Pre-Pandemic: Christmas Cantata

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In October of 2019, Pam got a couple of free tickets to a show at the Amway Arena called Christmas Cantata. The all Chinese cast presented Christmas Carols in October. The entire floor and first level of the stadium were packed. A large orchestra in the pit supported the case on stage.

In 2014, Gracias Choir won the Grand Prize at the Riva del Garda International Choral Competition in Italy and First Prize at the Montreux Choral Festival in Switzerland. In 2015, Gracias Choir was recognized as the world’s best choir, winning 1st place at the world’s most prestigious International Choir Competition Marktoberdorf in Germany.

Gracias Choir’s Christmas Cantata is filled with cherished music and unforgettable stage sets.

The evening featured the Nativity story told as an epic opera, brand new Act 2 of a heartwarming musical based on “The Gift of the Magi”, and a glorious rendition of Handel’s Oratorio “Messiah”.  Also, there was be a dance performance and memorable gift.  Each act of the  Christmas Cantata expresses the true meaning of Christmas: the birth of hope, love, and forgiveness of God in our hearts.

After the music two guys got on stage and started proselytizing hard. Their story involved miracle cures from a disease from the Amazon. It was sort of like watching an Abbot and Costello vaudeville act that involved miracles. My sketch was done and we decided to slip out. On the way out, free books were being offered and they were being pushed hard. We managed to escape empty handed.

Due to the pandemic performances in 2020 have been broadcast on TV. a schedule is on their website.

Interview on the Ted Show

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I sketched a Lip Sync Battle at The Abbey and it turned out that one of the celebrities who performed on that night was Ted Bogert who is the host of a podcast called the Ted Bogert Show.  In my sketch Ted was dresses as Tina Turner with an amazing flaming orange wig and tight black dress. He later explained that he had to duck tape that wig on. Anyway, he loved that I documented the evening in my unique and and he invited me on his podcast to learn more about what I do.

He had multiple guests lined up for the day and his website has a streamlines way of getting guests to share their social media profiles and info. He tapes his show in the Citrus Club in the BB and T Building (255 S Orange Ave, Suite 1800, Orlando Fl). His email warned that there can be no ripped jeans of flip flops in the Citrus Club. Since I never wear either I was safe and it was good to know that I didn’t need to wear a dinner jacket. It was however quite cold that morning so I ended up wearing a hoodie. Hoodies wee not directly mentioned as being forbidden so I took my chances to keep my ears warm as I walked downtown.

Ted’s invite said I should just mention to the person at the front desk that I was there to see him. The guard at the front desk in the lobby had no idea what I was talking about when I said, “I am here to meet Ted.” I checked my iPhone to re-read the message and realized that Ted meant I should ask up o the 18th floor. When I arrived at the Citrus Club the woman at the front desk pointed me towards Ted. He was offering wedding venue advice to a woman at his table. After a quick intro, I sat at the table next to theirs and started sketching the view out the window. I  seldom get to see downtown Orlando from this high up so I was excited to sketch. I started the sketch knowing I had at most 15 to 30 minutes to work.

A new skyscraper has just recently been finished across from the Amway Arena so that became my focal point. It has an interesting modular shape with sections of the building being different values and colors a bit like a Rubik’s Cube.

The interview was held in the Wine Room. Ted had his phone on a tripod in front of the floor to ceiling window and a building across the street offered magnificent reflected sunlight. He briefed me and let me know about a couple of questions he might ask towards the end of the interview. We chatted, joked and before I realized it the show was over. At one point we were talking about my nick name Thor and how that became my nickname at Disney, long before the Marvel movies came out. Then we talked about creating and creators and the phrase Creathor was thrown into the mix. It was such a fun show to do. Our missions to promote the arts are so similar. I was preaching to the choir when I was talking to Ted. Afterwards I shared the podcast on  my social media saying it was a fun irreverent time. Ted thought that might have a negative connotation. I suppose that is the danger of quick sound bites on Social Media. The meanings can be confused if the whole story isn’t told. Thanks Ted for the opportunity, It was a fun way to kick off the New Year.

Night before the Trump Rally

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The night before Trumps Orlando Rally to announce his candidacy for president, Pam Schwartz and I went down to the Amway Arena to see the Trump fans who were camping out to keep their place at the front of the line to get into the arena. Pam wanted to do some pop up oral histories and of course I wanted to get a sketch. We approached the arena from downtown and didn’t see any crow so we then circled the arena clockwise. We finally discovered people waiting on the North West corner  across the street from the Federal Courthouse.

