The Fort Myers Dowtown Rotary is assising with parking as they did last year.  Avoid the Fuss Ride the Buss.

Park you cars downtown across from  Fist Watch in the old Boulevard Plaza.   There are buses every 15 minutes running downtown.

Thanks

ArtFest Fort Myers, Southwest Florida’s premier art festival takes place downtown Fort Myers on February 4 & 5, 2012 from 10 to 5 each day. Each year Fort Myers’ only free, two day art extravaganza, decorates our downtown with exceptional artwork, entertainment and children’s art activities.

Attendees enjoy and purchase artwork in a variety of mediums and prices from nationally recognized artists from across the country and around the world.

Its better than a gallery – there is lots of variety – you can talk to the artists – you can view the work of over 200 fine artists in a single weekend – you can introduce your children to the magic of original art.

Enjoy this amazing opportunity to see some of the most creative and exciting artwork to be exhibited anywhere in Florida this season.

ArtFest Fort Myers artists are rarely seen at other local art festivals. Their work is refreshing and new. It’s a perfect time to find that one of a kind piece for your home or collection!

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

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.

A good friend of mine Jen, told me about the friendly forest walk that is going on from 2-5pm for the little ones.   Don’t show up after 7:30 with the little ones because this looks pretty scary.  In the past they have only had the Friendly forest walk this year they added the Carnival Frightmare for those that wish to jump and scream in the woods.  You choose which one for your family

Our Haunted Walk 2011 is entitled Carnival Frightmare!!! This brand new event features a series of fright stations, including the Blood Butcher Shop with brutal victims, the Unfriendly Clown section, our traditional cemetery scene, and a new features-the Sensory Deprivation Tunnel, complete with fog machines and strobe lights.                                                                                                                                             The Sensory Deprivation Tunnel, where we deprive you of your normal senses and prey on the others!

This event is Adult-oriented, minimum customer age is 13 years old. 12 Scary Nights!

Dates: Thursday, Oct. 20 thru Halloween night, Oct. 31

Times: 7:30PM to 10:00PM

Location: Calusa Nature Center & Planetarium

                 3450 Ortiz Avenue

                 Fort Myers, FL

                239-275-3435

              www.calusanature.org

Admission charge: $10/customer

My good friend Lydia Black says there is lot to do for the whole family.  Eventsfortmyers.com will be there to cover the great day.

Come sample the many ways you can get involved and experience the arts in Southwest Florida! Watch area performing groups sing, dance, play instruments and act in mini-performances on the open air amphitheater stage. Witness creativity unfolding before your eyes as local visual artists demonstrate their talents in painting, drawing, sculpting and mixed media demonstrations.

Cultural Organizations

Art League of Fort Myers * Art Poems * ArtFest Fort Myers * Artful Missions * Arts For Act * Broadway Palm Dinner Theater * Calusa Carvers * Cape Coral Art Studio * Cultural Park Theater * Cute as a Button Creations * Florida Repertory Theatre * Gulf Coast Symphony * Gulf Coast Writers Association * Imaginarium Science Center * Laurel Fine Arts Foundation * LMHS Arts in Healthcare * Music Together * Nerveana Medical * Pan American Alliance * Pushing Daisies * Signature Chamber Concerts * Southwest Florida Symphony * Southwest Florida Craft Guild * Southwest Florida Historical Society * Southwest Florida Symphony * Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center * Symphonic Chorale of Southwest Florida * Tracy Theriault Designs * Weavers of Char-Lee * WGCU Public Media

Artists & Authors

Andrea Trank * Be the Breath * Bill North * Bruce Wm. Walsh * David Hammell * Dominick Bello * Doug MacGregor * Geoff Coe * Pamela Cupp * Terry Lynn Spry * The Tube Dude

Performers

Creative Theater Workshop * Dance Alliance * Dance Warehouse * Jeanne Bochette/Gulf Coast Dance * Flutist Kat Epple * Kellyn Celtic Arts Irish Dance Academy * Noah Waddell * North Fort Myers Academy for the ArtsSW Florida Fencing Academy * Young Artists Awards

Performance schedule:

10:25     Creative Theater Workshop – Preview of the musical comedy “Dear Edwina”

10:50     Kellyn Celtic Arts Irish Dance Academy – Irish and Highland dances

11:25     Dance Warehouse – Competitive dance — lyrical, hiphop, jazz, musical theater (ages 4-16)

11:50     Gulfcoast Dance

12:15     Young Artists Awards – Award-winning vocalist Sam Bostic

12:40     Oficina da Capoeira – Brazilian artform combining elements of martial arts/dance

1:05        N Fort Myers Academy – Perform jazz, pompon, lyrical dances with dramatic scenes

1:30        Noah Waddell – 10-year-old Noah will perform classic piano scores of major composers

1:55        Dance Alliance – Perform “Monster Mash” with interactive audience participation

2:20        S.W. Florida Fencing Academy – The art and science of modern fencing

Special appearences by: Chick-Fil-A * Florida Virtual School * Lee County Library System BookMobile * Fort Myers Fire Department * Shy Wolf Sanctuary

Kids can win a free week of summer camp by creating their own piece of “fall-themed art” by downloading this form and bringing it to the festival on October, 22nd.

