Florida Culture for the Week of October 27 By Josh Garrick

Final Week thru Oct 31 – PHANTASMAGORIA V

The 5th anniversary of this annual Halloween Celebration – this year titled Phantasmagoria V – Death Comes for ALL, will finish its ghoulish run at the Shakespeare Center on Halloween night. With new stories, LARGE-scale puppets interacting with live actors, dance, music, and stage combat, I dare you to join this fearsome troupe of storytellers. Under the inspired direction of John DiDonna, Kevin Becker & Seth Kubersky, with choreography by Mila Makarova & Dion Leonhard, call 407.328.9005 or order online at OrlandoAtPlay.com

Extended thru Nov 2 – Breakthrough Theatre presents The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Thanks to a very successful run, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow has been extended at Winter Park’s Breakthrough Theatre through November 2. The schoolmaster Ichabod Crane, with his hymn-singing and genteel manners, makes him an unwelcome rival to the bachelors of Sleepy Hollow. Timing is such that the superstitious Ichabod is accosted on his ride home by a fiendish apparition … but in what way is this creature fiendish? The play is directed by Wade Hair with Nic Jewell as Ichabod Crane. Call 407.920.4034 or visit breakthroughtheatre.com

(L to R) Nathan Jones as Brom Bones, Kelly McPherson as Katrina Van Tassel, Nic Jewell as Ichabod Crane
 

Current – Orlando Mayor Dyer Launches Initiative to Prevent Bullying

The hardest working Mayor in the USA – Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer - last week joined with students and business leaders to launch Orlando’s new anti-bullying initiative, a community-wide campaign to provide year-round education to students, an outreach coordinator and increased awareness. More than 1 in 4 students report being bullied in the school year, and those students are more likely to develop depression and behavioral issues, while those who bully are at risk for substance use, academic problems and violence later in life. Visit cityoforlando.net

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer with Carver Middle School students at the Dr. James R. Smith Neighborhood Center

Oct 28 – The International One Show Awards Return to Orlando

The pinnacle of advertising creativity returns to Central Florida with a special screening and gallery exhibit of the year’s best in advertising from around the world. The Traveling One Show features winning ads and branded entertainment from the One Show Awards, held in May 2014 in New York. Work includes Best of Show winner for Volvo Trucks, featuring action-star Jean-Claude Van Damme along with work from Chipotle, Newcastle, Skype, and P&G. The Traveling One Show will be presented October 28 beginning at 5:30 pm at The Orange Studio at 1121 N. Mills Ave in Orlando. Call 407.529.6275 or visit mpadvertising.com

Oct 28 – The American Guild of Organists presents Free Organ Spooktacular

The 5-manual-Trexler-Ruffatti-Beast (Organ) LIVES at Lutheran Towers at 300 E. Church Street in Orlando where the annual Organ Spooktacular will take place on October 28 at 7 pm. Featuring American Guild of Organists musicians and student scholarship winners, music from Phantom of the Opera will find Ben Lane on the organ along with other bone-chilling musical experiences. The event is FREE, costumes are encouraged, and the public is welcome. Email clavier[at]cfl.rr.com

Oct 29 – Taverna Opa Celebrates 7th Anniversary Fundraiser

On October 29 our favorite Greek restaurant – Taverna Opa – will be transformed into a haunted house featuring belly dancers, contortionists, magicians, and casino games for the Lucky 7 Haunted Casino charity event. Complimentary cocktails by EG Spirits and Opa cuisine will be served with all funds generated from the suggested $7 door donation and silent auction benefitting Give Kids The World. Visit opaorlando.com and/or RSVP to eatgreek[at]opaorlando.com

Oct 31 – Feed the Need Kick-Off with Mayor Bradley

Join Winter Park Mayor Ken Bradley, Rollins College President Craig McAllaster, and Winter Park Chamber of Commerce President Patrick Chapin as the community launches Feed the Need Winter Park, a community-wide effort to raise funds for Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. The event will recognize businesses and organizations that have committed to raising $500 for the cause. Set for October 31 at 10 am at Winter Park’s City Hall, there is always room for another Community Champion…  Call Ashley Ringler at 407-644-8281 or visit feedtheneedwp.org

Nov 1 – The Neanderthal Ball to Benefit the Science Center

It’s time to ‘go huntin’ for your new Caveman Couture and step out in Paleolithic style as the Orlando Science Center welcomes you to the 7th Annual Neanderthal Ball, the Science Center’s premier fundraising event. The Ball is also the wackiest (and most fun) Gala of the season, and while it may be held in a Museum, there is nothing ‘stuffy’ about the coolest event this side of the Ice Age! It’s a benefit for children’s programming at the Science Center, AND it’s an upscale dining event with gourmet foods, music, and a silent auction. Visit osc.org

Nov 1 – Park Avenue FASHION Week Runway Show

Winter Park’s Park Avenue FASHION Week concludes with the PAFW Runway Show as Winter Park’s biggest fashion event of the year. A 20,000 square foot tent is placed in Central Park with a runway and lounge area for VIP guests. The Runway Show takes place November 1 with an ‘Interactive Red Carpet;’ the announcement of the winner of the Emerging Designer Competition; and a check presented to the Foundation for Foster Children. Call 772.222.7614 or visit parkavenuefashionweek.com

