on the gulf
NEWS & PREVIEWS
The Circus
is in Town
The Circus Arts Conservatory’s Summer Circus Spectacular returns to The Ringing’s Historic Asolo Theater this year with a family-friendly, action-packed show featuring some of the world’s most exciting circus acts.
Starring in the 2024 Summer Circus Spectacular are:
• Jared Walker – Master of Ceremonies: Walker was Ringmaster for the Summer Circus Spectacular in 2018 and became the creative director for the Circus Arts Academy and its Sailor Circus Academy.
• Uranbileg Angarag – Contortion: At age 6, she began training for the Mongolian National Circus and by 9 years old, she was performing. She has been performing in circuses for 23 years, working with groups such as Cirque du Soleil and the Ulaanbaatar Circus. She has previously performed for the CAC during Cirque des Voix in 2023.
• The Bello Sisters – Acrobatic Hand Balancing: Italian-German acrobatic trio of sisters from a circus family. Their father performed with Cirque du Soleil for 12 years and their mother was the first woman to walk on a highwire on stilts. The trio previously performed for the CAC during Circus Sarasota earlier this year.
• Zorè España – Cyr Wheel: A 6th generation circus artist of Bulgarian and Mexican roots, she was born and raised in Englewood, Florida. She was the first Cyr wheel artist to perform at the prestigious Cirque d’Hiver Bouglione in Paris and with Zirkus Nemo in Denmark.
• Camille Langlois – Hair Hang: Originally from Quebec, her professional training began at the Circus School of Quebec and concluded at the National Circus School of Montreal. She is also skilled at acts including aerial hoops, chains and pole.
• Antino Pansa – Slack Wire: A Guyanese circus artist of French nationality and is a graduate of the National Circus School of Montreal. He was featured as a slack wire artist in Cirque du Soleil’s 2023 show, ‘ECHO.’ Specializing in slack wire, he is also a talented trampoline and floor acrobat.
• Renaldo – Clowning: Al ‘Renaldo’ Calienes began his circus career with the Big Apple Circus. A gifted clown, he went on to work with Circus Sarasota, the Royal Hanneford Circus, Canada’s Garden Bros. Circus, and England’s Zippo’s Circus.
Performances are Tuesday-Friday at 11am & 2pm, and Saturday at 2pm & 5pm.
Summer Circus Spectacular patrons can purchase discounted admission to the Circus Museum on The Ringling campus.
Historic Asolo Theater at The Ringling is located at 5401 Bay Shore Rd. in Sarasota. For information, call 941-360-7399.
Edison & Ford
Estates Celebrate
Baseball
To honor Thomas Edison’s love of baseball, Edison & Ford Winter Estates is showcasing a new exhibit, ‘Fanatics: Edison, Mack, and Baseball in Fort Myers,’ that highlights some baseball legends who once played at nearby Terry Park.
This exhibit features original artifacts and photographs on loan from the Mack family, tracing the long history of Fort Myers as a Spring Training site.
Connie Mack, manager and owner of the Philadelphia Athletics, provided the specifications to build Terry Park, which opened in 1925 as the Spring Training site for his team. Thomas Edison was a frequent visitor at Terry Park and on at least one occasion, participated in batting practice with the Athletics team.
Terry Park served as the official spring training home of the Athletics until 1936. Over the next five decades, other major league baseball teams used the ballpark to play their pre-season exhibition games, including the Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals and Pittsburgh Pirates. Hall of Famers such as George Brett, Roberto Clemente, Ty Cobb, Jimmy Foxx, and Babe Ruth are just some of the Hall of Famers that graced the fields at Terry Park, helping bring national exposure to the ‘City of Palms.’
The exhibit is included with admission.
Edison & Ford Winter Estates, located at 2350 McGregor Blvd. in Fort Myers, is open daily 9am-5:30pm (last ticket sold 4:30pm). For information, call 334-7419.
