Edison & Ford Holiday Nights

 

Holiday Nights, December 2 – December 31
Closed December 24 & December 25

5:30PM – 9:00PM
Guided Tours at 6PM and 7PM

Estates Members: FREE
Adults: $15.00
Students 13-College (Must present valid ID): $8.00
Children (6-12 years): $1.00
Children (5 and under): FREE

During the holidays the homes and gardens of Thomas and Mina Edison and Henry and Clara Ford will be seasonally decorated and visitors will have the option of a self guided tour or a guided tour with an Estates site historian.

Edison & Ford Holiday Nights includes nightly entertainment by school and community groups, culinary demonstrations, book signings and appearances by artists, and the “Children’s Tree Trail” a forest of trees decorated by Lee County Students. The Estates Museum and Edison Botanic Research Lab will also be open during the event.

Tickets for a self guided tour are $15 for adults and $1 for children (6 -12); guided tours are $20 for adults and $1 for children (6 -12).  Groups may schedule guided or unguided tours from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. and will receive a discounted group rate.

Groups are required to make advanced reservations. 
Holiday Guided Tours & Behind-The-Scenes Holiday Tours -subject to availability. 

Creative Cottage

This year “Creative Cottage,” located in the Edison Caretaker’s House, will feature elements of an Old Florida Christmas and will include the artwork of Florence Sansom, Megan Kissinger and Buell Lee Whitehead.  Traditional Florida foods will be available for tasting and purchase celebrating the Edison Caretaker’s House, an original Cracker House built in the 1870s.

Creative Cottage will be open 10 AM – 5 PM daily until December 2.  During, Edison & Ford Holiday Nights hours will be expanded to 9 PM.  Members are FREE and a “shoppers pass” may be issued at the main ticket office to visit the Creative Cottage.

Contact the Estates at 239-334-7419 for more information on the “Edison & Ford Holiday Nights”.

Advance tickets on sale  at SouthWest Captial Bank,Vincents Salon , Tan USA,Finemark Bank at Riverwalk and the Franklin Shops

This video was from one of last years performers Memphis 56 and Andy Howl

In the Main Gallery
November 21st – December 31st

Alicia Schmidt:
40 Years a Retrospective

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Opening Reception: December 2nd, 5-7:30pm
Exhibiting: November 21st – December 31st
Gallery WALK & TALK: December 3rd from 10-11am
Members Gallery: Barbara Fewster
Theater Lobby: Lydia Fogaras Ljuboja M.D.

“Alicia Schmidt: 40 Years A Retrospective” will contain work dating back to 1971, including paintings, drawings and watercolors. The collection starts with traditional academic work, figures, landscape and portraits but also represents various turning points in Schmidt’s life as her work developed into a minimal style and then into abstract works.

Alicia has been a resident of Cape Coral since 1966, moving to SW Florida from Dunkirk, NY. Her work has been exhibited nationally and regionally in solo, group, and juried exhibitions and has been the recipient of many awards.

Art Walk and Tree Lighting December 2nd 2011

Fort Myers Art Walk offers great gift and holiday shopping options

December’s Fort Myers Art Walk and the Saturday Art Fair will offer some great holiday shopping options for local residents and tourists alike.

The first weekend of December will see new art exhibits, the official Christmas tree lighting, and a growing art fair in downtown Fort Myers.

The next monthly Art Walk will take place on Friday, Dec. 2, with local art galleries and art stops featuring new exhibits and shows. This regular cultural event draws between 1,500 and 2,500 people each month to the downtown River District.

Then on Saturday, Dec. 3, the organizers of Art Walk present the seasonal Saturday Art Fair. A new twist this year is the art fair is a juried event, showcasing individual artists at tables along the sidewalks of First Street. The Saturday Art Fair runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is free to attend. Thirty-nine artists and art vendors are scheduled to be at December’s Saturday Art Fair.

The monthly Art Walk runs from 6 to 10 p.m. on the first Fridays of every month. The December Art Walk will include a dozen art galleries and art stops and will feature new art shows, live music, and the traditional after party.

An added bonus on Friday, Dec. 2 At Fowler White and Boggs

Downtown Fort Myers is kicking off the Holiday Season with the Holiday Stroll this Friday. Mayor Randy Henderson, who is standing in as Santa, will ride down First Street in a horse drawn carriage.
The prime spot to watch Mayor Randy Henderson ride down First Street in a horse drawn carriage is the front entrance of the law office of Fowler White Boggs – on the corner of First and Hendry.

Office staff will sweeten your wait with Holiday music, hot coffee and cookies. Please bring an unwrapped toy – FWB is a drop-off location for Toys for Tots. Toys and monetary donations will be accepted from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. to help as many local less fortunate children as possible to celebrate the Holidays.

