.m. Friday, 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $5, $3 for children 12 and under. Call (501) 6607616 or visit carti.com.
3 BEETHOVEN
Israeli-born cellist Inbal Segev will solo with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and conductor Philip Mann in Friedrich Gulda’s Concerto
for Cello and Wind Orchestra for the orchestra’s annual “Beethoven & Blue Jeans” concerts, 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at Robinson Center Music Hall, West Markham Street and Broadway, Little Rock. The program also includes Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4. West Markham in front of the hall will be blocked off two hours before each concert for a beer-and-brats street party for ticket holders. Tickets are $14-$53 with discounts for students and active members of the military. Call (501) 666-1761 or visit ArkansasSymphony.org.
4 BLUES
Salute our nation’s veterans with a little biking and a lot of blues at the North Little Rock Sertoma Club’s Veterans Day & Blues
Festival, Saturday. It starts with a veterans’ motorcycle brigade at 12:30 p.m., leaving from Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock, crossing over through downtown Little Rock and returning to Riverfront Park on the North Little Rock side. There, the blues festival will start at 2:30 p.m. with performers including Four on the Floor, Wayne Sharp & the Sharpshooters, The Gil Franklin Band and David Kimbrough Jr. Band. Jam sessions will follow until 11 p.m. Admission is $10. Call (501) 650-4276.
5 BATTLE
Just in time for Veterans Day, the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, 503 E. Ninth St., Little Rock, turns its attention to World War I with its newest exhibit: “First Call: American Posters of World War I.” The showcase of more than 30 posters and original artifacts opens with a reception, 5-7 p.m. today, and continues through Nov. 30, 2014. Museum hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 1-4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. Call (501) 376-4602 or visit arkmilitaryheritage.com.
6 BOOK
Sculptor-artist-author Jane Hankins and husband Craig O’Neill of KTHV, Channel 11, will be on hand and doing “selected theatrical readings” for the “launch” of Hankins’ latest book, The Thirty-Foot Elvis Vol. 2 (part of her Peavine Series), 6-9 p.m. today at the Argenta Community Theater , 405 Main St., North Little Rock. Hankins will sign copies of the book, which will be available; some of her artwork will be on display. The $15 ticket (proceeds benefit the theater) includes food; there will be a cash bar. Call (501) 353-1443 or (501) 353-1571, or visit argentacommunitytheater.com.
7 BE AWARE
FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education) hosts the first Little Rock Walk for Food
Allergies, 9 a.m. Saturday at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock. This walk, designed to educate about the dangers of food allergies and raise money for research and education, also includes children’s stories and crafts, a martial arts demonstration and a fire safety house. Donations are appreciated but not required. Call (501) 425-6881 or visit foodallergywalk.org.
8 “(SHE ) BELIEVES IN ME”
The Gambler himself, Kenny Rogers, comes to El Dorado on his Through the Years World Tour, 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the El Dorado Municipal Auditorium, 100 W. Eighth St. Tickets are $30-$100. Call (870) 862-4747 or visit mainstreeteldorado.org.
9 BEYOND
Actor-playwright Stephen Lang (Avatar) will perform his one-man show, Beyond
Glory, the stories of eight American Medal of Honor winners, adapted from Larry Smith’s book, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Perot Theatre, 219 Main St., Texarkana. Tickets are $50, $46 and $35, half price for students in the balcony, 10 percent off for veterans; call (903) 792-4992 or visit trahc.org.
10 BOB
Writer-composer-performer-producer Jody Madaras will put on his musical All Hands On Deck!, a revue based on Bob Hope’s 1942 USO tour with four stage performers, an announcer and a nine-piece big band to re-create a road show for American troops, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Riceland Hall, Arkansas State University’s Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Drive, Jonesboro. The show is part of the university’s Riceland Distinguished Performance Series; sponsor is Posey Peddler. Tickets are $30 and $20, $23 and $15 for senior citizens and students, with discounts for ASU faculty, staff and students with a current ID. Call (870) 972-2781 (ASU1) or (888) 278-3267 (ASU-FANS) or visit astate.edu/a/tickets.