Little Rock notebook

Meeting to focus on Barton Street

The Little Rock public works staff will hold an open-forum-style public meeting Monday to present plans for drainage improvements along Barton Street to Third Street.

The meeting will be in the Capitol View/Stifft Station Neighborhood Resource Center at 2715 W. Seventh St. and begins at 5:30 p.m.

The project is located in Ward 3.

Games, art on tap for Autumn Fest

A Little Rock community center will host Autumn Fest, a family friendly carnival and art contest Thursday.

The free program at the Centre at University Park includes music, carnival games and an art contest with prizes. Ribbons and certificates will be awarded to contestants who win first through eighth place.

The event is to begin at 10 a.m. The center is at 6401 W. 12th St.

Center opens to kids Friday night

Parents looking for a Friday night out can drop their children off at the Southwest Community Center.

The staff will provide organized activities, games and food beginning at 6 p.m. for $5. The program is geared toward children ages 5-12.

The center is at 6401 Baseline Road.

$5 food sampling set for Thursday

Little Rock’s Stephens Community Center will hold its Taste of Stephens, an event Thursday that will allow people to sample food from various vendors for $5.

The event is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

The center is at 3720 W. 18th St.

Festival to have 82 food trucks

A record number of food trucks have registered for the 2019 Main Street Food Truck Festival, the Downtown Little Rock Partnership announced last week.

The fourth annual downtown festival has 82 trucks signed up. The event this year will take place on Sept. 22 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

An estimated 45,000 people have attended the event each year since 2016, the downtown nonprofit said in a news release. The festival will also include artists, vendors and entertainers along Main Street and Capitol Avenue. Admission is free.

“The Main Street Food Truck Festival is the biggest food event in the state,” Downtown Little Rock Partnership Executive Director Gabe Holmstrom said in the release. “We hope everyone comes hungry, because we are excited to bring the most food trucks ever to downtown Little Rock.”

Trucks that have registered so far include Adobo To Go, Banana Leaf, Jimmy’s Jerk Chicken & BBQ , Pops Kettle Corn and Tren Al Sur.