Weekend Top 6 Picks for September 8 and 9, 2018

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Saturday September 8, 2018

7:30pm to 9:30pm Free, but bring a dish or wine. Eleanor Matthews Welcome Potluck Dinner. Kerouac House 1418 Clouser Ave, Orlando, Florida 32804. You are invited to join us in welcoming Kerouac House Fall resident
Eleanor Matthews. This event is a potluck dinner, so please bring
something to eat and/or drink and share.

Eleanor Matthews is a
fiction writer based in Bristol (UK). Her short stories have appeared in
print and online, in magazines such as Popshot, Litro, Unsung, Prole,
Haverthorn and Elbow Room. In 2017, she was selected for a Penguin
Write Now insight day. She also featured on BBC Radio 4’s Tweet of the
Day program, talking about magpies and the writing process. To support
her creative projects, Eleanor has worked as a professional editor for
various universities and charities.

8am to 1pm Free. Parramore Farmers Market. The east side of the Orlando City Stadium, across from City View. The Parramore Farmers Market will be open every Saturday. Purchase quality, fresh and healthy food grown in your own
neighborhood by local farmers, including Fleet Farming, Growing Orlando,
and other community growers.

4pm to 6pm Free. Young Voices. JB Callaman Center 102 North Parramore Ave Orlando FL. Teen Open Mic Every second Saturday of the Month.

Sunday September 9, 2018

10am to 4pm Free. Lake Eola Farmer’s Market. South East corner of Lake Eola.

Noon to 3pm Donation based. Music at the Casa. Beautiful Music “Paint it Black” Quartet with Shannon Caine.  Members of the public are invited to visit the historic home museum to listen to live music and take a tour
of our historic home museum and the James Gamble Rogers II Studio by
trained docents.

1pm to 5:30pm Free. Family Day on the Second Sunday. The Mennello Museum of American Art, 900 East Princeton Street, Orlando, FL 32803. The make-and-take craft table is open from noon-2:30 p.m., and docents
are available to give mini-tours of the museum. Then it’s open house in
the galleries until 4:30 p.m.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for May 12th and 13th

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Austin’s CoffeeSaturday May 12, 2018

8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Free. Parramore Farmers Market. The east side of the Orlando City Stadium, across from City View. Purchase quality, fresh and healthy food grown in your own
neighborhood by local farmers, including Fleet Farming, Growing Orlando,
and other community growers.

4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Free. Young Voices. JB Callaman Center 102 North Parramore Ave Orlando FL. Teen Open Mic Every second Saturday of the Month.

8 p.m. to 10 p.m. $5. Second Saturdays in Sanford.  202 S Sanford Ave, Sanford, FL. Live music event featuring 2 stages, drink specials and more.

Sunday May 13, 2018

10 a.m. to Noon Free. Heartfulness Relaxation and Meditation Class. University, 5200 Vineland Rd, Orlando, FL 32811. The Method of Heartfulness A simple and practical way to experience the heart’s unlimited resources. 

1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Free. Family Day. The Mennello Museum of American Art, 900 East Princeton Street, Orlando, FL 32803. The make-and-take craft table is open from noon-2:30 p.m., and docents
are available to give mini-tours of the museum. Then it’s open house in
the galleries until 4:30 p.m.

10 p.m. to Midnight Free, but get a coffee. Comedy Open Mic. Austin’s Coffee, 929 W Fairbanks Ave, Winter Park, FL. Free comedy show! Come out & laugh, or give it a try yourself.

Mother’s Day at the Mennello Museum of American Art

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I  went to the the Mennello Museum of American Art, (900 East Princeton Street, Orlando, FL 32803) to sketch the Free Family Day on the Second Sunday of the month. This just happened to line up with  Mother’s Day. At the front desk, there was a free rose for every mother who came to the museum on that day. On display in the entry gallery were fairly large twisted metal sculptures along with the preparatory drawings on the walls. I decided to sit on a bench and sketch the sextant who greeted guests and handed out roses to the moms. Quite a few museum guests brought their mom along for  a day at the museum.

