Volume I No.17 |April 23, 2019
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ARTS NEWS
& PROFILES
FROM
FLORIDA'S
TREASURE COAST & BEYOND
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Sharing our wealth of arts and culture.
We're having an ARTS BLAST!
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In This Issue
The Arts Need You - Laurel Awards - Mornings with Julie - SCSO's Tribute and a Grant - Kirkin' o' the Tartans - TCS Conductor Search - Bonsai at Heathcote - Elliott's Art4All & From the Vault - Plants in a Garden -
Road Trip to Edison and Ford Winter Estates
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Calendar Listings
Sponsor Links and More to Explore
Guidelines for submitting to ARTS BLAST and
the Cultural Council of Indian River County's CulturalCalendar.org.
Because I do tend to go on, Arts Blast could be clipped toward the end. If you run into "see entire message", click on it to see it all. Thanks for the tip, Robin.
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Last week I wrote here about the need for all of us to support the arts through our pocketbooks. I often write about volunteerism and how important volunteers are for keeping arts organizations alive. This week, I'm including a link to an important article written by Eve Samples, opinion and engagement editor for the USA TODAY Network- Florida. (
http://treasurecoast.fl.newsmemory.com/?publink=1cffe82a8
) If you can, please take a few minutes to read the entire story, but here are some excerpts that will probably surprise and possibly stun you.
During the last 5 years of Gov. Scott’s tenure,
arts funding dropped 93 percent in Florida.
... In 2014, state lawmakers and former Gov. Rick Scott passed a budget that included $43 million for grants via the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs. ... Last year, that number fell to $2.65 million — spread thinly across more than 400 arts programs statewide. “It’s dropped 93 percent while the economy’s boomed,” said Janeen Mason, curator at Lighthouse Center for the Arts in Jupiter and co-founder of a new arts advocacy group called Fund the A List. She has firsthand knowledge of the cuts; the Lighthouse Center’s share of state money
dropped from $120,000 to $7,000
during that period.
Arts and culture were responsible for 4.2 percent of nationwide GDP in 2014 — ahead of transportation, tourism and construction, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
In Florida, the arts support 132,366 full-time jobs and generate $3.35 billion in household income. ...
Florida lawmakers have a chance to undo some damage as they work to pass a state budget by May 3.
The cuts have had acute impacts in remote parts of Florida. In Highlands County, South Florida State College had to cut a series of performances that reflected the cultural diversity of the area. ... “Some major institutions in major markets might have been able to absorb the loss of state arts funding and still deliver arts programs,” Cindy Garren, director of cultural programs at the college, explained via email.
“We could not.”
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Send in your comments and recommendations for Road Trips as well as information for Arts Blast. Guidelines are at the end of each issue.
Send comments to
willi@willimiller.com
.
Limited advertising and sponsorships are available in Arts Blast!
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Recycling works. Please share and spread the word..
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Arts Blast! is dedicated every week to Helen Miller.
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To opt out of receiving this newsletter, "unsubscribe" at the end of the page.
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Julie Lounibos is a Morning Person - Here's Why
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Julie Lounibos is an old friend I knew only as a painter until fairly recently, when these jaw-dropping pictures began showing up in my Facebook feed almost every morning. All of her sunrise photos are taken by the Indian River Lagoon in St. Lucie Village, Fort Pierce, Florida. The photo top right is one of a series of mosaic paintings by Anita Prentice. The artist interpreted her mosaics from sunrise photographs taken by Julie.
http://www.anitaprenticeart.com
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Julie Lounibos lives and paints by the Indian River Lagoon. She is a third generation Floridian and is endlessly inspired to paint the colorful beauty of natural Florida.
Facebook: Art by the River with Julie Lounibos
Two paintings below - Julie Lounibos
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Cultural Council of Indian River County's Laurel Awards
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Congratulations!
