THE TO-DO LIST

BY STEPHANIE SMITTLE AND RHETT BRINKLEY

Vax up, mask up and support your local creatives however you can. As more and more artists — and local venues — move toward requiring proof of vaccination, make sure you have that card ready to go. Gathering safely these days is hard; be on the lookout for policy changes or date changes, and handle them with all the grace you can summon.

FILMLAND

THROUGH 10/3. MACARTHUR PARK LAWN. $5-$40 PER EVENT, DISCOUNTED RATES FOR ACS MEMBERS.

Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain is headlining Arkansas Cinema Society’s Filmland in the Park on Saturday, Oct. 2, with her new biopic “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” (pictured), which tells the story of the “rise, fall and redemption of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker.” A Q&A with Arkansas native director and Arkansas Cinema Society founder Jeff Nichols (he directed Chastain in his 2011 feature “Take Shelter”) will follow the screening. Also on the schedule: headlining documentary “Becoming Cousteau,” about the life of adventurer, filmmaker and environmentalist JacquesYves Cousteau, who sounded the alarm about the warming seas and Earth’s vulnerability 50 years ago; David Gordon Green’s slasher film “Halloween”; Oscar-winning writer/director Asghar Farhadi’s “A Hero,” which won the Grand Prix award at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival; tons of Arkansas-made short films; a roster of feature films like “88.3 FM and The Voice of the People” from former Arkansas Times entertainment editor J.T. Tarpley. Plus, the Society offers a wide range of workshops from film experts like Graham Gordy to coach aspiring filmmakers and creators on everything from “Landing the Role” to “Building A Scene (And Hopefully, Eventually, a Screenplay).” Filmland screenings will take place on the MacArthur Park lawn at 1200 McMath Ave., so bring a blanket and chairs. The gates open each night at 6 p.m., with shows starting at 7:15 p.m. Find tickets at arkansascinemasociety.org/filmland. RB

COURTESY OF WILDWORKS PR

HOT SPRINGS DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL

FRIDAY 10/8-SATURDAY 10/16. HISTORIC MALCO THEATER, 817 CENTRAL AVE., HOT SPRINGS; CENTRAL THEATER, 1008 CENTRAL AVE., HOT SPRINGS; HORNER HALL, 134 CONVENTION BLVD., HOT SPRINGS. FREE-$300.

Between this long-standing documentary film fest, formidable newcomers like the Bentonville Film Festival and Arkansas Cinema Society’s Filmland, Arkansas’s film scene is officially a Big Deal. We owe that, in part, to three decades of dogged work from the folks behind the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, which celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2021. This year, HSDFF employs a hybrid of in-person and virtual screenings, with headlining films “Citizen Ashe” (pictured), Samuel D. Pollard and Rex Miller’s profile on tennis champion Arthur Ashe; “The Rescue,” Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s portrayal of the harrowing 2018 rescue of 12 Thai boys and their soccer coach from a cave in Thailand; CJ Hunt’s “The Neutral Ground,” which follows the removal of four Confederate monuments in New Orleans; and Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s “Julia,” which chronicles the life of Julia Child. New festival director of programming Greta Hagen-Richardson emphasizes an effort “to accurately reflect the world of nonfiction filmmaking,” adding that 55% of film fest directors identify as female or nonbinary and that 40% of film fest directors are people of color. “There is always a heightened energy and anticipation during anniversary years,” Executive Director Jennifer Gerber said, “and this year’s films, our stellar trio of honorees, and the panels, events, activities, parties and more that our staff has put together point to a truly exceptional film festival.” Find the full list of feature-length documentaries at hsdfi.org, divided into categories of International, U.S. and Southern, and which includes Gerard Matthews and Kathryn Tucker’s “A Good Campaign,” which follows Democrat Clarke Tucker’s campaign for Congress in the heart of Trump country. SS

MAIN STREET FOOD TRUCK FESTIVAL

SATURDAY 10/2. CAPITOL & MAIN STREETS. 10 A.M.-8 P.M.

Downtown Little Rock’s largest gathering of food trucks celebrates its 10th birthday this year with more than 60 food trucks rolling in to cure your hankerings for wok-fired soba noodles, frozen lemonade, loaded fries, elotes, gulf shrimp, funnel cakes, Italian ice and lots more grub, plus handcrafted art from local makers. Find the full list of trucks and vendors at mainstreetfoodtrucks.com. Bonus: The food truck fest is phasing in a sustainability initiative this year, requiring that trucks serve their wares in certified compostable products, and contracting with a company called Food Loops to sort festival waste into recyclables, compostables and landfill waste when the festival ends. SS

JERRY METELLUS

GOLD OVER AMERICA

SUNDAY 10/10. SIMMONS BANK ARENA. $29-$149.

