For all you blushing brides …

Alfred Angelo located in Midtown Shopping Center invites you to some special events this month.

Beginning Saturday, the 24th, through Sunday, Aug. 1st, visit the boutique for Bridesmaid’s Bash. You can save $20 on every bridesmaid dress! And for the little ones, save 10 percent on every flower girl dress!

Next Thursday, the 29th, plan on going to Alfred’s for Girls Night Out! From 6 to 8 p.m., you can enjoy an evening of pampering with your bridesmaids and again save $20 on every bridesmaid dress, including Purely Alfred Angelo, their new wear-again collection of eco-friendly fabrics. The same deal on flower girl dresses also applies. Even better, the first 50 shoppers receive a FREE GIFT!

Check ‘em out!

Art and happy hour!

Be drawn in to the scene. Simple yet lush landscapes captured on canvas and paper draw the viewer into the beauty and expanse of a Roger Carlisle work. Today, from 6 to 9 p.m., Greg Thompson Fine Art in North Little Rock will host the opening of a new Carlisle exhibit, Light in the Landscape. The artist will also be present and the gallery open late tomorrow from 5 to 8 p.m. in conjunction with Third Friday Night Art Walk in the Argenta area of North Little Rock.

And don’t forget to join Local Colour Gallery on the other side of the river tonight from 5 to 7 p.m. for Happy Hour in the Heights. Enjoy some wine and cheese while you peruse art. This month’s featured artist is Mary Allison and her “Christmas in July” work!

Also tonight, just down the street from Local Colour on Kavanauh at Stephano’s Art Gallery, meet their new artists and enjoy entertainment from Over Murphy with Adam Cleaves and Anna Squire!

Foodie Fest

Make Your Plans Now for July 3rd Foodie Fest!   Shop at the Argenta Farmers Market and Arts & Craft Market, then enjoy great food prepared by 10 area restaurants.  Some of the participating restaurants include Ashley’s at The Capital Hotel-chicken and andouille gumbo, Starving Artist Cafe-Arkansas watermelon salad and Arkansas watermelon and Fisher honey sorbet, Trail’s End BBQ-beef brisket, Ferneau-pork tacos and lemonade and much more! YUM!   Entertainment includes live music by Steve Bates and Ricky D and the Swing Shift, and arts and craft vendors,

Free hand-held fans for the first 500!

June!

It may not be official yet on the calendar, but it definitely feels like summer outside. We hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend and are looking forward to some more summer fun!

But first, check out the June issue online and read all about the Rep’s Nicole Capri Bauer and the upcoming style show, Passion for Fashion. Other highlights include the Hot Springs Musical Festival; artist Lynn Sudderth; and the man behind the Little Rock Film Festival, Jack Lofton. Summer is the perfect time for a picnic, so don’t miss our Must Haves feature showcasing all the items you might need to make it picnic perfect! Take a walk on the wild side as you peruse this month’s fashion, and remember if you see a party pic of yourself that you would like to stick in your scrapbook, all of them are available for purchase online!

Stay cool out there!

CARE for Animals

CARE for Animals extends deadline for discounted pre-registration to Paws on the Pavement 5K, 1-Mile Fun Run/Walk and Volleyball Tournament

      Central Arkansas Rescue Effort (CARE) for Animals Inc. has extended the deadline to Thursday, May 13, for discounted pre-registration to athletic events at CARE’s 11th Annual Paws on the Pavement.

      The event will take place Saturday, May 15, at Murray Park in Little Rock. Entry is free except if participating in an athletic event. Festivities will include a $2 dog carnival, a 5K run, miniature horses, a 1-mile run/walk, adoptable pets, CARE’s first ever 3-on-3 co-ed volleyball tournament, canine DNA test kits, novelty gifts, caricatures, dog agility demonstrations, games, booth vendors and pet psychic readings by nationally recognized local psychic Carol Pate (featured on “Larry King Live,” “Unsolved Mysteries” and “Psychic Detectives”).

