Cummer Museum calendar of events for September 2017

So you think that Summer is over and there is nothing to do.  Well, think again! The Cummer Museum and of Arts & Gardens has so much in store for you after the Dog Days of Summer are over.  It’s time to prepare for the excitement of Fall.  There’s lots of history this month, so grab your calendars and make some notations so you don’t miss a single activity.

Florida Blue Free Tuesday – Each Tues. Evening from 4 to 9 p.m. | Free.  No registration required.  Every Tuesday, enjoy free admission to the Cummer Museum and its historic Gardens, thanks to the generous support of Florida Blue. Guests can enjoy free admission to the Galleries and Gardens.  Each Tuesday evening, the Cummer Café is open for Tapas Tuesday sponsored by VyStar Credit Union.

Tapas Tuesday – Each Tues. Evening from 5 to 7:30 p.m. | The Cummer Café.  Reservations recommended.  Tap into Tapas Tuesday sponsored by VyStar Credit Union at the Cummer Café. Every Tuesday from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on the Cummer Café patio, take in the sunset while listening to local musicians with beer, wine, or artfully inspired tapas for sale at the Café.  Reserve your table by calling (904) 899-6022.

Weaver First Saturday Free for All – Sat., Sept. 2 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Free.  No registration required.  The first Sat. of each month at the Cummer Museum is FREE FOR ALL, thanks to the generous support of J. Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver. Guests can enjoy free admission, as well as art-making activities for all ages in the Cummer Gardens, live music, and a Docent-led tour at 2 p.m.

Ink, Silk, and Gold Closing Celebration – Sat., Sept. 2 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Free.  No registration required.  Visit Ink, Silk, and Gold one last time before it leaves Jacksonville.  Enjoy live music, art demonstrations, hands-on art-making activities, and performances arranged to celebrate this memorable exhibition. For further information, please call (904) 356-6857.

Bank Of America And Merrill Lynch Museums On Us – Sun., Sept. 3 from Noon to 4 p.m. | Free to Cardholders.  No registration required.  The Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens offers free admission on the first Sunday of the first full weekend of the month to all Bank of America or Merrill Lynch cardholders through the Museums on Us program.  Each cardholder receives one free general admission to the Museum. For more information on the Museum's programming and events, please call (904) 899-6038.

Talks & Tea: Mediterranea – Wed., Sept. 13 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. | Members and Non-Members $6.  Registration required.  You are invited to the Museum to enjoy an insightful talk over a cup of tea and a sweet treat, led by Associate Curator Nelda Damiano on Mediterranea. For further information or to register, please call (904) 899-6038.

Art for Tots: Play Your Instruments! – Sat., Sept. 16 from 9 to 10 a.m. | Members $15 per pair, Non-Members $20 per pair.  Registration required.  This class is for children ages 24 to 36 months and an accompanying adult.  Children will view The Concert by Theodoor Rombouts and discuss what they think is happening in the painting.  Families will identify instruments and play them as the class hears them in various music pieces.  In the studio, families will explore recycled materials to construct musical instruments.  The creations will be used in a grand finale! Art for Tots is funded through the generosity of the Chartrand Family Foundation.  Space is limited, so reservations are encouraged. Entry is through Art Connections. For further information, please email or call (904) 355-0630.

 Art Adventures: Still Life! – Sat., Sept. 16 from10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. | Members $10, Non-Members $15.  Registration required.  Join them on the third Saturday of each month for studio classes. Students in this class will observe works from the permanent collections that demonstrate how artists have approached the subject of still life throughout history.  Then they will return to the studio to experiment with a range of dry media to create their own still life.  Open to children ages 6 through 12.  Class size is limited.  For further information, please email or call (904) 355-0630.

Free Tuesday Lecture: Mediterranea – Tues., Sept. 19 from 7 to 8 p.m. | Free.  Registration required.  After the civil war, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, American tourism of Europe developed an increased nation-wide interest in southern Europe, the Holy Land, and much of northern Africa.  American artists became fascinated by the aspects of nature and culture they believed to define the Mediterranean.  They responded to its distinctive flora, the legacy of the Greco-Roman past, and the influence of Christianity and Islam.  Join Dr. Mark White, Director of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, University of Oklahoma, as he explores how American artists understood, interpreted, and portrayed Mediterranean culture.  For further information or to register, please call (904) 899-6038.

Artists & World War I The Battlefront – Thurs., Sept. 21 from 1:30 to 3 p.m. | Members Free, Non-Members $10 (includes admission).  Registration required.  World War I was the first truly mechanized global war, and it changed everything, including art.  This talk looks at the relationship artists, who served as war artists during World War I, made between man and machine, as well as the personal story behind John Singer Sargent’s iconic, Gassed. Afterward, there will be time in the galleries with Sargent’s In The Alps.  Join Director of Education Lynn Norris to discover Artists & World War I: The Battlefront.  For further information, please email or call (904) 355-0630.

