Category: Community

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Light and beauty

Mariko Kusumoto, Take Akari sculptures grace the Morikami

Mariko Kusumoto, “Light as Air,” fiber-based, translucent, and crafted through tsumami‑zaiku techniques.

The buoyant sculptures of Mariko Kusumoto. Occupying the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens’ main gallery through April 5, expect an immersive, contemplative experience where light and proximity matter integrate. Fine detail is prevalent and parallels the authentic, methodical organization characteristic of a kimono. When viewed closely, the work is consuming.

Mariko Kusumoto. This Japanese-born artist is known for her delicate, floating fabric sculptures that blend traditional Japanese craft with contemporary installation. She creates whisper‑light fabric sculptures that seem to hover between craft and contemporary artistry. Raised in a 400‑year‑old temple as the daughter of a Buddhist priest, Kusumoto developed a keen attunement to subtle light, tactile surfaces, and the hush of carefully ordered space.

Mariko Kusumoto, “Ethereal Garden,” mixed-media sculpture (polyester and wire), 2024.

Kusumoto’s “Ethereal Garden” is an intricate, modular installation evoking underwater ecosystems through fabricated coral, sea anemones, and marine flora. The work explores themes of biodiversity, emotional fragility, and poetic buoyancy through textile manipulation and sculptural choreography.

Kusumoto’s practice is intensified by time‑honored Japanese handicrafts, especially the delicate folding and pinching of tsumami zaiku, with modern sculptural thinking. From tiny, exacting manipulations, she builds larger, translucent forms that evoke drifting blossoms, jellyfish, or underwater plants, inviting viewers to watch how shifting light and gentle motion reshape surface, depth, and perception.

Marine biodiversity as emotional landscape. While inspired by real marine life, Kusumoto’s forms are not literal replicas. Instead, they’re imaginative hybrids, blending both botanical and anatomical references, color radiation and molecular symmetry, as well as subatomic weight and poetic buoyancy where fantasy meets biology.

Mariko Kusumoto, pencil cases, 2011, mixed-media sculpture (hinged human‑form containers with embedded objects).

Mixed-media sculpture. Kusumoto, who is also a metalsmith and former printmaker, celebrates her earlier works with this sculpture, which features two hinged, human-shaped forms filled with miniature objects, including a clock, a ruler, a vanity, a flower, and cut‑out figures. They are arranged as internal “compartments” that explore themes of identity, memory, time, and personal ritual. It is a striking example of her narrative container series, where the body becomes a vessel for memory, identity, and symbolic layering.

Psychologically, the body represents a container for time, memory, and ritual. It is sociocultural, objectively gendered as a commentary on formation and subjective narrative—each of which, an artwork demonstrates a chapter in a personal or objective story.

Mariko Kusumoto, “Bamboo Garden,” mixed-media installation (polyester and wire), 2025.

A bamboo-inspired aesthetic. In “Bamboo Garden,” a vertical arrangement of vibrantly colored bamboo stalks of green, yellow, blue, and orange is presented as an immersive sculptural display. The work explores repetition, texture, and chromatic variation, transforming natural forms into stylized patterns that evoke both serenity and visual rhythm. Handcrafted by Kusumoto, whose signature practice involves delicate textile manipulation and organic sculptural forms, it’s an originally crafted, site‑specific installation for Tiffany’s. Kusumoto was inspired by Kabuki theater for Tiffany’s six‑story flagship in Ginza, Tokyo. It is an elegiac homage to Kabuki, one of Japan’s most stylized and dramatic performance traditions. Kusumoto has also collaborated with other notable names, such as Elizabeth Arden, Jean Paul Gaultier, and La Mer, and is represented in several museums around the world, including the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Take Akari: Bamboo Lights. The Morikami’s “Take Akari: Bamboo Lights” exhibit features expansive, glowing bamboo sculptures curated by Akihiro Mashimo, celebrating tradition, craft, collaboration, and sustainable management. Mashimo, a master bamboo artisan known for revitalizing community‑based illumination festivals in Japan, brings a contemporary sensibility to this centuries-old material practice. He is a leading figure in contemporary bamboo craft and is recognized for his large‑scale light installations that merge artisanal technique with ecological awareness and community engagement. Mashimo’s practice centers on hand‑carved bamboo illumination and collaborative making, which has helped shape the modern Take Akari movement through his commitment to sustainable harvesting and local participation.