Nov 1 to 3 – PlayFest at Orlando Shakespeare

The Orlando Shakespeare Theater “dares audiences” to take a risk on new plays at PlayFest from November 1 to 3. It’s a weekend filled with discussions, playwright panels, play readings, a speech from playwright Mark St. Germain, AND a collection of ground-breaking new plays. Playwrights Steve Yockey and Rob Keefe will showcase new works along with readings of plays by Israel Horovitz, Aleshea Harris, Reina Hardy and Andrew Heinze. Highly recommended. Call 407.447.1700 x1 or visit orlandoshakes.org  

Nov 2 – Faure’s Requiem at St. James Cathedral

The full 7-part version of Faure’s Requiem, as first performed in 1900, will be presented in a free concert on November 2 at 3 pm at St. James Cathedral at 215 N. Orange Ave in Downtown Orlando. Including the magnificent Sanctus and In Paradisum, the concert is a collaboration of the Cathedral and Diocesan Choirs, Soloists and Orchestra. Free parking is available for this Free concert. Call 407-422-2005 Ext. 106 or visit stjamesorlando.org

Nov 6 to 21 – Harriett Lake Sells 70 Years of Fashion for Charity

Harriett Lake, legendary philanthropist and fashion diva, will offer more than 5,000 pieces from her private collection of clothing in a once-in-a-lifetime-sale to benefit the Orlando Ballet and Harriett’s Boutique at Orlando Health. Harriett’s collection spans seven-decades and includes furs, gowns, suits, coats, handbags, hats, and much more. Her collection ranges from Chanel, Ferragamo, and Yves St. Laurent to Costco and Target, or as Harriett says, “It goes from basic black to oh my god!” Harriett’s Sale kicks off November 6 from 5 to 9 pm with a VIP ticketed event (tickets at eventbrite.com) and continues daily through November 21 at 902 Waterway Place in Longwood. Call or text 407.474.5448

Nov 8 – Community Open House at NEW Dr. Phillips Center

It’s been 20 years in the making, and NOW – from noon to 6 pm on November 8, the Public is invited to take self-guided tours through Orlando’s brand NEW Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center and explore the Della Phillips Grand Lobby, the Walt Disney Theater, the Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater and the Seneff Arts Plaza. The tours will include special ‘photo-ops’ and the opportunity to purchase tickets for upcoming shows and events. Visit drphillipscenter.org

Nov 8 – Sheryl Crow in Free Concert Celebrating the Seneff Arts Plaza

They call it the ‘People’s Lawn,’ and the NEW Dr. Phillips Center will present their Open Space to the Public with a Free Concert by Sheryl Crow on November 8 at 8 pm. Crow has sold more than 35 million albums around the world, has released eight studio albums (seven charting Top 10), a quadruple-platinum greatest hits collection and a Christmas album. Now Ms. Crow is coming to Orlando to help us celebrate our new Performing Arts Center.  And it’s Free! Access to a climate-controlled hospitality area is offered at a ticketed price. 

Nov 8 – The 6th Annual Gingerbread Run for Give Kids the World

The Gingerbread 5k Run is set for November 8 at Give Kids the World (GKTW) in Kissimmee, Florida. The race invites the public inside the 70-acre story-book resort to meet the families they are helping support, leading participants through a fantasyland into the world’s largest Candy Land game. Last year’s event raised over $165,000 and this year’s goal is to generate $190,000 to benefit kids with life-threatening illnesses. For information, visit gingerbreadrun.org or givekidstheworld.org

Nov 8 – The Orlando Philharmonic presents Midori & Berlioz

Continuing its search for Orlando’s next Music Director, the Orlando Philharmonic presents Conductor Steven Jarvi in a concert of Romantic favorites. Opening with the heroic Wagner’s Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin, and featuring internationally renowned violinist Midori performing Schumann’s Violin Concerto, both Jarvi and the Orchestra will be ‘tested’ by Berlioz’s epic Symphonie Fantastique. The Orchestra is sharing its search for their next Music Director with us – the audience, and that is one more reason to share our support BACK with them. The date is November 8 at 8 pm at the Bob Carr PAC.  Call 407.770.0071 or visit orlandophil.org

Now and on-going – Revival and Reform – New Exhibit at Morse Museum

Revival & Reform provides a rare look at the diversity of the decorative arts in the latter 19th Century with Neoclassical and neo-Gothic objects shown with more avant-garde pieces, reflecting the eclecticism that characterized the visual environment of the period. The Arts window by J. & R. Lamb Studios, is the centerpiece of the exhibit, and that window is joined by more than twenty additional leaded-glass windows and panels from Tiffany Studios, John La Farge, Frank Lloyd Wright, Edward Burne-Jones, Donald MacDonald, and Heaton, Butler & Bayne are included. Free docent tours are available. Call 407.645.5311 or visit morsemuseum.org.

The Arts window, 1894, by J. & R. Lamb Studios, centerpiece of the new exhibit at the Morse Museum.

Josh Garrick is the Florida Arts Editor for Wandering Educators