Classical Concert: Mediterranea – Sun., Sept. 24 from 1:30 p.m. | Members Free, Non-Members Free with Museum Admission.  Registration required.  Join the Museum for a classical concert inspired by the works of Mediterranea, performed by Stephen Robinson, Philip Pan, and Rhonda Cassano. For further information or to register, please call (904) 899-6038.

History of Western Art: Antiquities – Tues., Sept. 26 from 10:30 a.m. to Noon | Members Free, Non-Members $10 (includes admission).  Registration required.  Explore art history through this monthly series of lectures that includes time in the galleries.  If you want to brush up on your art history for personal enjoyment, then join our Museum Educator to discover the history of western art.  Space is limited. For further information, please email or call (904) 355-0630.

Summer Nights Art Class: Ceramics – Tues., Sept. 26 from 6 to 8 p.m. | Members $30, Non-Members $40.  Registration required.  Join the museum for a two-hour ceramics workshop taught by local artist Anna Patterson.  This all-levels program includes supplies, wine, beer, and light nibbles. For further information, please email or call (904) 355-0630.

Cummer Beaches: Kickoff – Thurs., Sept. 28 from 6 to 8 p.m. | Members $15, Non-Members $20.  The Plantation at Ponte Vedra.  Registration required.  Join Cummer Beaches for the annual kick-off event and hear Holly Keris, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Curator of the Cummer Museum, speak about Florida Art in the Museum’s permanent collection.  For further information please visit their website, email, or call (904) 899-6007.

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

Pick your seats for upcoming 2017/18 Times Union shows

Update September 7, 2017: Due to the impending hurricane, the 2017/18 Kick off event has been cancelled. Please contact the FSCJ Artist Series (904) 632-5000 if you have any questions.

The FSCJ Artist Series, sponsored by VyStar Credit Union, will kick off the 17/18 Broadway in Jacksonville season with its 20th annual Open House at the Times-Union Center.  This event will be a perfect evening for families and art lovers in Jacksonville as the Artist Series announces the entire lineup for the upcoming season.  Doors will open to the public at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, September 13, 2017.

The event will include: a complimentary wine tasting, live music from The Chris Thomas Band and a special sneak peek at the upcoming season with a performance by a member of the CIRQUE DREAMS cast as well as a surprise guest performer!  Local food trucks What’s the Catch and NitrogenCreamery will be onsite serving up delicious eats and treats for purchase.  Attendees will have the opportunity to register to win a trip for two to New York City, including: 2 tickets to Disney’s The Lion King on Broadway, hotel and airfare.  Details will be available at the point of registration.  WJXT’s Bruce Hamilton will host the event as the FSCJ Artist Series Kicks Off the Broadway Season!

The theater will also be open to the public to allow attendees to test drive seats available for subscription for the upcoming season.  The FSCJ Artist Series will have staff on hand to answer any questions about subscribing to the shows of the season.  Attendees will also be able to purchase any available seat for subscription during the event.

The first 100 people to RSVP to artistseries2@fscj.edu today, receive a free gift courtesy of Disney’s The Lion King when they arrive at the event.  (Gift must be picked up at the event!).  Complimentary parking for the first 100 attendees of the Broadway Season Kick Off will be provided by LAZ at the Enterprise Parking Garage.  Attendees can park in the garage and stop by the FSCJ Artist Series Box Office to receive a parking ticket before leaving the Times-Union Center.  Current Broadway season subscribers will be able to pick up their season tickets, exchange their tickets, buy single tickets for family and friends, and “test drive” their seats during the event.

The FSCJ Artist Series’ 17/18 Broadway in Jacksonville Season, sponsored by VyStar Credit Union, features: Rodgers + Hammersteins THE SOUND OF MUSIC (October 31-November 5); DISNEY’S THE LION KING (January 31-February 11); BEAUTIFUL, The Carole King Musical (April 10-15); and CHICAGO (May 17-20).

About the FSCJ Artist Series:The FSCJ Artist Series is Jacksonville’s major presenter of national and international touring productions. Celebrating its 52nd season in 2017-18, the FSCJ Artist Series enhances the entertainment scene in Northeast Florida with Broadway productions, concerts, ballets, operas, dance productions, school performances, and variety shows.  Serving as a fundraising arm of Florida State College at Jacksonville Foundation, Inc., (501-c3), the FSCJ Artist Series supports the performing arts projects of the Series and Foundation.  “Like” the FSCJ Artist Series Facebook page for show announcements, ticket on-sale dates, show photos, video teasers, cast interviews, and more!

Broadway in Jacksonville
  Pick your seat
Date: Wed., Sept. 13, 2017
Time: 4 p.m.

