The Rock Run 8K benefiting Easter Seals Arkansas is Saturday, May 25 at Murray Park. Registration begins at 6:30 a.m. and the race starts at 7:30.
The Rock Run 8K is one of the fastest race courses in the state, with only two turns and very flat topography. The course runs along the Arkansas River, with lots of scenic views and is USATF Certified. For more information, call (501) 227-3600 or click here to register.
Riverfest 2013 is this weekend! The three-day event is full of food, entertainment and family fun. Here are some of this year’s family activities.
KidZone
Sponsored by Deltic Timber, the KidZone Playtime Promenade is located along the banks of the Arkansas River near the Peabody Playground & Water Park in the central area of Julius Brecking Riverfront Park. KidZone features crafts, activities and more. Be sure and stop by the Tag-A-Child Tent sponsored by the Office of Attorney General to ensure your child’s safety.
Crafts include butterfly finger puppets, paper bag trees, paper cup flowers and sun visors. Other activities include face painting and finger casts, bongo drums, dress up like a fireman, bean-bag toss, bubbles, chalk hula hoops and more. There is also a 20-foot rock climbing wall and bungee cord jumps.
Family Zone
Sponsored by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Family Zone, located on the east side on the grounds of the Clinton Presidential Center and Heifer International & Village, offers entertainment for families, including the Family Stage, Super Retriever Crown Championship Series, the Weenie Dog Derby, International Village and much more. Family Zone is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and 1 to 7 p.m. on Sunday.
At the International Village, kids can make wooden bead bracelets in Kenya, morocco in Brazil, Chinese lanterns in China, rain sticks while in Chile, shamrocks in Ireland and “crown jewels” in England. Kids can take their stamped passports to Customs for a surprise.
Riverfest Cheese Dip Classic
The inaugural Riverfest Cheese Dip Classic is Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m. Attendees can help decide which cheese dip will represent Riverfest at the 4th Annual World Cheese Dip Championship in October in Little Rock. The cheese dip competition is divided into amateur and professional divisions. Cost is $5 for adults and $2 for children 10 and younger to join in the tasting.
Pooch Parade
The 2013 Ruff on the River Pooch Parade is Sunday. This year proceeds go to All About Labs, Canine Companions for Independence, Little Rock Animal Village and Out of the Woods.
The registration “PAWTY” is at 9 a.m. in the parking lot at the corner of 2nd and River Market Ave., the perfect drop off location for the escort and dog! Parade starts at 10:30 a.m. and ends at Heifer International. Immediately following the parade is the Weenie Dog Derby for all short-legged dogs. There are three different sized categories for the short-legged dog races. Prizes will be given for best costume. Register here.
Saturday: Screening of “Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Rodrick Rules”
The LRFF2013 will screen “Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Rodrick Rules” at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 18 at Arkansas Repertory Theater. Actors Zachary Gordon, who plays Greg Heffley, and Robert Capron , who plays Rowley Jefferson, and producer Brad Simpson will host a Q&A after the screening.
“Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Rodrick Rules” is based on the best-selling follow-up novel by Jeff Kinney about Greg, who’s entering seventh grade, and his older brother – and chief tormentor – Rodrick. They must deal with their parents’ misguided attempts to get them to bond.
Individual tickets for non-pass holders are $10. Buy them here.
At 2 p.m., the Little Rock Zoo will host an autograph and meet-and-greet with the stars. Zoo admission is $10 for adults and $8 for children (age 1-12).
Sunday: Free Family Fun Day
The Little Rock Film Festival’s Free Family Fun Day is Sunday May 19 at 2 p.m. at the Darragh Center Auditorium at the Main Library downtown. The event features family-friendly films throughout the day, as well as games, activities, balloons, face painting and a visit from Little Rock Zoo animals. Sponsored by the LRFF, Little Rock Zoo, Le Pops and Central Arkansas Library System.
This month’s Little Beginnings Toddler Program at the Old State House Museum is Wednesday, May 15 at 10:30 a.m. This month’s program is focusing on boats.
Little Beginnings is for children ages 2 to 4 with a parent. Each month the class focuses on a different topic and features hands-on activities, music making, movement and storytelling.
Admission is free. No day care or school groups. Click here or call (501) 324-9685 for more information.