On exhibit in the museum now is, “When the Water Rises: Recent Paintings by Julie Heffernan“, who uses the power of paint’s materiality and immediacy in the Mennello Museum’s exhibition.
She brings form to the reality of our environmental and sociopolitical
problems. This exhibition debuts nine new works by the artist.

Heffernan’s work explores the imagery of the mind’s eye to create
complex environments. Her recent paintings create alternative habitats
in response to the environmental disaster and planetary excess. With
rising waters, she imagines worlds in trees or on rafts in which
undulating mattresses, tree boughs, and road signs guide the journey.
Construction cones interrupt the landscape signaling places to stop,
enter tiny interior worlds, and reflect on the human condition—its
hopeless activity, violence, failure, and redemption. Heffernan tends
these alternative environments to safeguard bounties we cannot live
without. In other moments, she names and points fingers to those people
and activities implicated in recent calamities of both the physical and
socio-political environment. Intricately wrought, Heffernan’s paintings
evoke the fantastical allegory of Hieronymus Bosch and the sublime of
Thomas Cole and Albert Bierstadt.

Also on exhibit in the Marilyn L. Mennello Sculpture Garden outside are two large sculptures, “Waltzing Matilda” and “Twin Vortexes” by American sculptor Alice Aycock. The Mennello Museum inaugurated the Grounds for Exhibitions with these beautiful works which
were originally part of series of seven sculptures
in Aycock’s significant outdoor exhibition on Park Avenue in Manhattan
entitled Park Avenue Paper Chase. Grounds for Exhibition features
year-long large-scale sculpture exhibitions by nationally renowned
American artists who otherwise would not be shared with Orlando
audiences. The sculptures will be on display through September 2018.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for April 7 and 8, 2018

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Saturday April 7, 2018

8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Free. Lake Virginia Watershed Cleanup. Dinky Dock 410 Ollie Ave, Winter Park, Florida 32789. In conjunction with Keep America Beautiful’s Great American
Cleanup, join us as we clean-up litter in and around Lake Virginia.
Activities may include but are not limited to picking up litter in and
around the lake – stooping, kneeling, and bending.

Breakfast, volunteer t-shirt, snacks, and water will be provided. We
will also provide litter grabbers, safety vests, gloves and garbage
bags.
Please remember to bring a reusable water bottle, wear
closed-toe shoes, hats, and long pants, & carpool! Kayaks and
paddle boarders are welcome!
To register, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/city-of-winter-park-sustainability-program-5593791349

11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free. Spring Market at Audubon. Audubon Park Garden District Orlando, Florida 32803. Come out for Central Florida’s best artists, native and Florida
friendly plants, locally produced artisanal foods, handmade crafts,
music, food trucks and more at APGD’s Spring Market at Audubon.

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

Sunday April8, 2018

9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. $275.00 for 6 classes.Crealde Urban Sketch Class. Crealde School of Art, 600 St Andrews Blvd, Winter Park, FL 32792. Urban Sketcher Thomas Thorspecken teaches you to sketch from studio subjects to the environment. Classroom sessions will
focus on sketching clothed models and progress towards sketching the
model and classroom environment. Learn how to incorporate storytelling
into your sketches in our location sessions. These trips to local venues
will challenge you to use your sketchbook the way a photojournalist
uses a camera. The six-week goal is to produce finished sketches using
pencil, pen, and watercolor within two hours. Main Campus

Room 1B.

11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. $12. Locally Fresh. Enzian Theater 1300 S Orlando Ave, Maitland, Florida 32751. Feed all your senses! Central Florida foodies partner-up with local
filmmakers at this utterly unique (and mouth-watering) event—a festival
favorite! Filmmakers dig into the stock and trade of what makes Central
Florida delicious. Watch their documentaries, accompanied by cooking
demonstrations and sumptuous samples. A feast for the eyes and the taste
buds.
Locally Fresh! Farmers Market
Noon-2:30PM Free.
Lawn at Eden Bar
After Locally Fresh! Scrumptious Cinema, the lawn at Eden Bar
transforms into a Farmers Market, filled with local products fresh from
the field. Get to know Central Florida’s finest farmers and vendors, and
don’t miss this delicious opportunity to take some local goodies home
for your own feast.