LOCATION: Times Union Center Performing Arts
      Moran Theater
      300 West Water St.
      Jacksonville, FL 32202

Hilarious - ‘Dixie Swim Club’ at the Alhambra

If you’re not a fan of musicals, like I am, then you’re probably putting off going to see the “Dixie Swim Club”.  Don’t make the mistake of staying away.  This presentation is a hoot!  The cast is a little different from the show that the Alhambra Theatre and Dining put on back in 2013, and you will be thoroughly entertained.  This five-woman cast is so funny as they portray a story about their relationships from year to year, yet there are some moments that might make you tear up.

When Morgan Fairchild* (Lexie Richards) came out on stage, she was greeted with a round of applause, ooh’s and aah’s.  Whatever she has done with herself through the years, she needs to just keep on doing it.  She looks great and was flawless with her lines as she informs the girls of her love life.   Morgan is a true actress, who portrays a real Southern Belle, and is in Jacksonville, Florida doing many on TV interviews during the day and then appears on the Alhambra stage in the evening; and twice on the weekends.

Morgan with WJXT First Coast Connect host

Vickie Daignault* (Sheree Hollinger) shakes her groove-thing, and is a very spirited, aerobic and vocal character.  Vickie will keep the ladies’ active and entertained with her lists of things to do.  Patti Eyler* (Dinah Grayson) is the one who is an expert martini maker and excels as a professional well-to-do legal advisor, but doesn’t have a love in her live.  Talk about the funniest character in the entire play, Brooks Ann Hayes Meierdierks (Vernadette Simms) is an instigator who will keep you laughing instead of crying over her haphazard family life.  And to round out the group, veteran Alhambra star Lisa Valdini* (Jeri Neal McFeeley) who is an ex-nun who becomes pregnant, leaves the convent and marries the babies’ daddy.  She’s a little naïve, yet she always sees the positive side of things.  The lives of these five women cover many years as they return to a familiar seaside cottage around North Carolina.  You won’t want to miss the ending.
             *Denotes Actors’ Equity Association*

Chef DeJuan has done it once again.  The entire meal is reminiscent of the Southern setting and is scrumptious.  This writer and her husband enjoyed the taste of both appetizers.  The Cornmeal-Dusted Baked Flounder was flaky and flavorful.  Chef’s Dejuan’s Food Network Award-winning canned Ham was very good, but remember that it is made of canned ham and is a little salty.  As always, you never need to add any condiments to Chef’s dishes.  So put the salt shaker down!

“Dixie Swim Club”
DATES: August 16 — September 24, 2017

Evening shows Tuesday through Sunday start at 7:50 p.m.  Doors open at 5:50 p.m., and dinner begins shortly afterwards.  Saturday Matinees begin at 1:15 p.m.  Doors open at 10:50 a.m. and the brunch begins at 11 a.m.  Sunday Matinees are at 1:50 p.m.  Doors open at 11:50 a.m. and the meal is server starting 11:50 p.m.

DRESS: All shows could be “Business Casual” or “Sunday Best”.

TICKETS: Prices range from $35 – $62.  Ticket prices include: a plated dinner served to your table, an incredible show and prime parking.  Group sales of 20 + are available upon request.
  **Prices do NOT include gratuity or orders from the bar**

LOCATION: Alhambra Theater & Dining
       12000 Beach Blvd.
       Jacksonville, Florida 32246
       (904) 641-1212

TV veteran Morgan Fairchild makes her return to the Alhambra

Morgan Fairchild made her debut at the Alhambra Dinner Theatre opposite Arte Johnson in The Seven Year Itch.  As part of its “50 Years of Memories” celebration, Ms. Fairchild returns to the Alhambra, now the Alhambra Theatre & Dining, more than 40 years later as ‘Lexie’ in “Dixie Swim Club”.  If you did or didn’t get a chance to see the cast back in 2013, then you’re in for a real treat with some of the actresses from 2013 along with a couple of new ladies.

About Morgan Fairchild: Originally from Dallas, TX, Morgan Fairchild is one of America’s best-known actresses.  Her breakout performance as Constance Weldon Carlyle in Flamingo Road (Golden Globe Best Actress nomination), was followed by Racine in Paper Dolls, Jordan Roberts in Falcon Crest and she originated the role of Jenna Wade on Dallas.  Morgan broke ground playing Sandra Bernhardt’s lesbian lover on Roseanne, and an appearance on Murphy Brown earned her an Emmy® nomination.  Fairchild also recurred on NBC’s Friends as Chandler Bing’s mother, and most recently in Days of Our Lives playing Angelica Deveraux.

