Reading Fest

Returns to

River District

        

   The Lee County Library System’s annual Southwest Florida Reading Festival returns to the Fort Myers Regional Library in Fort Myers’ Historic River District on March 4. Admission is free.

   The Reading Fest will host 25 authors for all ages from 10am-4pm on the Library’s outdoor campus on First St.

   Attendees can hear author presentations, meet best-selling authors and have their books signed. The celebration also features youth writing award presentations, arts and crafts, and information about storytelling programs. Every child and teen attending will get a free book.

   Among the author lineup scheduled to attend are bestselling authors for adults, teens and children, including Newbery Award-winning youth writers Meg Medina and Lauren Wolk. Featured teen authors include Florida Teens Read writer, Axie Oh and historical fiction crossover novelist, Ruta Sepetys. Adult authors include Kristin Harmel and Alka Joshi; thriller writers Kendra Elliot, Joseph Finder, Gregg Hurwitz and Melinda Leigh; romance writers Sarah MacLean and Vanessa Riley; and Jennifer Lonoff Schiff, author of the popular ‘Sanibel Island Mystery’ series. 

   Attendees wishing for exclusive access to meet and mingle with some of the authors can attend An Evening with the Authors, a fundraising dinner, March 3, 5:30-8:30pm, at the Edison Restaurant on McGregor Blvd. in Fort Myers. Reservations are recommended. Proceeds from An Evening with the Authors benefit the Southwest Florida Reading Festival.

   Best-selling author Alka Joshi will be appearing at South County Library on March 3, 11am-12pm. Reservations are suggested. South County Library is located at 21100 Three Oaks Pkwy. In Estero. For information, call 533-4832.

   Fort Myers Regional Library is located at 2450 First St. in Fort Myers. For information, call 533-4832, or visit readfest.org.

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Naples Ikebana

Celebrates

50th Anniversary

     

   The public is invited to attend the Naples Ikebana International Chapter’s Annual Luncheon and Japanese Floral Art Demonstration on March 22 at the Vineyards Country Club in Naples. The presentation features the Ikenobo School of Ikebana, by Sensei Stephanie English, assisted by Sensei Marcia Norberg. 

   The Naples Ikebana International Chapter is one of the larger chapters in the United States, enjoying a membership of around 80 active members. Monthly meetings are on the first Wednesday of the month, November-May at the Naples Botanical Garden in Naples. Meetings are open to the public. 

   The Chapter has a history of offering Demonstrations of Japanese Floral Arranging by instructors of the Schools of Ikenobo, Ohara, Kado Sensho Ikenobo and Sogetsu, plus Japanese inspired cultural and artistic programs. 

Ikenobo, the featured School at this year’s 50th Luncheon Celebration, is referred to as, ‘the Origin of Ikebana’ and is over 550 years old. Ikebana began with Ikenobo which led to numerous other schools being taught and enjoyed throughout the world.

   Sensei English has honed her skills over a span of the last 30 years, traveling around the United States, Canada and Japan to study with Ikenobo Professors and other learned Sensei. Her awareness of natural floral materials growing in her northern and Florida locations and how these materials are incorporated into her Ikenobo floral designs. 

   Assisting Sensei English will be Marcia Norberg, who also has been immersed in the Ikenobo School for 22 years. Although she lived in Asia for seven years, Marcia began her study of Ikenobo with lessons in Naples, Florida, in 2000. She has also studied in Kyoto, Japan. 

   The Luncheon is March 22, 9:30am-1:30pm. Reservations are required. The Vineyards Country Club is located at 400 Vineyards Blvd. in Naples. A Silent Auction & Raffle will begin at 10am, followed by the Ikenobo demonstration at 11am, and lunch at 12:30pm. 

   For information about Ikebana’s 50 Anniversary Luncheon, visit ikebananaples.com.

For information about Ikebana monthly meetings, call 643-7275. Naples Botanical Garden is located at 4820 Bayshore Drive in Naples.

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Outdoor

Opera Festival

in Cambier Park

    

   Opera Naples presents their annual ‘Festival Under the Stars,’ March 21-April 5 in Cambier Park in downtown Naples. The multi-day outdoor opera festival will be conducted by Opera Naples Artistic & Music Director, Maestro Ramón Tebar, and features the Naples Festival Orchestra, Southwest Florida Symphony, Opera Naples Chorus, Opera Naples Resident Artists, and some of the best international opera artists in the world. Festival Under the Stars is presented in collaboration with Naples Art Institute and Grand Piano Series. 

   The Festival lineup features: 

   March 21: Opera Stars Concert, starring acclaimed Soprano, Jennifer Rowley. 

   March 28 & 30: Carmen, Georges Bizet’s fully-staged opera, sung in French with English supertitles. 

   March 29: Zarzuela & Flamenco, an evening of classic Spanish music and dance, featuring Mezzo soprano Maria Antúnez and tenor Martin Nusspaumer, accompanied by Maestro Ramón Tebar on piano.

   April 2: ‘A Night at the Opera,’ with Opera Naples Resident Artists performing with the Southwest Florida Symphony and world-renowned guest artists.

