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Arts Updates, Interviews, Calendar, Calls for Artists and Volunteers, Auditions --- It's All Here in Arts Blast, Arts Blast on the Air, and on Facebook. | Supporting The Arts & Arts Councils Everywhere | |
Volume 5 No. 4| January 27, 2023 | |
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Notes from the Editor:
It's been a busier than usual week. The January hustle.
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Downtown Friday Vero Beach
Gardenfest
Wick Theatre
Jason Gamrath at McKee
McKee Motor Cars
And More Cars at VBMA
Happening in Brevard
Artist Patricia Borum
SCSO Rocks Rach & Brahms
Art Trail
Vero Beach Chamber Orchestra
Win a Paddleboard, Donate Socks
Auditions at Riverside
...and more!
CHECK THE ARTS BLAST CALENDAR ONLINE FOR DAILY ADDITIONS
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Garden Club of Indian River County
GARDENFEST! RETURNS TO RIVERSIDE PARK
February 4th and 5th 2023
VERO BEACH, FLORIDA - Gardenfest! is one of the largest free and family-friendly garden shows in Florida.
Visitors come from far and wide to stroll under the oaks and enjoy the amazing vendors, food, children’s crafts, and raffle prizes. Many visitors arrive with wagon in tow to fill them with garden treasures.
This annual event is hosted by the Garden Club of Indian River County and celebrates everything garden. Over twenty years have been spent scouring the south to bring together the highest quality vendors of plants and garden accessories. Gardenfest! vendors prepare their displays with great skill and care to show gardeners the latest trends in plant materials and design.
Shop all things garden:
- Florida natives and tropicals
- Unique plant specimens
- Planters
- Pottery
- Fountains
- Furniture
- Lighting
- Statuary
- Garden Services
- Garden accessories
Plants for sale include:
- Palms
- Ferns
- Orchids
- Bromeliads
- Succulents
- Bamboo
- Fruit trees
- Bonsai
- Roses
- Various flowering plants.
Proceeds from Gardenfest! help fund the club’s local scholarships and community outreach programs. Community outreach programs are aimed at enhancing, preserving, and beautifying the landscape of Indian River County.
Garden enthusiasts of all levels look forward to experiencing Vero’s premier annual gardening event Gardenfest! Rain or Shine!
Garden Club of Indian River County • 2526 17th Avenue Vero Beach, Florida 32960 • 772-567-4602
www.gardenclubofirc.com
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The Arts are A-OK in Okeechobee! | |
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It's always a pleasure to hear from arts friends but I was particularly pleased this week to hear from Bridgette Waldau, Arts & Culture Alliance Director for Okeechobee Main Street, who has extended a deadline to ARTS BLAST READERS! I knew the Top of the Lake Art Fest was coming up but didn't have information. Here's the information, and if you have interest in entering, either as a traditional artist or a chalk artist, you're getting a break.
Our Top of the Lake Art Fest is February 4 (10-4) and February 5 (10-3).
The Art Fest will also feature our annual Chalk Walk Street Painting (both days) and The Taste of Okeechobee (Saturday 4 -7:30)
We are also hosting a Battle of the Bands on Saturday beginning at 11 am.
Top of the Art Fest is located in Flagler Park, Downtown Okeechobee. Free Event
Taste of Okeechobee is a ticketed event. $20.00 presale and $25.00 at door.
More information is available on website at https://www.okeechobeearts.org/p/23/art-fest#
"If your readers mention Willi Miller's Art Blast, we will extend the deadline to
Feb 1, 2023. Applications and info also on the website."
Okeechobee Main Street Arts & Culture Alliance
OKMS Phone: 863-357-6246
111 NE 2nd Street
Okeechobee, Florida 34972
art@okeechobeemainstreet.org
www.OkeechobeeArts.org
www.OkeechobeeMainStreet.org
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We do wish to invite everyone to Cattlemen’s Square where the Cattle Drive Sculpture project is installed.
