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CHRISTMAS
‘Very Meow-y Christmas Party’
Low Key Arts holds a “Very Meow-y Christmas Party,” 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Whittington Place, 301 Whittington Ave., Hot Springs. The event includes a special screening of the 2025 Cat Video Film Festival, sponsored by Oscilloscope Laboratories, “a compilation of the latest and best cat videos culled from countless hours of unique submissions and sourced animations, music videos and classic internet powerhouses,” according to a news release; a silent auction, with proceeds supporting the POV Film Festival Jan 9-11 at Hot Springs Arlington Hotel; a cat costume contest; and a dance party. Wear your best cat-themed attire. Tickets are $11.53, including fees. Visit kittyxmas2025.eventive.org.
Gingerbread Extravaganza
Treatment Homes Inc. holds its 2025 Gingerbread Extravaganza, its 38th, 1-3 p.m. Sunday at the state Capitol, 500 Woodlane St., Little Rock. Amateurs and students are submitting decorated gingerbread houses, either from kits with pre-made structures or baked and decorated from scratch, in three youth categories — grades K-3, 4-6 and 7-12; adults; and teams. Vote for your favorites from 1-2 p.m.; winners, chosen by a panel of judges that morning, will be announced between 2 and 3. Admission is free. The nonprofit serves Arkansas foster children and foster families. Call (501) 372-5039 or visit treatmenthomes.org.
Christmas and Candlelight
Historic Washington State Park, 103 Franklin St., Washington (Hempstead County), hosts its 39th Christmas and Candlelight: Your Own Christmas Village on Friday and Saturday. Tour venues open at 3 p.m. and luminaria lighting and music programs begins at 5. Luminarias will light the streets; period decorations adorn the historic houses and the event will also feature live music and a horse-drawn surrey available for rides (weather permitting). The park’s Williams’ Tavern Restaurant will be offering a holiday buffet, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. The WPA Gym will house a Holiday Gift Bazaar. Admission is $20 per vehicle for two to 10 individuals; for vehicles carrying more than 10 people, admission is $10 per person (cash only). Call (870) 983-2684.
Model trains and Santa
The William F. Laman Public Library, 2801 Orange St., North Little Rock, hosts the annual Crooked Rails Model Train Display, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with members of the Crooked Rails Model Railroad Club setting up working model train layouts in multiple scales and available to demonstrate train operation, discuss model building and answer visitor questions.
Santa Claus will be on hand 10 a.m.-noon Saturday in the Laman Library Children’s Area. Guests can take photos with Santa (on a first come, first served basis — a staff member will be available to help, but take your own camera or phone), hear a reading of “The Polar Express” and explore seasonal books and activities.
The Library will extend its hours both days. Admission is free. Call (501) 758-1720 or visit NLRLibrary.org.
THEATER
‘Charlie Brown Christmas’
Stage 13 Foundation for Performing Arts stages its inaugural production, “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” 7:30 p.m. Friday and Dec. 18, 4 p.m. Sunday, 5 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 19 and 2 and 5 p.m. Dec. 20-21 at Wildwood Park for the Arts, 20919 Denny Road, Little Rock.
The show was adapted for the stage by Eric Schaeffer from the classic 1965 animated TV special, with credits for Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz, director Bill Melendez and executive producer Lee Mendelson, with music by Vince Guaraldi.
A holiday sing-along that includes students from Stage 13’s education program will follow each 45-minute performance. Sponsors are Pinnacle Structures, Kutak Rock and Beignets & Brew. Tickets are $20–$25; visit stage13.org.
A limited-availability “Santa and Sweets add-on experience” for children under 10, one hour before each performance, includes a meet-and-greet and photo with Santa, beignets from Beignets & Brew, a special gift delivered “straight from the North Pole” and “early entry and an exclusive pre-show atmosphere.” Cost is $25 per child, free for parents.
‘Pagans on Bobsleds XXXIV’
Sketch comedy troupe Red Octopus Theater stages “Pagans on Bobsleds XXXIV: Happy Hollygarchy,” 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday at the Weekend Theater, 1001 W. Seventh St. at Chester Street, Little Rock. This year’s show will include songs titled “Mr. Santaman,” “Jingle Ball Choir” and “Fruitcake” and sketches that include “Santa: Christmas Crusader,” “Urchins,” “Sleigh the Runway” and “The Sausage Stocking.” The show, recommended for mature audiences, includes bawdy talk, adult situations and spectral nudity. Doors open at 7:15. Tickets are $15, $10 for senior citizens, military and students. Visit weekendtheater.org.
‘A Very Electric Christmas’
Lightwire Theater brings its glow-in-the-dark touring show “A Very Electric Christmas” to North Little Rock, 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Center for Humanities and Arts Theater at the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College, 3000 W. Scenic Drive.
Max is a young bird whose journey south for the winter is interrupted when he gets blown off course and lands at the North Pole, where he encounters illuminated dancing toy soldiers, caroling worms and performing poinsettias, set to holiday hits from Nat “King” Cole and Mariah Carey, among others, as well as pieces by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky.
Tickets are $35 and $25. Dinner ($16, $10 for children 12 and younger) and light concessions will be sold. Visit uaptc.edu/charts.
