Weekend Top 6 Picks for October 4th and 5th

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Saturday October 4, 2014

10am to Noon $15. Orlando Walk for Farm Animals. Langford Park located at 1808 E Central Blvd in downtown Orlando FL. The Walk for Farm Animals raises vital funds for Farm Sanctuary’s lifesaving work and brings together thousands of people to change hearts and minds about farm animals. Will you join us in Orlando to support compassion for all? Early registration $15 day of walk $25 children under 18 free.

Walk for animals then join us after the walk for vegan food, guest speakers, and entertainment. Contact: www.walkforfarmanimals.org or 407-968-2400 for more information.

4pm to 7pm Free. Peter Frampton Concert. Central and Garland Orlando FL Next to Ember. Downtown Concert Series! Don’t miss this FREE concert in Downtown Orlando! Even though it’s FREE you could be a VIP. Thank you for listening to 98.9 WMMO! We’ll see YOU at DCS! See more at: http://www.wmmo.com/s/dcs/#sthash.juail568.dpuf

8pm to 10pm Free. Shuffleboard. Orlando’s Beardall Courts 800 Delaney Ave Orlando FL. On the 1st Saturday of each month. Free fun! https://www.facebook.com/OrlandoShuffle?notif_t=fbpage_fan_invite

Sunday October 5, 2014

10am to 4pm Free. Lake Eola Farmers Market. South East corner of Lake Eola, Orlando, FL.

1pm to 3pm  Free. Yoga. Lake Eola Park, 195 N Rosalind Ave, Orlando, FL. Every week at the East end of the park near the Japanese pagoda.

6pm to 8pm Free. SHUT YOUR FACE! Poetry Slam by Curtis Meyer! La Casa De La Paellas 10414 E Colonial Dr Orlando FL. The only current ongoing slam in Orlando officially certified by Poetry Slam Incorporated, IE. Send a team to Nats as well as poets to The Individual World Poetry Slam & Women of The World Poetry Slam! $50 to the winner! If you’ve never seen or been in a slam before, it’s definitely worth checking out! curtisxmeyer@hotmail.com

The Fairmont Hotel in Banff Makes a luxurious home base in the Canadian Rockies.

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Terry and I stayed at the well appointed Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel (405 Spray Ave, Banff, AB T1L 1J4, Canada). As soon as we drove up, valet’s helped us with our luggage and got us checked in. Our room was high up in one of the turrets making it feel like we were staying in a Scottish castle.

William Cornelius Van Horne, the general manager of Canadian
Pacific Railway (CPR) has been credited with recognizing the tourism
potential of the Canadian west. Van Horne maintained tourism was an
intricate ingredient in getting people to ride CPR and was conscious of
the financial possibilities attached to the western mountain scenery.
His philosophy reflected this awareness, ‘Since we can’t export the
scenery,’ he said, ‘ we’ll have to import the tourists.’ To enhance
traffic on the CPR, Van Horne envisioned a succession of lavish resort
hotels along the railway line through the Rocky and Selkirk Mountains. Van Horne hired Bruce Price of New York, one of the leading architects of the time to design and build the Fairmont Hotel. Construction of the Hotel
began in the spring of 1887 and the hotel publicly opened on June 1,
1888.

I sketched Terry as she looked at a guide book planning our next day’s adventure. From this back patio you could hear the distant Bow River waterfall. We hiked down to the waterfall and discovered that this was the launching place for daily river rafting trips. We decided to take the rafting trip which went down river for many miles. The passenger next to me lost his paper day planner in the water. Luckily it floated along side the raft. My reach was just long enough to touch it with my finger tips. It sank at my touch and I cursed. It rose to the surface again and then I grasped it. Everyone on the raft cheered. Had he used a digital device it would be at the bottom of the river.

Hoodoo you think your fooling?

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Hoodoos are rocky sandstone spires that appear after eons of erosion. These hoodoos were located a short drive from the second hotel we stayed at in Banff. These magical spires are carved
by wind and water protected by a hard cap of rock at the peak.

