Friday, Nov. 18

Lights of the Ozarks kicks off this weekend.

The annual Lights of the Ozarks lighting ceremony and parade are set for Friday night at 6 p.m. on the Fayetteville square. There will be floats, and local folks throwing candy to the crowd of folks lining the streets, and old Santa Claus usually makes an appearance. There’s also a countdown before this year’s lighting display is revealed. Here’s a bit more info.

There’s lots of live music in town as well. Local all-female supergroup Divas on Fire will play happy hour at George’s with local country-rockers, Honey Jack, Smoke & Barrel has a good show with Jackson Jennings 5 and The Too’s, and DIY venue Backspae has a three band bill with The Hacking, Becoming Elephants, and Terminus.

Full list

Saturday, Nov. 19

This rendering of the Walton Arts Center finally comes to life this weekend.

After a two-year, $23 million dollar expansion project, the Walton Arts Center will celebrate their grand re-opening this weekend. The celebration will include a ribbon cutting, followed by an event called Family Open House: Behind the Curtain from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. geared toward families and children featuring music, food, and interactive activities. Later on, a second event intended for audiences 14 and older titled Evening Celebration: Encore! is set for 6 p.m. which will also include music and performances in a variety of genres. Here’s more info.

UA Theatre will continue their run of The Metal Children all weekend at University Theatre. Here’s more info on that.

Music-wise, Fort Smith electronic act Fractal Sky is back in town, this time for a show at Ryleigh’s with openers, Trouble in the Street, and local guitar slinger Matt Smith is back at Smoke & Barrel with his band, MSG.

Full list

Sunday, Nov. 20

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