Tents were set up on sidewalks. It had rained hard that afternoon so these rebid supporters had been well soaked. Pam had talked to one group who had walked down the street in Paramour and stripped in the street so they could dry their clothes in a launder-mat. Surviving the daily rain storms seemed to build a bond between the red hatted supporters.

TV News trucks also made sure they had parking close to the arena. Periodically someone would walk up and down the street with a banner of flag waving. These red white and blue displays resulted in whoops and hollers from the crowd who had been sitting in the heat and humidity all day. One banner read, “Hispanics for Trump” and of course “Trump 2020.” One supporter seemed to feel that the right leaning crowd was misunderstood. The liberals he pointed out where the one who would be throwing out F bombs when the debates got heated. He stressed that he firmly believed that Christian values were the building blocks on which this country was built. Fear of immigrants invading our country seemed to be on everyone’s mind. He felt that if folks just sat down and talked together then they might achieve something better than just shouting at each other. I agree that communication is key.

The group at the very front of the line was well lubricated with beer and pot. They were feeling no pain on their long vigil towards hearing the Donald speak in person. Abortion was on their minds. Children were being murdered. A woman needed to bring a child into this world no matter what. When asked about the possibility of rape or incest, the idea was dismissed. “That happens so rarely.” One guy however started to waver and his opinion softened a bit. A car honked in the background and supporters shouted.

I wondered how many people might end up in this line that was forming to get into the arena. Trump claimed that over 100,000 people wanted to get tickets, but the Arena only holds 20,000 people. A grassy field was set up beside the arena for any run over crowd. Jumbo trons were set up to broadcast the speech from inside the arena live to any overflow crowd. Trump has less than a 20% approval rating in Orlando, so I doubt many locals will be in that crowd.

Someone shouted my name as I was sketching. A husband and wife stopped
on their bicycles to greet me. I had sketched her years ago since she
was once a roller derby athlete. She said, “You are the only person I
could imagine who might be out here sketching the night before a Trump
Rally.”

The Collective

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The Collective was launched in early 2017. The idea was to bring
together Central Florida’s nonprofit community and empower the region’s
change leaders. As a new organization big
strides were made in 2017.  The Collective, approved nearly 400 members, hosted 10 gatherings, launched a website and social media accounts, worked with several new organizations, including Opera Del Sol and Immerse, held monthly “Breakfast Breakout Sessions” at the Citrus Club and hosted the inaugural Change Everything Awards.

Each month, The Collective hosts several events and training
opportunities with the goal of sharing ideas, learning from proven
social innovators and creating a community of like-minded passionate
advocates. Those events include a membership-wide meeting, after-work
networking, and a breakfast learning session. This meeting in July was held at the Sanctuary, which has an open community room on the second floor.

Jon Busdeker introduced Mayor Buddy Dyer. The Mayor pointed out that he was so successful because he surrounded himself with truly talented people and he trusts them to do their best. Ideas are shared and nourished. It is rare to hear a politician talking about collaboration in a non-partisan way. It is a simple formula that works here in Orlando. “My hope is the history books will reflect that the Dyer administration
asked citizens to imagine a great city and created just that,” he said. His administration has tackled some big and costly construction projects which have brought Orlando a new Amway Arena and the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Slowly, Orlando is growing up to possibly one day become a world class city rather than a suburb just north of the theme parks.

The Orlando Magic against the Milwaukee Bucks.

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On the day after Thanksgiving, Terry got tickets to the Orlando Magic Game at the Amway Center. She wanted to treat my sister Pat Boehme who was visiting for the holiday. The Magic were going to play the Milwaukee Bucks. Terry had access to the Bank of America Box which could accommodate 16 individuals. The box is usual used to impress prospective clients. This was the first time I was invited. we got there a hour early and parked in Terry’s work lot. I had forgotten my sketchbook, so I did this sketch on the back of the tickets. Kim Buchheit a dear friend was also invited and she livened up the box by cheering shouting and dancing in the aisles. A financial advisor from the Winter Park office had three of his clients, and a co-worker of Terry’s was there with a friend  and his wife. There was also a well dressed Indian couple seated right in front of me. I sat at a counter which was a perfect little surface to sketch on.

