Internationally-acclaimed Clarita Filgueiras is Founder and Artistic Director of Flamenco Puro Dance Company. Her Spanish grandmother was a Flamenco singer and her Spanish father was an afficionado of the cante which she heard from a very early age.

Specializing in the intricate and complicated art of Flamenco, Ms. Filgueiras keeps abreast of its evolution by touring, performing, and by continuously traveling to Spain.  Her performing credits include dancing with the Gypsy Kings as soloist on tours; a six month engagement in Frankfurt, Germany as soloist dancer at the Tiger Palast and Al Andalus; performing with Placido Domingo at MTV studios; filming an instructional dance series for “Ole TV”; and modeling for Star Styled Dance Magazine, and numerous photographers and painters.

The Flamenco Puro performance takes place in Updike Hall, Lake Wales Arts Center, 1099 SR 60 E, Lake Wales.  You are invited to visit the Michael Crew Gallery beforehand to explore decades of personal photographs documenting the changing urban landscape of Cuba reflected through three artists’ visions of their people. Pedro Ascabal, Enrique de la Uz, and Lisette Solorzano bring three generational perspectives.

For more information about the Lake Wales Arts Council and Center, and to purchase tickets for Flamenco Puro, call (863)676-8426.  Tickets: $20 members, $25 non- members.  Students with ID: $5.00

First, Florida Dance Theatre just announced that it will be extending a special offer to its upcoming performance: buy one ticket, get one free! This applies to not only the general admission and children’s tickets, but also to the pre-performance V.I.P. Cocktail Party. The performance will be on April 18 at 7:30pm at Polk Theatre in downtown Lakeland. The V.I.P. Cocktail Party starts at 6:30pm and includes premier seating at the performance. Tickets are $50 for V.I.P., $18 General, and $12 for children under the age of 12. But remember, buy one, get one free! It’s a great deal, and it’s being offered because people are feeling pinched by the economy.

This is really going to be an excellent performance. Not only are the dancers just fantastic anyway, but they’re also joining forces with the Lakeland based Indie band, Joon. For part of the performance, Joon will be playing their music on stage while FDT dances. Sounds exciting to me!

Next, coming up more quickly — as in this weekend — Bok Tower Gardens will host two events. On Saturday at 7:30am, you can join them for a Sunrise Tree Walk & Breakfast.  Nick Baker, their Director of Horticulture, will guide visitors on a tour of the gardens and talk about the history, variety, and special features of the trees. After that, you’ll get to enjoy breakfast indoors and ask questions. On Sunday, April 12, they’ll be hosting their 81st Annual Easter Sunrise Service at 7:00am. Admission is free, and there will be music by the Gardens’ 60-bell carillon and the Lake Wales Choral. An Easter Buffet will be available for a fee.

A new event that hasn’t been publicized much yet is Polk Museum of Art’s Folk Art Day on Saturday, April 25. A workshop by Lakeland folk artist Jack “Mr. B” Beverland will be offered at 11:00am and will cost $10 per person. Space is limited, so you should call ahead to register (688-7743 x249). Then, from noon until 2:00pm, local folk artists will be selling their artwork in the Museum’s parking lot. The final list of participating artists has not been determined yet, but local folk artist and collector Rodney Hardee is helping to organize this part of the day. The great thing about folk art is that it’s usually fairly inexpensive. You can come away with a nice piece of artwork for well under $100. Admission to the sale is free, and a small reception with light refreshments will take place in the Museum’s lobby at the same time.

There are MANY other great events taking place before the end of the month in Polk County. I didn’t even mention Explorations V’s Annual Children’s Festival on the 18th, Lakeland Community Theatre’s performances of Macbeth  starting on the 23rd, or the Imperial Symphony Orchestra’s Cookie Concert on the 26th! Be sure to pick up a copy of Art-i-Facts magazine at any of the local arts institutions or you can view an online version here.

For the first time, FDT will also be hosting a pre-performance V.I.P. Cocktail Party. $50 per person gets you an open bar, a chance to meet the dancers, and premier seating at the performance.  Tickets to the performance or the cocktail party can be purchased by calling FDT at 802-0399.

Here’s the flyer for the event:

I’m looking forward to Florida Dance Theatre’s Harlequin Ball this Friday, October 10, at the Lakeland Yacht and Country Club. The staff and volunteers have been working hard to make this a great benefit event for FDT that includes food, drinks, dancing and a performance by FDT’s professional company. Everything starts at 6:30. Tickets are $75 each and will be available at the door. I’ll be there, probably helping with check-in, so if you see me, tell me you read about it on this blog!