The Morikami Museum first debuted “Bamboo Lights” on July 7, 2024. Following the exhibition, the museum commissioned the illuminated bamboo installations crafted by Akihiro Mashimo for long‑term stewardship and preservation within its collection.

Tanabata is Japan’s Star Festival, celebrating the once‑a‑year meeting of the lovers Orihime, the weaver princess (Vega), and Hikoboshi, the cowherd (Altair). Vega and Altair are the two stars at the heart of the Tanabata legend. Legend has it that they fall deeply in love, neglect their duties, and then are separated by the sky deity (the Milky Way) as punishment. Moved by Orihime’s sorrow, the deity allows them to reunite once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. This reunion is the heart of the Tanabata festival mythology. It is marked by hanging colorful wish‑strips on bamboo and local festivals held between July and August.

“Take Akari” literally means bamboo light. It uses cut and drilled bamboo tubes fitted with candles or LEDs to create patterns of light and shadow across gardens and public spaces. Take Akari began as a grassroots response to abandoned bamboo groves and the social need to bring communities together. Makers harvest overgrown bamboo, carve decorative perforations, and light the pieces to form “lightscapes” that are both aesthetic and civic.

This practice has grown into community festivals and site-specific installations that celebrate local craft, reconnect people with nature, and draw attention to bamboo forest management issues.

Visitors can experience the world of illuminated bamboo at the Morikami Museum.

Akihiro Mashimo. Born in 1977 in Yokohama, Mashimo is a Japanese bamboo craftsman and artisan recognized for his mastery of takezaiku, traditional bamboo craft. He grew up in Nagaoka, Kyoto Prefecture, where bamboo was a constant presence. He was formally trained at the Traditional Arts School of Kyoto, graduating in 1998. Mashimo is known internationally for demonstrations, workshops, and collaborations in the U.S., Italy, and the U.K., where he promotes sustainable bamboo practices and contemporary applications of traditional techniques.

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A beach day in the shadow of the pier

The longest pier in Broward County, at 976 feet, is the Deerfield Beach International Fishing Pier, considered the crowning jewel of the beach, a landmark that attracts thousands of sightseers and anglers annually. I went there recently with my son Jacob—not to fish, but to walk the pier and take photos, to view wildlife, and to stroll along the beach.

We started with lunch at JB’s on the Beach, a nice seafood-focused restaurant overlooking the ocean. They have valet parking there, but we were planning to spend several hours at the beach that day, so we ended up parking in a parking garage just off A1A, not far away, and leaving the car there all day. Street and lot parking is at a premium in this area.

After lunch, Jacob and I walked the short distance over to the fishing pier, stopping to look at the screen for Spinner the Sea Cam, the city’s live underwater camera, at the entrance to the long pier. The sign next to the sea-cam screen says that Spinner is located at the end of the pier, 30 feet below the surface of the water. You can watch fish swim right up to it. It’s known as a fun, quirky local highlight showcasing the personalities and activities of the pier’s fish residents.

“Welcome to the amazing views of Deerfield Beach,” according to the city website. “Whether you are watching the early morning sunrise, a fisher on the pier fighting a feisty barracuda, or King Benny the Blenny yeeting sharks—we hope these awesome wonders will help serve as a reminder that we all have a responsibility to take care of the ocean and everything in it and around it.” (For more information and to watch a live feed of the sea-cam, visit DFB.city/beachcams.)

The iconic Deerfield Beach International Fishing Pier has been loved for generations. It stretches well into the ocean with great views, has a well-stocked concession stand for fishing amenities (fresh and frozen bait, rod and tackle rentals), and carries a storied history, including a dedication by President Gerald Ford in 1976. The pier serves as a symbol of the town, and the area around it provides a community gathering hub and entertainment spot, including hosting special events like “Pier Under the Stars.” Visitors can take scenic walks along the Atlantic in the clean sand, walk on the (not-so-sandy) green turf that runs just behind it, or go up on the “boardwalk” that runs along the back of the restaurants. For some, it’s the quintessential Florida beach experience. 

