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 6 No. 35 | August 30, 2024

Notes from the Editor:

Labor Day! How did it get here so soon? I'll be watching the US Open and catching up with some neglected yard work. However you decide to spend the long weekend, make it safe and fun and I'll see you back here next week.

This Arts Blast offers news of plenty of things to do but there are far more that we can't fit in. Make the Arts Blast calendar at willimiller.com a frequent stop.

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If you're responsible for promoting an arts-related event, send in details using the format at the end of this email. There's no charge for basic calendar listings but your advertising flyer that includes a link to your website will do more to catch readers' attention. Email for advertising information in Arts Blast and Arts Blast on the Air.

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Some St. John webcam links, just for the beauty of it.

Arts Blast on the Air with Willi Miller

August 22, 2024 - The executive director of the A.E. Backus Museum and Gallery, Marshall Adams, joins us to give listeners an update on the upcoming season... and Leslie Olson, an urban planner in St. Lucie County, representing the St. Lucie Cultural Alliance, joins the show. Both guests will address the cuts to the arts and culture budget in the state of Florida.

Note: Arts Blast on the Air podcast is now available on more sites — Spreaker; Spotify; iHeartRadio; Deezer; Podcast Addict; Podchaser; and JioSaavn — and there's even an Alexa skill! "Alexa, play the latest Arts Blast on the Air with Willi Miller."

Bookmark On the Calendar at WilliMiller.com for frequent updates. Calls for Artists, Auditions, & Volunteers are on the website, too. Catch up with events at Willi Miller's Arts Blast on Facebook and pick up some laughs and interesting info on the Willi Miller's Arts Blast Extras page.

In This Issue

NO Weekend at Riverside Theatre

NO DOWNTOWN FRIDAY in Vero Beach in August

Calls to Artists - Arts4All Florida & MartinArts' All Florida

Teen Writers Workshop

VB Art Club, VB Theatre Guild, & VBMA Fall Classes

Live Mollusk Count

PB Photo Center Going Native

After Dark at the Norton

Hidden Faces - TheSource

Auditions for Kids

Volunteers Needed!

Hobe Sound Library Opening

Billboards Extended at VBMA

The Beatles in Florida Lecture

Space Coast Symphony's Big Band Favorites concert

Melbourne Community Orchestra's The Story of Water concert

Barn Theatre's The Play That Goes Wrong

A.C.T. Studio Theatre's Arsenic and Old Lace

Vero Beach Theatre Guild's Romeo and Juliet

Pineapple Playhouse's Drinking Habits

Beauty and the Beast at The Henegar

Art at The Emerson

and MORE!

Scroll down for a load of entries from the Arts Blast online calendar.

No Live in the Loop or Comedy Zone Experience at Riverside Theatre Labor Day weekend but they'll be back next weekend with a special treat for Thursday's Live in the Loop!

Environmental Learning Center August Volunteer Orientation

Join us Friday, August 30th from 2-4 p.m. and become an ELC Volunteer. Be a part of our caring network of nature enthusiasts. Indoor and outdoor opportunities available.

It's time to sign up for fall classes at Vero Beach Theatre Guild. Here's what's on the 2024 schedule:

Directing 101 (Starts 8/21)

Improv for Young Actors

Crash Course in Acting Technique

Tap for Musical Theatre

Musical Theatre Dance

Halloween Makeup Mondays

Registration for Fall Art Classes and Workshops

From novice to expert, artists at all levels can engage in immersive and inspiring experiences at the Vero Beach Museum of Art. The fall term offers a variety of five- and ten-week sessions that introduce various mediums and topics: art history, contemplative arts, photography, ceramics, drawing, painting, and open studio.

• Classes begin on October 7 with five- and ten-week classes.

Classes Open for Fall at VBAC

The Vero Beach Art Club is excited to announce their 2024 Fall Class Schedule is open for registration! We’ve missed our students, and we know you are ready to return to our classroom! The Vero Beach Art Club has designed a class schedule offering a variety of creative opportunities for youth, homeschool students and adults! From beginners to intermediate students, the Vero Beach Art Club is offering art classes that include, but are not limited to: 

• Fiber Arts
• Jewelry Making
• Drawing
• Watercolors
• Cell Phone Photography
• Alcohol Inks
• Acrylic Pour
• And more! 