The 10 piece bronze sculptures are located in downtown Okeechobee in Flagler Park – SW 5th Avenue and State Road 70. It has become a very popular visitor’s stop. We are so proud of this.
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Okeechobee Community Theatre is now selling tickets for their Spring play – Play On – a comedy by Rick Abbot.
Showtimes are Fridays and Saturdays – March 17 – April 1
http://www.okeechobeecommunitytheatre.com/
Tickets can also be purchase at the Okeechobee Main Street Art Center – 111 NE 2nd Street
Putting on a play isn’t easy…nor is it cheap. So, when a local playwright offers her newest play at no cost, a small community theatre jumps at the opportunity to perform its world premiere. But what happens when the eccentric author can’t “pen” down her ultimate storyline? For the characters, chaos ensues. For our audience? A hysterical performance you won’t want to miss!"
Cast: Laurie Garner, Tina Welborn, Darren Hotmire, Aryn Murray, Cassandra Adair, Jane Robards, Ian Murray, Joey Marcinek, Connie Gerard, and Katherine Hardy
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We also invite everyone to the Arts & Culture Alliance Art Center, 111 NE 2nd Street, Okeechobee
As we go into our 3rd year, we have works of over 30 artists showing at the art center and we also offer art classes and custom framing.
For more information about the Art Center and membership go to www.okeechobeearts.org.
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The Taste of Okeechobee is an annual event help in conjunction with the Top of the Lake Art Fest. This Saturday night event is held in February. Event goers stroll Park Street in Downtown Okeechobee and taste the flavors of Okeechobee restaurants, while downtown businesses serve a variety of drinks. Passport ticket include food tastings, wine & beverage tastings, a chance to win prizes and people’s choice vote for favorite taste. Restaurants are also judged by out of town chefs for the coveted annual title of Best Taste of Okeechobee.
Advance tickets $20.00
$25.00 at the Door on night of the event.
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A Garden of Gorgeous Glass at McKee Botanical Garden | |
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McKee Botanical Garden will host Master Glass Artist Jason Gamrath's’ s Garden of Glass Exhibition through Sunday, April 30. This colorful and thought-provoking exhibit celebrates the beauty and power in the natural world through the medium of glass.
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The exhibit features 10 stunning glass orchids, waterlilies, and plants standing anywhere from six to fourteen feet tall on display throughout the Garden. This is Jason’s first outdoor garden exhibit in Florida.
Each bright and colorful piece is intended to accurately represent its living counterpart on a macro scale, bringing to light the beauty that exists within the micro scale of nature. Both delicate and monumental, these one-of-a-kind sculptures convey the complexity of their living counterparts, engaging the viewers in new ways of looking at nature through the fragility of glass art.
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Small plants, although minuscule in comparison to our human-sized way of existing, are overwhelmingly perplexing when held inches away from one's face. Most people will seldom grasp this seemingly secret perception of existence. “When I scale life forms up to be larger than a person, they can be observed with this perspective from across a room due to the overwhelming physical presence they command. It is my hope that when people admire my large-scale renderings, they become curious and captivated by the hints of realism I incorporate into my designs. I encourage people to attempt to observe with the same eyes through which I humbly and graciously experience our natural world,” Gamrath said.
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Hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life attend Gamrath’ s exhibitions. People from all over the country and the world at large come to experience the powerful emotion felt and absorbed when face-to-face with one of his original, seemingly alive creations in person. “If a piece of art had a soul, I would expect it to reside in a Gamrath”, stated Executive Director Christine Hobart.
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Jason Gamrath is a world-renowned glass sculptor and artist from Seattle, Washington. His fascination with glass began at age 15, and a year later he began taking classes at the Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle. At age 18, he graduated from the nearby Pilchuck Glass School, where he met and studied with the world’s leading glass artists. In the space of just a few years, Jason began receiving recognition from around the world for his groundbreaking work. Exhibits of his sculptures have drawn large crowds across the United States, as well as in Greece, Sweden, and China. Now in his 30’s, Jason continues to expand the possibilities of glass art, both in size and detail.