There was complimentary pulled pork sandwiches and beers in the refrigerator. I just sipped Pepsi to get my nervous lines jumping. A large indoor blimp circled the stadium as the players warmed up. In the first quarter, the scores stayed rather close. I recall the score being tied at 43 to 43. Then the Magic started pulling ahead. My sketch was finished by half time, so I relaxed in the second half and just watched the game. The stadium was maybe half full and there was a lackluster energy through the whole game. I rather prefer to watch the antics of the Magic mascot who would wander through the crowd every quarter and throw a whipped cream pie in the face of the first fan he saw wearing a Milwaukee T Shirt.  He tended to hit fans in the bad row of the first section. I pointed out two of the unlucky fans in my sketch.

The final score was 114 to 90 with the Orlando Magic winning the game. Last year the Magic only won 25 games with 57 losses. It was an embarrassing season. This year with 8 wins and 8 losses, they are having a much better season. Perhaps if the wins keep happening the Orlando fans might work up some energy. They tended to shout louder for the free T shirt cannons then for the team on the court.

The Creative Village

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The old Amway Arena was imploded at 7am several weeks ago. I didn’t get up that early to see the devastation, but a week later, I drove past the site as I was weaving my way through side roads to avoid a back up on Colonial Drive. A large banner declared the wreckage to be the “Creative Village” and I had to sketch the ironic sight. The wind caused sheet metal to flap sounding a bit like thunder. Clouds of dust rose and danced among the exposed beams. The four corner structures remained intact with dark red interior stairwells looking like bloody eviscerated flesh.

I enjoyed the Orlando Magic games I saw in this arena. I never understood why an extra large arena had to be built to house a basketball court. But what is done is done. According to a site online, The Creative Village will be a magnet for knowledge workers to live, work, learn and play – a place where high-tech, digital media and creative industry companies integrate with residential, retail, and academia in a neighborhood that is connected to the surrounding community and plugged in globally. Innovative in its architecture, thoughtfully mixing living and working spaces, the Village will be designed to enhance the lifestyle of creative people and become a supportive, business-friendly environment in which digital media and related companies can thrive. Hopefully the Creative Village will live up to its name, but for now, it looks like a war zone.

I had a wrapper from some peanut butter Girl Scout cookies in my art bag. Half way into the sketch, an ant bit my leg. I slapped it off and looked around to be sure I wasn’t sitting on a fire ant mound. I noticed ants swarming around my bag. I pulled out the wrapper which was now covered in ants and I disposed of it. Slowly the ants dispersed but some still chose to bite me occasionally.

Citrus Floats

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I spent an afternoon searching for the spot where volunteers rubber band thousands of citrus fruits onto wire meshes to create the floats for what was formerly the Citrus Bowl Parade. The new name of the parade is the “Fresh from Florida Parade.” I heard volunteers would be working feverishly at the old Amway Arena. I went there assuming the floats would be inside the Arena. I was surprised to see that the Arena was surrounded by chain link fencing and it is considered a construction site. lt turns out the Arena is being demolished to make way for a Creative Village. The interior is now being demolished, and the building is slated to be rigged with explosives and will implode in March of 2012. I walked around the fenced in Arena. A security guard in the parking lot asked if I was going to the game. “No.” I replied. “I’m looking for volunteers working of floats.” He directed me to the opposite side of the Arena. A huge crowd was gathered in a line going through a security check point. They were being scanned for explosives by the Department of Homeland Security and local police. “This is a rather big fuss for a few floats.” I thought. This turned out to be parking for the college football game happening at the Citrus Bowl. People had to go through security before getting on a bus to the Bowl Game.

I hiked down to the new Amway Center searching for floats as well. No luck. I visited Terry at her downtown office and she located a press release online. It turned out the floats would be at the Amway Arena the next day. At least I got plenty of exercise. So the next day, I hiked to the Arena and I could see the bright orange and yellow citrus peaking through the foliage around the parking lot from a block away. I settled under a shady oak and sketched. I had expected more floats. Volunteers were still securing fruit to the wire mesh with rubber bands but the floats looked pretty complete. The construction had occurred for two days at the Convention Center. They were then driven to the Arena for final touch up before the parade the next day. I wondered what roads they must have driven. Did they scream up I-4 at 55 miles per hour? Wouldn’t the citrus bounce off causing a catastrophic citrus pile up? More than likely they took side roads creating a minor traffic back up.

As I was finishing up the sketch, someone drove away in a golf cart to get dinner for the volunteers. The sun blazed warmer as it moved towards the horizon making the oranges even more orange as the shadows lengthened.