   April 4 & 5: Frida, an opera celebrating the life and legacy of artist Frida Kahlo, with Maestro Ramón Tebar conducting the Naples Festival Orchestra with the Opera Naples chorus. 

   All performances are at the Cambier Park softball field. 

   Additional performances taking place during the festival include Columbus Children’s Foundation’s ‘An Evening of Hope,’ featuring Jonathan Teleman on March 22 at 7pm at Cambier Park and a collaboration with the Grand Piano Series on March 25 at 5pm at Moorings Presbyterian Church, featuring the duo of Dominic Cheli and the Milana Strezeva. 

   ‘Festival Under the Stars’ will also include a Family & Community Day on March 26. Free to the public, it will feature a performance of ‘The Ugly Duckling,’ by the Opera Naples Resident Artists.

   Cambier Park is located at 755 8th Ave. S. in downtown Naples. Moorings Presbyterian Church is located at 791 Harbour Dr. in Naples. Call 963-9050 for information.

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Niki Butcher's

Debut Book

     

   Niki Butcher, artist and photographer, and wife of photographer Clyde Butcher, has published her debut book, Daydreaming, a collection of over 140 beautifully hand-painted photographs created over five decades. 

   The large coffee table book is printed on high-quality matte paper and spot varnished for protection, and bound in light pink linen with a waterproof coating and silver foil embossed details on the cover and spine. 

   “Using my photographs and oil paints, I am able to turn landscapes into dreamscapes and reality into fantasy,” Niki explains. “When I moved to Florida in 1980 from California, I was fascinated with the Florida culture. It was so different from California. The unique old mom-and-pop roadside stops, the fascinating characters, the beauty of the landscape, and the most amazing pastel colors of the Florida skies. I couldn’t resist taking photos of this beautiful state. 

   ”She continues, “I want people to remember old Florida and what is left. I hope this book helps bring attention to Florida’s unique heritage and culture and that it brings attention to help preserve it for future generations.” 

   The book is divided into six parts: Roadside Attractions & Nostalgia Inspired By Nature, Art Deco Beginnings, Historic Gems, Capturing the Human Spirit, and Fantastical Ideas.

   The first 500 books sold will be autographed by Niki.

Daydreaming is available at Clyde Butcher’s Venice Gallery & Studio and Big Cypress Gallery, and online at nikibutcher.com. For information, call 941-486-0811.

   Clyde Butcher’s Venice Gallery & Studio is located at 237 Warfield Ave S. in Venice. His Big Cypress Gallery is located at 52388 Tamiami Trail in Ochopee.

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Children's Museum

Celebrates

Indian Culture

     

   The Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples is hosting the cultural exhibit, ‘Namaste India’, featuring the arts, foods, traditions, and future of India. The exhibition compares the similarities and differences between their lives and those of children in the country of India in hopes of encouraging global awareness and cultural appreciation. 

   'Namaste India’ features a variety of immersive environments including a dhaba (restaurant), marketplace, tuk tuk (motorized rickshaw), home and school, as well as iconic spaces like the Taj Mahal and Bollywood.

   ‘Namaste India’ features a variety of experiences:

   Bollywood: Families can walk a red carpet and pose for a glamorous photo op dressed in colorful sarees and other traditional clothing. Visitors can watch clips from famous Bollywood movies and the biggest film industry in the world.

   Tuk Tuk: Guests take a simulated ride in a three-wheeled tuk tuk, a motorized rickshaw found throughout India.

   Cricket: Visitors will learn about the second most popular sport in India. Children can practice ‘bowling’ (throwing a ball) at a wicket target.

   School: Families will learn about a traditional school day for children in India. Students will study the geography and diversity of India as well as learn Hindi words and numbers.

   Family Home: Visitors will explore a traditional home featuring an entrance decorated with a rangoli and filled with other traditional Indian art forms. Children can practice yoga in the home’s backyard.

   Marketplace: Children will test their senses by smelling popular spices like turmeric, cumin and cloves. Visitors can try block printing, a traditional Indian art form.

   Dhaba: Families can prepare roti, a traditional flatbread cooked in a clay tandoor oven.

   Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples is located at 15080 Livingston Rd. in Naples. For information, call 514-0084.

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'Ding' Darling

Fundraiser Stars

Teddy Roosevelt

     

   To meet the challenges of Sanibel’s hurricane recovery, ‘Ding’ Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge is hosting a fundraising event, ‘Go Bully for ‘Ding’: An Evening with Teddy Roosevelt,’ March 6 at Broadway Palm in Fort Myers. The event starts at 5:30pm.

  The evening’s entertainment features popular Refuge personality and Teddy Roosevelt reprisor, Joe Wiegand. He has been bringing President Roosevelt to life for more than a decade and has performed in all 50 states and overseas, including a White House performance in honor of Roosevelt’s 150th birthday in 2008. The evening will include a performance and audience interactions, as well as dinner, drinks, and a live auction. Reservations are strongly recommended.

   All profits will support the hurricane recovery efforts of the J.N. ‘Ding’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel.

Broadway Palm is located at 1380 Colonial Blvd. In Fort Myers. For information, call 292-0566.

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