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Admission: $15 Adults, $13 Seniors (65+)/Youth (13-17), $10 Children (2-12). McKee members and children under 2 free.
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday (10 am – 5 pm) | Sunday (12 pm – 5 pm). The last admission is at 4 pm. The Children’s Garden closes at 4:30 pm.
The Garden is closed on Mondays and major holidays.
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Also at McKee:
Car Collectors’ Favorites
Saturday, February 11, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
One day only! Don’t miss this distinguished and highly anticipated exhibition. This fun, family-oriented exhibition of motorsport excellence will feature 40 of “The Collectors’ Favorite” automobiles from the owners’ private collections on display throughout the Garden. There will be a great variety of cars from antique to modern. Visitors will enjoy an opportunity to admire these spectacular cars and speak with the collectors themselves. There will also be a display of motorcycles. In addition to the automobile exhibition, visitors can enjoy the Garden of Glass Exhibition by Jason Gamrath.
General admission rates apply.
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Long ago, near the beginning of my Florida arts coverage, I discovered the Caldwell Theatre in Boca Raton. The Caldwell closed in 2012 but has been brought back to life Marilynn Wick and her daughters. Here's the story:
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Marilynn Wick acquired the former Caldwell Theatre Company space in north Boca Raton, turning the vacant property into the Wick Theatre and Costume Museum
The Costume Museum houses the original wardrobes from over 35 Broadway productions and revivals. The two facilities now function together making the Wick Theatre and Costume Museum an arts cornerstone in Palm Beach County.
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A bit of history from the website article by Dale King:
The former Caldwell — shuttered and silent since spring 2012 when a bankruptcy receiver evicted the company and closed the doors on the $10 million North Federal Highway building — once again resounds with songs and dialogue. The Wick Theatre & Costume Museum opened with a production of The Sound of Music. ...
The back end of the Caldwell building has been gutted to accommodate Wick’s Broadway Collection Museum, which “basically outgrew the space in Pompano Beach,” she said. “The idea of moving it to Boca and making it a true multipurpose arts facility was very exciting.”
Seeing the lifeless Caldwell touched the entrepreneur’s heart. “I drove by pretty regularly,” she said. “It was simply a tragedy to see that beautiful building sitting empty — particularly in light of the wonderful work the Caldwell had done for so many years. That’s when I got the idea to move my costume museum to the location and reopen the theater.” Refurbishing involved “a near-total renovation of the interior and exterior entrances for the new museum,” she said.
Items moved from Pompano to Boca include original costumes from more than 35 Broadway productions and revivals. In all, Wick has accumulated some 1.2 million pieces. The collection includes wardrobes from original Broadway productions of The Producers and Titanic; the Sarah Jessica Parker production of Once upon a Mattress, La Cage aux Folles and the Julie Andrews performance of My Fair Lady, with designs by Cecil Beaton.
-Article by Dale King
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Through February 12, see Anything Goes, with Aaron Bower, Jeremy Benton, and Barry Pearl at The Wick. The music is by Cole Porter: The score includes the iconic “You're the Top,” “I Get a Kick Out of You," “De-lovely,” and “Anything Goes.”
Christine Andreas is at The Wick February 18, 8 p.m., celebrating "musical journey of love and adventure.
7901 North Federal Highway
Boca Raton, FL 33487
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From the Vero Beach Chamber Orchestra:
Vero Beach Chamber Orchestra Raises the Curtain on 15th Season
The Vero Beach Chamber Orchestra will kick off its 15th season with an energetic and delightful program to celebrate a new year.
