Florida Culture for the Week of December 29 by Josh Garrick

Dec 31 – The Orlando Museum of Art's New Year’s Eve Party

Join us as the Orlando Museum of Art reaches the finale of their 90th Anniversary Year in their first-ever New Year’s Eve Gala Party.  Beginning at 10 pm on December 31, the Museum intends for THIS PARTY to be ‘the place to be’ with a Red Carpet Entry, Party Favors, Open Galleries, Hors d’oeuvres and Cocktails, Live Music by Soul Funktion, a Champagne Toast, Fireworks – AND – they say that’s only the beginning.  Tix are single $90; Couples $150.  Call 407.331.1993 or contact Jake White at [email protected]

Dec 31 – Enzian’s James Bond New Year’s Eve Party

It’s an Annual Event at Enzian. James Bond fanatics decide how they want their champagne (please don’t shake it) served as they dress to impress at the James Bond New Year’s Eve Party. Best James Bond or Bond Girl could win a prize along with the bubbly or a signature cocktail to tango your way into 2015. 21 and up only.  5:30 pm – doors open for VIP Screening of Diamonds Are Forever.  8 pm to 2 am – Party kicks off with General Admission at $30. Visit Enzian.org

Jan 2 – Dancing With the Stars LIVE in Orlando

Dancing With the Stars will bring its ballroom action – including our favorite pros and celebrities – to Orlando’s Bob Carr PAC on January 2 in a 90-minute LIVE show featuring "a cast of the show’s most popular competitors." DWTS dancers will choreograph new routines and re-create some of the show’s most memorable moments. Pros Mark Ballas, Kym Johnson, and Valentin Chmerkovsky are part of the tour. Tickets at dwtstour.com

Jan 5 to Feb 22 – Art and the Subconscious: Salvador Dali and Andre Smith

Influenced by the writings of Sigmund Freud, Surrealists held beliefs that creativity comes from deep within a person’s subconscious. The next exhibit at the Maitland Art Center tests that premise by pairing MAC founder André Smith with the most prolific Surrealist of the 20th Century – Salvador Dalí. Pushing the boundaries of the mysterious (and irrational), we may visit the exhibit through February 22. Call 407.539.2181 or visit artandhistory.org

Jan 8 to 11 -- Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey brings XTREME to Orlando

The Greatest Show On Earth continues to amaze as CIRCUS XTREME turns audiences into adventure-seekers from January 8 to 11 at the Amway Center. An all-female troupe of Mongolian riders, freestyle BMX riders and tumblers, and Circus elephants are the ‘headliners’ at the Circus this season. The party begins an hour before the show at the Pre-Show (free with ticket purchase) as your family gets to meet the performers, get up close to the animals, and even try on circus costumes. Tickets at ringling.com or ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000.

Jan 10 to March 31 – Leu Gardens Presents Ribbit the Exhibit

Leu Gardens will begin 2015 with a whimsical display called Ribbit the Exhibit featuring twenty human-sized sculptures located throughout the Gardens in a family-friendly event. Giant frogs created by Artist J.A. Cobb will be presented at the Gardens from January 10 to March 31 along with classes, programs and a family-friendly scavenger hunt to encourage green gardening and an appreciation of our favorite amphibians. Visit leugardens.org

Jan 10 to 18 – Art Exhibit Inspired by Winter Park’s Historic Architecture

The Casa Feliz Historic Home Museum will host an art exhibit in ‘all mediums’ to celebrate Winter Park's historic architecture and to recognize the importance of historic preservation. “Evoking a sense of Winter Park’s historic architecture,” the art-works will be displayed from January 10 to 18 with a Free, Public-Invited Opening Reception held from 1 to 3 pm on January 10. Call 407.628.8196 or visit casafeliz.us

Casa Feliz painting by Stewart Jones

Jan 10 – The Orlando Philharmonic presents Sheherazade

In a season in which the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra’s search for a new Music Director has chosen five finalists, the Orchestra offers its audience each of the  finalists conducting a program during the current season. The most ‘exotic’ program of the season will be conducted by interpretive dynamo Eric Jacobsen. Beginning at 8 pm on January 10 at the Bob Carr PAC, the program includes Debussy’s Afternoon of a Faun, Chinese composer Zhao Jiping’s Concerto for Pipa, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade. This program is HIGHLY recommended. Call 407.770.0071 or visit orlandophil.org

Jan 15 to Mar 22 – The Art of the Highwaymen at the History Center

In the 1950’s and 60’s, a group of self-taught African-American Artists known as the Highwaymen began selling their Florida landscape paintings from town to town, offering artwork from the trunks of their cars or sitting beside the Highway and selling to tourists. By the 1990’s, articles in magazines brought the Highwaymen new acclaim – and new collectors – making their works highly collectible. On January 15, the Orange County Regional History Center will open an exhibit of 14 paintings by 12 of the original Highwaymen Artists. Call 407.836.8500 or visit thehistorycenter.org

Jan 15 & Jan 29 – Art for All Spaces Presents Reviving the Ancients

In a celebration of the enduring relevance of past cultures and ideas, Art for All Spaces invites the Public to the Opening of Reviving the Ancients on January 15 beginning at 6 pm at the CityArts Factory in Orlando. Featuring the work of 24 Artists, the works explore ways in which the human race has addressed questions of existence through image-making.  An additional event is planned for January 29, when Artist/Scholars will conduct tours of the exhibit, offering insights from the perspectives of History and Psychology. Call 407.450.2255 or e-mail [email protected]

Jan 15 to Feb 14 – The Rat Pack Lounge at Winter Park Playhouse

Frank, Dean and Sammy may be in heaven, but in the Florida Premiere of a new musical at the Winter Park Playhouse it would seem they have some unfinished business back on earth and they’ve got one night to make it right. With over 30 hit songs including My Way and Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime, this melodic new musical – The Rat Pack Lounge – will transport you back to the days of highballs and high rollers. Call 407.645.0145 or visit winterparkplayhouse.org

Josh Garrick is the Florida Arts Editor for Wandering Educators