A sign at the roadside parking lot warned about bears. I was more concerned about the gloomy grey clouds that moved through the Bow river valley. A well maintained trail lead to this spot that overlooked the hoodoos. I sketched from the opposite side of the fence which protects tourist from falling into the valley as they stare into their digital devices.

There was a steep sloped trail that lead right to the base of the Hoodoos and Terry decided to hike down while I sketched. She sang while she walked to warn any bears of her approach. The clouds let off a light mist of rain. It wasn’t raining hard enough to send me running for cover, but it certainly made it hard to put watercolor washes on the sketch. Any time a drop hit the page it would explode and remove pigment from the sketch.

I saw Terry’s photos from the base of the hoodoos and they are impressive up close. I wanted to include the human element however and I could always catch a tourist taking a photo from the trial’s corral.

La Maschera Goes Motown at the Abbey

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On Friday, September 26, The Downtown Arts District held it’s 10th annual fundraiser, La Maschera Goes Motown, presented by Bud Light Platinum at The Abbey (100 S Eola Dr #100, Orlando, FL). La Maschera was a festive celebration of the arts featuring live entertainment by Motown In Motion and the I-4 Band, tasty cuisine, refreshing cocktails, and fun. Last year’s theme was Mardi Gras and the year prior was the Roaring 20’s. Guests were encouraged to dress in themed attire and the best dressed won a prize. Tickets for La Maschera Goes Motown, presented by “Bud Light Platinum” were $50 per person, with proceeds benefiting the Downtown Arts District.

When I arrived, The Abbey wasn’t  yet crowded, so it was easy for me to find a seat close to the stage and sketch. The I-4 Band was on stage exuding energy. Although the two singers were dancing up a storm, no one was on the dance floor. Their set was over before my sketch was done. Luckily the same band members returned to the stage to back up Motown in Motion. The MC shouted into the mic, asking all the men in the room if they wanted to see some very sexy ladies. There was a muffled response and the MC joked that there must be too many husbands in the crowd. I sketched the band as Pointer Sisters started to sing “Stop in the Name of Love.” At first, I didn’t know if I should take them seriously. It’s sort of the feeling I get when I see a Marylin Monroe or Elvis Impersonator. I figure it is all look and no substance but they proved me wrong because everyone took to the dance floor to move to the beat. Ray Charles came in to perform a solo and the dance floor got crowded. An all male singing group then took to the stage and the ladies in the house started hooting and hollering.

The dance floor got so crowded that I started to get bumped. Each time the singers returned to the stage, they were in new outfits. That would certainly be challenging to sketch. A dear friend, Michael Mcleod was celebrating his birthday that night, so with the sketch done, I drove to the party only a few miles away. At that party I learned all about Artegon from the executive vice president Steven A. Sless. 60 million dollars has been invested to renovate the largely deserted Festival Bay Mall on International Drive across from the Outlet Malls. Artegon is modeled after Pikes Market in Seattle which has local artists and craftsmen renting booths for $6 a day that are part studio space and retail. It is a fascinating idea and I plan to get to an open house soon to learn more.

Melbourne Civic Theatre Presented Edward Albee’s “A Delicate Balance”

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The set for Edward Albee’s  “A Delicate Balance” was a well appointed suburban house. The Melbourne Civic Theatre is small and intimate so as an audience member, you feel like you are almost a part of the scene. The stage is set up in a corner of the room, so there really isn’t any front and center seating. Agnes (Nellie Brannan) and Tobias (Terrance Girard) were in their living room talking and having drinks. Staging wise, there was always a cold distance between these two. The reason for the detached tension slowly became clear because Tobias had an affair and yet the couple stayed together. They also had to weather the loss of a son.

Right now however the couple has to face Agnes’ sister Claire (Susan Suomi) who has moved in. Susan presents herself as a new age hippy but her incessant drinking she chalks up to a willful resolve. Julia (Tracy Thompson) is the couples daughter, and she has just returned home after her fourth divorce. She is needy and spoiled often causing a scene when she doesn’t get her way.

