Right now I’m enjoying Florida Avocados on bologna sandwiches, but Christmas will be here soon and I’ll be able to get some really fantastic Florida oranges to bring back some of my favorite Florida memories.

At Christmas, my grandmother always made Orange Pound Cake with freshly squeezed Florida orange juice from the groves around her house.  I always got to help when I was lucky enough to be here for Christmas.  As an adult, I’ve made it a point to keep the tradition alive by making a few of these delicious cakes for other family members.  And, I’ve taught both of my daughters how to make this wonderful cake.  Below is the recipe.

Orange Pound Cake
1 Cup butter or margarine
1 Cup sugar
5 eggs
1 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Cups all purpose flour
5 tbsp freshly squeezed Florida orange juice

Cream butter or margarine.  My grandmother swore by Blue Bonnet for her pound cake and I am afraid to try anything different.  Stir in one egg at a time. Then, add the extracts and the flour.  Mix well and add the freshly squeezed orange juice.  You can use orange juice in the carton or bottle, but make sure it’s from Florida.  Turn into a tube pan and bake at 350 degrees (according to grandma) until done (toothpick comes out clean).  I forget how long that is, but the pound cake will be a beautiful golden brown when it is done. My Aunt Gladys always baked her pound cake at 325 degrees, but I think her oven must have been extra hot.

My dad always said, “Don’t mess it up by putting anything else in there,”  but every once in a while my grandma would put fruit, nuts, raisins or something else in her recipe.  We would all be unhappy and then she’d make her regular recipe for us.  I suppose she ended up eating the other cake by herself.”

Give the recipe a try.  Every bite brings back wonderful memories of my visits to Florida as a young child.  I found out many years later that when she made the cake she always made herself a little separate piece in an “Easy Bake Oven” pan that she would hide from the rest of us.  I do the same thing now, when I make a gift cake and no one but me, and now you, is the wiser.

Next time I make my grandmother’s pound cake I’ll take a photo. I know I’ll be making one soon, since Christmas is just around the corner.  I can tell, because we have a lot of visitors down here for the beautiful weather.  Welcome visitors.  I hope you are having a wonderful visit. And, drop me a line if you try the recipe.  I’d love to hear how your cake turns out and if you like it as much as I do.

It all starts Saturday, September 18 at 11:00am, and besides the great entertainment (that I’ll be telling you about below), the first 500 school age children through the door will receive a free bag of art supplies!

So what can you do or see at Family Day? How about performances by Didgeridoo Down Under, magician Luis Campaneria, Tampa Taiko Japanese drumming, and the Kuumba Dancers & Drummers? You can also find balloon bending, face painting, a community sculpture project, a global stick game, portrait sketches, a bake sale, and tables about countries from all over the world. For art activities, you can try your hand at paper African masks, origami lanterns, Japanese kimono dolls and carp kites, Moroccan good luck hands, Australian didgeridoos, and Chinese good luck door hangers.

The event runs 11:00am – 3:00pm on September 18. You won’t want to miss it!

Jerry Uelsmann, Untitled, 1987, Gelatin Silver Print, 16 x 20 inches, Collection of Lee and Becky Jackson

Polk Museum of Art’s upcoming exhibition, The Surreal Photography of Jerry Uelsmann, is certain to be a favorite among people who love photography or surrealism. The artist, Jerry Uelsmann, is a former University of Florida photography professor, and he’s been creating dream-like images in his darkroom longer than Photoshop has been around! He uses up to 7 enlarges to create composite images from his original negatives, and then develops the paper using traditional chemical processes.

The exhibition will be a 50 year retrospective of Uelsmann’s work, and it will be on display November 14 – January 17.

On Saturday, November 7, join Winter Haven designer and caterer Phillip Burkhart for this hands-on opportunity. All you have to do is provide your own container. Phillip is bringing the rest, including a boxed lunch that will be served in between the two sessions: one session is 10:30am-1:30pm and the other is 12:30-3:30pm. The cost for the workshop, including lunch, is $30 for Museum Members and $35 for Non-members.

Call 863-688-5423 to register because space is limited!

The concept of Beautiful Things was came from the idea that beauty is found within everything.
The Museum’s curator, Todd Behrens says, “This exhibition is an opportunity to judge your own idea of beauty, taste, art, and potentially, ugliness.”

Everyone is encouraged to discuss the artwork  with the Museum’s Curator by writing about your idea of beauty or about specific pieces that you find beautiful. The goal is to generate conversation about what makes an object beautiful.  Some pieces on display may be more traditionally beautiful while others may have a more subtle form of beauty.

Several pieces in the exhibition have been picked by Museum staff and will include their comments about why they chose a particular piece. Through this exercise you will see that ideas about beauty in art vary widely.

 A Perfect Mesh, on the other hand, is intended to showcase the Museum’s growing collection of screen prints.

Screen printing became well known in the United States through the business of commercial printing. Now it used by major and emerging artists as a useful media for producing original prints.

Thanks to Douglas Screen Printers, Inc., the Museum has been able to purchase several major screen prints over the last few years, including works by Robert Indiana, Jacob Lawrence, Roy Lichtenstein, and Robert Rauschenberg.  In addition to these pieces, the exhibition includes other important screen prints from the Museum’s Permanent Collection.

Both exhibitions open on September 5 and run through November 8. A reception for the exhibitions will be held on Friday, September 11, 5:30 – 8:30pm, with a lecture at 6:00pm. Light refreshments and a cash bar will begin at 7pm. Admission to the reception and lecture is free for Museum members and $10 for non-members.

This year’s Family Day features a “Going Green” theme. Activities and entertainment will feature a variety of eco-friendly ways to be artistic and creative, including the chance to participate in the construction of a large sculpture made from recycled materials. A diverse entertainment schedule will include Tampa Taiko, Japanese drummers whose instruments are made from recycled wine barrels; didgeridoos made from old PVC pipes by Didgeridoo Down Under; a recycled magic show by Luis Campaneria; and more.

The event takes place from 11am – 3pm, and art supplies will be given away while supplies last.

Family Day part of the Diversity Partnership Multicultural Week and is sponsored by: MIDFLORIDA,  The George W. Jenkins Fund though the Community Foundation of Greater Lakeland, BCI Engineers & Scientists, Mosaic, The AT&T Real Yellow Pages, Friends of the Lakeland Public Library, Kohl’s, Pepperidge Farm, and Party People Celebration Company.

Check out my full post at arts.lakelandlocal.com for the whole scoop. Then go vote!

Future concerts will include dixieland music by the Good Times Jazz Band on July 25; 50s and 60s music with Elivis impersonator Dwight Icenhower and The Repeatles on August 22; and traditional Appalachian music by Mustang Sally and the Hamjos on September 11.

All of the performances start at 7:30pm and tickets are $15 ahead of time, or $20 the day of the event. The optional dinner starts at 5:45pm in the Blue Palmetto Cafe and cost $15.50 for Bok Tower members or $17 for non-members.

For tickets and more info, visit the Live at the Gardens page on their website.

Clark Whittington, the founder of Art-O-Mat, will be at the Museum on Saturday, June 27 at 10:30am. He’s going to give a presentation about the machines and their history, and then he’ll talk to artists about how they can have their artwork sold in the nearly 100 Art-O-Mats around the world. The talk/presentation is free with Museum admission.