The first wooden Deerfield fishing pier was reportedly built in 1951–52. Because it was low and close to the water, it was a place for community members to gather and fish. In 1956 it changed hands, and new management built a restaurant, tackle shop, and chum machine. This all  brought fishermen flocking to the pier. Then in September 1960, Hurricane Donna wiped out the pier, destroying the wooden structure and sending planks floating away; the pier was rebuilt by 1963 through a city bond issue. Through the years different people leased the pier, though it was hard to turn a profit. The last lessee turned the pier back over to the city and became the pier manager, organizing events like fishing contests.

Today, it is a bustling pier, filled with several people fishing and cutting up their catch on tables while we were there, and others just watching the pelicans and other wildlife and taking in the ocean breezes. Jacob and I walked to the end of the pier and enjoyed the scenery. The cost to enter the pier is typically $2 for sightseers and $4 for those there to fish.

After we left the pier, we strolled along the boardwalk and listened to a pair of musicians playing at one of the restaurant patios; took a walk on the turf on the other side of the pier, taking in the sights there; and finally walked barefoot along the surf until we found a good place to set up our towels and enjoy the beach. From there, we could see the pier jutting out in the distance—it was a lovely day at the Atlantic.

For more information, go to www.deerfield-beach.com/1420/International-Fishing-Pier.

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Bustling farmers market on the waterfront

Did you know that one of the best farmers markets in the country can be found in South Florida? Yes, if you head up to downtown West Palm Beach on a Saturday, you’ll discover a cacophony of sights, smells, and sounds near the Intercoastal Waterway, in Centennial Square, and down Clematis Street. This is the West Palm Beach GreenMarket, where large crowds show up every weekend for this highly rated market.

With more than 130 vendors, the GreenMarket is in its 31st season, which opened in October; this year, it’s extended through the end of May. This season’s theme is “From the Ground Up.” In 2025, the West Palm Beach GreenMarket once again excelled in USA Today’s 10 Best contest for “Best Farmers Market.” This Readers’ Choice poll highlights the top 10 farmers markets nationwide. The GreenMarket maintains its status as a leading market, securing the No. 1 position in 2021, 2022, and 2023, and achieving No. 2 in 2024 and 2025.

After hearing a lot about this well-regarded farmers market, I went to check it out recently with my husband and another couple. Of course, with the popularity of this event, the free parking garages had already filled up by the time we got there, so we ended up paying $15 for a spot in a nearby garage. Early birds will have better luck, though. We had packed the car with soft coolers to store our purchases, as well as reusable tote bags to carry everything through the maze of vendors. We grabbed our bags and headed to the market.

There, we found the usual fresh vegetables and fruits (some very exotic), along with breads and baked goods, apple cider donuts and other sweets, Cuban coffee, teas, smoothies, spices, herbs, flowers, plants, dog products, and local wares. And that’s just a sampling of what there is. We experienced the fragrant smells of several kinds of delectable foods. Many of them, such as empanadas, crab cakes, and lobster rolls, you can get to eat right there, or bring them home to heat up later. And merchants sell a lot of local goods that you may not find anywhere else.

While strolling past the packed vendor stalls and plethora of savory and sweet offerings, you can also enjoy live music, some interesting workshops, lovely flower trellises, and the waterfront with its seagulls and assortment of sand sculptures. Deeper into the thick of it, the market gets very crowded, with some long lines, and even though there are picnic tables to sit at to enjoy your purchases, the tables all seemed full. (We ended up eating at a nearby restaurant but still got to sit out in the fresh air.) Also making their way through the crowds are lots of leashed dogs, adding to the hectic but fun and colorful scene.

This all started back in 1995, when former West Palm Beach Mayor Nancy Graham, inspired by the public markets of Europe, sought to establish the first weekly public farmers market in Palm Beach County. She envisioned a weekly green-market where people could buy fresh produce from local farmers as well as interact with friends and neighbors. She recalled that in the European markets, the people selling products knew their shoppers’ names, and the shoppers could ask questions about their wares. So she wanted to make that happen here.

In November 1995, when the West Palm Beach GreenMarket first opened, it took place in the parking lot of the old city hall and featured just 13 vendors. Despite its humble beginnings, the market became a hit, and local residents started to make it part of their routine to come to the GreenMarket on Saturday mornings. After moving to another location in West Palm Beach, the market eventually expanded to its current waterside locale in October 2010, in a place as well known for its beautiful scenery, Intracoastal breezes, and communal plazas as it is for its wide selection of fresh and delicious things to buy.

