Volume I No. 47 |November 12, 2019
ARTS NEWS
& PROFILES
FROM
FLORIDA'S
TREASURE COAST & BEYOND
In This Issue
Camelot! With a Difference
Marcos and Miguel Make Music
Les Standiford's Mar-a-Lago
A few months ago Arts Blast included a call for artists for the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula, so a CNN story about Sandy, an orangutan that was given a legal status of "nonhuman personhood" and rescued from a zoo in Argentina caught my attention. If your heart needs warming today, give it a read. Information on the infrequent tours of the center is On the Calendar, online at willimiller.com .
Were you in the audience at the Vero Beach Book Center last week to hear and meet Nelson and Alex DeMille? Cynthia Callender, VBBC's marketing director, asked me to introduce them and moderate a discussion and Q&A, and I had a great time! They're big supporters of independent booksellers, something we're very lucky to have a few of in Arts Blast land.

In this issue of Arts Blast, you'll meet another Florida favorite, Les Standiford, and get an inside peek at his newest book, Palm Beach, Mar-a-Lago, and the Rise of America's Xanadu. Between Nov. 16 and Dec. 18, he'll be signing his book in Delray Beach, Vero Beach (VBBC Nov. 19), Neptune Beach, the Miami Book Fair, Key West, and then a Society of the Four Arts finale, getting home in time to hang his stocking by the chimney with care.

Photos: the DeMille writing team.
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On the Riverside Theatre campus Nov. 22-24
It's Here!

The Garden Club of Indian River County' s 28th holiday ornament is in Vero Beach. Go to the website to find out how to get it.

The design is by Arun Wijetilleke and the accompanying brochure was written by Nat Jackson, as usual. Locations for purchase will be listed on the Garden Club's website.
Merry Men of Music - Marcos and Miguel
Marcos Flores and Miguel Bonachea have a lot in common, including a talent for making beautiful music fun, as they demonstrate in the second photo here. As Flores recalls, it was around seven years ago that they met at a mutual friend’s party, where he played piano and Bonachea brought out his guitar. The two got together for a concert with another classical guitarist, Iván Rijos, in April of 2016 for Christ by the Sea’s 10th Annual Concert Series, but this opening concert of the 14th season is their first time playing a concert as a duo.

Flores pointed out that classical guitar and piano pairings are not as common as violin or flute and piano. For those who want the inside story, he explained why: “The guitar, although much smaller than the piano, is also a melodic, harmonic, and a rhythmic instrument. Therefore, the musical exchanges between these two instruments are plentiful: the unique sonorities of the guitar timbre contrast greatly with the modern piano creating an exotic magical combination of sonorities.” Frankly, that’s more than I need to know. With a program of works by Bach, Chopin, Piazzolla, and others, my ears won’t care why they’re feeling good.
Bonachea began life and his training under Rolando Moreno in Cuba, starting out on a path toward an international concert career before moving to Colombia in the 1990s. He came to the United States in 2010, and Vero Beach in 2012. “I have never stoped teaching, playing concerts, and performing as a guest soloist with both symphony and chamber orchestras.” Teaching classical guitar is Bonachea’s greatest passion. He said, “I was faculty member at my own Alma Mater (University of Arts in Havana), served as the Dean of the Conservatory of Cali, Colombia, and head of the Department of Guitar at the prestigious EAFIT University in Medellin, Colombia.” He now teaches privately and for Music Angels Education Fund in Vero Beach. 

Bonachea has a busy winter planned. “My next concerts are Best Songs Around the World - The Unforgettable Art of Olga Coelho in collaboration with soprano Elena Mindlina (Dec. 8 First Presbyterian Church, Vero Beach, and Dec. 10 Timucua Foundation, Orlando), The World in Six Songs, a guitar recital on Feb. 16 at the Blake Library in Stuart. On Feb. 26, I’ll participate in a concert along with soprano Elena Mindlina at the National Opera Center in New York. Another concert that doesn’t have a date yet will be at the Cuban Cultural Center in New York.” 

The second in the Christ by the Sea concert series is Feb. 16, 2020, when Tee Rockwell, Tania Ortega-Cowan, Paul Hillebrand, and Edmund Nalzaro join Flores, Pete Hengen, and Gully Shell for Songs from Stage and Screen. Tickets for the series are available online and at the church office, 3755 Hwy. A1A, Vero Beach.
Les Standiford's Mar-a-Lago
My introduction to author Les Standiford was through John Deal, back in the day when Standiford was one of the great Florida crime writers. Between 1993 and 2003, he wrote eight popular Deal books and then stunned fans and surprised even himself when he turned to non-fiction. “My moving out of mystery and into history was a complete and total fluke. My agent came down to visit me in Miami and took a drive down to Key West along the route of the railroad that US Hwy. 1 runs atop today.” When the agent heard stories about the building of the railroad and the 1935 Labor Day hurricane that wiped it out, he told Standiford he “absolutely, positively had to write that story,” the author said. “When I protested that I was a novelist, he said a good story is a good story and convinced me to give it a shot.”