For a complete class schedule and registration visit the link on the Vero Beach Art Club’s website: https://vbac.coursestorm.com/

As our faculty continues to grow, new classes will be added! Announcements are made on the Vero Beach Art Club’s Facebook page and on our website! 

Interested in joining our Educational Faculty? Complete a class proposal on our website: https://www.verobeachartclub.org/art-classes-summer24 

Get ready for a concert worthy of the jazz greats, when Andrew Cleaver and the Space Coast Symphony JAZZ Orchestra present Big Band Favorites. 

The swingin’ fall program will feature music from the Big Band Era, including music from Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman and Count Basie. The audience will also hear modern selections from artists like Peter Ellman, Sammy Nestico and Maynard Ferguson.

Joining the jazz musicians for the evening will be the sultry Orlando singer, Chase Shelleé. Originally from the Philippines, Shelleé is currently at work on her second album and is the front woman for the vintage band, Underground Retro.

Tickets for Big Band Favorites are $35 in advance for adults, available through the orchestra website

or at Marine Bank & Trust in Suntree. Tickets at the door are $40. Big Band Favorites is free for those aged 18 and under or with a student ID.

855-252-7276 or visit SpaceCoastSymphony.org. 

August 31, 7 p.m. Satellite High School Performing Arts Center - Satellite Beach

September 1, 3 p.m. - The Emerson Center - Vero Beach

Rock ‘N’ Roll Billboards of the Sunset Strip: Photographs by Robert Landau 



Extended by Popular Demand

Through September 15

Visitors to the Vero Beach Museum of Art now have more time to relive the music of the 1960s and 1970s through the billboard designs that turned L.A.’s Sunset Strip into a veritable drive-thru art gallery. Rock ‘N’ Roll Billboards of the Sunset Strip: Photographs by Robert Landau now runshrough September 15.

“The extension of the exhibition provides an exceptional opportunity for those who have not yet experienced this unique and rarely seen period in the history of rock and roll,” shares Chief Curator Caitlin Swindell. “It also offers more time for those who wish to return for another look at the period’s latest trends in music, graphic art, and even fine art, captured in Robert Landau’s photographs.”

Good Day Sunshine State: The Beatles in 1964 Florida

Bob Kealing, Author and Historian

Saturday, August 31, 2024 at 3:00 p.m.

Leonhardt Auditorium

Through dozens of primary interviews, letters, photographs, and court transcripts, Bob Kealing, an Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist, author, and historian, recounts the Beatles’ transformative visit through the potboiler that was 1964 Florida. This lecture offers a local perspective of the VBMA’s current exhibition Rock ‘N’ Roll Billboards of the Sunset Strip illustrating how global music phenomena like the Beatles influenced Florida’s cultural scene during a dynamic era.

Free Admission Saturday on August 31! The lecture is free – no registration required.

For more information, visit: vbmuseum.org

Norton Museum's Art After Dark | A Community Portrait

Friday, August 30, 5 – 10 p.m.

A Community Portrait | West Palm Beach is a citywide public art project where artists and photographers unite to build and create community awareness through black and white portraits, inspired by the Inside Out Project platform. The impact will be celebrated and shared in November when the community portraits are revealed at select locations in the city. Have your portrait taken for a public art installation in West Palm Beach.

Korman Room | 6 - 9 pm

Join a Tour

5:30 - 6 p.m.: Docents discuss works in the Norton's Collection

7 - 7:30 p.m.: Docents focus on collage and assemblage.

Pick up your tour wristband at the Reception Desk one hour before the tour.

Open Studio

Join Resident Teaching Artist Shannon Walker to create a portrait collage to celebrate the Community Portrait project and the exhibition Cut Up/Cut Out: Photomontage and Collage.

Classroom #2 | 6 - 9 p.m.

Music / Brett Staska and the Souvenirs

Get ready to be swept away by the "Coastal Cowboy" sounds of Brett Staska, a Florida-based multi-instrumentalist whose music blends rhythm and blues, country & western, Americana, and surf rock. Inspired by his love of surfing and travel, Brett brings a fresh, soulful vibe reminiscent of Gram Parsons, The Ventures, and Willie Nelson. With his talented live band, including Royal Hayes on guitar, Bryant Forsythe on bass, and Tripp Jones on drums, this is a musical experience you won't want to miss!

Great Hall | 7:30 - 9 p.m.