Also on October 10, Cracker Storytellers present Ghostly Tales at the Polk County Historical Museum in Bartow, and Art from the Collection of George Lowe opens at the Melvin Gallery at Florida Southern College.

Bartow Art Guild’s Conucopia Art Show will open at Bartow Public Library on October 13. The show runs through November 14, and reception will be held on November 2 at 3:00pm.

For performances: Tuesday Music Club of Lakeland will present Opera Live on October 14 at 10:30am. Call 701-2813 for details.

The Lake Wales Music Club will meet at 1pm at the Lake Wales Arts Center on October 16.

Polk Community College will present Broadway on Tour, also on October 16, but at 7pm. Tickets are $28 each. Call 800-624-8038 x1.

Rounding off the weekend are three visual art events: On Friday, October 17, Polk Museum of Art will host its second View & Review. Local artists are invited to bring a piece of art to be reviewed by guest critic and PCC painting instructor Vilas Tonape. It’s $15 for artists who wish to be reviewed, and $5 for the audience. Plus, there’s a cash bar!

Saturday, October 18, is PCC’s annual Fallfest. From 9am – 4pm, you can enjoy over 100 arts and crafts booths; a Kids Zone featuring a pumpkin patch and magic by Luis Campaneria; a Haunted House; an Arcade & Pinball Expo; musical performances; EMS & Police K-9 demonstrations; and more. The event is free, so head toward Winter Haven to enjoy the day!

Finally, on Sunday, October 19, Polk Museum of Art and the Center for Creative Studies will present their monthly Creative Studies Series. This month’s presentation is “Transformation through Clay with Claudia Van Horn.” The presentation begins at 5:30pm, and tickets are $15 for non-members, and $12 for Museum members. Space is very limited, so if you’re interested, please pre-register with payment by October 13.

There’s so much going on in October, I think I’ll end there for now! You’ll hear more from me in the coming weeks, though.

P.S.: I’ve posted pictures of Polk Museum of Art’s Red, White & The Blues, which was held Friday, October 3. Go here to see a slideshow!

Well, if you haven’t made plans already, might I suggest enrolling them in one or more arts camps this summer?

Almost every arts organization in Polk County is hosting a summer camp this year, and at reasonable prices too. I’m most familiar with Polk Museum of Art’s Summer Art Camp, which offers four two-week long session with classes in all the traditional media and a few non-traditional ones as well! But I was checking out this summer’s edition of Art-i-Facts, and saw that there are quite a few options out there for kids who are into the arts.

For example, if your child is into the visual arts and you live in or are visiting East Polk County (you know, the side closer to the famous mouse), the Lake Wales Art Center will be offering ArtsCamp! with small classes in painting collage, clay and more.

Florida Dance Theatre will be hosting several weeks worth of classes for students of all levels. Summer Youth Dance Camp is divided into two divisions, ages 4-6, and ages 6-10. For older or more advanced students, they offer the Summer Dance Intensive, two solid weeks of dance class, 5 hours per day! They’re also offering a small selection of evening classes for June and July. I’ll be there on Thursday nights for Beginning Modern!

Maybe your child has a flair for the dramatic (and really which child doesn’t? Especially when they MUST HAVE something). If that’s the case, Lakeland Community Theatre and Theatre Winter Haven are both offering performance oriented options. Lakeland Community Theatre will host Summer Camp for grades 1 -8, a workshop for grades 8 -12, and the Starfish Circus Camp for ages 6-18! Theatre Winter Haven’s Musical Camp Theatre for ages 8 -17 will feature School House Rock, Jr. and will end with two performaces.

You can’t mention “kids” and “summer camp” in the same sentence without mentioning Explorations V. This year’s X-treme Destinations Summer Camp for ages 5-12 is themed by the week and is sure to offer lots of excitement.

Florida Air Museum hosts aviation themed summer camps for ages 7-18, and one of them even allows the kids a chance to get behind the controls for an actual flight with a certified flight instructor! And Polk Community College will offer Kids at College classes on both the Lakeland and Winter Haven campuses.

Whew! What a list! There’s no shortage of things to do around here. Pick up a copy of Art-i-Facts magazine at any of our local arts organizations, or just read the online version for more details, not only about the summer camps, but also about EVERYTHING art related that’s happening this summer.