That shot in 2002 blasted through the target as Last Train to Paradise , now closing in on its 40th printing. It’s “selling at a faster clip today than it did when it came out. This was something of a shift, given that my novels used to have the average shelf life of a quart of milk,” he said.
Standiford’s non-fiction books — Satchel Paige to Charles Dickens to William Mulholland and others — follow a common thread. He said, “They all contain a contain a compelling story line about larger-than-life individuals trying to accomplish momentous tasks and having to overcome a series of significant obstacles in the process. Just like what happens in good novels, except everything is true.” His Florida books include Bringing Adam Home , about the abduction of Adam Walsh, and The Center , a political history of Miami.

He contributed to Miami Noir, a 2006 anthology of South Florida fiction, and in 2020, will be part of Miami Noir 2 — The Classics , “which … goes all the way back to Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, Damon Runyon, and many more. It offers a fabulous panorama of South Florida history through so many legendary writers’ eyes.” Standiford’s current work in progress has “much to do with the exploits of John Ringling and has a major Florida component. As I keep saying, Florida fascinates me.” 
Standiford said he was influenced by long-gone broadcaster Paul Harvey, “the famed radio newsman (who) had a program he called ‘The Rest of the Story.’” Harvey liked to tell listeners things about people and subjects from history, and “that’s what I try to do — reinvigorate history by going after the human story behind certain events we know about but don’t fully appreciate.” 

His latest book, Palm Beach, Mar-a-Lago, and the Rise of America’s Xanadu, is “something of a sequel to Last Train … where I get to delve into (a) number of the stories I encountered doing my research for Last Train but could not find a place for in that book.”

For this book, Standiford said he was inspired to a large degree by Steven Gaines’ Philistines at the Hedgerow, a story of how “the Hamptons came to be the favored summer destination for privileged New Yorkers.” As a kid growing up in a blue-collar mining and manufacturing town, he had always been interested in the doings and maneuverings “within the rooms at the top. I thought the story of how Palm Beach became the favorite winter destination of the ultra privileged would interest others as much as … me, because it has a great deal to say about what makes all people tick. And because it sheds some much-needed light on the doings behind the walls of those great estates.”
Research for his books has allowed Standiford to learn “quite a bit about my various subjects over the years and (I) have finally come, I think, to appreciate history in a way I never did in school, where it was presented to me largely in terms of a series of names and dates to be memorized for tests.” 

For Palm Beach, Mar-a-Lago, and the Rise of America’s Xanadu, Standiford’s research supplied him with many surprises, “including just how much cash changed hands on the day that Donald Trump bought Mar-a-Lago from the estate of Marjorie Merriweather Post.” Another surprise was learning the truth behind “the oft-told tale that Henry Flagler cleared the workers’ camp on Palm Beach Island by inviting the residents to a circus and then torching their vacated shanties to make room for development while they watched the elephants parade. Have I mention yet that I find Florida fascinating?”

Meet Les at Vero Beach Book Center November Nov. 19, 4 p.m.
Find him on Facebook and online.
How to Make an Author
How it all started:

“I grew up in rural Ohio, always wanting to be a writer, always knowing I would leave. I lit out for California the day I graduated from college and ended up in a graduate writing program at the University of Utah.” From there he spent 10 years teaching at the University of Texas at El Paso, where he bumped into a Utah classmate at a convention. 

And this is where fate steps in. It was James W. Hall, who would later be the prolific South Florida creator of the Thorn novels. “At the time, neither one of us had published a book. We got it in our heads to ‘trade jobs’ for a year and he took mine at UTEP and I his at FIU in Miami.” Florida International University wanted an MFA program, “so I designed it and stayed on to head it. That was 35 years and two dozen books ago. Florida has been good to me.”

As founding director of the FIU Creative Writing Program, Standiford has had some big-name writers come out of his classes, Dennis Lehane and the late Barbara Parker among them. How did he know he had been bringing along the next generation? “Well, a hint came when they began outselling Jim and me and turning up regularly on the New York Times bestseller list. It is very gratifying to see your students succeed, by the way. Sort of puts the lie to the notion that creativity cannot be taught.”
A Fundraiser To Benefit Ballet Vero Beach
In Support Of Education/Outreach Programming
Dec. 14, 2019 Oak Harbor Club
Decked out for the holiday season, Oak Harbor Club once again opens its doors for a festive afternoon of fun to preview Nutcracker on the Indian River! Activities are planned to provide a spectacular experience for all ages!
Camelot! With a Difference
From Vero Beach Theatre Guild:
"Who can forget the lush musical sounds of Lerner & Loewe’s beloved score from Camelot? Those unforgettable melodies from the legendary Broadway hit will fill the Vero Beach Theatre Guild’s cozy auditorium when the show opens on November 13 at 2020 San Juan Avenue, Vero Beach, just in time to celebrate the coming holidays."

