Earth Day Endangered Species

Posted on by Thor

On April 20th there was a huge Earth Day Festival at Lake Eola. For the first time ever, I agreed to put up an artist tent to promote this site. I framed ten sketchbooks printed some business cards and figured I could sell some of the remaining T-Shirts from the Sonesta Hotel mural. The night before, I packed the car and at 7AM the next morning I was ready to head out. I had used the tent extensively when I painted an outdoor mural for the Mennello Museum over the summer. Now painting outside in the summer is insane and I’m sure the tent had saved me from overheating.

Hurricane Maria helped me find the spot to set up my tent. During setup, people helped each other out. For instance the tent next to me shared their sand bags which would help keep the tents from blowing over.  Rain was predicted but it was a bright sunny morning as I erected the tent. The sketchbook frames were hung back to back on electric wires. They spun in the wind like Calder sculptures. Compared to other exotic tents, mine seemed a bit barren, but that is what my art is like, no flash, just substance.

I had put a call out on Facebook for volunteers who could man the tent while I sketched. Janice Böhrk McIntosh and Patti Matchett answered the call. Janice agreed to come bright and early and Patti agreed to come in the afternoon. Janice arrived and I explained that she could sell some T-Shirts and hand out business cards to people that were interested. She was excited to get started and I walked over to the Ibex Puppetry area to sketch the puppets that would be in the Endangered Species Parade. In the background of my sketch you can see a tow truck removing a parked car. Business as usual it the city beautiful.

As I sketched the display, all the puppeteers posed for a photo. Of course it was tempting to try and sketch them all in, but I knew they would all be gone as soon as the camera shutter clicked. April Tennyson mugged for me but she knew I wouldn’t have time to sketch her in. Necole Pynn who was at the Broomstick Pony tent had a kazoo. She asked me for a good kazoo tune and I wracked my brain to come up with “Jack the knife”. She seemed pleased as she hummed the tune through the instrument.

The Endangered Species Parade began and all the puppets came to life. Heather Henson, the founder of Ibex Puppetry, took hold of the Manatee and breathed life into him. Her mother, Jane Henson, had recently died, but today was a celebration of life. To the beat of a drum the parade flowed past me with grace and rhythm. The children followed with paper puppets they had made in the craft tent.

With my sketch done, I went to check on Janice. She had sold every single T-Shirt and most of the business cards had been handed out. I was in shock and delighted. Within the first hour, all my merchandise was sold and she was telling everyone who would listen about my project to document Orlando Culture one sketch at a time. What a godsend. There is no way I could have accomplished that. All hopes and expectations had been exceeded.

Food Not Bombs

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Every Wednesday at 5PM and Mondays at 8:30AM, Food Not Bombs sets up outside City Hall (400 South Orange Ave. Orlando FL), to feed the hungry. When I arrived people were going through clothes needed for warmth. The as of yet unfinished, tax payer funded, Multi-Million dollar Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts loomed behind them, the steel beams glowing orange in the setting sunlight. Two steel arches from a sculpture arched overhead. Someone asked me what time the food arrived. I must have looked like I was supervising since I was working on the sketch. I let him know that this was the first time I was at this particular feeding site.

Food Not Bombs used to set up in Lake Eola Park but some antiquated city ordinance states that you can not feed more than 25 people in a city park. Apparently people didn’t feel comfortable having homeless and hungry people gathering in the park. Food Not Bombs volunteers were arrested for feeding too many hungry people. Lawyers for the Food Not Bombs defendants argued that feeding the hungry was in their rights since it promoted their free speech and political views.  Court cases were won and lost in an endless cycle of litigation. Finally they were told they could set up at City Hall.

The feeding station was set up to my left as I sketched. The people who came were offered food quickly and efficiently. People sat on the benches and steps around me but no one sat on my bench. It was going to be a cold night but at least folks had warm healthy vegan food without any preaching.

Sunday in the Park With Voci

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Genevieve Bernard, the founder of Voci Dance, gave me a heads up about a croquet game the Voci dancers were going to play on Sunday October 28th as part of the Creative City project. The Creative City Project had free clandestine performances staged at public places throughout the city on every day of October. The croquet game was held on the green beside the Red Japanese Pagoda in Lake Eola. When I arrived, the players, or dancers, were promenading around the court arm in arm in pairs. Each dancer was had on a primary colored dress that matched their ball color. Blue Doug Rhodehamel paper bag mushrooms marked the outer edges of the court. There were orange lines painted on the grass, probably left over from a football practice.

