Elsewhere in entertainment, events and the arts this weekend:
FUN: Monster Jam
Monster Jam, marking its 30th anniversary, roars into North Little Rock’s Simmons Bank Arena for the weekend, with eight trucks and their drivers vying for the Arena Championship Series East championship, 7 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $22, $37 and $57 (plus service charges). A 4:30-6 p.m. Saturday Pit Party is an additional $20. Visit ticketmaster.com.
Bridal show
More than 30 vendors will be helping engaged couples plan weddings at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Conway Bridal Show, 12:30-4 p.m. Sunday at McCastlain Hall, University of Central Arkansas, 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway.
Tickets are $10. Fashion shows will feature wedding gowns to bridesmaid’s gowns to groom attire; featured model and UCA cheerleader Cassadee Dunlap of Netflix’s show “Cheer” will showcase a designer gown from The Bridal Cottage. Through a 4 p.m. random giveaway, one couple will win the Ultimate Wedding Package, valued at more than $7,000, including photography, wedding jewelry, a wedding venue, wedding cake and DJ packages. Other prizes will be given out throughout the show.
Brides-to-be will receive a free copy of the 2022 “Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Bridal Planner.” Visit www.arkansasbridalcommunity.com or call (501) 378-3807.
MUSIC: Rachmaninoff concerto
Pianist Ning An plays Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Concerto No. 2” Saturday with the Conway Symphony and Music Director Israel Getzov. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette) Pianist Ning An joins the Conway Symphony and Music Director Israel Getzov to play Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Concerto No. 2,” 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Reynolds Performance Hall at the University of Central Arkansas, 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway. The other half of the program, titled “Two Faces of Romanticism,” is Robert Schumann’s “Symphony No. 4.” Tickets are $20-$40, $10 for UCA staff and faculty, $5 students with ID and children’s tickets with an adult ticket purchase. Call (501) 450-3265 or visit conwaysymphony.org/events/two-faces-of-romanticism. Covid-19 protocols require masks in all UCA campus buildings.
Quartet concert
The Verona Quartet — Jonathan Ong and Dorothy Ro, violins; Abigail Rojansky viola; and Jonathan Dormand, cello — performs for a Chamber Music Society of Little Rock concert at 7:30 p.m. today at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 1101 N. Mississippi St., Little Rock. The program: “Quartettsatz” in c minor, D.703, by Franz Schubert; “Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout” by Gabriela Lena Frank; and the “String Quartet No.14” in c-sharp minor, op.131, by Ludwig van Beethoven. A meet-the-artists reception, with complimentary wine, will follow the concert. Tickets are $25, free for students; visit chambermusiclr.com/tickets. Covid-19 protocols require all attendees be masked and all attendees 12 and older must be vaccinated, unless there is a valid medical exemption. Seating will be spaced out.
ASU-Beebe Band
The Arkansas State University-Beebe Symphonic Band and conductor Brent Bristow will play works by Robert Sheldon, Robert Longfield, Pascual Marquina, Clifton Jones, Rossano Galante, Rob Grice, Patrick Roszell and Brian Balmages at 7:30 p.m. today at the Owen Center Theatre, 1102 W. College St., Beebe. Admission is free; Masks and social distancing are required on the campus. Call (501) 882-3600 or visit www.asub.edu.
‘Voces Omnes’
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Choirs, the Parkview High School Lab Singers, Central High School Madrigals and the Robinson High School Singing Senators will give a “Voces Omnes” concert, 7:30 p.m. Monday in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall, Fine Arts Building, UALR, 2801 S. University Ave., Little Rock. The program includes the premiere by the UALR Women’s Choir of “The Harbor and the Sea” by composer Ellen Voth. Admission is free. Email [email protected].
THEATER: El Dorado ‘Nunsense’
The South Arkansas Arts Center, 110 E. Fifth St., El Dorado, stages Dan Goggin’s musical “Nunsense,” 7:40 p.m. Friday-Saturday and March 10-11 and 2:30 p.m. Sunday and March 13. A 6:30 p.m. Friday opening-night reception marks the creation of the $100,000 Lanatter Fox Theatre Fund, which will award annual scholarships to local students to participate in children’s theater. Tickets are $25, $15 for center members, $5 for students. Call (870) 862-5474 or visit saac-arts.org.
ART: Artists’ reception
The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, 701 S. Main St., Pine Bluff, will hold a reception, 5-7 p.m. today for “PAUSE. People, Places and Scenes,” paintings by Memphis-based artist Carl E. Moore, on display through April 30 in the William H. Kennedy Jr. Gallery, and “Was It Ever Real?” collages by North Little Rock-based mixed-media artist Meikel Church, opening today and up through June 4 in the Ben J. Altheimer Gallery. The artists will be available during the reception, sponsored by MK Distributors. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Saturday. Admission to the reception and the galleries is free. Sponsor for both exhibitions is Relyance Bank. Masks are required for all visitors 2 and older. Call (870) 536-3375, visit asc701.org or email [email protected].
Gardens and nests
Paintings of gardens by Susan Baker Chambers and watercolor paintings of nests by Gary Simmons top the list of works on display this month at Justus Fine Art Gallery, 827A Central Ave., Hot Springs, opening with a Gallery Walk reception, 5-9 p.m. Friday. The exhibit will be on display through March 31. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and by appointment. Call (501) 321-2335 or visit justusfineart.com.
COMEDY: Pierce in El Dorado
Comedian Chonda Pierce performs at 7 p.m. Saturday at First Financial Music Hall, 101 E Locust St., El Dorado. Tickets are $26-$55 (top price confers VIP status that includes early entry and a question-and-answer session with Pierce). Visit tinyurl.com/p2dbvray.
FILM: Bee aware
The Arkansas Cinema Society screens “The Pollinators,” a documentary about the importance of the honey bee and commercial beekeepers to the food supply, 6 p.m. today, virtually via Eventive. It’s part of the Coolidge Corner Theatre’s”Science on Screen” series. A panel discussion will follow. “Admission” is free, but registration is required — visit watch.eventive.org/acs/play/620bc835eece27004cb938b9.
ETC.: Online exhibit
The Arkansas People’s History Project will launch, virtually via Zoom, a Women’s Project digital exhibit at 6 p.m. today. The multimedia website, womensprojectstory.org, will explore the early history of a multiracial network that tackled racism, sexism, homophobia and economic injustice across rural and urban Arkansas in the 1980s and 1990s, according to a news release. Register at tinyurl.com/2te2u4dh.
Mindfulness courses
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Mindfulness Program is offering six online “Koru Mindfulness” courses to teach introductory skills for meditation and mindfulness. Each course involves one 75-minute class each week for four weeks, conducted virtually over Zoom:
- 2 p.m. Saturday-March 26
- 5:30 p.m. Tuesday-March 29
- 5:30 p.m. March 29-April 19
- 2 p.m. April 4-25
- 4 p.m. April 6-27
- 6:30 p.m. April 6-27.
Cost for each course is $120, which includes a book and the Koru Mindfulness app, which participants can access after the course is complete. To register, visit Mindfulness.UAMS.edu or tinyurl.com/2mrxky6p. Scholarships are available; email
[email protected].