Little Rock: hip walkable, urban areas (Conway, Bryant: city hall, house, theatre)

[PurpleLove08]

Sync Weekly isn't that bad either.
I hope you find Little Rock to be tolerable.
I'd love central AR a lot more if it wasn't so car-dependent.

[RockOUTLoud]

There's a new center of urban development downtown by Moses Tucker. Lots of stuff to do here, it's just it's mainly contained to one street.

For instance, just the end of last year I went to see Indiana Jones at the new HD "3D Audio" IMAX.

It almost stopped my heart it was so real.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by LiveTodayLez08

Sync Weekly isn't that bad either.
I hope you find Little Rock to be tolerable.
I'd love central AR a lot more if it wasn't so car-dependent.

thanks, cant find sync weekly, are they online? If not, where do I get it? Trust me, I am coming into LR with an open mind. I cam to Louisville by way of Chicago and Indy (among other places I have lived), so I have been slowly downsizing and migrating south, but not sure I can live in a place with out an alternative weekly magazine and a little indie, urban culture.

Little Rock is small but it is not THAT small? I cant believe they do not have an alternative weekly newspaper of any sort? Are you guys positive? Are there any local indie shops that have those racks of free magazines and art postings and such? The kind that tell you about nightlife, restaurants, new shops, indie record stores, poetry reading, gallery hops, and have ads for local restuarants and coffee shops? Or is Little Rock the kind of town that gets excited for a Cheesecake Factory?

[EvanD]

Originally Posted by stx12499

thanks, cant find sync weekly, are they online?

Yep - sync.arkansasonline.com - But it's also in print

I'm a 17 year old living in Little Rock and I must say that it's probably not what you're looking for - definitely not much of a hip, indie scene at all. Although, I usually stick to west Little Rock and don't often head out downtown or to the pedestrian-friendly areas, nor am I really old enough to experience the nightlife (with the exception of shows at Vino's or Juanita's, perhaps)...

[RockOUTLoud]

Originally Posted by EvanD

Yep - sync.arkansasonline.com - But it's also in print

I'm a 17 year old living in Little Rock and I must say that it's probably not what you're looking for - definitely not much of a hip, indie scene at all. Although, I usually stick to west Little Rock and don't often head out downtown or to the pedestrian-friendly areas, nor am I really old enough to experience the nightlife (with the exception of shows at Vino's or Juanita's, perhaps)...

Ha, 15 here. I did not think anyone else of this age group was here.

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by stx12499

thanks, cant find sync weekly, are they online? If not, where do I get it? Trust me, I am coming into LR with an open mind. I cam to Louisville by way of Chicago and Indy (among other places I have lived), so I have been slowly downsizing and migrating south, but not sure I can live in a place with out an alternative weekly magazine and a little indie, urban culture.

Little Rock is small but it is not THAT small? I cant believe they do not have an alternative weekly newspaper of any sort? Are you guys positive? Are there any local indie shops that have those racks of free magazines and art postings and such? The kind that tell you about nightlife, restaurants, new shops, indie record stores, poetry reading, gallery hops, and have ads for local restuarants and coffee shops? Or is Little Rock the kind of town that gets excited for a Cheesecake Factory?

The Localist was an alt paper but they went down last year. Honestly, they weren't all that great of a pub: Localist

Nightflying is your source for all things music:Nightflying: The Entertainment Guide It does have a slant towards the folky country rock that typifies a lot of Arkansas music. Ear to the Ground is also a good source for music: Ear to the Ground

As for arts scene, Canvasjunkie is best source: CanvasJunkie.com | Arkansas Area Art News and Galleries

Honestly man, alt newsprint is dead. You can find everything you want on Myspace or blogs.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow73

The Localist was an alt paper but they went down last year. Honestly, they weren't all that great of a pub: Localist

Nightflying is your source for all things music:Nightflying: The Entertainment Guide It does have a slant towards the folky country rock that typifies a lot of Arkansas music. Ear to the Ground is also a good source for music: Ear to the Ground

As for arts scene, Canvasjunkie is best source: CanvasJunkie.com | Arkansas Area Art News and Galleries

Honestly man, alt newsprint is dead. You can find everything you want on Myspace or blogs.

Alt newsprint is dead? VERY wrong my friend. Every major city has at least one. I realize LR is not a major city but still. Thank you for the links though, they seem nice.

[BDubLR]

Originally Posted by stx12499

Or is Little Rock the kind of town that gets excited for a Cheesecake Factory?