“The Orchestra is ready to take on the new year with programs to suit most classical appetites”, explained VBCO President, Dwight Holmes. “Our director, Page Howell, has selected a number of audience favorites for each of our two concerts, the first on Sunday, March 12, 2023, and the second on Sunday April 23, 2023." Both concerts will begin at 2:00PM at the Vero Beach High School Performing Arts Center.
The first program will feature Mozart’s Overture to Don Giovanni; Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll; and Haydn’s Symphony No. 94 “Surprise”.
The second program will feature Dr. Sara Luciani (nee Diehl) as soloist in Cimarosa’s Concerto for Oboe and Strings; Rossini’s Overture to the Barber of Seville; and Schubert’s Symphony No. 1.
The Vero Beach Chamber Orchestra is a long-standing and valued artistic asset of the Indian River County cultural community. True to its founding mission over 15 years ago, the orchestra is comprised of professional and non-professional musicians as well as higher level student musicians, working together with the Vero Beach High School to encourage and support music education in the school district.
“The VBCO is very unique in its operations”, explained Holmes. “Our performances are free and open to the public, as we encourage new audiences to try classical orchestral concerts on us! After our performances, we donate our music to the high school orchestral library for the benefit of future orchestral students. We are always on the lookout for new players, particularly violin and viola players in our community who might like to join our ranks.”
For more information, please visit VeroBeachChamberOrchestra.org.
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Another Kind of Car Show
January 28 – April 30, 2023
Beginning in the 1930s, the confluence of aircraft design, the sleek shapes of fast railroad locomotives, advanced highways like the German Autobahns, the Italian Autostradas, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike, along with epoch-changing global events like the 1939 New York City World’s Fair, encouraged automotive designers and engineers to style truly streamlined cars.
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Motor Cars at McKee
On Saturday, February 11 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. McKee Botanical Garden will host its 14th Annual Motor Car Exhibition featuring over forty of “The Collectors’ Favorite”automobiles from their private collections. The exhibit will showcase a great variety of cars from antique to modern, as well as a display of motorcycles.
This fun, family-oriented presentation of motoring excellence will be on display throughout the Garden and visitors will have an opportunity to speak with the car collectors. McKee’s annual motor car exhibition is one of the top shows in the area with its unique garden setting.
Enjoy two exhibitions for the price of one! This year’s exhibition will be held in conjunction with McKee’s Garden of Glass Exhibition by world renowned master glass artist Jason Gamrath. This exhibition will be on display from now through April 30 and features ten one-of-a-kind stunning glass orchids, waterlilies, and plants celebrating the beauty, movement, and power in the natural world through the medium of glass.
Photo by JPR Images
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Brevard Happenings
Through Jan. 28 - Nature's Palette with Beth Fairchild & Vicki Busby at 5th Avenue Art Gallery
Through Jan. 28 - NikKnots by Nikki Parenti at 5th Avenue Art Gallery
Through Jan. 29: The Miracle Worker, Surfside Players, Cocoa Beach
Through Feb 5: Evita, Henegar Center, Downtown Melbourne
Through Feb 12: Jimmy Buffet's Escape to Margaritaville, Titusville Playhouse
Through Feb. 12 - The Music Man, Historic Cocoa Village Playhouse
Thru Feb 12: The Marvelous Wonderettes – Shuler Stage, Titusville Playhouse
Through Feb 19 - Lettice and Lovage at Melbourne Civic Theatre
Jan 28 & 29 and Feb 4 & 5: Brevard Renaissance Fair, Wickham Park Amphitheater, Melbourne
Jan. 28, 7 p.m. - Brahms & Rach - Space Coast Symphony Orchestra at Satellite HS PAC, Satellite Beach
Jan. 30-Feb. 25 - The Guardians, solo exhibition by Barbara Desrosiers, at Fifth Avenue Art Gallery, Front Room Gallery
Jan 29: Jim Gaffigan: The Dark Pale Tour, King Center, Melbourne
Jan. 30-Feb. 25 - The Essence of a Woman, solo exhibition byTheresa Prokop, at Fifth Avenue Art Gallery
Feb. 1-2, 7 p.m. - Melbourne Community Orchestra/Mark Nelson - Conductor's Choice at Melbourne Auditorium
Feb 2: Clint Black featuring Lisa Hartman Black, King Center
Feb. 3, 5:30-8:30 p.m. - First Friday Gallery Stroll in Eau Gallie Arts District
Feb. 3, 5:30-8:30 p.m. - Opening reception for The Guardians, solo exhibition by Barbara Desrosiers, at Fifth Avenue Art Gallery, Front Room Gallery
Feb 3: First Friday Reception, Eau Gallery, Eau Gallie Arts District, EauGallery.com, 321-253-5553
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Next weekend:
The Art Trail is an open house of numerous studios around Vero Beach to introduce art to the public in the setting in which it is created. It is a premier event to our season at the Vero Beach Art Club and as such, receives quite a bit of media attention. Artists will have the opportunity to show their work as well as make it available for sale. Past participating artists have had a lot of good things to say about this event for their sales and exposure. Photos posted are of the 2019 Art Trail.