Inside FWB’s office atrium, a 12 feet tall decorated Christmas tree is the center piece for amazing stained glass art displays by John C. Coleman.

  The carriage will head to Hendry Street, turn north and stop just north of Bay Street. The mayor will light the official downtown Christmas tree in the grassy median of Hendry Street. He will then travel to the Art of the Olympians at the river’s edge where fake snow will fall on strollers. The procession will turn around and head south on Hendry Street back to First. Turning east on First, the Mayor’s carriage will proceed to the Goodwill Festival of Trees at the Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center. First and Hendry streets will be closed temporarily during the stroll and tree lighting.

Some art highlights of the Friday, Dec. 2 Art Walk:

- Art of the Olympians: Showing an exhibition, Legends of ’68, featuring artwork from four dynamic USA Olympians from the 1968 Olympic Games (Rink Babka, Bob Beamon, Peggy Fleming, and Al Oerter), and a collection of works by Olympic Artist Steve Allen. Vocalists from the Young Artists Awards program will be performing holiday songs starting at 6:30 p.m.

- Art League of Fort Myers: Opening reception for Small Packages exhibit.

- Arts for ACT Gallery: Opening reception for new show featuring artists Cheryl Fausel, Honey Costa, and Ron Evans.

- Coloring The World: Holiday art sale to include medal sculptures by Mac Worthington, paintings by Stephen Gray Blancett, jewelry by Raven, and pottery by Sandy Pond.

- daas Gallery: Opening reception for Earth: A Cry for Deliverance, a juried group exhibition.

- Gallery Showcase and Information Center at IberiaBank (Bayview Court at First Street). Art Walk T-shirts are available at this location as well as buttons, maps and brochures.

- HOWL Gallery: Kash N Karry Holiday Sale offers big savings on many art pieces including original art, framed art, T-shirts, and unframed posters & prints, available for immediate take home. Save up to 50% on select items.

- In One Instant: Holiday Salon: Photography and Gifts for the Season, with more than 20 different local and regional photographers represented.

- Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center: Final night of Goodwill Festival of Trees.

- Savvy on First: Featuring artists Bekki Shanklin and Trudy Hylant.

- Space 39 Gallery: Group art show. 

Nearly 50 participants make Art Walk successful each month and they include the Alliance for the Arts, AmeriDry, Art League of Fort Myers, Art of the Olympians, Arts for ACT Gallery and Boutique, Browtopia, Cigar Bar, Coloring The World, Cool Hand Luc’s, daas Gallery, Downtown House of Pizza, Enjewel, First United Methodist Church, Florida Repertory Theatre, Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency, The Franklin Shops, French Connection Cafe, Hampton Inn & Suites, Happenings A&E Magazine, Hideaway Sports Bar, Hotel Indigo, HOWL Gallery/Tattoo, Ichiban Japanese & Chinese Restaurant, IberiaBank, In One Instant Gallery of Photography, Legacy Harbour Hotel & Suites, Leoma Lovegrove Gallery, Linen Cottage, Lush French Bakery, Mad Hatter Galleries, Main Street Antiques, Market America Realty & Investments, Morgan House Restaurant, The Oasis Luxury Condos, Potomac Bead Company, Red Door Studio, Renaissance Creativity Center, River District Alliance, Rock Lake Resort, Savvy on First, Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center, Select Transportation, SKS PhotoShoot, Space 39 Gallery, Spirits of Bacchus, Twisted Vine Bistro, United Café, Bar & Bistro, The Veranda Restaurant, What’s Up Dogs?, Yanos Restaurant, and the Young Artists Awards Program.

Held the first Friday of every month from 6 to 10 p.m., Art Walk features local and national artwork in the downtown art galleries and several art stops in the Fort Myers River District. The evening culminates with an after party at 10 p.m. The December after party will be held at Spirits of Bacchus on Hendry Street.

Always a collector’s item, new Art Walk buttons will be available at galleries that night. Art Walk has its own T-shirt (in red or black). Shirts are available for a donation at the IberiaBank gallery showcase during Art Walk.

A free shuttle service courtesy of Select Transportation Inc., with stops planned near the art venues, and parking at the Harborside Event Center will be available for Art Walk patrons. Shuttle stops include The Oasis Condominiums, Art of the Olympians, and the Patio de Leon entrance at First Street.

A map of Art Walk, showing transportation and parking will be distributed by participating galleries. Art Walk is a rain or shine event. Art Walk was started by a group of art galleries and art enthusiasts and debuted in October of 2008. Art Walk is a River District Alliance event. For more information on Art Walk, participating galleries and links to gallery websites, visit www.fortmyersartwalk.com.