1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Free. Family Day on the Second Sunday. The Mennello Museum of American Art, 900 East Princeton Street, Orlando, FL 32803. The make-and-take craft table is open from noon-2:30 p.m., and docents
are available to give mini-tours of the museum. Then it’s open house in
the galleries until 4:30 p.m.

Indie Folk Festival at the Mennello Museum.

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Flynn Dobbs invited me to exhibit a few of my painting along with three other artists at the annual family-and pet-friendly event, the Indie Folk Festival on February 10, 2018. The fourth annual Indie-Folkfest was presented by PLR Florida at the Mennello Museum of American Art. Pam Schwartz and I got there around 11:30 AM to get set up. Flynn had the tent ready and there was just enough room for my 6 framed paintings. Sprout, who is Pam’s scruffy pup was excited to experience all the new smells.

The event showcased local, national and regional art, music and culinary talent.

Last past February, in 2017,  the event welcomed nearly 5,000 guests to the museum grounds. Guests enjoyed beautiful weather, local music, food, beverages and art.

This annual free event serves as a gift from the Museum’s City-Appointed Board of Trustees in an effort to promote local art and community. A portion of all proceeds benefit the Mennello Museum of American Art’s education and family-friendly programs.

Each artist in our tent was active painting at some point during the day. I sketched our tent to document the day. Loren Berry set up a table and started doing some marbling. She poured multiple colors on the panel and let the colors swim together as she rotated the panel letting the paint flow across the surface. Then she lay the panel flat and used her gloved fingers to create pointed divots in the flow. This was followed by blowing the paint to create even more pattern. It was a fun process to watch and I sketched frantically. Her results, resemble the cloud formations on the planet Jupiter.

Terri Binion opened up the main stage with her unique folk music styling. She was followed by Beemo who got the folks gathered on the lawn warmed up to dance away the afternoon. The musical afternoon was capped off by Eugene Snowden who brought the crowd to his moving gospel of song and a crowd gathered in front of the stage to dance.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for February 10th and 11th.

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Saturday February 10, 2018

10:30 AM to 230 PM. Free to sketch, $8.00 to watch the 1950s movie Born Yesterday. Sketching at the Enzian.  Enzian Theater 1300 S Orlando Ave, Maitland, Florida 32751.

Orlando Urban Sketchers is sketching the Saturday Matinee Classics at the Enzian, and we will be
there to capture in sketches a time, an era and a space. Surrounded by
weeping oaks, a bubbling fountain, and a beautiful courtyard, Enzian is a
unique cinema-going experience, a dine-in theater packed with old-time
charm we wish to document into our sketchbooks.
We plan on sketching in the Eden-Bar garden outside the theater at 10:30 am first.

At 12:00 pm the 1950’s film Born Yesterday will be featured inside the
theater. We plan on moving indoors as soon as doors open to sketch the
theater interior where we can also grab lunch bites and watch the movie.

At 2:00pm we’ll meet back at Eden Bar garden for our traditional Sketchbooks-throw down ceremony.

Watching the film is not mandatory. Sketching can be kept going
outdoors to capture the moviegoers, the Eden Bar crowd, and Enzian’s
garden views.
There’s an $8.00 general admission for those who
wish to watch the film. Tickets can be purchased at the box-office or
online (recommended) @ https://enzian.secure.force.com/ticket/#sections_a0F3600000EZIELEAS All skills are welcome. Bring your sketchbook and sketching supply of your choice.
Invite your friends and family and anyone who likes to sketch, or to spend a quality morning at the Enzian!