The Cultural Council of Indian River County has named five winners of its 2019 Laurel Awards. The 23rd Laurel Award Celebration will be held at Riverside Theatre on May 8 at 6:00 pm. The distinguished awards and their winners are:
· Richard A. Stark Award for Cultural Leadership – Susan Schuyler Smith and Suzan Phillips, nominated by McKee Botanical Garden
· Alma Lee Loy Award for Volunteer Leadership – Carol Ludwig, nominated by the Center for Spiritual Care;
· Willie C. Reagan Award for Educational Leadership – Jacob Craig, nominated by Vero Beach Pipes & Drums;
· John J. Schumann, Jr. for Business Leadership - Ocean Drive Plastic Surgery, Roxanne & Alan Durkin, Owners, nominated by Under the Oaks Fine Art & Craft Show, a premier Vero Beach Art Club event.
Master of Ceremonies for the event is John E. Moore, III. Mark Wygonik is Producer and Program Director. Members of the Laurel Award Committee include Barbara Hoffman, Alicia Quinn, Oscar Sales, Mark Wygonik and Lisa Lindner.
Tickets are $75 for the Reception and evening ending dessert and toast or $25 for performance-only tickets. cultural-council.org.
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A tradition that began with the Reverend Peter Marshall at Washington D.C.'s New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in 1941 will continue again this year at First Presbyterian Church in Vero Beach. The Kirkin' o' the Tartans ceremony, or Blessing of the Family, is now observed, mainly by Presbyterian congregations, in all parts of the country.
April 28's 9 and 11 a.m. worship services at First Presbyterian Church, open to all, will feature performances by
Vero Beach Pipes and Drums
, whose Pipe Major is Jacob Craig, director of music and arts at the church. "
Guests are invited to wear plaid, whether it is a kilt, trews, or just a small piece of plaid pinned to clothing. Tartan flags are also welcomed," he said.
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There are Internet references to the belief held by some that the tradition dates back to the 18th century, when wearing kilts was outlawed and Scots carried bits of tartan fabric to church to be blessed. That theory is scotched by first-hand stories about Marshall's originating Kirkin’ o’ the Tartans in his efforts to raise money in 1941 for war relief for the British.
Photo credit - First Presbyterian Church: Vero Beach Pipes and Drums at the 2018 Kirkin' o' the Tartans
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On the Calendar - Indian River County
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April 28, 3 p.m. - Space Coast Symphony Orchestra is Celebrating John Williams in a multi-media concert at Vero Beach High School’s Performing Arts Center.
April 28, 9 and 11 a.m. -
Kirkin’ o’ the Tartans,
Scottish blessing of the families, will be offered at First Presbyterian Church of Vero Beach. Guests are invited to wear plaid and Tartan flags are welcome.
Through June 1 - Scenic Spring is the exhibit at The Galleries at First Pres at First Presbyterian Church of Vero Beach, 520 Royal Palm Blvd. The artists for this quarter are Jean Archibald, Pamela Schwartz, and Paul Williams.
Through April 30 - Legally Blonde is fun on the Stark Stage at Riverside Theatre through April 30.
Apr. 24-27 - Indian River Charter High School’s VAPA program offers "
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" as
a combined effort of the school’s programs.This event is sold out.
April - May 6 - Victorian Radicals: From the Pre-Raphaelites to the Arts and Crafts Movement continues at Vero Beach Museum of Art.
AAUW Vero Beach
collects books K-5th for the Little Free Library. https://verobeach-fl.aauw.net
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Through May - Rita Blanco Sprague art is at the Indian River County Courthouse.
May 1 - Tickets go on sale for the 2019-2020 season at Christ by the Sea UMC.
May 2, 7 p.m. - Indian River Charter High School’s spring choral concert under the direction of Gary Miller will return to St. John of the Cross Catholic Church, 7550 26th St., Vero Beach. It’s free to get in but a goodwill offering will be accepted.
May 4, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. - RT Star’s Big Birthday Party 2019 at Riverside Children’s Theatre.
May 7-19, Times vary - The Savannah Sipping Society at Vero Beach Theatre Guild.
May 8, 7 p.m. - Tropical Winds Spring Chamber Concert at Center for Spiritual Care, 1550 24th St., Vero Beach
May 13 - The Tempest from the Stratford Festival is at Majestic 11 in Vero Beach.
