From shopping, to the arts, an animal fashion show and a crawfish boil, with more in between, there is no shortage of events for you to check out this weekend. Read our to-do list to see what events you might want to attend.
Here’s our rundown:
Thursday (May 1)
Shop N Sip at Box Turtle, 2616 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock: Box Turtle is hosting a Shop N Sip event Thursday night. The night will include a trunk show with Joella Peck Originals and Custom Charm & Coordinates Jewelry. The items available make great Mother’s Day and graduation gifts. This week, Box Turtle is donating a portion of all sales to the victims of Sunday’s tornado. The store also has a donation station set up to collect blankets, flashlights, batteries, toiletries, nonperishable food, gloves, hand sanitizer and water. For more information, check out Box Turtle’s Facebook page or website.
Dunbar Garden School Lunch Cook-Off at Dunbar Community Garden Project, 1800 S. Chester St., Little Rock: Live music, food and drinks. It’s all part of the kickoff event for the May Music in the Garden series. Local chefs Travis McConnel, of Butcher & Public, and Phillip Schaaf, of South on Main, will make a meal using primarily garden ingredients that meet USDA school lunch guidelines. Their creations will be judged by a group of sixth graders. The winning recipe will be shared with the Little Rock School District’s Child Nutrition Department and the National Farm to School Network. Admission to the event is $5. Proceeds go to the Dunbar Garden’s mission to connect children and adults with where their food comes from, in addition to Dunbar Garden’s garden-to-cafeteria initiative. The event is set for 5:30-8:30 p.m. For more information, click here.
Paws on the Runway at Arkansas Governor’s Mansion, 1800 Center St., Little Rock: This annual event benefits the Central Arkansas Rescue Effort for Animals (CARE), and it gives you the chance to see man’s best friend on the runway! You’ll get food, drinks, auctions and a dog fashion show all in one night. You’ll also get the chance to see some animals up for adoption. Tickets are $50. Runway seating is $75. Tables for six people are $1,000. For more information, click here.
Preservation Crustaceans Crawfish Boil at the Argenta Plaza, 520 Main St., North Little Rock: Who doesn’t love a good crawfish boil? If you need one this week, check out this on at the Argenta Plaza. It’s sponsored by the Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas and helps raise funds and awareness of places historic and culturally significant throughout the state. The boil is said to feature hot bugs, cold beer and historic buildings. It’s set for 6-8:30 p.m. Tickets are $45, and VIP tickets are $70. Kids 9-17 get in for $10, while kids 8 and under get in free. Alliance members get $10 off ticket prices. Click here, or call 372-4757 for tickets.
InCiteful Clay Lecture at Arkansas Arts Center, Ninth and Commerce streets, Little Rock: This lecture from Judith Schwartz, exhibition curator of InCiteful Clay, will give you a behind the scenes look at InCiteful Clay. The night includes a reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by the lecture at 6 p.m. The InCiteful Clay galleries will be open until 8 p.m. Copies of Schwartz’s book, Confrontational Ceramics, will be available for purchase and signing. Tickets to the evening’s events are free for members and $10 for non-members. They can be purchased here.
Friday (May 2)
Main Street Food Truck Fridays at Capitol and Main streets, Little Rock: Enjoy food from Blackhound BBQ, Cheto’s Mexican Food, Roxie’s Hot Dogs or Waffle Wagon while listening to turns from Kirk Anderton and Quentin May. The fun goes from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Art After Dark at Argenta Community Theater, 405 Main St., North Little Rock: Come enjoy art, a silent auction, live music, food, drinks and much more while benefiting Lakewood Elementary. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. The event goes from 7-10 p.m. Call 554-9998 for tickets.