Artist Tour / Sarah E. Huang

Join local Artist Sarah E. Huang for a special artist tour highlighting a few of her favorite pieces in the Collection.

8 - 8:30 p.m.

Adults & Seniors $10 | Students $5 

Members and children 12 and under free!

Friday, August 30, 5 – 10 p.m.

2024 Sanibel Live Mollusk Counts

Contribute to community science and museum research by walking Sanibel beach areas at some of the lowest tides of the year to observe and document sightings of living mollusks. The data collected will be used to help benchmark the health and prevalence of local mollusk species on Sanibel. Participants are assigned a section of beach to walk and receive a shell guide to help identify species.

Note: Start times are approximate and will be confirmed once participants are assigned to a section.

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There is no cost for this program, but pre-registration is required.

September 21, 9 a.m.

November 18, 8 a.m.

Inquiries and registration: contact Jorden at jfalker@shellmuseum.org

The Story of Water

The Melbourne Community Orchestra will take a deep dive into H2O-inspired music with The Story of Water.

The nonprofit orchestra's opening concert of the 2024-25 season will explore water as the elemental force that sustains life and inspires myths across world cultures. The audience will hear works by Beethoven, Smetana, Schumann, Holst, Respighi, Mancini and others who sought to describe the power, grandeur and restlessness of water through their music. 

A brass quintet will entertain the gathering crowd, beginning at 6:15 PM. Admission to The Story of Water and all Melbourne Community Orchestra concerts is free. The 65-member group conducted by Mark Nelson is the Orchestra in Residence for the City of Melbourne. Concerts are held at Melbourne Auditorium, 625 Hibiscus Blvd.

 September 4 & 5 - 7 p.m. www.MCOrchestra.org

The 2nd Annual “Hidden Faces” event hosted by The Source will be held on Thursday, October 3, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at The Heritage Center in historic downtown Vero Beach.

Romeo & Juliet

by William Shakespeare

September 6 – 2

Set in the heart of Verona, this classic drama unfolds the intense and tragic romance between two star-crossed lovers from feuding families. Their love defies the odds but faces insurmountable obstacles, leading to a heartbreaking climax that will leave you moved and inspired.

An unforgettable performance of love, fate, and family.

 Vero Beach Theatre Guild

2020 San Juan Avenue, Vero Beach

www.verobeachtheatreguild.com

10595 SE Federal Highway

Hobe Sound, Florida 33455 

772-546-2257 

https://www.martin.fl.us/hobe-sound-public-library

Ballet Vero Beach is looking for energetic and outgoing individuals to help promote the art of dance as a universal language in our community and beyond.



VOLUNTEER TO ASSIST IN THESE AREAS

GUEST SERVICES

BOUTIQUE SALES

SPECIAL EVENTS

ADMIN SUPPORT

PUBLICITY

Ballet Vero Beach Volunteers receive FREE tickets, merchandise, and the opportunity to attend volunteer thank you events.

Drinking Habits

by Tom Smith

September 6 – 22

In this traditional, laugh-out-loud farce, two nuns at the Sisters of Perpetual Sewing have been secretly making wine to keep the convent's doors open, but Paul and Sally are hot on their trail. They go undercover as a nun and priest, but their presence, combined with the addition of a new nun, spurs paranoia throughout the convent that spies have been sent from Rome to shut them down.

Weekends September 6 – 22

Pineapple Playhouse

700 W. Weatherbee Road, Fort Pierce

www.pineappleplayhouse.com

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

The classic story tells of Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, who is really a young prince trapped under the spell of an enchantress. If the Beast can learn to love and be loved, the curse will end, and he will be transformed into his former self. But time is running out. If the Beast does not learn his lesson soon, he and his household will be doomed for all eternity.

Through September 8.

The Henegar Center

625 E. New Haven Ave., Melbourne

www.henegarcenter.com

Garden Club of Indian River County's 2024 ornament!

SEMINOLE INDIANS of INDIAN RIVER COUNTY 

Ornament designed by Bonnie Pfiester 

Brochure compiled by Jack Phillips 

Proceeds from the sale of this ornament will be used by the Garden Club of Indian River County, Inc, for its many community projects. 

https://www.gardenclubofirc.org/

Palm Beach Photographic Centre (PBPC) announced the closing reception and silent auction for the museum’s current exhibition: Renewal - Going Native, revisited -

60+ Stunning Images from 18 Talented Photographers September 4, from 6 to 8 p.m.