     Online registration and/or printable entry forms are available through the CARE website at www.careforanimals.org, www.arkansasrunner.com or www.sweetsets.com. Entry forms are also available at the CARE Gift Shop at 5516 Kavanaugh Boulevard (between U.S. Pizza and Ozark Outdoors) and at many local veterinarians and retail locations in Little Rock. Sponsorship and vendor booths also are still available.

      All proceeds from this event will directly benefit CARE for Animals Inc. a non-profit animal rescue and spay/neuter organization whose purpose is to rescue dogs and cats facing euthanasia from local animal control facilities, and to decrease the number of homeless and abandoned animals through aggressive spay/neuter programs. 

See a photo for your scrapbook?

We go to a lot of parties and take a lot of pictures! We try to get as many photos as possible from each party in each issue, but there is only so much space. As you flip through the April issue and issues to come, if you happen upon a party you attended but don’t see your pretty face, check out our online photos,* where we upload ALL the party pics! You can scroll at your leisure and purchase the photo of your choice in the size you prefer. If you see your smiling face in the print magazine and want a copy for yourself, don’t hesitate to visit our online photo site, too!

We are very thrilled with the May issue and think you will be as well, as we pay tribute to mothers. In the meantime, have a happy weekend. See ya at the next event!

*The most current online photos are from our April issue.

It’s almost May!

In the coming week, be on the watch for our May issue, which is all about honoring mothers! From features on notable moms to moms and their daughters modeling trends in fashion, we pay tribute to moms everywhere.

The calendar is still filled up with great events. This week, expect to see us tonight at Art to Remember, Wednesday at Bolo Bash, Thursday at Ragin’ Cajun and at the IV Party on Saturday. There are more parties, but we know you’re busy like us, so we’ll leave you now. Stay tuned for more reports on events and happenings!

Looking for something to do?

And support good causes at the same time?

There are plenty of opportunities this weekend to cut a rug, and help keep some awesome programs going in Arkansas. On Saturday, help keep the flame burning bright at Aldersgate After Dark, which supports all the wonderful services Camp Aldersgate has to offer. The camp gives special-needs children the opportunity to enjoy the camp life like any other child. Tickets are just $75 for the outside party in the River Market Pavilion.

This Friday, you can take the whole family out for some interactive fun at the Arkansas Arts Center. Museum Comes to Life will light up children’s faces and bring out the kid in all of us as actors bring art to life. For music lovers, Symphony on the Green may tickle your fancy. Jazz and dancing to the ASO’s big band is this event’s main attraction.

Read this month’s Inviting Arkansas for more information about upcoming parties, and visit our online calendar! And don’t forget to tell us about your upcoming event. Send information to events@invitingarkansas.com (We ask that you give us four-week’s notice.)

Have a happy week!

Share your history …

… with the Old Statehouse Museum.

The Old State House Museum is turning to its growing Facebook fan base to show new and vintage photographs of their visits to the museum. The Old School Days page on the Old State House Museum’s Facebook site will be an “online retrospective exhibit.”

Families, students and teachers can post photographs documenting their experiences at the Old State House Museum. Director Bill Gatewood, explains, “The museum staff is excited to see the variety of submissions; this will be a fun way for many to explore personal history, to reflect on their visits and the passing of time.”

Hairstyles, clothing and even the medium of photography have changed since the Old State House, Arkansas’s first capital building, became a museum in 1951. “We think that visitors to our fan page will enjoy seeing the photographs of friends, family and classmates,” said Gatewood.

Fans can upload photos at www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/event.php?eid=105360946165726&ref=mf.

2010 Destination Downtown Little Rock Living Tour

If you’re interested in the tastes and sights of downtown Little Rock, than the 2010 destination downtown Little Rock living tour is the perfect event for you to attend. If your interested in changing locations, this is the best interactive tour you can participate in.

More information is below:

Little Rock, Arkansas (April 8, 2010)— Downtown Little Rock Partnership (DLRP) announces that it will host a “Destination Downtown Living Tour” on Sunday, April 25, 1 p.m.-5 p.m.  Sharon Priest, Executive Director, said DLRP started the tour of homes in 2007 to “showcase Downtown as a unique neighborhood with different lifestyle options.”