The most surreal mixture to this perfect storm of characters are the neighbors, Edna (Tori Smith) and Harry (Michael Thompson) who were overwhelmed with an unexplainable sense of fear in their own home. They moved into Julia’s old room as they recover. Every scene involved multiple trips to the corner liquor cabinet to mix drinks. Tempers flair in the now crowded home. Tobias has to decide just how much he can give before going insane.

This was my first time at the Melbourne Civic Theatre and it was a wonderful surprise. Managing Artistic Director Peg Girard has created a safe haven for cutting edge theater. After the show, the actors lined up in the lobby to greet people as they left. I got a chance to quickly meet actress Nellie Brannan who had invited me out to see the show. Nellie is also an artist and she might take part in future sketch crawls. If you ever take a weekend get away to the beach, you should look up the Melbourne Civic Theatre and check out a show.

The Baniff Marathon Fills the Quiet Mountain Town

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Terry and I used Banff, Alberta Canada as our home base for quite a few days. The town park near the river was the starting line and finish line for a marathon. We were hiking into town from our hotel and came across the marathon just outside of town. I decided to sketch runners as they ran the final few yards to the finish line. The building in the sketch is the Banff Park Museum. We never did go inside. Terry shopped in the many stores along the mains street while I did this sketch.

Banff is in the Banff National Park in the Alberta Canadian Rockies. Banff is a resort town and one of Canada’s most popular tourist destinations, known for its mountainous surroundings and hot springs. It is a destination for outdoor sports and features extensive hiking, biking, and skiing areas within the area.

By the time I started to sketch, the lead runners had already finished. The spectators cheered just as loud for the people who were struggling just to finish the race. Finishing a marathon is an achievement in itself. Some runners had slowed down to a walk, but thanks to she cheers and knowing the finish line was in sight, they often started to run again.

When I was in high school, I trained extensively for the cross country team. I wasn’t very fast but I always finished any race I ran. I started training for a marathon to be held in Atlantic City. I ran further than the marathon distance on some days. I was obsessed. However on race day, I missed the bus to the starting line. So I have never officially run a marathon, so that is something that is still on by bucket list.

Shopping with the Locals at the Banff Farmers Market

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Banff‘s park near the Bow River was the site of a Farmer’s Market on the weekend. Terry and I stayed in the town long enough to start discovering the spots where locals tend to hang out. A farmer’s Market is the perfect spot to meet locals as they shop for locally grown produce.  Locally hunted meat was packaged as sausages and they was an amazing variety of fruits and vegetables.A photographer had a tent set up and he took some interest in what I was doing. He is a wildlife photographer and there is no shortage of subjects in the Canadian Rockies.

One day Terry and I stopped at a lakeside resort to stretch our legs. It had been raining all day but it had finally cleared up a bit. We found a spot on a small wooden bridge that offered a clear view across the lake. We noticed a couple hiking along the far shore. Then above them in a clearing maybe 5o yards up the hillside, we saw a grizzly bear. The bear was foraging for food. Just as the couple entered the clearing, the bear disappeared form view back into the woods. Someone standing next to us said, “They better have bear mace.” The couple kept walking around the lake towards us. When they were close, we walked up to them to let them know how close they cad come to a grizzly bear. They hadn’t noticed the bear and didn’t have any protection. Most hikers were small bells that make noise constantly warning any bears that they are approaching.

At a highway rest stop, a bear walked right through the parking lot. Terry drove up to the crowd of tourists taking pictures and got out to get a shot herself. Tourists stood within 10 yards of the bear taking selfies. The bear then walked towards the crowd and they scattered. He walked right past my passenger door so by staying in the car, I got extremely close to the bear. All this took place in a very short time span. I didn’t even think to sketch. I just watched in amazement. Some roads right outside of Banff were closed down because several grizzly bears were competing for territory. Driving down the parkway there were many “Bear Jams” which are crowds of cars pulled of the road so tourists could take photos of bears seen from the road. We stopped at every bear jam. I however didn’t sketch because bear jams can be momentary and break up the second a bear wanders away.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for September 27 and 28