Head out to Bernice Garden Farmers’ Market on Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., for the first-ever Mother’s Day Strawberry Festival.
The event features the regular farmers’ market fare, including delicious Arkansas strawberries from Barnhill Orchards and North Pulaski Farms, along with music and family activities. Boulevard Bread Co. will also be on hand serving strawberry shortcakes, whoopee pies and other strawberry treats.
The Bernice Garden Farmers’ Market is located at Daisy Bates and Main Street in SoMa. Entry to the event is free, with food items available for purchase.
SATURDAY: 40th Annual Territorial Fair at the Historic Arkansas Museum, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Free. The event features pioneer music, Maypole dancing, crafts for kids, stilt-walking, hoop-rolling, sack-racing, brick-making and more frontier fun (including whitewashing a fence!).
SATURDAY: Lil’ Wild Ones: Nature Stories and Activities at the WSJCANC. Held the second Saturday of each month during the school year at 2 p.m., the event explores wildlife and habitats of Arkansas through nature stories and hands-on activities. Recommended for ages 4-8. Free. Registration is not required. For more information, call (501) 907-0636.
SATURDAY: Helping Hand’s Walk, Run and Wheel for Special Needs 5K/2K. Click here for details.
SATURDAY: International Migratory Bird Day at Holland Bottoms WMA in Jacksonville. Join Audubon Arkansas for family-friendly activities to learn more about birds in the area. Event includes morning bird walk with the Audubon Society of Central Arkansas at 7 a.m., a family bird walk with Dr. Dan “the Bird Man” at 11 a.m., and children’s activities from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free lunch at noon. For more information, contact Uta Meyer at (501) 244-2229, umeyer@nullaudubon.org.
SATURDAY: Magic Springs Water Park in Hot Springs opens at 11 a.m. It will be open on weekends until May 19 and seven days a week beginning May 25. The theme park opened last month. There are several ticket options available, including season passes starting at $74.99. Click here for more information.
SUNDAY: Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Guild’s Mother’s Day tea party, Teapots & Toasts, as part of the Symphony Designer House XXII. Click here for details.
SUNDAY: Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s Cirque de la Symphonie at Robinson Center Music Hall, 3 p.m. Children (K-12th grade) can attend free with a paying adult. Individual tickets start at just $14. Click here for details.
Helping Hand’s first ever “Walk, Run or Wheel” for Special Needs 5K and 2K is this Saturday, May 11.
The 5K begins at 8:30 a.m. for runners and walkers. The 2K starts at 9:30 a.m. and is much more casual to allow families with kids and those with disabilities to walk, run or wheel. Both start and finish at the Helping Hand Learning Center in North Shore Business Park (4901 North Shore Drive in North Little Rock). Race Day Parking is at the Garver Building; follow the path to registration at Helping Hand.
There’s still time to register! Come to packet pick-up at Easy Runner in the Pleasant Ridge Town Center on Friday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Or, get to the race an hour early.
Helping Hand is a nonprofit developmental preschool that also provides occupational, physical and speech therapy to children up to 21 years of age. Proceeds from this event will go toward building phase one of an entirely wheelchair accessible playground.
For more information or to register, click here or call (501) 791-3331.
The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Guild is hosting a Mother’s Day tea party, called Teapots & Toasts, on Sunday, May 12 as part of the Symphony Designer House XXII.
Teapots & Toasts will feature traditional afternoon tea fare, like fruit, cucumber sandwiches, chicken salad, petit fours, scones, mimosas and tea. Guests are asked to wear tea party attire, like what families would wear to church, said Susan Marsh, chairman of the event.
“Dressing up a little bit will make it a more special occasion,” she said.
The event is open to kids age 2 and older, but children under 12 may not tour the designer house. So, while mom tours the home, kids can enjoy arts and crafts, Marsh said. They can also enjoy a performance by the ASO Youth Orchestra.
“This is a memorable child-friendly, grown-up experience,” she said. “It’s something parents and kids can do together.”
Teapots & Toasts benefits ASO music education and other AO programs. The event is at the showcase home, 9 Bella Rosa Court, off Highway 10 in Little Rock. Adult tickets are $40. Children under 12 are free with an adult ticket.
For details or to purchase tickets, click here.