Whether we deserve it or not, Simone Biles (pictured) is coming to Little Rock, and she’s bringing her high-flying cast of teammates along with her. This gymnasts’ stadium show — think Olympics-style feats, but with a wild LED light show and, as promoters bill it, “big pop concert energy” — includes the G.O.A.T. herself, Biles, who this year medaled with silver for team competition and bronze for the balance beam; Jade Carey, who won gold in floor exercise; Jordan Chiles; Grace McCallum, who won silver for team competition; and MyKayla Skinner, who won silver in vault. “The show embodies the themes of empowerment and togetherness which were on display in Tokyo,” Biles said in a release. “Together, all the gymnasts on this tour want to inspire the next generation of women and athletes.” Get tickets at simmonsbankarena. com. (The “Gold Squad Premium Upgrade” ticket earns you the opportunity to dance with the gymnasts in the show finale.) SS

ASH DYE

VALLEY OF THE VAPORS

FRIDAY 10/1-SATURDAY 10/2. CEDAR GLADES PARK, HOT SPRINGS. FREE-$200.

Traditionally a mid-March affair, this independent music fest in Hot Springs has made an art of luring bands on their way to and from the behemoth South by Southwest festival in Austin. After a long COVID-induced hiatus, Valley of the Vapors is forging ahead this fall and, for the first time in its history, it’ll be a campout. That means things will look a little different, with hiking, disc golf, rock wall climbing, family yoga, paint pour workshops, a radio-controlled flight exhibition, late-night video antics by a film collective called Museum of Home Video, a scavenger hunt on the Northwoods Trails system, art installations, kids’ activities, food from Tacos Xilitla and Lagniappe Po’ Boy Co., plus sets from Crush Diamond, We Are the Asteroid, Esme Patterson, Dendrons, Estereomance, Ohmme (pictured), Deeper, Psychic Graveyard, Various Blonde and Holy Wave. (Find all those artists on a Spotify playlist at valleyofthevapors.com.) The festival is allages, and children under 12 enter free for both camping and music. Otherwise, you’ll need to select an RV pass, camping pass or a day pass from VOV’s abundant options; make sure and check the camping rules at valleyofthevapors.com beforehand so you’re in the know. SS

ARKANSAS STATE FAIR

FRIDAY 10/15-SUNDAY 10/24. ARKANSAS STATE FAIRGROUNDS. $8-$30.

Whether you’re in it for the close encounters with livestock, the blue ribbon quilts or the dizzying centrifugal force of the Gravitron, you’re in luck, because the state fair is back after being canceled in 2020. This year’s main stage, sponsored by Vaccinate Arkansas (great idea!), features performances from Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, our very own Dazz & Brie, Maddie & Tae, Bell Biv Devoe, Zac Dunlap, Better Than Ezra, Blackberry Smoke, Riley Green and the Jettaway Music Group, while the Bud Light Pavilion features football nights, karaoke nights, a performance from local one-man band wonder Mister Morphis and more. As ever, culinary wonders abound — for example, turkey legs, pizza pretzels and a sandwich of chicken, bacon and cheese stuffed into a funnel cake. Admission is $12 for adults and $6 for children (slightly less if you buy tickets before Oct. 14), and allday ride bands are $30 in advance, $35 at the gate. SS

ARKANSAS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: THE FIREBIRD

SATURDAY 10/2-SUNDAY 10/3. ROBINSON PERFORMANCE HALL. 7:30 P.M. SATURDAY, 3 P.M. SUNDAY. $21-$77.

GENEVA LEWIS There could be no better opening to a month known for spooky magic than Stravinsky’s breakout hit “The Firebird,” and maybe no better way to lure orchestra-deprived listeners back into the concert hall. With low-howling winds and brasses, slithering oboes and instantly recognizable leitmotifs, “The Firebird” is myth translated into sound, led in this performance by guest conductor Stephen Mulligan. Stravinsky’s centerpiece is surrounded by other delights: John Adams’ 1985 “The Chairman Dances (Foxtrot for Orchestra),” Ravel’s “Le Tombeau de Couperin,” and Robert Schumann’s Cello Concerto in A minor, featuring cellist Gabriel Martins (pictured). Get tickets at arkansassymphony.org. SS

DAVID MALCOLM ROSE: THE LOST HIGHWAY

THROUGH 2022. FORT SMITH REGIONAL ARTS MUSEUM. 11 A.M.-6 P.M. TUESDAY-SATURDAY, 1 P.M.-5 P.M. SUNDAY. FREE.

Fort Smith’s got more than great Thai food, and some of those nonedible offerings are found at the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum. Catch, for example, this exhibit of miniature sculptures from artist David Malcolm Rose, which Rose calls a “portrait of the people who made their living by the side of the road.” Get details at fsram.org/ exhibitions. Here’s to the bygone highway culture that presided before exits became Applebee’s-ExxonWalmart monoliths. SS

BRI AILENE, JOSE HOLLOWAY

SUNDAY 10/24. WHITE WATER TAVERN. 7 P.M. $10.

Arkansas native and jazz/soul/R&B vocalist Bri Ailene joins forces with trumpeter/educator Jose Holloway for this Sunday show at Little Rock’s beloved dive bar. Expect flecks of gospel to find their way into Holloway’s set as they do on his 2021 record “In His Time,” and expect for any waning flicker of faith you may have held in Little Rock’s COVID-thwarted jazz scene to be renewed. SS