PMoA Announces Artwork to be Auctioned

Check out the artwork that Polk Museum of Art is auctioning this week:

The silent auction starts today and ends Friday evening, November 21, at the Jingle Mingle & Art Auction. You can come in anytime this week and place a bid on your favorite piece! Proceeds benefit Polk Museum of Art.

Polk Museum of Art to Host Series of Holiday Events

Polk Museum of Art will host a Holiday Magic Series of Events November 20 - 23. Every day for four days, the Museum will present at least one Holiday event and all of them will have a magical theme. Some events will be for children, including the ever popular Breakfast with Santa, and some, like the Jingle Mingle & Art Auction, will be for adults only.

Check out these great events:

Holiday Luncheon
Thursday, November 20, 2008, Seatings at 11:30am and 1:00pm
Cost: $30 per person
Enjoy the magic of the holidays with your friends! Join us for a scrumptious catered lunch, browse Gems & Jewels, and stroll through the Museum’s galleries. It’s a perfect occasion in elegant holiday surroundings.

Gems & Jewels Wearable Art Event
Thursday, November 20, 2008, 10:00am – 4:00pm
Cost: Free with admission
Your favorite jewelers and artists are back by popular demand to dazzle you with their unique creations. It's a great opportunity to buy a wonderful, hand-crafted present for someone special in your life — or for yourself!

Elves Shelves Gift Shoppe
Saturday, November 22, 2008, 9:00am – 3:00pm
Cost: Free with regular Museum admission. Prices of items vary.
Shhhhhhh! A special Secret Shoppe for children only! Gifts will be reasonably priced for children to purchase holiday items for family and friends. Elves Shelves fun includes creating unique wrapping paper for each selected gift.

Breakfast with Santa & Elf Workshop
Saturday, November 22, 2008, 9:00 – 11:00amCost: $15 per person
Get the kids ready for the Holidays with this magical morning event! Santa Claus will be on hand to visit with everyone while a buffet breakfast is served. After breakfast, the merriment moves upstairs to the Elf Workshop where Santa’s helpers have prepared a fun holiday themed art activity.

Holiday Magic Show
Saturday, November 22, 2008, 11:30am – 12:30pmCost: Free with a ticket to a Santa event or $2 at the door
Sparkle, dazzle, and abracadabra... As if the holidays weren’t magical enough, we’ve decided to add even more with our very own magic show. Bring the kids to be entertained and entranced. You’ll leave wondering what you really saw happen!

Art Auction
November 18 - December 7
Free with Museum admission
Stop by the Museum for your opportunity to buy some fantastic artwork for your collection — or as a gift for someone else’s! 20 pieces are available in a variety of styles and media and at a range of prices. Click here to see images of all of the artwork. If you see something you like, stop by to bid, or call the Museum at 863-688-7743.

“Whet Your Palettes” Cooking Class
Sunday, November 23, 2:30 - 5:30pm
Cost: $50 members and $55 nonmembers
Experience the art of creating fabulous foods with just a few brushstrokes! Join Chef Andy, the owner of TheChefAndy.LLC, for “Home for the Holidays”. Learn to make simple, yet creative appetizers sure to impress family and friends over the holidays. Chef Andy’s passion for food and life will make this a class to remember. Class size is strictly limited to 8 and includes use of apron, recipes, wine pairing, and gallery viewing. Participants must wear closed-toed shoes. Meet Chef Andy to learn about his many achievements, including winning the Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence at www.thechefandy.com. Pre-registration is required. Call 863-688-7743 x238.

The Holiday Magic Series of Events is sponsored by BCI Engineers & Scientists, Inc with additional support from Polk County Tourism and Sports Marketing.

For more information about the activities, please call 863-688-7743 or visit www.PolkMuseumofArt.org.

Viva Las Vegas Cabaret

Lakeland Community Theatre presents our Fall Fund Raiser

Viva Las Vegas Cabaret!

ONE WEEKEND ONLY!
November 14, 15th at 7:30pm, November 16 at 2pm

Hosted by Charlie Watts and Susan Lovell

Join some of your favorite performers as we tour Las Vegas stopping at some well known venue to hear classic songs and be entertained by dancers from the Va Va Va Voom Revue.

Cast members include Karissa Barber, Daniel Ballard, Kim Boothe, Ed Frisbie, Siobhan Gale, Benedict Heaps, Anita Kollinger, Jennifer Marshall, Tom Mook, Holly Parrish, Jeremy Procopio, Alan Reynolds, G. Michael Smith and many others.