May 19, 3 p.m. Gifford Youth Orchestra Spring Piano Recital.
http://www.gyotigers.org
May 19 -Bolshoi Ballet: Carmen Suite/Petrushka at Majestic 11 in Vero Beach.
Through June 11 - Vero Beach Art Club members’ work displayed at the Main Indian River County Library.
June 27 - The National Theater LIVE: "Small Island” at Majestic 11 in Vero Beach.
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Space Coast Symphony Orchestra Loves John Williams
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There’s a whole lot of celebrating going on in the ranks of the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra these days. This weekend, in two performances, Conductor and Music Director Aaron Collins will lead his musicians in a full dozen and a half of John Williams’ finest film compositions. Don’t be surprised to see Star Wars characters playing along with the film’s familiar selections. Themes from Angela’s Ashes, Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park, E.T., Hook, and other Williams movie scores are on the program, only a small taste of the music he’s composed for more than 100 films. His credits and awards go far beyond the big screen; the results of an internet search are humbling.
Celebrating John Williams will be at the Scott Center for Performing Arts in Melbourne at 7 p.m. April 27 and at Vero Beach High School Performing Arts Center April 28 at 3 p.m. Those performances are free for those 18 and under or with a student ID. For more information, call toll free to 855-252-7276 or visit
www.SpaceCoastSymphony.org
. For mobile devices, download the free interactive SCSO app from Google Play or the Apple App Store.
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Another kind of celebration was triggered by a recent press release: “
Impact 100 of Indian River Count
y is pleased to announce the local non-profits which were each awarded $100,000 in transformational grant monies at the 11th Grant Awards and Annual Meeting on April 17th.” The recipients were Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River County, HALO No Kill Rescue, and Space Coast Symphony Orchestra.
Collins said he’s been applying for the Impact 100 grant for three years, hoping to realize the orchestra’s ambition to “start four educational programs for Indian River County families and children designed to bring music education and inspiration to underexposed children in an engaging way.” He said, “When we started ten years ago, creating special and impactful education programs were at the top of our list. This grant will make it become a reality. We are grateful to Indian River Impact 100 for believing in us and giving us this opportunity.”
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Information on the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra, its10th season ending soon, and the coming 11th season can be found online at
https://spacecoastsymphony.org
Top photo: Maestro Aaron Collins leads the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra
Center photo: Maestro Aaron Collins displays the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra's check from Impact 100.
Photo: Bassoon players Lisa Waite and Angela Moretti (Han Solo and an Ewok) have fun as Star Wars characters.
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Vero Beach Museum of Art's Annual Children's Art Festival
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Riverside Children's Theatre Celebrates RT Star's Birthday!
And you're invited! (if you're a kid)
It's on the Riverside Theatre campus with multiple stages of entertainment. No ticket is required for all the activities planned and there will be food and drinks available for purchase and some free things for kids
while supplies last.
SATURDAY, MAY 4: 10am-2pm
Shows & Entertainment (free)
- KIDspot Games & PRIZES (free for kids)
- Face Painting (free for kids)
- Character Meet N' Greets (free for kids)
- Bounce Slide (free for kids)
- Special Treat (free for kids)
- And Much More!
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A Musical Weekend in Brevard
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April 28, 3 p.m. - Flutes in Love is the 30-member Space Coast Flute Orchestra’s spring concert at Eastminster Presbyterian Church, Indialantic. The program is all about romance and includes My Funny Valentine, a waltz from
Tchaikovsky's
Sleeping Beauty, and Tonight from West Side Story. The orchestra includes a complete range of voices from the high ranging piccolo to the deep contra-bass. No tickets are needed for this free concert but please consider a donation.
www.SCFO.org
or call 321-385-SCFO (7236)
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May 1, 7 p.m. -
Brevard Chorale and Vocal Choral Ensemble
under the direction of James Boyles present The Musical World of Disney at the Community Church at The Great Outdoors RV-Nature & Golf Resort, 144 Plantation Dr., Titusville. The 60-voice Chorale welcomes singers from 16 to senior citizens, and rehearses weekly at the Cocoa campus of Eastern Florida State College. It is one of two community choruses
sponsored by the Department of Performing and Visual Arts at the college. Boyles has taught choral music in Brevard County since the 1970s and has directed the Chancel Choir at Indian River City United Methodist Church in Titusville since 2003.