I also seem to remember that it was more than three hours long when it opened in 1960, eventually running for 873 performances, winning four Tony Awards, and over the years generating a movie, revivals, and international productions. To those who might enjoy a more bladder-friendly version, rejoice.
Word comes from Vero Beach Theatre Guild that this production is a brand new adaptation, recently released by Music Theatre International of New York. This will be its first production in Florida, and star Guild newcomer John Caterina as King Arthur and soprano favorite Caitlin Harris as Queen Guenevere. Jack Evans plays Sir Lancelot and Mordred is Lance Morgan.

Andrew Blizman, Don Hipsman and Phil Markley play the king's knights, and Nikki Marie Przedwiecki and Shannon Fallon the ladies of the court.
Behind the scenes, Beth McKenzie-Shestak is charged with musical direction and choreography, Jeff Hall is technical director and set designer, Cat Faust designed the costumes, and Alex Martinez directs. Lisa McNamee will corral the props for the show.

Camelot opens on Wednesday November 13 and continues on select dates through Sunday, December 1. Evening performances are at 7:30 pm with matinees on Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm. Vero Beach Theatre Guild

Photo credits: Kevin Olsen From top: THE SWORD & THE STONE: Lance Morgan depicts the famous pulling of the sword from the stone, naming Arthur the King of Camelot.; I WONDER WHAT THE KING IS DOING TONIGHT: King Arthur (John Catarina) observes from a perch in a tree, the arrival of his soon to be queen, Guenevere. (Caitlin Harris); THE LUSTY MONTH OF MAY: (L to R) Cast members Andrew Blizman, Shannon Fallon, Lance Morgan and Nikki Przedwiecki celebrate the lusty month of May with Queen Guenevere played by Caitlin Harris.
House of Art, Culture and Design
Nov. 14-17 - Designer Showhouse and Garden Exhibition , celebrating the Vero Beach Lifestyle with the Cultural Council of Indian River County. Includes Big Band Gala, An Evening at the Cabaret, Style with an In Style Luncheon, Mimosas & Mahjong Brunch. Ticketed, in advance.
Best of the Best
Best of the Best now at Backus Museum & Gallery

Visitors to the exhibition "The Best of the Best" can make their voices heard - vote for the People's Choice. You have 108 excellent works from which to choose! But you have to do it before Friday, November 15.

Above: AWARD OF MERIT - OIL/ACRYLIC | "Garden Glimmer" by Karin Huggins, Oil on board.
Lift Off! For the Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation
Hope some of you can make it to LIFTOFF, a fundraiser for the Laura Riding Jackson Foundation on Wednesday, Nov. 13th at 4 pm at The Majestic Theater in Vero Beach. Joining me on the panel about Apollo will be the director of the documentary WHEN WE WERE APOLLO. Also on the panel will be two of the brilliant guys I wrote about in my book, THE STEP, Jim Handley and Ken Clark, who have some fabulous stories to tell.
Vero Beach Opera
All performances are at the Vero Beach High School Performing Arts Center. T ickets are on sale now.  Rossini's Opera  "The Barber of Seville"
Sunday, January 12, 2020 at 3 pm
Thank You
Arts Blast Sponsors
Thank you to The Galleries of Historic Downtown Vero Beach for supporting Arts Blast:
Vero Beach Art Club's Art Trail is Dec. 7, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Art in the Park is in Humiston Park on Ocean Dr., Vero Beach. 10a.m. - 4p.m. Nov. 17, Dec. 8, 15.
Paintings by Barry Shapiro are on exhibit at Community Church of Vero Beach. Danielle Johnson will be speaking at the opening event on November 20th from 5 to 7p.m.
Arts Blast
Friends and Supporters
The Cummings Library in Palm City is the location of lectures in the IRSC Living History Series in November: The Saudi & Iranian Struggle for Mid-East Hegemony - Nov. 14; and The Partisan Press in the Early Republic: 1785-1825.
Get the latest issue of MartinArts Magazine online at https://issuu.com/martinarts/docs/_ac_magazine_fall_2019_56_pages_issuu   
NOTE:

The Cultural Council of Indian River County' s Art of Networking Dec. 10 is at Haiti Partners, 1531 U.S. Hwy 1, in the KMart shopping plaza, next to ACT Computers. The address has been incorrectly given as South US 1.
Ballet Vero Beach's Centennial edition of Nutcracker on the Indian River is in the works. Dates are Dec. 30&31.
Single tickets go on sale Nov. 29. Subscribers can get theirs now. Tickets and Information: www.balletverobeach.org
Supporting Arts Councils Everywhere
LIBRARIES - IF YOU GO (ONLINE)
And There's More!
Backus Museum & Gallery
Ft. Pierce Jazz & Blues Society
Lighthouse ArtCenter
Center for Spiritual Care
Galleries of Historic Downtown Vero Beach Arts District
Vero Beach Choral Society
Vero Beach Opera
Treasure Coast Theatre
Treasure Coast Community Singers
Treasure Coast Jazz Society
Listen to the Cultural Council of Indian River County's Cultural Connection with Willi Miller - at 5 p.m. Mondays on the Treasure Coast on WAXE 1370 AM and 107.9 FM and www.waxe1370.com. Replays are at cultural-council.org.
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