Featuring classic songs made famous by stars like Cher, Frank Sinatra, Bette Midler, Wayne Newton, Celine Dion, Barry Manilow, Tina Turner and of course the King of Las Vegas - Elvis!

$25 Adults $15 Students (18 and under)

Call 863 603 7529 to purchase tickets

or online at http://www.lakelandcommunitytheatre.com/

Looking for Something to Do This Weekend?

Once again, Polk Museum of Art has got a fun weekend planned, and we're hoping that you will all come join us!

This afternoon, we're having our Family Halloween Party starting at 4pm. It's only $5 per child, and there are going to be some great, art-related, Halloween-themed activities going, all for $5 per child. Games, prizes, candy, cookies... Mmm, cookies... Someone was baking those in our kitchen yesterday, which is right below my office, so I was smelling fresh baked cookies all afternoon!

A few of our staff are already dressed up and in the spirit, and a few more will be getting dressed up later. I'm a woodland fairy, but I think Best Costume will probably go to Letty, our Curator of Education. She's given us a preview of the shoes, and let's just say that there will be a ballerina with VERY large feet dancing around.

Tomorrow, we're working off a Day of the Dead theme. During the day, we're focusing on the kids again with a series of workshops and activities. Most of them are free, but the afternoon workshop (Day of the Dead Altars) will have a $2 materials fee.

But we haven't forgotten about the adults! Tomorrow night is Death by Chocolate. Charlene, our Special Events Manager, has been working hard to make this a fun event with chocolate stations, chocotinis, and great music and dancing. The party starts at 7pm, and tickets are $30 per person. You can purchase tickets at the door.

So come on by the Museum! It's going to be a great weekend. Check out our website for more details or call 863-688-5423.

Ancestors and Heroes Celebrated at Explorations V Children's Museum!

Explorations V Children's Museum, located at 109 North Kentucky Avenue in downtown Lakeland, will host its annual Ancestors and Heroes Day on Saturday, November 15, 2008 from 10am until 3pm. The event celebrates our American heritage and the heroes who protect it and will feature hands-on activities such as rope and candle making, flag puzzles, letters to soldiers and more.

Those attending Ancestors and Heroes Day are encouraged to bring items to be included in care packages for active military personnel. Items such as toiletries, non-perishable individually packaged food items, books, socks, etc are welcomed. The donated items will be collected and distributed to troops by local agencies.

All activities are included with admission while supplies last. Admission is $5 per person. Senior citizens 65 and over are $2.50.Children under two and museum members are free. Additional information may be obtained by calling Explorations V Children's Museum at 863 687 3869 or via email to info@explorationsv.com.

Harrison’s “Pirates Of Penzance” Rocks

Harrison’s “Pirates Of Penzance” Rocks

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Musical Comedy Murders at Lakeland Community Theatre

Celebrate Hallowe'en with a murder filled evening at Lakeland Community Theatre. The final weekend of shows gets under way Thursday Oct 30th 7:30pm with performances on October 31st and November 1st at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2pm.

The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 is about a group of "show people" who meet at a house full of secret passages and odd people. They are there to read a new musical for a wealthy supporter and become stranded in a snow storm. Mayhem and murder follow, people disappearing, spies and double or even triple identities abound and the characters try to figure out which one of them is the Stage Door Slasher! There are police officers, Naval intelligence agents and Nazi spies involved too.

The cast is a mixture of LCT 'veterans' - Benedict Heaps, Anita Kollinger, Susan Lovell, Jerry Martinez, Drew McCalmon, Tom Mook and Jan Welch and 'newcomers' to our stage - Jordan Burg, Jeff Pearlman and Brad Vater.

The Lakeland Ledger says of the cast - "Benedict Heaps, is brilliant as Helsa Wenzel, the transvestite German maid. His transformation is so convincing that only his Adam's apple and his name in the playbill evidence his true gender."
"Jordan Burg is bright and has great stage presence. Bradley Vater (has) a quick sense of the comedic. Together they are a charming stage couple"
Jan Welch as "Bernice Roth, is a believable, self-involved, alcoholic Broadway composer, realistically communicates her two interests in life: capturing a lyric and drinking."

So come and check it out for yourself. Tickets are available at the box office 863 603 7529 or online at www.lakelandcommunitytheatre.com