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Treasure Coast Symphony's Conductor Search -
Terence Kirchgessner Passes the Baton
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When Maestro Terence Kirchgessner rests his baton at the end of the April 28 Treasure Coast Symphony concert, he'll begin the transition from music director and conductor to Conductor/ Music Director Emeritus status with the TCS. Kirchgessner ends his 10-year stint on the podium with plans to spend less time traveling and more time enjoying his family. He said, "My daughter is six and the drive from Boca Raton has gotten harder over the years."
Along with conducting the Treasure Coast Symphony, Kirchgessner is a staff conductor at Lynn Conservatory of Music in Boca Raton. He began his studies and then his career in upstate New York.
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TCS president Kelly Levenstein said the organization will miss him but she understands his desire to downshift. He is "a beacon of our community ... He took to engaging with the Treasure Coast community as if it was his own."
Levenstein has put out the call for someone to take up Kirchgessner's conductor's baton. "We would like the conductor to reside in the Treasure Coast area. Being the oldest community orchestra on the Treasure Coast (34 years and counting) is humbling to all of us involved with the TCS," she said.
(Photo: Cindy Baker, Concertmaster; Kelly Levenstein, TCS president; Terence Kirchgessner, TCS conductor and music director.
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"We are hoping to have three candidates, as we did 10 years ago, one candidate for each concert — holiday, pops, classical/scholarship winner," Levenstein said. Anyone interested in the music director/conductor position or in playing with the orchestra should contact her at treasurecoastsymphony@hotmail.com.
The winner of the 2019 Young Musician Scholarship, Kayla Dunnuck, shown here with piano instructor Cindy Kessler, Stuart School of Music, will perform with the Treasure Coast Symphony in the April 28 concert. Dunnuck is a junior at Martin County High School. Along with piano studies, she sings with the MCHS OPUS choir and other award-winning choruses. She plans to study piano performance and computer engineering in college. The Young Artist Concert is at Jensen Beach High School auditorium, 2875 NW Goldenrod Rd., Jensen Beach at 3 p.m. Doors open at 2:00.
Get more information online, www.treasurecoastsymphony.org.
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Heathcote's Bonsai Garden
Where Small is Huge!
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Last year a friend introduced me to the bonsai garden at Heathcote Botanical Gardens in Fort Pierce. I was intrigued and curious, more “How did they do that?” than “Isn’t that pretty?” Being in possession of a thumb that can flip from green to brown in an instant, I asked the bonsai curator at Heathcote, Tom Kehoe, just how easy it would be to accidentally kill a bonsai project. His answer was short: “Very.” He added “The great John Naka, the father of bonsai in America, once said that a bonsai master will kill a forest of trees. But it’s also not that difficult to keep one alive.” Water it, fertilize it, watch out for bugs, and hope a disease doesn’t swoop in and end it all.
(Photo Right: A Smith Signature Bonsai tree)
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Kehoe didn’t pull any punches about my chances of finding success. “The vast majority of bonsai artists are men, but the reason for that is open to debate. … To make good a good bonsai usually requires harsh and messy techniques — chopping the trunk, cutting off all the branches and regrowing them, etc. We joke about torturing trees, and I think women are kind of put off by the harsh methods.” Hmmm. He went on to say that the required single-mindedness is more common in men than women, but added, “There are certainly women who are fine and well-known bonsai artists — Kathy Shaner for example. But the art is overwhelmingly dominated by men.”
(Photo:
Ficus Exotica at Epcot’s International Flower & Garden Festival-Japan Pavilion
)
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Bonsai is a Japanese word meaning tree in a pot. Take any plant and stick it in a bonsai pot and it becomes bonsai, Kehoe said. That doesn’t make it a good bonsai, though. “Bonsai is a formal art with many rules for design. Branches should be placed at certain intervals, there is a certain ratio of width to height, etc. There are numerous styles, and trees are classed by the angle of the trunk, or the number of trunks.”