11 AM to 4 PM Donations. Paws in the Park.  Lake Eola Park 512 E Washington St, Orlando, FL 32801, pet lovers from all over Central Florida will gather at beautiful
Lake Eola to support Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando’s mission to
educate, shelter, place, and heal pets and their families with
compassionate, responsible care.

This community wide fundraising event provides support for
the more than 8,000 homeless pets who will be cared for at our two
shelters this year. 


Schedule of Events

Stage Schedule

11am – Welcome and Memorial Bubble Release hosted by The Pet Loss Center

11:15am – Walk Start led by Commissioner Patty Sheehan and The Central Florida Sounds of Freedom Band & Color Guard

12pm – Fundraising Awards

12:15pm – Best in Show Contest with Celebrity Judges

1:15pm – Dog & Owner Look-a-Like Contest

2:15pm – Best Dog Trick Contest

3:15pm – Sit & Stay Contest

3:30pm – Raffle Winners Announced

Ongoing throughout the day

Splash Dogs Dock Diving

Disney Kids and Family Zone

Canine Sports Arena

Lucky Dogs Lure Course

Food Trucks

Vendors

Beer Garden featuring Tito’s Vodka, beer from City Beverage and Barefoot Wines


Sign up, form a team and invite your friends and family to join us
for a day filled with fun for everyone including, of course, your pets! Register and raise $75 or more and on event day, you’ll receive a commemorative event t-shirt and a Pet Alliance dog bandana.

Top Fundraising Prize:

Four-Two Day Park Hopper passes to Walt Disney World

Additional top fundraising prizes include:

Trophies

Medals

Gift Baskets

Chefs Table for 8 at Earls at Mall at Millenia (includes appetizers, main course, dessert, cocktails, beer and wine).

Noon to 5 PM Free. Mennello Museum Indie folk Festival. The Mennello Museum of American Art, 900 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803.

The Indie-Folkfest presented
by PLR Florida will  bring the community together again
and showcase local, national and regional art, music and culinary
talent.  The family-and pet-friendly event promises to be the biggest yet!

 This past February,
we welcomed nearly 5,000 guests to the museum grounds for
Indie-Folkfest 2017.  Guests enjoyed beautiful weather, local music,
food, beverages and art.

This annual free event serves as a gift from the Museum’s
City-Appointed Board of Trustees in an effort to promote local art and
community. A portion of all proceeds benefit the Mennello Museum of
American Art’s education and family-friendly programs.

Sunday February 11, 2018.

10 AM to Noon Free. Heartfulness Relaxation and Meditation Class. University, 5200 Vineland Rd, Orlando, FL 32811. The Method of Heartfulness A simple and practical way to experience the heart’s unlimited resources.

1 PM to 3 PM Free. Hidden Medicine Class with John Two-Hawks. Christ Church Unity Orlando 771 W Holden Ave, Orlando, Florida 32839. Grammy® nominated recording artist and author John Two-Hawks is a
victim and a survivor of child abuse. It has taken him 30 years to
arrive at the place in his life where he could finally tell his story.
His new book and CD is a revealing window into the inner sanctum of
John’s very personal life journey from severe child abuse to victorious
triumph, and how the sacred ways of indigenous wisdom revealed a
profound truth hidden within. John wrote the book and music with the
hope that it would help others to bravely blaze a path through their
heart to find their own Hidden Medicine. In this class/workshop, John
Two-Hawks will share his inspirational insights about how to be fully
liberated from hurt and empowered by what we find within. There are
three phases of that journey, and the third is often not realized. John
will share the pathway of all three, with an emphasis on how to take
that final step. An enlightening and uplifting experience for all.
* learn how your experiences can be your vehicle to transform
* feel empowered through deep acceptance and Native wisdom
* learn to rise above past trauma and experience joy

1 PM to 4 PM $5 Film Slam. Enzian Theater, South Orlando Avenue, Maitland, FL. Film Slam continues to be a popular outlet for indie and student filmmakers throughout the State of Florida.
Film Slam will usually be held on the second Sunday of each month at 1PM at Enzian.
This month we’ve booked the craziest Film Slam line up of the year.
Experimental
Films, Puppet Films, Art Films, Bartenders throwing bottles, Gangsters,
a Music Video….this has to be the most amazingly eclectic line we’ve
had for all of 2012.
Program starts at 1pm sharp.  Q and A with the filmmakers to follow screening. 