The GreenMarket is now an integral part of the bustling Saturday experience in downtown West Palm Beach. We’re glad we got to enjoy it—and take some of it home with us.

The West Palm Beach GreenMarket is open Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Waterfront Commons. For more information, go to www.wpb.org/Residents/Community-Events/Events/WPB-GreenMarket.

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A Taste of Italy, Built on Family: Flora’s Italian Eatery and Angela’s Bar & Kitchen Set to Open in Coral Springs

When the doors open this January at Flora’s Italian Eatery and Angela’s Bar & Kitchen, at 12335 West Sample Rd., Coral Springs will gain more than a new dining destination — it will gain a full-fledged Italian experience, crafted by a family that has spent 50 years bringing the flavors of Italy to South Florida.

The two-story, 15,000-square-foot space in an office park with plenty of parking, just across from the Panthers IceDen, is the newest venture from Flora Fine Foods, the nationally recognized importer known for supplying everything from Italian wines to cruise line gelato.

For founder and owner John (Giovanni) Flora, 73, the vision is simple: create a market and restaurant that feels like Italy, tastes like Italy, and operates with the heart of a true Italian family.

A Parkland resident for the past 28 years, Flora was born in Bari, in Italy’s Puglia region, and immigrated to New York with his family in 1962 at the age of ten.

“We’re excited to open our doors and welcome the community into an extension of our home,” says Flora. “This is a true family business, and everything we do — at the eatery, the restaurant, and beyond — is inspired by the values we grew up with around the table.”

He raised his family in Parkland, and his daughter Angela Flora, 42, now a new mom, is a graduate of Coral Springs Middle School and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. It was her vision to expand the business into a market and restaurant.

“It’s an ambitious undertaking, but a labor of love,” says Angela, who is juggling her roles with the business and as a mother to a nine‑month‑old son. “We cannot wait to meet you all and welcome you into our family.”

A Market That Starts at Breakfast and Ends at Dessert

Kenny Rodriguez, vice president of operations, sums it up simply: “Think Joseph’s — on steroids.”

On the ground floor, Flora’s Italian Eatery will function as an all-day market and café, offering breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Café tables invite guests to sit and relax, or they can order items to go.

The space will feature a wine room, a full deli, and shelves lined with specialty items imported directly from Italy. Fresh turkey and roast beef will be prepared in-house, sliced on top-of-the-line imported Berkel machines designed specifically for prosciutto and mortadella.

Guests can expect fresh breads, paninis, focaccia, bagels, and Roman-style pizza — both regular and gluten free — along with house-made sauces, soups, pastries, and gelato flown in from Italy. Brand-new Lavazza cappuccino machines will anchor the coffee program, ensuring every espresso tastes like it came from a café on Via del Corso.

“It’s about giving people the same culinary experience they’d have in Italy,” says Flora. “I want them to go, ‘Wow.’

Upstairs: A Bar, a Kitchen, and a Family Legacy

One flight up, Angela’s Bar & Kitchen will offer a more intimate, full-service dining experience. Named for Flora’s daughter, Angela, the restaurant will serve Italian-inspired small plates (piatti piccoli), craft cocktails, and a curated wine list in a warm, comfortable setting.

The kitchen will be led by executive chef Francesco Cavarretta, whose global culinary background brings a worldly touch to the family’s traditional recipes.

But the real secret ingredient is the family itself.

Flora Fine Foods is a true Italian-style family business, with multiple generations working side by side. Angela and her two brothers are involved in daily operations. Flora’s sister, Rose Farruggia, serves as human resources director. His wife, Irene, is a vice president of the company. His sons, John and Christopher, oversee food distribution and sales. Angela Flora’s uncles, Gregg and Mark Alpern, are directors of food service and export and complete the feeling of famiglia.

“Culture comes from passion and love in preparing your product,” Flora says. His passion is evident as he speaks about this labor of love. “I get my passion from my mother.”

A Half Century of Italian Flavor

Long before Flora Fine Foods became a national importer, Flora imagined a different future. He planned to become an electrical engineer, but a part-time job at a local Italian bakery changed everything, sparking a fascination with food that would shape the rest of his life.