A species has to be able to take a fair amount of abuse to be suitable for the constant pruning and trimming of bonsai, Kehoe explained. “They have to be taken out of their pots for root trimming, and heavy wire is used to position and shape the branches.” As the branches become finer and more dense, the leaves grow smaller, he said. Dozens of the more than 800 species of ficus are common selections.
(Photo Right: Small bougainvillea)
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Done well, bonsai trees can live hundreds of years and are carried down through generations of families. Kehoe said it’s difficult to put a specific age on a bonsai. “If you dig one out of the ground to start, you never really know how old it is. And if you start one as a cutting from another tree, do you date it from the age of the tree on which it first grew, or on the date that you cut it?” The generally accepted way of identifying the age of a bonsai is by the number of years in training. “In other words,” Kehoe said, “how long has it been in a bonsai pot. We have collected buttonwoods at Heathcote that have been in a pot for 30 years but were more than 100 years old when they were collected.”
The oldest tree in the United States Kehoe is aware of is at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Arboretum. He said, “The Yamaki Pine is said to have been in training for 400 years, and survived the bombing of Hiroshima. There are certainly older trees in Japan. In America, most artists sell off their collection when they get to the point where they can no longer take care of them.”
(Photo Left: Large bougainvillea)
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That was the situation that allowed Heathcote to take possession 10 years ago of the bonsai collection of James J. Smith, a Bonsai Master with a bonsai nursery in Vero Beach. Smith donated 100 of his best trees to Heathcote “on the condition that they would be properly maintained, displayed and protected.” He envisioned a “Walk Through Bonsai” where visitors to Heathcote “would discover a unique bonsai tree at every turn,” according to Heathcote’s executive director, Diane Kimes.
(Photo Right: Silver buttonwood)
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To that end, a unique and original garden was planned by Sam Comer of Hayslip Landscape, with guidance from Master Smith and Jim Van Landingham. “Elements of a traditional Japanese Garden (stone, gravel, limited landscape palette) are interpreted through native Florida plants and building materials,” Kimes said. The Bonsai Pavilion, used for a variety of events, was designed by architect Peter Moor.
One of Smith’s bonsai trees is on display through June 5 at Epcot Center as part of the 2019 International Flower & Garden Festival in the Japan Pavilion. Kehoe explained that the tree has the trade name of Ficus Exotica but, in fact, the actual species has not been identified. “This bonsai was originally a full-size tree growing in the ground at Jim’s nursery,” he said. “Jim cut it to a stump, dug it out, and regrew the entire top of the tree as a bonsai.Last year we transplanted it into the shallow oval pot … to better highlight the tree’s magnificent proportions.” (Photo: Black Olive)
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If You Go:
210 Savannah Rd., Fort Pierce, Florida
772-464-4672
There is an admission charge for non-members.
Closed Mondays and most major holidays
Closed Sundays May 1-October 1
(Photo: Raintree)
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On the Calendar - Martin County
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April 25, 7 p.m. - Jensen Beach High School Band's Spring Concert at JBHS Performing Arts Center, 2875 NW Goldenrod Rd., featuring Jazz Band, Winter Guard, Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Finale Mass Ensemble. Tickets $5.
Apr 26 – May 12 - My Art My Way - Art Down the Hall at the Elliott Museum. Artwork by students with and without disabilities from Citrus Grove Elementary. Work is available for sale with 100% of the proceeds going back to the school to continue the program. Cash or check only.
April 28, 3 p.m. -
Treasure Coast Symphony’
s Young Artist concert at Jensen Beach High School auditorium, 2875 NW Goldenrod Rd., Jensen Beach. This is Maestro Terrence Kirchgessner final concert.
May 2, 7 p.m. - Steep Canyon Rangers at Lyric Theatre, Stuart.
May 4-5 - Auditions for Rock of Ages musical at The Barn Theatre.
www.barn-theatre.com.
Any questions, call Bryan Childe, Director, at 772-708-0261.
