Pam Griffin, Murphy Arts District (MAD) president and CEO, and Joanna Benson, MAD marketing coordinator, spoke with the El Dorado Kiwanis Club Wednesday, providing numerous updates on what the organization currently has going on.
Griffin shared with attendees that construction had already begun on the recently announced MuleKick@MAD restaurant that will be replacing the Griffin in the First Financial Music Hall.
“We’re doing some moderate renovations to the space to fix it up,” Griffin said.
One of the things that MuleKick visitors can look forward to are staples that the Magnolia MuleKick is known for, she said.
“They will definitely be doing entertainment. The stage will stay in the restaurant,” Griffin said. “They will be incorporating their trivia night that is their biggest night of the week in Magnolia here. Their trivia night is really popular so they will be bringing that here.”
Benson also chimed in on the trivia night.
“She (Christy Ouei, MuleKick owner) also mentioned maybe doing contests,” Benson said. “She mentioned maybe doing an El Dorado league versus a Magnolia league.”
“It is like quizbowl for grownups,” Jared Books, Kiwanis president said, drawing laughter from other Kiwanians.
“They do trivia nights on Wednesdays in Magnolia, so I would imagine that trivia nights could potentially be on Tuesdays here,” Griffin said. “Lots of fun things in store. We still don’t have an official open date yet. We have a lot of things in motion with construction and hiring.”
Griffin said that MuleKick and MAD are hiring for security, production staff, concessions, restaurant and bar staff. She explained that there will be more information at the job fair scheduled for Friday and Saturday in the Music Hall, which the South Arkansas Community College is helping to organize.
“There is lots of information. You can call, email or just show up,” Griffin said.
“People can also apply online at mulekickatmad.com,” Benson added.
But MuleKick wasn’t the only topic of conversation. Benson also highlighted several events MAD has upcoming, including MusicFest.
With the recent cancellation of Snoop Dogg and Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony, many are waiting with anticipation on an announcement saying who will fill in for the Oct. 2 MusicFest date.
“For October 2, we are working really hard to secure a new act,” Benson said. “We are very, very close to doing that, so stay tuned. It has been a struggle, but we are doing what we can and we’re almost there.”
This week, MAD will be featuring Little Rock rock ‘n’ roll act deFrance, with special guests Emily Cole and Matt Benson opening. Visit eldomad.com to see all of MAD’s upcoming events.