Weekend Top 6 Picks for November 11th and 12th 2017.

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Saturday November 11, 2017

10 AM to 1 PM. Free. Circling the World in a 24hr Sketch Walk! Disney Springs 1780 E Buena Vista Dr, Lake Buena Vista, Florida 32830 Planet Hollywood and Coca Cola buildings. Nearly 80 Urban Sketchers chapters around the globe will hold
sketch walks in their cities and towns to celebrate Urban Sketchers 10yrs
anniversary, showcasing sketches from their cities and towns.
Orlando’s Urban Sketchers group is one of them!

 Using social media Instagram network all sketch walks will be followed
starting with the first chapter to see daylight (Auckland, New Zealand)
to the last chapter to see the sunset (O’ahu, USA).
Photos and videos from each chapter will be shared throughout the day.

Where is Orlando in all of this? We are in an awesome place in the middle! With the world’s eyes on us here in Central Florida, we will be showcasing in sketches one of our unique and iconic locations.

The renovated Downtown Disney, now called Disney’s Springs, and the newly added section provide plenty of sketch opportunities. Take a pride in our Central Florida community! Come join us!

2 PM November 10, 2017 to 4 PM November 12, 2017. Free. Sidewalk in front of Lincoln Plaza in Downtown Orlando (300 S. Orange
Avenue). Drum Schtick. As part of Noise, an Art in Odd places production, award-winning D.C. based
performance artist Brian Feldman will embark on his longest project
to date.

For 50 consecutive hours, Brian will remain at a drum kit. Brian has been trying to realize this project since 2007.

Brian is seeking up to 50 volunteers (one hour shifts) to help ensure (1) his safety, (2) the continuity of the live stream (periscope.tv/BrianFeldman),
and (3) answers to attendee questions (to the best of your ability), as
he won’t be speaking during this project. Go to Sign Up Genius if you want to help. Earplugs are provided!

Noon to 4 PM through November 19, 2017. $15 Festival of Trees: The Gift of the Holidays. Orlando Museum of Art (2416 North Mills Ave. Orlando, FL 32803) The Festival of Trees, now in its thirty-first year, transforms the
Orlando Museum of Art into a glittering wonderland filled with sparkling
trees, vignettes and stunning décor for visitors of all ages.

The Orlando Museum of Art will showcase designer Christmas trees of all
sizes, holiday vignettes, custom hand designed wreaths and table décor, a
gingerbread village, tabletop displays and more. Each piece is designed
by Orlando’s finest designers and is available for purchase.

A glamorous gala night will mark the start of the 9-day event.

The
Festival continues with musical performances, fun family entertainment
and delightful programs for all ages throughout the week at the museum.

View the museum calendar to see all of the related Festival events. Festival of
Trees is presented by Council of 101, a non-profit organization. All
proceeds benefit the Orlando Museum of Art.

For more information, please contact the Council of 101 at (407) 896-4231,
ext. 254 or by email at councilof101@omart.org.

Sunday November 12, 2017 

11 AM to 5 PM. Free. Pagans in the Park. Mead Botanical Garden 1300 S Denning Dr, Winter Park, Florida 32789. A day of connecting, workshops, readers and vendors at
Mead Gardens, Winter Park FL. Please bring a pot luck item to share!

1 PM to 5 PM Free. Family Day on the Second Sunday. The Mennello Museum of American Art, 900 East Princeton Street, Orlando, FL 32803. The make-and-take craft table is open from noon-2:30 p.m., and docents are available to give mini-tours of the museum. Then it’s open house in the galleries until 4:30 p.m.

