Attend arts activities this month and register for a chance to win awesome “ARTS” prizes! The rules are easy. Look for the Heart of the Arts Logo at participating arts and cultural events in Polk County.  Provide your contact information one time at each activity, so we can contact you if you are a winner. The more activities you experience, the more opportunities you have to win. Drawings take place in early November.

This weekend in the Heart of the Arts (Oct 7-9):

Oct 6-9: The Full Monty at Theatre Winter Haven

Oct 7: View & Review – Critiquing Emerging Artists (Photography) at Polk Museum of Art.

Oct 7: Ask a Gardener at Bok Tower Gardens

Oct 7: People’s Choice at Arts on the Park

Oct 7: Half Price Admission to Explorations V from 6-8pm

Oct 7: Cracker Storytelling Festival Ghost Stories at Polk County Historical Museum

Oct 7-8: THE EDGE Stage Read Series – “Hot L Baltimore” LCT at Lake Mirror Theatre

Oct 8: Opening Reception for Student Exhibition at Polk Museum of Art

Oct 8: History Highlights Polk Proud 150 at 2pm at Bok Tower Gardens

Oct 8: Underground at the Polk at the Historic Polk Theatre

Oct 9: Edward W. Bok Birthday Carillon Concerts at Bok Tower Gardens

View the complete EVENT CALENDAR.

Visit our listing with links to Polk’s arts & cultural organizations.

January 4, 1:30pm and 7:00pm: Opera Overtures: A theatre broadcast preview of Puccini’s La Fancuilla del West (The Girl of the Golden West).  Live in theatres on January 8th at 1:00pm at Cobb Theatres Lakeside Village 18 Cinemas in Lakeland and Cobb Grand 10 Cinemas in Winter Haven. Learn more!

On exhibit through January 7 at the Lake Wales Municipal Building: Municipal Fine Art Show sponsored by Lake Wales Arts Council and City of Lake Wales.  Learn more!

On exhibit through January 8 at Polk Museum of Art – Eye See America: Through the Lens of Joshua Mann Pailet and Visual Unity 2.  Learn more!

January 9, 1:00pm and 3:30pm: Edward Bok Memorial Carillon Concerts. Commemorate the life of Gardens’ founder Edward W. Bok who died January 9, 1930, less than a year after his beloved Singing Tower was dedicated.  Free with admission.  Learn more!

January 13, 7:30pm: Afiara String Quartet, Updike Hall at Lake Wales Arts Center.  Learn more!

January 17, 1:00pm and 3:30pm:  Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Carillon Concerts featuring music of hope, inspiration and peace honoring Dr. King. Learn more!

January 18, 7:30-8:30pm:  Moonlight Carillon Concert at Bok Tower Gardens.  Learn more!

January 19, 7:30pm: Singer and comedian Mark Lowry performs benefit concert for Southeastern University at The Historic Polk Theatre. Learn more!

January 21, 8:20pm (2020 hours): Pecha Kucha Night Lakeland at 241 S. Kentucky Ave in Lakeland.  The doors open at 7:20pm for this fun and creative event where eight creatives give thought-provoking and entertaining presentations of 20 slides for 20 seconds.  Learn more!

January 21 – April 1: Municipal Fine Art Show at the Lake Wales Municipal Building.  The opening reception and awards ceremony are on January 21 from 5:00-7:00pm.  Learn more!

January 22, 7:00pm: The Imperial Symphony Orchestra’s Night at the Opera takes place in Branscomb Auditorium at Florida Southern College.  This 10th anniversary season celebration includes selections from Madama Butterfly, Carmen, Barber of Seville, La Traviata, Tosca, La Boheme, Lakme, Cavalleria Rusticana, Samson & Delilah, Le Nozze Di Figaro and Lucia Di Lammermoor with a nationally renowned cast, including Stella Zambalis, Mark Thomsen, Thomas Potter, John Thomasson and Christina Sale, led by Artistic Director James Caraher, Indianapolis Opera.  Learn more!

January 23, 4:30pm: Music at Pinewood Concert Series: Duo Turgeon, Piano. Learn more!

On exhibit through January 27 at Lake Wales Arts Center – Ringling College of Art and Design Trustee Scholar Artists.  Learn more!

January 27 – April 21: 12-Week Watercolor Art Classes at Bok Tower Gardens.  Thursdays, except April 14. Beginning/Intermediate: 9:30am-12:30pm, Intermediate/Advanced: 1:30-4:30pm.  Learn more!

January 29, 7:30pm: Leap of Faith – A hand-clapping, toe-tapping evening of gospel music featuring some of the finest voices of church choir members from around the community. Celebrate faith, family and heritage.  This jubilant salute will lift your spirits and restore your soul.  Presented on the Bartow Performing Arts Series at Bartow Elementary Auditorium.  Learn more!

January 30: Sundays @ the Center – Singing Tree, 2:00pm.  Updike Hall at the Lake Wales Arts Center.  A special name for a unique duo. Celtic, folk and traditional music.  Learn more!