Saturday (May 3)
Blues on the River at the First Security Amphitheater, 400 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock: Music from Melvin’s Blue Notes, Tawanna Campbell, Billy “Soul” Bonds, Ob Buchana, Willie P. and Jaye Hammer. It’s time for this year’s Blues on the River. Tickets are $30 in advance and $40 the day of the show. You can purchase tickets at Uncle T’s Food Mart, The Record Rack in Pine Bluff, Lindsey’s Bar-B-Que, Butler Furniture and Ugly Mike’s Records & Tapes. For more information, click here.
Wild Wines of the World & More at the Little Rock Zoo, One Zoo Drive, Little Rock: There’s wine, wine experts, beer, food and music. What more could you want? In an effort to raise money for a new train at the Little Rock Zoo, guests will travel the world of food and wine with 40 restaurants and dozens of wine. Wine experts from O’Looney’s Wine & Liquor will be there as well. General admission, $65, gets you a souvenir wine glass and plate. An upgraded ticket, $100, gets you early entry and into the Reserve Wine Room at Cafe Africa, which includes food from Cache. Rodney Block & The Real Music Lovers, and other live acts, will provide the music for the night. The event runs from 7-10 p.m. To buy tickets, click here.
Sunday (May 4)
Bike Bash Dash at Bobby’s Bike Hike, 400 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock: That’s right. A bicycle scavenger hunt is coming to Little Rock this weekend. Bobby’s Bike Hike and the Little Rock River Market are happy to present the inaugural Bike Bash Dash. Clues will be scattered throughout downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock. Participants will use bikes to compete against teams and find clues. There will be two divisions, the competitive division and the family division. If you don’t have a bike, you can rent one at a discounted price at Bobby’s. Sign up as an individual or team. Teams can range from 2 to 5 members. The fee is $10 per team or $5 per individual. For more information and to learn how to sign up, click here. The dash is set to start at 11 a.m.
Friday-Saturday (May 2-3)
Relay for Life of Greater Little Rock at Clinton Presidential Center, 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock: Support those who have battled, and those who are still battling, cancer at the Relay for Life of Greater Little Rock this Saturday night. This event by the American Cancer Society Relay For Life honors cancer survivors, honors those lost and raises funds and awareness. The event includes an opening ceremony, a cancer survivors lap, caregivers ceremony, a luminaria ceremony and closing ceremony. The event starts at 6 p.m. Friday and goes to 2 a.m. Saturday. To sign up and donate, or for more information, click here.
Saturday-Sunday (May 3-4)
Rock City Racing in downtown Little Rock and SoMa neighborhood, Little Rock: This two-day, inaugural event includes a criterium, 5k and Kids Fun Run. Different categories of the 3rd & Rock Criterium will be held throughout the afternoon Saturday. It includes a 20-minute citizens race, men and women races for 40 and 50-minutes, men races of one hour and a 20-minute kids race. The course runs west on East Capitol Avenue, north on to River Market Avenue, west on to East Fourth Street, north on to Rock Street, east on East Third Street, south on River Market Avenue, east on East Fourth Street, south on I-30 Frontage Road and east back on East Capitol Avenue. On Sunday is the inaugural Ronald McDonald House 5k and Kids Fun Run. Ronald McDonald will be at the events. All proceeds from the 5k and fun run go to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkansas. The fun run is for kids 12 and under. All participants will receive a medal. The 5k begins at 8 a.m. and the fun run at 8:05 a.m. To register for the events, click here.
Shower the People: The Music of James Taylor at the Robinson Center Music Hall, 426 W. Markham St., Little Rock: This, the last Arkansas Symphony Orchestra concert before the renovations at the Robinson Center, will pay homage to the music of James Taylor, who is coming to North Little Rock in August. The band Jeans n’ Classics, with Neil Donell, will provide the vocals and acoustic guitar while ASO backs up the band. You’ll hear Taylor favorites like “Fire and Rain,” “You’ve Got a Friend,” and “Carolina in My Mind.” There’s two showings, 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets range from $18-$59. Click here to purchase. For more on the final shows at the Robinson Center, click here.