Through May 23 - The 33rd Annual Marvin S Cone High School Juried Art Show and Awards featuring art work from students of Martin County, Jensen Beach, and South Fork high schools, The Pine School, and Clark Advanced Learning Center. At the Court House Cultural Center Gallery, Stuart.
May 14 - Sunset Concerts in the Gallery - Young Artists of the Treasure Coast Youth Symphony, Tom Servinsky, director.
At the Court House Cultural Center, Stuart.
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THURSDAYS 7 - 9 p.m. - Acoustic Music Jam - Ground Floor Farm, 100 SE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Stuart
Artists and vendors - applications being accepted for the Avant-Garden Party in Stuart May 18. martinarts.org.
May 18, 3-9 p.m. - Avant-Garden Party Celebrating the Stuart Arts + Entertainment District. 130 SE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Stuart. $10 ticket benefits the Arts Council of Martin County.
Dates vary, 10 a.m. - The Mansion at Tuckahoe tours in Indian Riverside Park, 1707 NE Indian River Dr., Jensen Beach. First and third Wednesdays through April, 10 and 11 a.m., then every Wednesday in May.
Through June 30 - Elliot Museum's “Art From the Vault” in the Changing Exhibitions Gallery. 50+ paintings & sculptures from the Elliott’s permanent collection. To quote a friend, “Mind-blowing!”
UNTIL MAY 1 - Submit a name for the official designation of the Stuart arts and entertainment district. The district is bordered by Colorado to the west, extents north the SE 6th, down Delaware, east along MLK Blvd, around Bruner Pond to connect with Kindred and Johnson. Vote today on the names proposed to date.
martinarts.org
June 11:
Sunset Concerts in the Gallery -
Stuart School of Music, with Cindy Kessler. At the Court House Cultural Center, Stuart.
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On the Calendar - No. Palm Beach County
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April 24 - May 5 - Disney’s The Lion King at Kravis Center. WPB.
April 8-25 - Lighthouse ArtCenter’s 41st Members Show & Sale. Tequesta.
April 25, 6:15 p.m. - The Escher String Quartet at Norton Museum of Art, presented by Chamber music Society of Palm Beach. Tickets - concert only $75; concert and reception $195.
April 26-28, times vary - Amelie, a New Musical at Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, WPB.
April 27, 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. - The Golden Dragon Acrobats at Eissey Campus Theatre. PB Gardens.
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April 29-May 25 - Late Spring and Summer Adult Classes at Lighthouse ArtCenter, Tequesta. Ceramics, drawing, jewelry, open studios, painting, sculpture.
May 1-15, 7:15-8:30 p.m. - Lighthouse Sunset Tours at
Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum,
Jupiter. Weather permitting, height requirement, other conditions. Purchase tickets online only. Note: off-season hours begin in May.
May 8, 8 p.m. - Dance Theatre of Harlem at Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, WPB.
May 10, 7 p.m. - Spotlight on Young Musicians at Kravis Center, WPB
May 16, 8 p.m. - Kinky Boots at Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, WPB.
Through June 30, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. - Twisted: Patrick Dougherty Entwined - Mounts Botanical Garden, 531 NorthMilitary Trail, WPB.
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Elliott Museum's From the Vault and Art4All Florida
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The vault door was heard creaking open at
Elliott Museum
in Stuart as the Art From the Vault exhibit was prepared for visitors earlier this month in the Changing Exhibits Gallery. At the end of June, the original artworks from the Elliott’s permanent collection will go back into the vault to wait for their next viewing by the public.
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There are more than 50 pieces in the exhibit, works of local, regional, national, and international artists, some never seen on the walls of the Elliott before this.
A painting that’s considered the crown jewel of the Elliott Museum’s art collection, according to a museum spokesperson, is
Sharpening the Arrow
, oil on canvas painted in 1920 by E. Irving Couse, a renowned western artist.
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Sam Adoquei’s
Portrait of Elaine Shore
will be on display. It’s a 1992 oil on canvas that’s keeping watch over William Zorach’s 20th century bronze maquette,
Patience.
in this photo.