Seminole Artist
Experience
Returns to
Immokalee Casino
The Seminole Tribe of Florida’s Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum presents the fourth annual ‘Seminole Artist Experience’ on July 10 at the Seminole Casino Hotel in Immokalee. The free event will feature fine art by Native American artists from the Seminole Tribe of Florida, including original works of art by artists Elgin Jumper, Tylor Tigertail, Justine Osceola, and others.
Artists will demonstrate live painting and exhibit original works, create, and showcase hand crafts such as Seminole sweetgrass basketmaking, and display other traditional native Florida Seminole artists’ works. The event also features live music and storytelling, as well as the Seminole Immokalee community’s authentic artisans, craft vendors, and traditional dishes from Seminole food vendors.
The Seminole Artist Experience is open 11am-5pm. Admission is free.
Seminole Casino Hotel is located at 506 S 1st St. in Immokalee. call 863-902-1113 for information.
Short Films
Wanted by
SWFL
Filmmakers
The Alliance for the Arts and the Lee County Visitors and Convention Bureau are collaborating on the inaugural ‘Shorts of the Fort’ Film Festival, a new event celebrating the unique landscapes and vibrant communities of Lee County. Scheduled for September 20 at the Alliance for the Arts, the festival invites filmmakers to explore and capture the beauty of Fort Myers’ islands, beaches, and vibrant neighborhoods through their lenses.
The festival is welcoming submissions ranging from 30-second clips to 5-minute narratives that portray the essence of local life in Southwest Florida. This event provides a platform for both seasoned directors and emerging artists.
Cash prizes will be awarded for Best of the Fest, Audience Favorite, and the top film in each category: Island Odyssey, Beach Bliss, and Neighborhood Narratives. Films must be submitted by August 26.
Films must focus on the islands, beaches, and neighborhoods of Lee County and be shot entirely within the county.
Filmmakers of all ages are welcome, however submitters must be at least 18 years old.
For more information, call the Alliance for the Arts at 939-2787.
Alliance for the Arts is located at 10091 McGregor Blvd. in Fort Myers.
Mongolian contortionist, Uranbileg Angarag performs in Circus Arts Conservatory’s Summer Circus Spectacular, thru August 17 at The Ringling’s Historic Asolo Theater in Sarasota.
‘Fanatics: Edison, Mack and Baseball in Fort Myers’ is on view in the Edison & Ford Winter Estates in downtown Fort Myers.
The exhibition, ‘Andy Warhol Portfolio – A Life in Pop’ is on view thru September 8 at The Baker Museum on the Arts—Naples campus in Naples.
‘Childhood Classics: 100 Years of Children’s Book Illustrations’ is on view thru August 11 at the Naples Art Institute in downtown Naples.
‘The Highwaymen: Interstate Connections’ is on view thru September 15 at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens’ downtown Sarasota campus.
Warhol in Naples
Artis—Naples’ The Baker Museum is showcasing the work of the most famous Pop Art personalities with the exhinbition, ‘Andy Warhol Portfolios: A Life in Pop. The exhibition includes rare complete portfolios and individual prints by Warhol, starting with iconic works from the mid-1960s to the series of monoprints titled ‘Vesuvius,’ from 1985.
Warhol gained fame through his work in many media, including painting, sculpture, filmmaking, publishing and especially printmaking. He used prints in particular to explore the aesthetics and mechanics of mass-produced images and popular culture. The prints included in this exhibition demonstrate many aspects of Warhol’s art, including his brilliance as a colorist, which can be seen in the early ‘Flowers’ and ‘Sunset’ series.
In later series, Warhol experimented with the silkscreen printing process to create complex surface layers.
‘Andy Warhol Portfolios: A Life in Pop’ is on view thru September 8.
The Baker Museum is located on the Artis—Naples campus, located at 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples. The museum is open Tue-Sat 10am-4pm & Sun 12-4pm. Call 597-1900.
History of
Children's Book
Illustrations
Naples Art Institute is celebrating children’s literature’s rich history and enduring impact with an exhibition, ‘Childhood Classics: 100 Years of Children’s Book Illustrations.’ that showcases the illustrations and illustrators behind beloved stories.