‘Miracle on Main’
Performers from across Southeast Arkansas will gather for “Miracle on Main,” a revue based on decades of holiday TV specials, 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday in the Catherine M. Bellamy Theater at the Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, 701 S. Main St., Pine Bluff. Tickets are $20; call (870) 536-3375 or visit artx3.org/all-events/miracle-on-main.
MUSIC
Chamber Singers Christmas
The Arkansas Chamber Singers celebrate “Christmas Around the World!” with three concerts this weekend:
◼️ 7 p.m. Friday at the Old State House, 300 W. Markham St., Little Rock
◼️ 7 p.m. Saturday at St. Edward Catholic Church, 801 Sherman St., Little Rock
◼️ 3:30 p.m. Sunday at First Presbyterian Church, 2400 Prince St., Conway.
Admission to all three concerts is free. Visit arkansaschambersingers.org.
‘Motown & Mariah’
Nia Renee, a finalist on Season 19 of “American Idol,” joins a group of Helena-West Helena area performers and guests for “A Motown & Mariah Christmas,” a “musical celebration blending the soulful groove of Motown with the soaring holiday magic of Mariah Carey,” according to a news release, 7 p.m. Thursday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Hendrix Fine Arts Center, Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas, 1000 Campus Drive, Helena-West Helena. It’s part of the college’s Warfield Concerts series, in association with Helena Little Theatre. Admission is free. Visit warfieldconcerts.com.
Swing Band Reunion
Swing Band Reunion presents “The Thirteenth Night Before Christmas!”, 7 p.m. Friday at Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Ave., Little Rock. Guest singers are Stephanie Smittle and Jeff Watson. The program includes a “live, reinterpreted reading of ‘’Twas The Night Before Christmas,’ sprinkled with Big Band Christmas songs throughout,” plus an actual visit from Saint Nick.
Swing Band Reunion debuted in 2000 at a reunion of members of the 1956 Little Rock Central High School Swing Band, and it has grown into a 20-piece jazz orchestra, directed by Steve Travis. The band pays tribute to Big Bands, blues favorites and pop tunes of the 1960s-80s.
Tickets are $22.10; visit simpletix.com.
Honoring military families
The Jacksonville High School Choir will perform a concert dedicated to military families “for their service, sacrifice, and community” at 2 p.m. Saturday at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, 503 E. Ninth St., Little Rock. The girls-only Treble Choir will perform “A Disney Princess Medley”; the full ensemble, comprising the Concert Choir, Treble Choir and Advanced Choir, will perform “Carol of the Bells,” a “Christmas Pops Trio Medley,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” “Christmas Time Is Here,” “Grown-Up Christmas List,” “Silent Night,” “Bethlehem Spiritual” and “Joy to the World.” The JHS Jazz Band will play “This Christmas” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Admission is free. Call (501) 376-4602.
Met ‘Andrea Chénier’
The Metropolitan Opera will cinecast its live performance of Umberto Giordano’s opera “Andrea Chénier” to movie theaters — including the Movie Tavern in Little Rock and the Razorback Cinema in Fayetteville — at noon Saturday. It’s part of the Met’s 2025-26 “Live in HD” season. Tenor Piotr Beczała sings the title role, with Sonya Yoncheva as Maddalena di Coigny. Met Principal Guest Conductor Daniele Rustioni will be on the podium. The Razorback Cinema will show an encore at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Ticket information is available at fathomentertainment.com.
COMEDY
Dunham at arena
After a long pandemic-caused touring pause , comedian-ventriloquist Jeff Dunham brings his “Artificial Intelligence” tour, with characters including Ahmed the Dead Terrorist, Jose Jalapeño on a Stick, Bubba J and Peanut the Woozle, to North Little Rock, 7 p.m. Friday at Simmons Bank Arena. Remaining tickets are $77.90. Visit Ticketmaster.com.
Nealon at UCA
Actor-comedian Kevin Nealon puts on his one-man show “Kevin Nealon Live,” 7 p.m. Sunday in Reynolds Performance Hall at the University of Central Arkansas, 201 Donaghey Ave, Conway. Nealon, probably best known for his nine-year run on “Saturday Night Live,” as well as television (“Weeds”) and film roles (“Happy Gilmore”), is also an author and host of the YouTube series “Hiking With Kevin,” in which he interviews celebrities while exploring scenic trails around Los Angeles. The show is part of the UCA Public Appearances season. Tickets are $34.50-$57.50, $11.50 for children and students. Call (501) 450-3265 or (866) 810-0012 or visit uca.edu/publicappearances.
ETC.
Misfit Market
The Misfit Makers Winter Market, 1-6 p.m. Sunday at Fassler Hall, 311 E. Capitol Ave., Little Rock, has an “Edward Scissorhands” theme, featuring more than a dozen vendors and live music from 4-6 p.m. Visit facebook.com.
Used book ‘surprise’
The Central Arkansas Library System is holding a “surprise” used book sale, 5-8 p.m. Friday (during the December 2nd Friday Art Night) and noon-4 p.m. Saturday at the CALS Roberts Library, 165 Rock St., Little Rock. “Gently used” hardbacks are $2; paperbacks are $1 (cash and cards accepted). Visit cals.org or facebook.com.
Gingerbread workshop