The Park was rather crowded on this Sunday. There were food trucks and tents set up at the band shell for an event I didn’t get a chance to make out. There was also a stage set up on Orange Avenue for a concert I wasn’t aware of. A large group was picnicking next to the croquet court and they were curious once the game started. A mom and her son sat in front of me to watch the game as well. The dancers circled up when music began to play and they gracefully began to play. I was sitting under the shade of a large oak tree while most of the audience sat on blankets on the opposite side of the court. It actually started to get chilly and I wished I had a sweater to cover my Dog Powered Robot T-shirt.

The performance seemed to be over in a matter of minutes as I struggled to catch each dancers proportions and gesture. More of a dance than a competition, Genevieve informed me that everyone won. Some audience members took to the court after the game was over trying out the mallets for themselves..

Scooters for Hooters

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Scooters for Hooters was a fundraiser for Breast Cancer research in which hundreds of scooters and Vespas rode around downtown Orlando. The scooters were all lined up on Central Boulevard just south of Lake Eola. I had to sketch fast since everyone was revved up and ready to go. When someone gave the word, all the engines roared to life and all the scooters roared off. There were tents set up where the Lake Eola farmers market usually is. One tent was auctioning off artwork by local artists. I remember seeing a painting by Hurricane Maria on the auction block.

This was also the day of the International SketchCrawl and I relaxed in the park sketching and listening to the musicians who took to the stage for the Scooters for Hooters cause. It’s good to know any snacks I bought that day went towards an important cause.

City Beautiful Church

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I went downtown to the Lake Eola band shell to meet Sarah Lockhard and a Voci dancer named Brie to discuss possibly doing a live projected sketch during a dance performance. Cory Violence would be reading a Tom Waits poem called Watch Her Disappear. Apparently every day in October there will be public performances like this all around town. When I got close, I noticed musicians playing in the parking lot behind the Polish Catholic Church. Meals were being distributed to the homeless and the music suggested that they surrender to Jesus.

When I got to the band shell, I sat in the back row and waited for Sarah. A band was setting up on stage with a large screen behind them. The screen and projector system would be perfect for the performance piece Sarah was considering.  One of the tech guys walked up to me and introduced himself. He was a former student of mine who was volunteering to help out with the City Beautiful Church concert. Since Sarah was a no show, I decided to sketch the band as they did their sound check.

Cole Nesmith explained that this church would be moving into a new bricks and mortar establishment just south of Lake Eola in a couple of weeks. In the mean time they were worshiping in the park. The band was quite good, playing lively and uplifting Christian rock. I’d never heard the songs before. Some of the lyrics were, “There is an army rising up. Break every chain. I may be down but I will rise. It may be dark but God is light.” Cole gave a sermon about the Prodigal Son, who took his fathers inheritance, squandered it and then returned home begging for food and forgiveness. The point of course was that god is all forgiving and full of love. Clouds of gnats swarmed around my head. I swatted they away as I drew. I finally had to leave in the middle of a song to get away from the bugs. A couple ran after me as I walked around the lake. They wanted to see the finished sketch. Their son was at the key boards.

Take Your Blinders Off

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Julie Gros let me know that a Vegan Outreach organization was showing a documentary about the horrors of meat production facilities. I stumbled across the pickup truck mobile theater as I was walking around Lake Eola on my way to another event. I had to sketch. Julie was there along with five or six other people who handed out fliers and offered people passing by vegan fudge. The mobile video truck was parked across the street from Publix Supermarket.

The Meat Video showed actual footage from factory farms. It was narrated by James Cromwell. I warn you that the video is brutal and hard to watch. Also, there were clips from Earthlings Film, set to music by local musician, Dani Shay. I must have watched the films like ten times as I worked on the sketch. It made me think I should consider a vegan diet. I’m considering starting another blog called, Vegan Artist in a Carnivorous World.

Some people walking past the screening averted their eyes. Others stood for a while to talk to volunteers. One man walking past with his family shouted out “You are all *ssh*lls!” A volunteer shouted back, “Nice language in front of your children!” I don’t know how many people were influenced by the screenings, but having taken the time to look, I am certainly considering making more compassionate choices when it comes to my diet.

Milk Carton Superstars

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The third band I saw as part of I-4 Fest, inside Austin’s Coffee (929 W. Fairbanks Ave. Winter Park) on July 4th was Milk Carton Superstars. They had gone the extra mile by having an American flax covering the speakers. They also had their own LED lighting although it wasn’t needed since it was really bright outside. Milk Carton Superstars are a couple guys shaking riffs and rhymes out of thin air and turning them into rock & roll songs.