The first books designed for children introduced timeless topics such as manners, community duties, and fundamental education, including the alphabet. However, it was in the 19th century that books began to appear with the dual purpose of entertaining children while also educating them. This evolution drove the integration of illustrations into storytelling, using color and detail to enhance the text.
‘Childhood Classics’ explores this legacy, featuring a wide range of artwork from early 20th-century pen & ink drawings to modern digital art. The exhibition features original artworks from iconic figures such as Dr. Seuss, Maurice Sendak, and Garth Williams, as well as contributions from classic illustrators including Rosemary Wells, Richard Scarry, Chris Van Allsburg, and Hilary Knight.
‘Childhood Classics: 100 Years of Children’s Book Illustrations’ will be on view at Naples Art Institute thru August 11.
Naples Art Institute is located at 585 Park St. in downtown Naples. The gallery is open Mon-Sat 10am-6pm & Sun 11am-4pm. Call 262-6517 for information.
Florida
Highwaymen
at Selby Gardens
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens is hosting the exhibition, ‘The Florida Highwaymen: Interstate Connections,’ in their Museum of Botany & the Arts at their downtown Sarasota campus thru September 15.
The legendary Black landscape artists, also known as The Florida Highwaymen, emerged in the 1950s in the agricultural communities of Fort Pierce and Gifford, Florida. Largely self-taught, these artists produced colorful scenes of Florida’s unique landscapes that appealed to residents and tourists alike. Their iconic images captured the natural beauty of the Sunshine State prior to the impact of increased urbanization.
They were prolific painters during the post-World War II boom. Denied representation by commercial galleries on account of their race, the artists sold their works door to door from the trunks of their cars along main thoroughfares
The exhibition celebrates the achievements of The Highwaymen and makes connections between their remarkable stories and the experience of the African American community in Sarasota in the 1950s and 1960s. While the Highwaymen were depicting romantic scenes of palm trees and beaches along the Atlantic, residents of Sarasota’s predominantly Black neighborhood of Newtown were striving to gain access to the segregated beaches on the Gulf.
The important contribution of this group to the cultural life of the state was formally acknowledged when 26 Highwaymen were inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 2004.
‘Florida Highwaymen: Interstate Connections’ is on view thru September 15. Marie Selby Botanical Gardens downtown Sarasota campus is located at 1534 Mound St. in Sarasota. The Gardens are open daily 10am-5pm. For information, call 941-366-5731.
Naples Players
Opens New
Kizzie Theater
Following a $21 million renovation of their iconic theater in the heart of Downtown Naples, The Naples Players have announced the official Phase 1 re-opening of their new venue: The Kizzie Theater.
Formerly known as Blackburn Hall, the new 452-seat Kizzie Theater features 308 seats on the main floor and adds 144 seats in the balcony. The Theater showcases a state-of-the-art sound system, custom acoustical design, and stunning custom millwork walls fabricated by local cabinet makers. Additionally, the Broadway-style theater showcases an orchestra pit for 16 musicians, a complete fly-house, a state-of-the-art lighting system, and spacious dressing rooms.
The Kizzie Theater also boasts a one-of-a-kind ‘Sensory Booth,’ a private booth with independent lighting, sound, and temperature controls that allow any family impacted by Sensory Processing Disorders to enjoy every performance in a controlled environment. Additional accessibility features of the theater include a hearing-loop system and Bluetooth hearing assistance connectivity that enables any individual with Bluetooth hearing aids to connect directly to the theater’s sound system without the need for additional headphones or devices.
Phase 2 will feature the opening of two new 104-seat Black Box Theaters, new scenic & costume shops, additional dressing rooms, bars, and a donor terrace. When completed, the facility will be the only LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certified Theater in the state of Florida. Completion of the entire facility is expected by the end of the summer.
The Naples Players’ first production in The Kizzie Theater is 42nd Street, thru July 21.
The Kizzie Theater is located at 701 5th Ave. in downtown Naples. Call 434-7340 for information.