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Saturday September 27, 2014

8:30am to 1:30pm $5, $10 for parking. American Mud Race Orlando 2014. 19400 East Colonial Drive Orlando FL. Mud, mud, and MORE MUD! American Mud Race is the muddiest adventure race you’ll ever encounter, and it’s coming soon! Our designers put together a 3-4 mile course packed with crazy obstacles that will test your mettle, challenge your strength, and leave you covered from head to toe. If you’re tough enough to cross the finish line, a serious after party awaits. Fun is the name of the game, but we’ve also got a greater purpose. American Mud Race will benefit wounded veterans through the Home at Last Project by Habitat for Humanity. americanmudrace.com

11am to 5pm $5 Kids  Free. Artlando. Lockhaven Park E Princeton St, Orlando, FL. Family Friendly Eveny Performing Arts Showcase, Outdoor Art Walk, Live Painting, Food Truck Bazaar, free admission to the Orlando Museum of Art, Beer wine cocktails. ALL DAY. ALL ART. I’ll have an Analog Artist Digital World tent set up, so stop by and say hello. www.artlando.com

Live performances by Orlando Ballet, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Central Florida Community Arts, Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival, Phantasmagoria, Emotions Dance Company, Orlando Science Center and more!

Outdoor art walk, live painting, installations and more!

Beer & cocktails by The Hammered Lamb

7pm to 9pm $50 Lady Raven’s Second Annual Cotillion. Audubon Park Garden District 3201 Corrine Dr, Orlando, Florida. Lady Evangeline Raven cordially invites you to her Second Annual Cotillion, a pop up cabaret with entertainment by Phantasmagoria, gourmet food, fine drinks, and dessert. It will be a lovely evening of fire breathers, dancers, fortune telling, mysteries and delights. Not to be missed.

Sunday September 28, 2014

Noon to 3pm Free. Music at the Casa. Violinist Lisa Ferrigno has been Concertmaster of the Brevard Symphony in Melbourne, Florida since 19 99.  A native of New England, she received her musical training at the New  England Conservatory in Boston, the Eastman School of Music in  New York, and Florida State University. Ms. Ferrigno has appeared as soloist with Trujillo’s Orquesta Sinfónica and Orquesta Camara del Festival Internacional Bach as well as the Florida Symphony and Orlando Philharmonic Orchestras.

1pm to 3pm Free Yoga. East lawn of Lake Eola Park, 195 N Rosalind Ave, Orlando, FL. Weekly.

5:30 to ? $7 Cover Including BBQ Dinner. $5 Cover with Orlando Indie Comedy Weekend Pass. Southern Fried Sunday as Part of The Orlando Indie Comedy Fest with The Dealers, Sabals and Johnny Knuckles. Southern Fried Sunday returns to Will’s Pub and is teaming up with The Orlando Indie Comedy Festival to bring you an evening of music, comedy and home cooked, southern style dinner. Check out performances by The Dealers Band, Sabals and Johnny Knuckles Music plus live comedy sets! 5:30pm Doors.  6:30pm Show & Dinner. 18+

Les Miserables is a stellar production.

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The Orlando Shakespeare Theater hit a home run by bringing Les Miserables to Orlando. Based on a book by Alain Boublil with Music by Claude-Michael Schönberg and Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer. It is adapted from the novel by Victor Hugo. It was masterfully directed by DJ Salisbury with musical direction by Ken Clifton. It was raining like a typhoon on the evening I went to see the show. I must have seen a dozen ambulances on the dive to the theater and traffic was backed up on every major artery. That however didn’t keep people from coming to the show. It was a sold out house. The woman seated next to me in t in the Loge told me that this was her second time seeing the show. She wanted to share it with her husband who was with her for this performance.

Set in the early 19th-century, a French peasant named
Jean Valjean (Michael Hunsaker) is on a quest for redemption after serving nineteen years
in jail for for stealing a loaf of bread. When a compassionate bishop inspires him
with a tremendous act of mercy, Valjean decides to start his life anew,
but is relentlessly tracked down by Police Inspector Javert (Davis Gaines). Along the
way, Valjean and a slew of characters are swept into France’s
revolution, where a group of young visionaries make their last stand at a
street barricade.