A coupling of original mid-1950s ink and watercolor drawings by Alfred Van Loen are there, along with a mixed-metal sculpture,
Ewe, Udderly Ewe,
by local artist Rose Wunderbaum Traines.
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A show that’s back for the second time at the Elliott is from the Arts4All Florida program (formerly VSA - Very Special Art) at Citrus Grove Elementary School in Palm City. The show, running until Mother’s Day, May 12, has an open-to-the-public artists reception April 25, 5:30-7:30 p.m. The artwork will be for sale, with all proceeds going back to Citrus Grove Elementary to repeat the program for the next group of artists. T
he show is on view d
uring regular museum hours, included with membership or with regular admission for non-members.
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From the Arts4All website:
The mission of Arts4All Florida is to provide, support and champion arts education and cultural experiences for and by people with disabilities. Our vision is to create a world in which the arts are universally accessible. We do this by:
- Conducting art education programs in schools, Department of Juvenile Justice facilities, and community centers
- Promoting the accomplishments of artists with disabilities through our artist registry, exhibitions, and performances
- Increasing access to the arts through professional development workshops
Arts4All Florida
is headquartered in the College of Education at the University of South Florida.
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On the Calendar - St. Lucie County
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April 26, 8 p.m. - One Night of Queen at the Sunrise Theatre, Fort Pierce.
April 27, 8:30 p.m. - Comedy Corner at the Sunrise Theatre, Fort Pierce.
April 27, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. - Plants in the Park at Garden Club of Fort Pierce/Glidden Park, 911 Parkway Dr.
April 27 - May 12, times vary - On Golden Pond at Treasure Coast Theatre, 10175 S. Federal Hwy., Port St. Lucie, in Beall’s Shopping Plaza. treasurecoasttheatre.com
Through April 28 - Backus & Butcher and the Florida Landscape is the exhibit at the Backus Museum & Gallery, Fort Pierce.
Through April 30 - Special season ticket package sale for 2019-2020 at Pineapple Playhouse.
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April 30-May 1, 7, 8 - TIMES VARY - Registration for free performing arts camp at The Lindsay School of the Arts, Fort Pierce. Ages 8-12, space is limited. 3822 Edwards Rd., Fort Pierce.
May 9-26 - Norman, Is That You? at
Pineapple Playhouse
community theatre, 700 W. Weatherbee Rd., Fort Pierce.
May 1 through summer - Indian River State College’s McAlpin Theatre will be closed for renovations. Oct. 1 is the anticipated reopening date.
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If Gertrude Jeky's quote, "
“The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies,”
warms your heart, you need to be at Glidden Park in Fort Pierce April 27 for Plants in the Park.
The Garden Club of Fort Pierce will have its annual multi-club plant sale with information booths staffed by horticultural and environment groups, and plants, plants, plants, locally grown by non-profit plant societies. For yard sale shoppers, there's a bonus of a genuine yard sale: Gently used garden-related items will be looking for new homes.
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Club spokesperson Dotty Greene described the sale as the Goldilocks of plant sales: Not too big, not too small, but just right. All plant vendors will be local, non-commercial growers. Among those participating this year are Fort Pierce Orchid Society, Heathcote Botanical Gardens, Journey's End Animal Sanctuary, Master Gardeners, Operation Catsnip, Savannas State Park, and the Treasure Coast Violet Society. There will be a beekeeper's booth and others are expected to sign up.
Plants in the Park is on from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Saturday, April 27 at Glidden park, 911 Parkway Dr. (Georgia & 10th Street), Fort Pierce.
Additional information is available from Blanca Raincourt at 305-281-3335.
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On the Calendar - Brevard County
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April - May 25 - VISION 2019,
the annual juried exhibition of Melbourne’s Strawbridge Art League
at
Foosanar Art Museum.
April 27, 7 p.m. - Space Coast Symphony Orchestra is Celebrating John Williams in a multi-media concert at Scott Center for the Performing Arts, Melbourne.
April 19 - 28, times vary - The Henegar Center presents Red, by John Logan. Also by Logan:
Gladiator, Skyfall, Spectre, The Aviator, The Last Samurai, Any Given Sunday, and many more.