January 30, 2pm. One day only – “Thank you for the music – the music of ABBA,” a joint production of Theatre Winter Haven and Lakeland Community Theatre presented at The Historic Polk Theatre.  Tickets available through the Polk Theatre are $25, $20, $15.  Phone: 863.682.7553.  Learn more! Purchase tickets online here!

Learn more about arts events and news by visiting the Polk Arts website.

For additional information contact MOSI at 813 987 6000 or Explorations V Children’s Museum at 863 687 3869.

Explorations V Children’s Museum is located at 109 North Kentucky Avenue in downtown Lakeland. Hours are Monday-Saturday 9am-5:30pm.  Regular admission price is $5 per person. Senior citizens 65 and older are $2.50 each. Explorations V Children’s Museum members and children under two are free.

October 1-27    Fear (Juried Exhibition)
Arts on the Park, 115 N. Kentucky Ave, Lakeland, FL 33801
Reception and Awards, Friday October 1, 2010 6-9 p.m.
Gallery hours are Noon – 4:00pm, Tuesday – Saturday.

October 1-29    Vilas Tonape Exhibition: Kruti
Melvin Gallery, Florida Southern College
111 Lake Hollingsworth Dr, Lakeland FL  33801
Opening reception is Friday, October 1 at 7pm in the Melvin Gallery.
Gallery Hours are 9am – 4pm, Monday – Friday when school is in session.

Oct 2-Dec 2: “Florida Expressions” Art exhibit featuring the works of Polly Tetrault, a self-taught artist whose pastel and oil paintings express the beauty in nature that is often taken for granted.
Bok Tower Gardens, 1151 Tower Blvd, Lake Wales, FL 33853
9am – 5pm daily

October 2 – January 8 at Polk Museum of Art (2 new exhibits)
Eye See America: Through the Lens of Joshua Mann Pailet
Visual Unity 2: View the results of “What happens when you partner 19 very different artists and tell them to make a piece of art together?”
Polk Museum of Art, 800 E. Palmetto St, Lakeland, FL  33801
Museum Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 10am – 5pm, Sunday 1 – 5pm.  Closed Mondays and major holidays.

Click here to learn more about arts and cultural happenings in Central Florida’s Polk County – The Heart of the Arts.

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!

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.

This Friday night, Polk Museum of Art will be hosting the opening reception for its newest exhibition, Unbelievable Transformations: Moving Sculptures by Gregory Barsamian. The artist will be talking about his work at 6:00pm and there will be light refreshments and a cash bar starting at 7:00pm. The reception is free for Museum members and $10 for non-members.

I know I’m biased, but I really can not convey in words how cool this exhibition is going to be. Once it’s finally up, I’m going to post some video to give everyone a better idea. In the meantime, here’s a link to a movie of the piece above in action. Keep watching because there’s another piece shown after the halfway mark.

I’ve been to Red, White & The Blues for the past 6 or 7 years, and I will tell you that it’s a fantastic party. I’m not even really a blues fan! Traditionally it’s been held at the Museum, but this year the Museum decided to move it out of the building and make it bigger and better. I can’t wait to see how great it is!

Blues legend Bobby “Blue” Bland is the headline act, and local favorite Sarasota Slim is opening. But besides the great music, General Admission ticket holders get treated to free beer and barbecue by Good Buddies BBQ all evening! A cash bar will be available with premium beer, wine, and mixed drinks. But, the perks get even better if you purchase V.I.P. tickets: open bar, food by Texas Cattle Company, a wine tasting, private parking, and a balcony overlooking the concert!

Tickets are $50 for General Admission, and $100 for Blues Club V.I.P. tickets. Plus, be sure to bring art supplies (min. value $10) to be distributed to area schools. You can purchase tickets by calling 863-688-7743 x238 or visiting www.PolkMuseumofArt.org.

Oh, and one last thing: you have to be at least 21 years old to attend! It’s a bummer, I know, but them’s the rules. I hope to see you there!

Polk Museum of Art decided it wanted to find out how artists in the state of Florida were taking advantage of technology, so it created a juried competition that was open to instructors and professors at Florida’s public and private universities and colleges. They got the typical digital photography and films, but they also got paintings, prints, and (…get this!…) ceramics!

The show is called Digital Art in the Post-Digital Age: Works by Florida Faculty and it opens for viewing on Saturday, May 24. Don’t worry, though. You don’t have to rush over to see it THAT DAY. It’ll be up through September 7.

Oh, and don’t miss the reception on May 30. It’s for this show and Karsh, Leonard, and Bagert: A Photographic Legacy. Herman Leonard and Jenny Bagert, two of the artists in that exhibition, will talk about their work at 6:00pm, and then the reception will begin at about 7. Stetson University’s Mobile Performance Group will be doing their thing a couple of times before the whole thing ends at 8:30. $10 gets you in the door and it’s a cash bar. I know I’ll be there!