Cultivating Carrots and Peace in Your Garden

Cheryl Wilfong, author of The Meditative Gardener: Cultivating Mindfulness of Body, Feelings, and Mind, will visit Fort Myers as part of the week long Living MindFULLy Festival.  On Friday, September 23 at 7 p.m., Cheryl will be at the Eco Center at Rutenberg Park to read from and discuss her book.

In her wise, down-to-earth book, the Vermont Master Gardener and mindfulness meditation teacher offers a rich bouquet of meditations. Her gentle, friendly, and humorous tone creates a nurturing environment in which to practice mindfulness in our very own gardens. Wilfong invites us to stroll beside our flowerbeds, appreciating them just as they are, and noticing the joy they bring us. We may not have done all the weeding or planting we had hoped, but appreciate that we are doing the best we can.

The Meditative Gardener nourishes the seed of enlightenment that is already growing in your heart. Use the tools of mindfulness and kindness to discover how to cultivate your garden and your meditation practice at the same time. Other spiritual gardening books tell us how to create a tranquil garden. The Meditative Gardener supports us in simply finding tranquility in the garden beside the front door. Instead of being a busy bee, simply be.

LivingMindFULLY project partners include: Lee County Parks & Recreation, Hearts’ Path to Mindful Living, Integrative Mindfulness, HD PR Group, Renaissance School, Lee County Alliance for the Arts, SW FL Naturally, and Cypress Cove Retirement Community.  Proceeds from this event will benefit the 501(c)3 on-profit organization, Hearts’ Path to Mindful Living.  This group’s mission is to promote supportive, life-affirming mindfulness-based programs teaching powerful methods for reducing stress, contributing to health and well-being. 

Walk Flyer 9 5 2011

The Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center Presents “Island Time,” by Artists from the Florida Keys

Fort Myers, June 23, 2011–  On Friday, July 1, “Island Time,” an exhibit of artwork from the Florida Keys, will open at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center. The exhibit will feature four artists from the Key Largo Art Gallery. Doors will open at 6 p.m. for Art Walk. The Art Center is located at 2301 First Street, in the historic River District, downtown Fort Myers.

Carmen Sotolongo Kelley, a Cuban American artist, is owner of the Key Largo Gallery and one of the featured artists. Her art is bright, bold and big, reflecting her life, her background, and where she lives. Kelley believes that “art is magical, it has energy, an energy that artists transfer to their artwork.” A high school art teacher, she always ends her day at the gallery. Her wish is that she can transfer her love of art to the kids she teaches.

Teresa Kelley, daughter of Carmen, has inherited her mother’s love of art. Her work depicts the beautiful plants and animals that can be seen around the islands.

Annmarie Anderson studied art and interior design at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. She moved to the Keys with her family in 1972 and then studied at Miami-Dade Community College and Florida International University. After 11 years working as a designer, Anderson left the firm to spend more time painting, her true love. Her award winning paintings often reflect the sparkling waters, tropical vegetation, boats and “conch” architecture she so enjoys.

Dan Lawler is a classic Keys painter and a resident of the area for over 50 years. He moved to the Keys from Chicago where he received his formal training at the Chicago Art Institute. Lawler has received numerous awards and ribbons and recently won a grant for four murals that now hang in the Freeman Justice Center in Key West. His work often depicts historical scenes like wreckers, smugglers, seascapes, and local characters. He has painted in France, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, South America, England, Italy and even the Soviet Union.

The Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the show continues through July 29.

Paint the Down Town Purple is coming again in honor of Relay for Life

Fort Myers — The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Downtown –River District is just around the corner.  The downtown will be tied in Purple Ribbon Symbolizing   their support  for the Relay for life starting May 1^st-7th   Many area businesses will have their windows painted in honor of painting the Downtown Purple.  Thank you  to those business have supported this event.  Downtown House  of Pizza,  Starbucks,Franklin Shops,Bennetts  Florida Rep and Joes Crab Shack.

. This “celebration of life” brings the Lee County community together in a unified effort to fight cancer.

Former and current cancer patients, their families, businesses, civic organizations, and the public are invited to take part in this exciting team event. Relay For Life takes place from 5:00PM on May 6^TH  until 11:00AM on May 7th at Centennial  Park.

The evening will be filled with performances by local talent like Fellow Bliss and the Hot Flashes with Lee County Commissioner Tammy Hall as a special guests. An exhibit and sale of ‘Art by Kids with Cancer’ will be featured  as part of May’s Art Walk.

Teams from companies, churches, organizations, hospitals, and schools collect donations and can win individual and team prizes for their efforts.

“Relay For Life brings the progress against cancer to the forefront,” said Don Molloy, event chair. “Many participants are our family, friends, and neighbors who have dealt with cancer themselves.

“The funds raised enable us to continue our investment in the fight against cancer through research, education, advocacy, and patient services,” said Beth Hayes. “Thanks to the generosity of corporate sponsors like 21^st Century Oncology,  Professionals in Urology , and Way –FM  the money raised by participants goes directly to the American Cancer Society’s lifesaving programs.”

Information about how to form a team or become involved in Relay For Life is available from the American Cancer Society at 239-936-1113. For more information on cancer, call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or visit www.cancer.org.