The band formed in early 2007 when longtime friends
Guy Larmay (guitars, bass, other) and Jim Myers (vocals, drums, other
also) began writing songs together again for the first time. They are
based in Mt. Dora.

The music was hard hitting rock and roll. My wife, Terry, hadn’t finished her crossword puzzle yet because a coffee had been spilled on it. We decided we had seen enough local music for one day.  I drove near Lake Eola where streets were already blocked off for the July 4th fireworks display. I didn’t want to deal with the inevitable traffic, so I drove to Boston Market where we had a holiday feast. After that, we drove straight home, where I watched war movies for the rest of the night as fire crackers and bottle rockets exploded around the quiet suburban streets. Zorro, an umbrella cockatoo, didn’t much like the noise. He raised his crest every time there was an explosion.

Lindy Exchange

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The Orlando Lindy Exchange is a yearly Swing Dancer’s dream marathon. For close to a week, swing dancers from all over the country converge on Orlando to shake their hips and kick up their feet. Damon Natch Burke is my tech guru and he helps organize the event. I found out there would be a free dance in the Lake Eola band shell and I had to go down to sketch. Walking around the lake, I could hear the energetic retro beat and soon I saw flashes of color as people twisted and turned on stage. There were up to 50 dancers on stage and boy did they know how to dance! When the song changed, people would switch partners to add some variety to their steps.

It had been boiling hot all week, but on the day of the dance, the temperature dropped drastically. An ice cream vendor stood at the foot of the stage offering his ice cold treats. I had a sweatshirt on and when I slipped into the shade, I started to shiver. Still, when couples strolled past me away from the stage, they were glowing with sweat. It was getting towards sunset, yet when Damon walked by with his dance partner, he said they had forgotten to eat since the night before. They were heading out to find some breakfast. A couple saw that I was sketching, and they stood directly in front of me and “vogued“. He said, “Check out this move!” and he leaned his dance partner back, arching her back over his arm. I laughed, and said, “That’s great, now hold that for about 15 minuted!”

A young woman liked the sketch. She asked if I was cold and I shivered dramatically. She said, “If you want to warm up, then come on up on the stage and dance! You’ll warm up fast.” I was still messing with washes on my sketch, besides I don’t know any swing moves. Chances are, I would get up there and trip up the whole swinging crowd. Fred Astaire, I am not. But, with a few lessons, I might be able to keep up with these hip swinging kids. I’ll put it on my bucket list.

The Fountain Works

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I have been working the grave yard shift till 1:15am at Full Sail. That means most events I usually go to sketch have to be bumped off my calendar for work. I could sketch at some clubs after 1am, but I don’t have it in me to sketch after working at Full Sail. For this reason I have been finding myself downtown with no preconceived notion of what I should sketch. I tend to park around Lake Eola since I like to use the public restrooms, before, or after I get a sketch done.

On this day, I sat myself down on the soft pine needles and sketched the fountain which was working after a long hiatus of stillness after it had been struck by lightning more than a year ago. No expense was spared to get this Orlando icon back up and running. Once the sketch was done, I packed my supplies and headed back to work.

2nd Annual Holiday Benefit Concert

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The Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra performed a Holiday Concert in the Lake Eola Band Shell. The primary purpose of the FSYO is education. All programs reflect a commitment to provide young musicians with the opportunity to strengthen their musical talents and develop an appreciation of the arts through classical music.The first orchestra to perform was the Prelude Orchestra. A cow in a Santa suit got on the conductors podium as the children warmed up. The cow wasn’t a conductor at all! He was a mascot for Chick Fill-a promoting the mass murdering of chickens as apposed to cows. For the rest of the concert he remained on the sidelines, occasionally throwing cow T-shirts into the audience. Beth Marshall once told me that Chick Fill-a company policy does not recognize, and opposes same sex couples so I stopped eating there.

The first few pieces by the Symphony were embarrassingly bad yet there were enough parents in the audience to offer thunderous applause anyway. I was seated in the front row at stage right. I started sketching chairs to block in the sketch figuring I would fill them with children when they got on stage. Unfortunately the first orchestra only filled a few seats. The next orchestra was filled with slightly older children and the music started to feel more unified. A special guest was announced and Santa Conducted the orchestra. Audience members brought new gifts and donations for the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Program. The concert will air Christmas morning at 6am on WMKG-TV Local 6.