Pretty much. Except Little Rock doesn't have a Cheesecake Factory or anything similar, so many people would be ecstatic for that type of development. Neither does Apple see Little Rock as important enough for an Apple Store, but thats another issue.

Bottom line is people don't move to Little Rock to live the urban life. People move to Little Rock for the natural beauty and to enjoy the slower pace of a small town while still having the conveniences of a city nearby. If you need to experience a breath of urban air, Memphis is 2 hours to the east and Dallas is 4 hours to the southwest. Many live in Little Rock, enjoy the slow pace of life and the much lower cost of living, and drive to Memphis or Dallas on the weekends to shop, dine, and play.

You will also find that depsite trending Democratic, Little Rock is a VERY socially conservative city (except for a few areas like Hillcrest) which might explain the lack of some of the amenities you might expect to find in a city this size.

[ridicter]

Originally Posted by stx12499

Alt newsprint is dead? VERY wrong my friend. Every major city has at least one. I realize LR is not a major city but still. Thank you for the links though, they seem nice.

Hey stx, I'm slightly younger than yourself and from Hot Springs. I go to school out of state, but I'm interested in moving back at some point on the future, depending (obviously) on economic circumstances.

I love alternative weeklies as well. The Arkansas Times is, in my opinion, one of the best in the nation. In fact, it hosted the Association of Alternative Weeklies conference in 2006, where nearly all of the nation's AWs converged here. Alt lit, with the AT, is well alive in Little Rock, and it is one of the most decorated in the nation.

Arkansas does have some of the progressive community you're interested in; you just have to know where you look.

Here are some suggestions:
First, you need to check out the Arkansas Times Blog, just to get a flavor for the locals who post comments and the flavor of this particular alternative weekly. It's by far the most frequented Arkansas blog in the state--nothing else comes close--and decidedly progressive. Much of the city's academics, educated, nonprofits, and plain ole' libs visit and comment. Arkansas Times

If you're interested in the indie/arts culture, it's admittedly relatively small, but I'd still say vibrant. For that, you need to check out the Arkansas Times' Rock Candy blog, here Arkansas Times. The author, Lindsey Millar, is actually one of the founders of the Localist magazine that someone referenced earlier. He was hired by the Times.

I'm personally heavily into the indie scene as well (Shins, Arcade Fire, Alaska in Winter, et. al.), and so are my friends, but again, you have to know where to look to meet your kind. Hillcrest neighborhood is a good starting point. Its state representative is the state's first and only openly gay (lesbian) member, Kathy Webb.

Little Rock has a fairly interesting indie/alt rock history--none of which I was really every a part of because I'm from Hot Springs. However, you can see some of that history in a documentary for free online, called Towncraft, which details Little Rock's unusually precocious alternative rock scene from the 80s and 90s: Towncraft the Movie There are also some great local indie artists that hail from here. Ho hum is one (their Near and Dear album is similar to animal collective). American Princes, whose album was named the number one released by Magnet Magazine, is another (American Princes - Main).

There's also a burgeoning indie film community in LR (very small at this stage) from LR, and you'd be surprised at some of its members. I won't get into that. I will say check out Little Rock Film Festival for a taste of one the latest festivals.

If you're looking for some great links of the types of communities in Arkansas you seem to be looking for, GreenAR by the Day is a great little blog with a huge index of links on its right hand side.

Due to partly Little Rock's (and the state's) unique political history, it has many progressive cultural elements you would not expect in a southern city of its size. It also has a disproportionately large percentage of nonprofits on the international scale, such as Heifer International or Winrock...and the folks who work at those places tend to be more progressive. You need to check out the River Market area, around the Clinton School and Library.

[jenni-b]

Great response, ridicter.

I used to write for Spectrum, which was Little Rock's alternative newspaper for several years. I left to go to grad school and they folded soon afterward. (hey, I don't think it was related!) Some of the former Spectrum staff started the Free Press, which is still publishing but I think only on a monthly basis for now. Anyway, between the Arkansas Times (the liberal weekly) and Sync (basically an entertainment guide published by the conservative daily) you should find everything you need. Also, as someone mentioned above, Nightflying is a monthly that covers music all over the state.

I think that you'll find that Little Rock has most of the amenities of a larger city, but on a much, much smaller scale. Museums, galleries, theater, even a symphony and ballet, plus great restaurants, bars featuring lots of different types of music, and all-night clubs catering to just about any clientele. There's a strong underground scene, too, that ridicter hints at. You have to get here first, though.

I hope you enjoy your time here!