9000 Backpacks

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When I arrived at the Amway Arena at 10AM on Saturday, I was immediately greeted with a line of people that stretched as far as the eye could see. Inside the Arena, 9000 backpacks were being given away packed with pencils, rulers and hand sanitizer. Hope Now International organized this event, which featured free immunizations, hair cuts, Community resources, prizes, entertainment and music.
It was insanely hot outside with temperatures well above 95 degrees and the humidity making the air thick and wet. Green hand fans were given to people waiting in line and large pallets of bottled water were on hand, but parents and children still had to wait in line for hours on end just to finally get into the arena. I had wanted to sketch inside the arena but in the parking lot I read a sign that read: “No backpacks are allowed in the Arena.” I thought that was rather ironic, but I decided my task was to document the mass of humanity who were made to wait in the sun.
I sat under the only large tree and leaned back to do this first sketch. Occasionally children would wander over to see what I was up to. One small boy stood right in front of me watching each line as it was put down. His mother yelled at him when the line inched forward and he ran back. Another boy stirred up an ants nest at the trees roots behind me. He and several other children played in the grass in front of me. The line of people waiting for backpacks stretched from the Arena all the way past the Bob Carr theater, probably a quarter of a mile, and more people kept arriving so the line never got shorter.
Three police horses clomped out on the parking lot pavement. One of the volunteers was Karen Cali, a fellow artist. Her horse walked up to a small tree in the parking lot and started to eat the Spanish moss that was hanging from it. Later these three horses walked up to the shady spot on the grass right in front of me. Rather than worrying about the obstructed view, I took the opportunity to sketch the horses and the crowd of children who gathered to pet them. The volunteers had to keep shouting, “Don’t walk behind, get in front.” They were concerned that if a horse got spooked he might kick back.
It wasn’t until 1PM that the line finally got shorter. At this point I had finished both sketches. I was hot and sweaty and smelled like mold. Watching this huge agonizing line reminded me of news reel footage I had seen of bread lines during the Great Depression. More and more people are finding themselves without a job and struggling to scrape by. An estimated 25,000 people waited to get into the arena that day. The evidence of hard times is obvious. Do the math.

Third Annual Job Fair

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Congresswoman Corrine Brown from the third Congressional District of Florida, helped organize this much needed job fair for Central Floridians. A job fair is an opportunity for participants to meet and possibly interview with potential employers from a broad range of industries. This year there were over 63 employers participating. This fair was held at the Amway Arena (600 West Amelia Street.)
When I arrived I was handed a slip of paper that required me to fill out all my personal information. Since I wasn’t actually participating in the fair, I decided to write in typos for every bit of information to avoid getting inundated with political mailers. Once the form was filled out I was given an orange armband and I was ushered into the arena along with everyone else arriving. The ushers filled up an entire section of the stadium seating. I started a sketch from this vantage point but then more people started marching in, blocking my view and leaving me no elbow room. I moved to am empty section to the left but then that started filling up as well and an usher told me I would have to squeeze up front. I got up and started walking back up the stadium steps. Ushers kept shouting at me telling me to sit in my assigned area. I finally found a manager at the top of the stadium level. He told me that to sketch I would need not an orange arm band but a yellow arm band. He pointed me in some direction and I started to wander.
I finally picked a spot to sit on the opposite side of the stadium away from ushers and job seekers. I never bothered to get my yellow arm band but I did cut off the Orange arm band since it gave the ushers an excuse to tell me where I could and could not sit.
The Star Spangled Banner started to play and there was a long pause before the participants realized they should stand. This was followed by the pledge of allegiance. A woman took to the podium and shouted out OK everyone go get them! Everyone in the section I had been seated in stood up and started to move towards the ramp to the stadium floor. Ushers started to shout out, “You can’t go down right now. Have a seat!” A participant shouted back, “But she said go get them!” The usher had to explain that only one section at a time was going to be allowed on the floor. There were about 5 sections filled up at this point and another section was filling up as well. Many hundreds of people if not thousands were waiting for their chance to show their strengths to prospective employees.
Directly in front of where I was seated, Aflac and the Social Security Administration were busy talking to people. Forms were being filled out frantically at a table in the foreground. Each of the theme parks were represented as was the major branches of the military and police departments. Most of the participants wandering the floor were dressed in their Sunday best but I was also surprised to see some people dressed in tee shirts and shorts. From my quick glimpse of this event it seems obvious that the recession is far from over.