Off-Broadway Morgan played Skye in Geniuses, Lina Lamont Singin’ in the Rain, Chick Boyle in Crimes of the Heart (directed by Garry Marshall) and starred in national tours of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Lorelei Lee) and The Graduate (Mrs. Robinson).  Her recent appearance at the New Theatre was as Lexie in Dixie Swim Club, where she also played Angela Forrester in Murder Among Friends.  In addition, she portrayed Baroness Hardup in the Pinto, A Cinderella Christmas at the Pasadena Playhouse.  Feature films include: The Seduction with Andrew Stephens, Holy Man with Eddie Murphy, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Walk Hard with John C. Riley, Red-Headed Stranger with Willie Nelson and Campus Man with Kim Delaney.

Let’s talk about Dixie Swim Club: Five Southern women, whose friendships began many years ago on their college swim team, set aside a long weekend every August to recharge those relationships.  Free from husbands, kids and jobs, they meet at the same beach cottage on North Carolina's Outer Banks to catch up, laugh and meddle in each other's lives.  Dixie Swim Club focuses on four of those weekends and spans a period of thirty-three years.  As their lives unfold and the years pass, these women increasingly rely on one another, through advice and raucous repartee, to get through the challenges (men, sex, marriage, parenting, divorce, aging) that life flings at them.  And when fate throws a wrench into one of their lives these friends, proving the enduring power of "teamwork," rally 'round their own’ with the strength and love that takes this comedy in a poignant and surprising direction.

Dixie’s menu inspired by Executive Chef DeJuan: (Choice of One for each entree)
First Course: Tomato Basil Bisque or Country Ham Salad (spring mix, tomato, balsamic drizzle, baguette *GF* without baguette).

Second Course: Prime Rib (French green beans, herb-whipped mashed potatoes, au jus, creamy horseradish *GF*), or Baked Cornmeal-dusted Flounder (lemon butter, cauliflower rice, tomato, caper relish), or Food Network Award-Winning Canned Ham (panko-crusted ham with moutarde (mustard), fingerling potatoes, mushrooms, sautéed Swiss chard, light mustard crème), or Black Bean and Cheese Enchiladas (cool ranch sauce, Spanish rice).

Third Course: Coconut Cream Pie, or Warm Peach Cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream.
*Gluten-Free* and Sugar-Free desserts available upon request

“Dixie Swim Club”
DATES: August 16 — September 24, 2017

Evening shows Tuesday through Sunday start at 7:50 p.m.  Doors open at 5:50 p.m., and dinner begins shortly afterwards.  Saturday Matinees begin at 1:15 p.m.  Doors open at 10:50 a.m. and the brunch begins at 11 a.m.  Sunday Matinees are at 1:50 p.m.  Doors open at 11:50 a.m. and the meal is server starting 11:50 p.m.

DRESS: “Gala Night” (Friday August 18, 2017) attire is “Dressy/Formal/Black Tie”.  All other shows could be “Business Casual” or “Sunday Best”.

TICKETS: Prices range from $35 – $62.  Ticket prices include: a plated dinner served to your table, an incredible show and prime parking.  Group sales of 20 + are available upon request.
   **Prices do NOT include gratuity or orders from the bar**

LOCATION: Alhambra Theater & Dining
       12000 Beach Blvd.
       Jacksonville, Florida 32246
       (904) 641-1212

‘I'm A Star Foundation’ back to school bash

On August 4, 2017, USA Olympic Gold Medalist Simone Biles sent a video congratulating the “I'm A Star Foundation” teens for their 3rd biennial Jacksonville HELPS (Homeless Students Empowered through Leadership, Partnership & Service) Celebrity Basketball Game.  Watch the video HERE on I'm A Star Foundation's Facebook page.  I'm A Star teens raised money through the game on July 22, and continue to collect funds toward a goal of $50,000 in their GoFundMe campaign.

The community is invited to drop off items at the I'm A Star Foundation's booth at the Duval County Public Schools Ready-to-Learn Back-to-School Bash on Saturday, August 12 at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The GoFundMe campaign deadline has also been extended until September 10.  I'm A Star Foundation will announce the total amount of money raised through the Celebrity Basketball Game as well as public and private donations on September 11th, as they present a check to the Duval County Public Schools' Homeless Education Department before the school board.

All money raised through Jacksonville HELPS will be donated as unrestricted funds, supporting needs for the 2700 homeless students in our district, including: eye glasses, books, toiletry items, bus passes, doctor's fees, hotel vouchers, rental deposits, college application fees and more. (See full wish list HERE.  DCPS Homeless Education Program Representative Tricia Pough says the following are the top five items in need:
1.       School Uniform Assistance
2.       Bus Passes
3.       Gift Cards
4.       Shoes for older male students sizes 12-14
5.       Extracurricular activity fees (Band, Football, Basketball, field trips, etc.)

Since 2013, the Foundation has raised $57,000 via live telethons, a 5K and two celebrity basketball games— donating all funds to the Duval County Public Schools’ Homeless Education Department and awarding 14 scholarships to homeless students entering college.