Several times during the performance I was lifted and move close to tears by the power of the show music and performances. Despite being set in the crucible of a revolution, it is the stories of love that set the show ablaze. As Fantine‘s (Lianne Marie Dobbs) life spirals out of control, she sang of the love she knew for one glorious summer. It is one of the most beautiful and sad songs to ever hit the stage. Davis gains brought the role of inspector Javert to life with his incredible voice. Éponine (Caitlyn Caughell) sang a beautiful song of unrequited love for Marius’. She does everything he asks, even arranging for him to meet Cosette whom he loved at first sight. She ends up getting shot as she struggles to bring the couple together and she finally discovers what it is like to be held in his arms as she dies having been shot in the revolution while trying to get to him.


This show packs an incredible emotional punch. Michael Hunsaker’s performance had me fully emotionally invested in every scene. The show succeeded on every imaginable level. The thunderous applause should never stop. As the new Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center nears completion, this production proved that Broadway quality productions are already being produced in town. Show continue through October 11th. Many shows are already sold out and for good reason. Don’t miss Les Mis!

A Phantasmagoria Photoshoot Fires off the Halloween Horror

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On Sunday September 7th, I went to a photographers studio in Winter Park to sketch a Phantasmagoria photo shoot. The studio space was impressive with an upper balcony that allowed Kristen Wheeler to take photos of the cast from above. John DiDonna explained to the cast that they needed to express resolve and resolution as they faced certain death. Josh Geohagen shouted back, “Like in Toy Story 3?!” Everyone laughed, but even toys can express a solemn resolve before they face their fate.

Phantasmagoria features a unique and spectacular blend of storytelling, dance, large scale
puppetry and aerial work. It has been wowing critics and
audiences alike since its premier in 2010. Created and envisioned by
playwright, director John DiDonna, each production offers new stories
taken from the diverse centuries old literature of horror and the
macabre!

The first official Phantasmagoria photo shoot of the 2014 Season had Kristen Wheeler the official photographer taking our picks, with help from Ryan McKenzie the company’s artist,  and a
videographer and photographer there filming the process for articles.
This was a perfect storm of creativity. Images will be released soon from this two hour
shoot including all poster shots, publicity shots, and shots done
specifically for a Phantasmagoria themed Art Gallery show running in October. 

The photo studio was incredibly crowded with the whole cast on hand. Kristen shot the cast in small groups for use in show posters and promotional materials. The rest of the cast would wait on the sidelines when they weren’t in the shot.  Kristen seemed to love coaching the actors. as she said, “It is easy to teach an actor how to model, but it is impossible to teach a model how to act. Dion Leonhard was close to tears for every photo. She would shut her eyes and rest between shots. This cast is always in character.

Mark Your Calendar! As we roll into October, Phantasmagoria seems to be everywhere. On September 27th, the steam punk group will make two appearances at Artlando from 11am to 5pm,  happening in Lock Haven park. the $5 Artlando event features, live performances by Orlando Ballet, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Central Florida Community Arts, Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival, Phantasmagoria, Emotions Dance Company, Orlando Science Center and more! The Orlando Museum of Art is FREE to all attendees. There will be an outdoor art walk, live painting, installations and more! Beer and cocktails will be provided by The Hammered Lamb. Food from The Food Truck Bazaar. They will also appear at Lady Raven’s Second Annual Cotillion in the Audubon Park Garden District (3201 Corrine Dr, Orlando, Florida) the same day starting at 7pm. The and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center!  Now
entering its fourth year, Orlando’s original Victorian Steam
punk Circus troupe offers Macabre and Delicious Halloween tricks and
treats. On October 3-11 artwork featuring The Art and Horror of Phantasmagoria will be featured at Valencia’s East Campus in the Anita S. Wooton Gallery. My sketches from past shows will be on display, so come to the opening and say hi.