A follow-up to its popular 2018 exhibition, this Photo Centre offering presented more than five dozen prints, many of which are available for purchase by the highest bidder. All the proceeds from this silent auction on September 4 will go to benefit the conservation efforts of the Palm Beach County Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society.

“Photographs in the exhibition range from exquisite close-ups of flowers and butterflies to mysterious landscapes, and from stunning, rare orchids to surprisingly beautiful, common tillandsias,” says NeJame, who curated the exhibit along with Susan Lerner from the local Native Plant Society. “Our goal is for the viewer to experience the joy and aliveness of the native landscape.”

The photographers who are focused on the beauty of Florida’s native landscape include Kevin Barry, Donna Bollenbach, Richard Brownscombe, Christina Evans, George Gann, Roger Hammer, Kirsten Hines, Craig Huegel, Teri Jabour, Mary Keim, Susan Kolterman, Susan Lerner, Don Marchetto, Chuck McCartney, Rufino Osorio, Rebecca Sabac, Loret Setters and Peg Urban.

Auction bids are being accepted through September 4th at 7:00 p.m.. People may bid in person at the Palm Beach Photographic Centre or place their bids via email at info@workshop.org.

The images being bidding upon are the actual exhibit prints being auctioned as is. The Person with the winning bid who attends the closing reception on September 4 will be allowed to take their image home with them after the reception. Anyone who has the winning bid that is not in attendance at the closing reception will be notified and may pick up their image during normal business hours 10 am to 5 pm the following week.

Established in 1981, the Palm Beach County Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society is a not-for-profit organization. Monthly meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month at 7 pm in the auditorium at Mounts Botanical Garden in West Palm Beach. For more information, please visit http://palmbeach.fnpschapters.org and www.facebook.com/PBCC.FNPS.

The Photo Centre is located at the downtown City Center municipal complex at 415 Clematis Street in West Palm Beach. For more information, please call 561.253.2600 or visit www.workshop.org or www.fotofusion.org.

The Palm Beach Photographic Centre is a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching life through the photographic arts. All donations are greatly appreciated at www.workshop.org/contrib.

Coming Up on the Arts Blast Calendar

Events listed are for the next few weeks. For a complete listing of future events, (click here or go to: willimiller.com/arts-blast-calendar)

Indian River County

Aug. 29 – Sept. 3 -Riverside Theatre Closed Labor Day Weekend

Aug. 31, 3pm – Good Day Sunshine State: The Beatles in 1964 Florida at Vero Beach Museum of Art

Sept. 1, 3pm – SCSO – Big Band Favorites at Emerson Center

Sept. 2 – VBMA closed for Labor Day

​Sept. 3 - Single event tickets Indian River Symphonic Association on sale

Sept. 5-7, 5:30-8 9.m. - Live in the Loop at Riverside Theatre

Sept.6, 5-8pm. Reception for Going on Seventeen: Summertime at Gallery 14. 

Sept. 6 & 7, 6 & 8pm, Comedy Zone at Riverside Theatre

Sept. 6-22 – Romeo & Juliet at Vero Beach Theatre Guild

ONGOING:

Through Sept. 8 - VBMA staff, teaching artists, and docent exhibition at VBMA Patten Gallery

EXTENDED Through September 15 - Rock 'N' Roll Billboards of the Sunset Strip: Photographs by Robert Landau at Vero Beach Museum of Art

Through Sept. 25 - Clyde Butcher's Living Waters: Aquatic Preserves of Florida - at ELC

Through Sept. 27 - Going on Seventeen: Summertime at Gallery 14. Summer hours June, July.

Through Oct. 24 - CCIRC Art in Public Places - Variety: The Spice of Life - Mariya Yankovich (in Hallway), Elise Geary (in Council Chamber)

Through December – Clyde Butcher: A Florida Icon at the Florida House, Washington, DC.

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St. Lucie County

Sept. 4 - 27 - Entries accepted by advance appointment for the 43rd annual juried art exhibition The Best of the Best at the A.E. Backus Museum & Gallery.