Noon to 1 PM Donation based. Yoga. Lake Eola Park near the red gazebo. Bring your own mat.

2 PM to 4 PM Free but get a drink. Kelly DeWayne Richards Pop Up Piano Bar. 1212 Country club Oaks Circle 32804.

Family Days at the Mennello Museum of American Art.

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On the Second Sunday of each month there is a Free Family Day at the Mennello Museum of American Art, (900 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803). The make-and-take craft table is open from noon-2:30 p.m., and docents are available to give mini-tours of the museum. Then it’s open house in the galleries until 4:30 p.m. 

The craft table is always bustling with parents and children. On this day, kids could convert an ordinary stick into an exotic talisman. Yarn could be wrapped around the stick and there was plenty of paint and beads to add to the decorations. The Earl Cunningham paintings literally glow with the way they are lit in this gallery. 

The next free family fun day will be Sunday, October 9th, 12 – 2:30 p.m. Guests can engage with the newest temporary exhibition, Three American Artists
on one of the 15 minute Tenacious Tours happening every half hour. Be
inspired to create your own work of art investigating energy and wind
like Alice Aycock, landscape and material like Barbara Sorensen, and
figure and metaphor like Deborah Butterfield. The galleries will remain
open until 4:00pm!

The Mennello Museum Indie-Folkfest.

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The final assignment for the Valentines Day Sketch Tour was for all the artists to explore and sketch the very crowded Mennello Museum Indie-Folk Festival. This was a chance for me to finally get out my own sketchbook. I immediately sat in front of the outdoor stage l sketch The Brown Bag Brass Band. I had just danced the night away several nights before, listening this band at a Mardi Gras celebration at Dexter’s in Winter Park with a friend. We danced to the point of exhilarated exhaustion. That same energy was very much alive at this outdoor performance. Dancing however seemed reserved for the kids.

Indie-Folkfest puts a twist on the Mennello Museum’s traditional Orlando Folk Festival turning it into a Valentine’s Day-themed family folk picnic that features local music, art and food. The museum partnered with East End Market for food, Joseph Martens for the music lineup, as well as local bars to throw a fun-filled picnic in the beautiful Sculpture Garden of The Mennello Museum of American Art. Approximately 3,000 guests, including plenty of dogs and kids, spread out picnic blankets, made Valentine cards and enjoyed a daylong lineup of music against the backdrop of Lake Formosa in the winter sunshine.It was the second annual day dedicated to Music + Art + Picnic + Love.

All the artists gathered back at our lakeside classroom to share our sketches and experiences. Sketching on location always opens the possibilities of meeting someone new or learning something new. It is a way exciting to go out in to the world and do what you love and share it with others. This is the message I keep trying to convey to a new generation of artists. We all posed for a group photo before class was adjourned.

Valentines Day Sketch Tour notes.

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These are thumbnail studies made at the Valentines Day Sketch Tour. Kelly Medford from Rome was offering advice on making simple value studies. I used a blunt black colored pencil to quickly fog in some grey valves and line work. Although the exercise wasn’t about color, I couldn’t resist adding a few watercolor washes. The color swatches were added to show the colors available with the palette we gave each student. First a thick swatch us added with plenty of pigment. Then the color was thinned with to of water to show how light values cool be achieved. Our lakeside classroom felt a be in like a Colosseum with the gentle arch of the shoreline.

After all the mornings sketches, we all took a lunch break an found food from vendors in the Mennello Museum’s Folk Festival. After lunch it was my turn to inspire artists to try and populate their sketches. I posed and the had several students pose to give everyone an idea of how to quickly block in a figure. Then I explained one and 2 point perspective and had student create a for grid plane. They then took the figure studies the Did and added them to the grid plane. Large figures were is the foreground and small figures were is the background. Then we all explored the crowded Folk Festival, with the objective to incorporate as mane figures in one sketch as was possible. We agreed to return to our quiet lakeside classroom to share the results.