Autumn has come to the Cummer this Oct 2021

Yes, it has gotten a little cooler and the Cummer Museum of Arts & Gardens is the perfect place to spend the day with family, out of town guests, friends and anyone you’d like to spend some time with. Call today and make your appointment to relax in a socially distant, masked, sanitized, friendly and educational atmosphere. Come to the Cummer!

Events & Programs:
A More Sustainable Life – A virtual panel discussion on ways to live sustainably. October 19 from 7 to 8 p.m. Free | Registration required.

Creepin’ it Real Halloween Art Tour – Tuesday, October 26 | Time: drop in 6 - 8pm | Cost: FREE! — This Halloween, experience the Museum as you never have before! Your spooky art experience begins when you pick up your Halloween scavenger hunt clues from the ghost of Ninah Cummer herself! As you put your sleuthing skills to work, you’ll discover Visitor Experience staff throughout the museum dressed as pieces from our collection and ready to deliver all its spine-chilling secrets, along with free trunk-or-treat style prizes! You’d have to be undead to miss it!

The Shop's Autumn Artisan Market in the Cummer Gardens Features exceptional products by women makers and designers. October 28 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Gallery Walk: with the Chief Curator — An inside look at The Journey October 28 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Members $50, Non-Members $60. Registration required.

Friday Night Picnics — October through December from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Prices and menu items vary.

Education:
Artful Explorations — Drop-in activities for all ages October 10 from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Free.

Look at That! — Discover the joys of close looking. October 13 Proper Proportion; October 27, Perceiving Perspective from Noon to 1 p.m. Free | Registration required.

Exploring Color, Acrylic Painting: with Allison Watson — Oct. 13, 20, 27; Nov. 3, 10, 17 from 1 to 4 p.m. Members $270, Non-Members $360. Registration required.

Basic Drawing: with William McMahan — Oct. 14, 28; Nov. 4, 11, 18; Dec. 2 from 1 to 4 p.m. Members $270, Non-Members $360. Registration required.

Teachers' Lounge — October 19 from 5 to 7 p.m. Free | Registration required.

Pressed Flower Virtual Workshop: with Cassidy Ramos — October 24. 12:30 to 2 p.m. Members $45, Non-Members $60. Registration required.

The Art of Nature” Glamping Dinner Party – Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021 from 6 to 9 p.m.: Where nature meets luxury, and the perfect spot to glamp is the Cummer Gardens! Connect with the outdoors in style during this fancy, bohemian fête amidst the Cummer Oak and historic gardens. Wander and experience a unique culinary feature at every turn, whether in one of our garden tents or charming outdoor lounges. This will be a garden party like no other – a true celebration of glamour entwined with nature! Pricing varies.

Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens
   829 Riverside Avenue
   Jacksonville, Florida 32204
   (904) 356-6857
   Hours of Operation & Admission

‘Untold Stories’ new live performance series at the FL Theatre

The nonprofit Florida Theatre in downtown Jacksonville has announced the debut of a new live performance series, “Untold Stories”. Produced locally by the Florida Theatre, Untold Stories will tap into the heart and soul of Northeast Floridian storytellers with quarterly thematic story evenings.

Untold Stories will feature personal and transformative tales told by a diverse range of voices, both natives and residents, connected to Northeast Florida. From artists and entrepreneurs to educators and medical professionals, we all carry memories and stories shaped by our environment. Untold Stories honors the tradition of oral storytelling in a modern context, where stories are deeply wedded to the place we inhabit.

The President of the Florida Theatre, Numa Saisselin, said, “We all know the Florida Theatre is one of the great performance halls in the country, and a ‘must play’ stop for touring artists, but we are always looking for new opportunities to connect with our local community. We were inspired to create Untold Stories by Brian and Jake Wolfburg, who told us about a storytelling series in Anchorage, Alaska that they attended. Untold Stories is the Northeast Florida version. We envision four performances a year. Each edition will be themed, and will feature five or six Northeast Florida storytellers, plus a host and a local musical artist who will provide pre-show and in-between music.”

Says Saisselin, “We’re pleased to announce that Barbara Colaciello will be our Guest Artistic Director of the inaugural season. Each season we envision having a different Artistic Director to mix things up and bring a different perspective to the series.”

For over two decades, Barbara has written, directed, produced, and performed socially engaged theater that contributes to vital conversations in the Jacksonville community. She began her career as the Advertising Director of Andy Warhol's Interview Magazine in New York City, and for 9 years Barbara served as the Director of Education for Players by the Sea Theatre. She has collaborated extensively with poet, playwright and nationally known NPR Radio Host, Al Letson. A 2013 TEDxJacksonville Speaker, Colaciello received a 2018 PNC Arts Alive Grant in partnership with the Florida Theatre to direct Letson’s anti-bullying play, Chalk, for Title 1 schools. She was awarded a 2020 Art Ventures Individual Artist Grant from the Community Foundation for Northeast Florida to write a new solo piece Open Heart (ed) exploring women’s heart health and caregiving.

Barbara, known for story slams at her theatre space BABS’LAB located in the CoRK Arts District, says, “There will be nothing more powerful than being in the iconic Florida Theatre, with minds and hearts open, actively listening to some of our cities most wonderful storytellers. My goal is to create magical, intimate evenings where audience members feel like a fly on the wall or rather a lizard on the wall when we’re talking Northeast Florida.”

That’s a sly reference to the new logo for the series, which features an Anole Lizard. Says Numa Saisselin, “We were trying to find an image that was distinctly North Floridian, and what could be more evocative of North Florida than that? We haven’t given him, her or they a name yet, but I’m sure that’s coming.”

There will be four performances a year of Untold Stories. Each will be themed, and each of the four themes for the 2021-2022 series suggests place, water and movement. However, each theme can be interpreted in many different ways by the individual storytellers. The dates and themes for the next four editions are listed below.

The first season of Untold Stories is made possible by a generous contribution from the Wolfburg Family. The performers for the November 27 performance are: Willie Evans, Jr., Anna Jacobson, Zonnetta Marie, Johnathon Ross, Angela Tenbroeck & Kedgar Volta. Performer photos and bios are live on the Untold Stories: Ebbs and Flows event page at FloridaTheatre.com now.

The historic, nonprofit Florida Theatre is sponsored by Community First Credit Union. For a complete list of upcoming events or to buy tickets visit the Theatre’s official website, floridatheatre.com.

“Untold Stories”
DATES: 2021 – 2022
Sat., Nov. 27, 2021 at 8 p.m. – Ebbs and Flows
Sat., Feb. 12, 2022 at 8 p.m. – Out of the Swamp
Fri., May 6, 2022 at 8 p.m. – There and Back Again
Sat., Aug. 6, 2022 at 8 p.m. – Fish Out of Water

TIMES: 8 p.m.

TICKETS: Tickets are $35 and $25 and available in person from the theatre’s box office, by phone from the box office at (904) 355 - ARTS (2787), or online at FloridaTheatre.com. Purchase Tickets to all four shows and receive a 10% discount

LOCATION: The Florida Theatre
       128 East Forsyth Street.
       Jacksonville, FL 32202
       (904) 355 - ARTS (2787)