Sept. 6 - Friday Fest Main Street, Fort Pierce

Sep. 6 -22 – Drinking Habits at Pineapple Playhouse

Sept. 13 - Deadline to apply for entry in CALL FOR ART: CONTROLLED CHAOS - St. Lucie Cultural Alliance

 

ONGOING:

Parado: Gina F. Duffy at The Vault Art Gallery

Mondays 10 a.m.-noon Art on the Porch at Cool Beans Brew

Mondays 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. - Fort Pierce Art Club Members Open Studio at 2nd Street Art, FP

Thursdays 12-1 p.m. - Music in the Garden at Heathcote Botanical Gardens​

Martin County

Sept. 5-22 – The Play That Goes Wrong at The Barn Theatre

Sept. 5-22 – Arsenic and Old Lace at A.C.T. Studio Theatre

Sept. 6, 7pm – Tom Papa at Lyric

Sept. 7, 7pm – Spyro Gyra at Lyric

Sept. 8, 7pm – Cedric Burnside – Hill Country Love Tour at Lyric

ONGOING:

Every Sunday, 1 - 4 p.m. - Rock'n Riverwalk​, 300 St. Lucie Ave, Stuart

Every Sunday, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. - Market on Main, Flagler Park, Stuart

Fridays, 2 p.m. - Guided Nature Walks at Jonathan Dickinson State Park

Thursdays, 6-9:30 p.m. - Jammin’ Jensen on Jensen Beach Boulevard

Tuesdays at The Elliott: Tim Kyle Carpenter's Open Jam Session

Tuesdays - 4-7 p.m. - Cruising at the Beach – Elliott Museum 

Brevard County

Aug. 31, 7pm – SCSO – Big Band Favorites at Satellite HS Performing Arts, Satellite Beach

Sept. 1-30 -It Takes a Village Historic Cruise - Indian River Queen, Cocoa Village Marina

Sept. 1 - Before the School Bell Rings - Studios of Cocoa Beach

​Sept. 1 - Reggae and Food Festival - Space Coast Harley Davidson, Palm Bay

Sept. 6 - First Friday- Eau Gallie Arts District

Sept. 6 - Friday Fest - City of Cape Canaveral

Sept. 6-22 – 45 Seconds from Broadway at Surfside Theatre

Sept. 6-29 – Million Dollar Quartet at Titusville Playhouse

Sept. 7 - City of Rockledge 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony - Rockledge Civic Hub

​Sept. 8 - Live Jazz - Mickey Freeman - Brevard Veterans Memorial Center, Merritt Island

Sept. 8 - One Night of Queen - King Center

ONGOING

Through Sept. 8 – Beauty and The Beast at Heneger Center



Tuesdays, 6-9 p.m. - Art Night at Strawbridge Art League

Palm Beach County

Aug. 30 - Jimmy Buffett Tribute - Party in Paradise at Old School Square

Sept. 3 - Early fall session of classes begins at Lighthouse ArtCenter Gallery & School of Art.

Sept. 5 -The Dueling Accordions - Sunset Sounds Outdoor Concert at Boca Raton Museum of Art

Sept. 5, 7 pm – Spiderman: Across the Spider-verse in Concert at Kravis

ONGOING:

Wednesdays, 3:30 p.m. at Cornell Art Museum - Music at the Museum

First Friday Art Walk 6-9 p.m. every month at Cornell Art Museum

Fridays and Saturdays, 10:30 a.m. - Garden Sculpture Tours at the Norton

Thursdays 6-9 p.m. - Clematis by Night

Every Friday, 5-10 p.m. - ART AFTER DARK at the Norton

Beyond the Treasure Coast

​Aug. 29-31- Orlando Urban Film Festival at CMX Cinemas Plaza 12

Sept. 14, 2 p.m. - Pelagic Magic! at Bok Tower Gardens

ONGOING:



Through Oct. 5 - Before I Forget - Kristin M. Beck solo exhibition at Coral Springs Museum of Art - Dementia and Alzheimer's

Every Saturday 1 p.m. - Saturday Exhibition Highlight Tours at Rollins Museum of Art, Winter Park

Live carillon concerts Thursday - Sunday, 1 & 3 p.m. - Bok Tower Gardens. 

Bookmark On the Calendar at WilliMiller.com for frequent updates. Calls for Artists, Auditions, & Volunteers are now online.

Catch up with events at Willi Miller's Arts Blast on Facebook, and now there's a Facebook Arts Blast on the Air!

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