Saturday & Sunday, February 4 & 5, 2023, 10 a.m. - 4 pm.
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Information about all of the individual artists, a registration form, and an interactive map can be found at https://www.verobeachartclub.org/art-trail. This event is popular with artists because they can display large batches of their works, share their thought processes, and explain their techniques to those who attend. Patrons enjoy the opportunity to see where the artists work, explore the artists’ motivations, and observe the methods the artists use to produce their creations. Both artists and patrons enjoy the relaxed atmosphere in which they can either sell or buy high-quality original artwork.
Photo: Dawn Miller, left, discusses her painting with a visitor to her studio.
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Brahms 4 & Rach 2 -
From Aaron Collins:
Wise pianists fear Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto, one of the most fiendishly difficult pieces ever composed for piano, but also one of his most loved for its gorgeous lyricism. Prepare for an extraordinary concert experience when celebrated and award-winning pianist Lindsay Garritson takes on Rachmaninov's beloved Piano Concerto No. 2. Combining glorious melody, swelling orchestration, lush harmonies, and displays of blistering speed, it's no secret why this is regarded as one of the best piano concertos ever written.
Brahms’s Fourth Symphony is a titan of the symphonic repertoire. In his final symphony, the composer weaves a musical narrative evoking both dramatic intensity and profound serenity delivering a concert finale of heightened emotion. Filled with deep emotion, profound complexity and beautiful melancholy, Brahms’ Fourth Symphony finishes with a finale that will leave you speechless.
| Brahms 4 & Rach 2 is at Satellite HS PAC Jan. 28 and at Vero Beach HS PAC Jan. 29 | |
A horse-loving friend posted this on Facebook and I was so intrigued that I went searching online for the artist. Her name is Patricia Borum and she does amazing things in her California studio.
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You might remember reading here about the very large cattle drive sculptures created for Okeechobee and installed there a few months ago. Borum is in that league.
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Haitian-American Music at the Arts Garage in February
A collaboration between the Arts Garage in Delray Beach and the Haitian American Chamber of Commerce will present Jean Caze, a featured soloist in Michael Bublé’s band, on Sunday, February 26, at 7 pm.
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The Central Brevard Art Association is presenting its annual Spring Art Show and Sale at the Cape Canaveral Public Library showcasing the unique talents of local artists. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, local artists will be displaying and selling a variety of original fine art and prints, photography, jewelry, sculpture, mixed media and much more! Find an original for yourself or your Valentine or just come and browse beautiful works of art. Gift Baskets will be raffled with 100% going to the CBAA scholarship fund.
The Cape Canaveral Public Library is located at 201 Polk Avenue, Cape Canaveral. Admission and parking are free. Show hours are Thursday, February 9, 9AM to 5PM; Friday, February 10, 9 AM to 5 PM; Saturday, February 11, 10 AM to 2 PM.