Tourgoers are invited to board rubber-wheel trolleys and shuttles and take a peek inside of Downtown Little Rock’s unique new homes, condos and apartments, and sample menus from the neighborhood’s restaurants.

The 2010 tour will feature properties including River Market Tower, Lafayette Square, Block 2 Lofts, The Cliffs, and Cumberland Place. North Little Rock properties in this year’s tour include CityGrove Townhomes and Enclave at the Riverfront.  Trolleys and shuttles will run three continuous loops to include each of the sites, though participants may drive the tour. 

Passport tickets are $7 (12 & under free) and may be purchased the day of the event from Downtown Little Rock Partnership in the lobby of Lafayette Square, corner of 6^th and Louisiana Streets.  A tour map and property guide will be in each Passport.  Passports must be shown to enter each property and will be stamped at each property to register to win prizes. Free onstreet parking is available for tour participants as well as in the 6^th and Scott Streets parking deck and in the Best Park parking lot located at the corner of 6^th and Louisiana Streets across from The Cathedral of St. Andrew.

For more information please contact Autumn Jacob, DLRP Events Coordinator, at 501-375-0121 or by email at ajacob@downtownlr.com.  All proceeds go to benefit the beautification of Downtown. Downtown Little Rock Partnership is a non-profit, membership-based organization charged with developing and promoting Downtown Little Rock as a high-energy urban environment in which to live, work, play and invest.

Sponsored in part by: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Sync Weekly, Stone Ward, Centennial Bank, Metropolitan National Bank, IBERIABANK, Copper Grill and Grocery, Community Bakery, and Sufficient Grounds. Transportation will be provided by Arkansas Destinations and First United Methodist Church.

‘Tis the Season (for parties)!

I’m sure your calendars are filled up just as much as ours! We have been busy, busy taking photos and mingling at the many parties going on this beautiful time of year. Just a sampling of where we’ve been:

Morgan Freeman and Warwick Sabin at Best of the South (awards gala for Oxford American)

Arkansas celebrities Joey Lauren Adams, Mary Steenburgen (host of of the event) and Kris Allen.

Kris Allen with his wife, Katy. Kris was the lead musical entertainment at the awards gala.

Then on to Barefoot Bash, organized by Clay Parker (left), who just went to Rwanda with Kris Allen to deliver shoes to children in need in partnership with Bridge2Rwanda. With Clay and Kris is Dale Dawson, founder of Bridge2Rwanda.

This guy, Josh Whitehurst, organized a Day Without Shoes walk today at the University of Central Arkansas. Kuddos to him for his lead with the TOMS Shoes initiative! With him is his mother, Libbi Whitehurst.

Barefoot Bash

After going to press with our April edition of Inviting Arkansas, we learned the Thursday, April 8, concert featuring Kris Allen will not take place.

However, on Wednesday, April 7, Kris will be at Heifer Village in downtown Little Rock to share his recent experiences placing shoes on the feet of Rwandan children in need on behalf of TOMS Shoes and Little Rock-based Bridge2Rwanda. Limited tickets are available for $25 each and proceeds benefit local organizations that support development work in Rwanda. Find out more: www.bridge2rwanda.org/barefoot-bash-registration

Spring has sprung!

The Bradford Pear trees have bloomed and the daffodils are brightening faces in photographs. In spite of a few cold and rainy days (maybe even some snow days), we think it’s safe to say spring is here! 

Here at Inviting Arkansas, we are thrilled with the renewal and change that spring offers. Remember, we have moved offices (on Chenal Parkway behind the Purple Cow) and are most comfortable in our new efficient space. Please pop in on your next hamburger outing or trip to Barnes & Noble! 

As fashionistas, we are also excited with the change of seasons because we can undo the layered clothes of winter and slip into the fun, feminine and flirty looks for spring! Our April issue is almost out, and we show you these popular looks and where you can get them in Central Arkansas. 

We bring you inspiring stories in the April issue that you won’t want to miss! Does TOMS Shoes ring a bell? And don’t forget to keep us informed on the latest parties and events out there! Please give us a ring at 219-1000 or e-mail the details to jduke@invitingarkansas.com. In the meantime, have fun frolicking around in the beauty that is spring!