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April 28, 3 p.m. - Flutes in Love is the 30-member Space Coast Flute Orchestra’s spring concert at Eastminster Presbyterian Church, Indialantic. No tickets are needed for this free concert but please consider a donation.
www.SCFO.org
or call 321-385-SCFO (7236)
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ROAD TRIP! Edison and Ford Winter Estates
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This is a missing segment of a press road trip I took a few years ago. I had been invited to tour Lee County on Florida's west coast (more on that in other issues) and it was suggested I stop at the
Edison and Ford Winter Estates
in Fort Myers on my way back to Vero Beach. When I arrived at the entrance it was pouring cats and dogs, so I decided to press on for home, promising myself a return trip. That hasn’t happened yet, so here’s the armchair version. If you’ve been there or are planning to go, please report in.
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Like many northerners, inventor Thomas Edison was attracted by the idea of warm, sunny winters. In 1885, a year before he brought his new bride, Mina Miller Edison, to begin their decades-long winter escapes, Edison bought 13 acres along the Caloosahatchee River. Visitors to the estate now will find historical buildings and gardens on 20 acres of Florida landscape.
Henry Ford and his family visited the area in 1914 at Edison's suggestion and within two years owned the home next to Edison's. They named it The Mangoes.
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The gardens on the estate still have descendants of the Edisons' plantings, if not the originals, many unique. When you visit, you'll become familiar with the sausage tree, a queen's wreath, Puerto Rican hat palm, the blue maho, and yesterday today tomorrow. According to its website,
the estate contains more than 1,700 plants representing more than 400 species from six continents.
Plants of all kinds, garden necessities, books on how to do it, and gifts are available in the Edison Ford Garden Shoppe. Horticulturists are onsite to advise shoppers.
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One of the buildings on the Edison property, a way station for working cattlemen heading south, was one of the oldest buildings near Fort Myers. Edison made some additions and changes to it and it became his caretaker's cottage. East coast Floridians will recognize the surname of the man who sold the estate to Edison in 1885: Samuel Summerlin. Another building was a guest house that welcomed the rich and famous. Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, and President-elect Herbert Hoover were among them.
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Original furnishings are still part of the estate, nearly all of them original to the Edison family, according to the website. The Hoosier in the photograph above would be a much sought-after antique in the 21st century. The main Edison house was designed with a kitchen and dining room but in 1906, the house was remodeled and those rooms became family bedroom suites. The guest house, newly remodeled had a kitchen. In the main house, visitors will find a library, study, bedrooms, and Edison's den, furnished as they would have been then.
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Don't miss The Timeline of Innovation in the museum. If you thought Edison's only claim to fame was the light bulb or that Ford did nothing but design a horseless carriage, you're in for a surprise — many surprises. Edison's phonograph could record and play back sound. Edison, Ford, and Firestone spent much time and money in the laboratory and in international research to find a plant that would eliminate the country's dependence on foreign rubber. From the website: The Edison Botanic Research Laboratory holds "
a chemical processing area, machine shop, grinding room, office and dark room. ... If Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, or Harvey Firestone were to step inside today, they would find their original equipment and machinery right where they left it — and who knows what their next great invention would be?"
Edison Ford is a National Register Historic Site, open to the public since 1947, and is one of the most visited historic home sites in America.
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The Ford home at Fort Myers.
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The Edisons in the gardens.
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Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone at the lab.
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If You Go:
Edison and Ford Winter Estates
2350 McGregor Blvd
Fort Myers, Florida 33901
239-334-7419
OPEN DAILY 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
closed Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
Wheel chairs are available at no cost, on a first-come, first-served basis.
ADA accessible with parking located at Edison Ford entrance.
Visitor parking is always free. Spaces are available for RVs and buses.
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Ft. Pierce Jazz & Blues Society
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Atlantic Classical Orchestra
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The Galleries at First Pres
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Center for Spiritual Care
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The Stuart School of Music
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Vero Beach Choral Society
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Treasure Coast Jazz Society
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Treasure Coast Community Singers
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Vero Beach Choral Society
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©2019 Willi Miller's ARTS BLAST!, all rights reserved.
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