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On Thursday Feb. 23, The Gifford Youth Orchestra will hold its annual GALA at the Quail Valley River Club, 2345 Hwy A1A. The Diamonds and Crystals event will feature guest speaker Captain Winston Scott, a former NASA Astronaut. For 20 years the GYO has offered violin lessons to the children of Gifford where founder Dr. Crystal Bujol believes that changing hearts one violin at a time is worthwhile. She is right as all students who go thru the program, graduate high school and go on to higher education. There will be plenty to eat & drink plus entertainment by the GYO students, as well as a silent auction and 50/50. Only $150 per ticket with sponsorships available. www.gyotigers.org or call 772-213-3007 and ask for Casey Lunceford, the new Executive Director.
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The Vero Beach Choral Society is in need of vocalists in both Tenor and Alto ranges. Anyone who can read music and has experience singing in a vocal ensemble is welcomed to join the group by audition. Visit the group’s website, www.VeroBeachChoralSociety.org, and click on “Audition” to apply.
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Streaming First Presbyterian
First Presbyterian Church in Vero Beach presents many concerts and special performances. If you can't get to them in person, visit the church's website and watch the archived videos!
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Edward Hopper and Guy Pène du Bois: Painting the Real
On view now through March 26 at Polk Museum of Art
An original Polk Museum of Art exhibition, Edward Hopper and Guy Pène du Bois: Painting the Real comprises approximately sixty works and focuses on Hopper and Pène du Bois, two very thematically different but stylistically-overlapping artists who became lifelong friends from the time of their earliest studies at the New York School of Art.
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The Environmental Learning Center (ELC) will kick off its 35th-anniversary celebration during its annual fundraiser social, Mangroves and Moonlight, on Saturday evening, January 28th, 5-8 p.m.. Enjoy an evening of live music, small plates, and cocktails on the beautiful ELC lagoon-island campus at 255 Live Oak Drive in Vero Beach. Dance the night away under the stars to live music from the popular local band East Harbor. Wild Thyme Catering will be serving their signature CharCrudite and delectable small plates.
Advance tickets can be purchased online at Eventbrite.com, by mail, or in person at ELC Guest Services prior to the event.
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MAKE SOME NOISE! CALL TO MUSICIANS
The St. Lucie Cultural Alliance is looking for great talent to be a part of our festivals!
Art Mind & Soul Fest | April 1 & April 2
A 2-day festival with art, music, dance, yoga, meditation, and so much more.
Levitt AMP Fort Pierce - Music at the Pointe
Saturdays, April 8 - June 10
St. Lucie Cultural Alliance, St. Lucie County Parks & Recs, and the City of Fort Pierce bring ten FREE outdoor music concerts to Museum Pointe Park! Apply now to be considered!
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Every Thursday from 6 – 9:30 PM in downtown Jensen Beach (on Jensen Beach Boulevard), Jammin Jensen offers a mini-festival of local artists’ displays, music, vendors, and family entertainment!
There is no admission fee — it’s FREE!
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From the Lake Wales History Museum:
New Exhibit from the Museum of Florida History through April 11.
Stop in and learn about the rich history of Blues and Jazz in central Florida. This exhibit has interactive displays, videos, and much more to learn about how Florida Got the Blues!
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Bookmark On the Calendar at WilliMiller.com for frequent updates. Calls for Artists, Auditions, & Volunteers are now online.
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If you have an arts-related event coming up, scroll down for information on submitting it for a free basic listing. Limited advertising is available. PLEASE use that format!
Event schedules can change, often at almost the last minute. Verify, double check, and then do it again before you head out the door. And when you do go out, take a mask. Without one, you risk being turned away.
To Submit Calendar Information for ARTS BLAST!
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Use this format for Calendar entries:
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Why (a brief description of the purpose)
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Then add a short, descriptive release if available.
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