While vacationing in Miami Beach in the early 1970s, Flora realized there was no good Italian pizza. If he wanted the real thing, he’d have to make it himself. In 1972, he bought a small property on the 79th Street Causeway and opened Flora’s Drive-Thru Pizza Parlor — his first entrée into the food business.

He later opened Flora’s Italian Restaurant in Hollywood, Fla. When other restaurateurs began asking about the products he used, Flora started importing tomatoes — then other goods — directly from Italy.

As demand grew, he ran out of storage space, eventually draining his backyard pool and filling it with cases of tomatoes. That makeshift warehouse marked the unofficial birth of Flora Fine Foods.

The opening of the eatery and restaurant is the natural evolution for a company that has spent five decades shaping the Italian food landscape in America.

Flora Fine Foods is now the largest distributor of Italian wine in the country and supplies cruise lines with ice cream and cookies. Their products appear on the shelves of Costco, Total Wine, and Publix — but the Coral Springs location will be the first time the public can experience the brand in a full culinary setting.

In addition to retail and dining, the new space includes a private function room and a large catering kitchen, allowing Flora’s to serve corporate events, private gatherings and celebrations throughout the region.

Bringing Italy Home

For Flora, this project is more than a business expansion — it’s the fulfillment of a lifetime of memories and a devotion to food and family that began with a boy from Bari, a drive‑thru pizza place and a dream that wouldn’t die.

“I’m not just bringing the food,” he says. “I’m bringing the culture of Italy. I want to bring that passion, that love, that experience here to South Florida.”

So, soon, when the first cappuccino is poured and the first slice of Roman pizza comes out of the oven, Parkland and Coral Springs residents will taste the culmination of one man’s journey — a vision and a love affair with a place where food, family and tradition come together under one roof.

Buon appetito!

For more information, visit florafoods.com or follow @FloraFineFoods on social media.

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The Golden Rule(s): Steven Kummer

I had to stop for a lemonade while my husband and I strolled along Delray Beach’s art festival on Atlantic Avenue, passing by each of the booths until we finally stopped to view Steven Kummer’s work down the way. At first glance, I saw marble, but as I looked closer, it was the actual canvas I was staring at. Kummer’s process is deeply tactile, building layer upon layer, with resin binding it all. Ninety percent of his work involves painting with his fingers, guiding the movement of color to create compositions from predetermined themes or spontaneous inspiration. He describes his art as stress-free, evolving organically into form and meaning.

After a distinguished 40‑year career in information systems design and development, Kummer turned to painting, discovering a new medium for his lifelong creativity. Though new to the art world, his technical background informs his approach. He studies the chemistry of paints and media to understand their interactions, insisting on the highest-quality materials and craftsmanship.

Kummer’s work is driven by a desire to evoke strong visual responses. Shock, movement, balance, and depth are just some of the feelings often expressed through his bold color compositions and metallic accents. Influences from his wife’s Chinese heritage appear in the form of embedded characters, each carrying profound meaning that connects directly to the themes of each piece. Kummer’s attention to detail can be both powerful and even overwhelming, perhaps, as he recalls one viewer moved to tears by the symbolism in his work, an experience that reshaped how he channels energy into his art.

Beyond painting, Kummer is a martial artist with 15 years of training, having retired while preparing for his fourth‑degree black belt. Teaching, competing, and judging honed his discipline, yet he remains humble, likening himself to a gardener, rather. Where his professional life demanded aggression, art provides him balance—a practice he considers essential to his well‑being.

“Achievements,” 30″ x 30″ heavyweight canvas with a 2.5″ profile; acrylics, metallics, and epoxy resin. First in a series of three. 

“Achievements.” This work  was created using vibrant acrylics and metallic paints to embody the “gold stage of life.” The work is painted largely by Kummer’s fingers, building upon it layer after layer, until it is formed to represent the building blocks of success bonded by the richness of achievement. Gold metallic acrylic symbolizes the knowledge gained along the way, while iridescent colors reflect the fruitfulness of an achiever’s journey. Within the composition are two Chinese characters, handwritten by the artist’s wife, that translate to “work hard” and “prosper,” reinforcing the theme of accomplishment.

The painting’s texture was achieved through a process of layering and metallic spray, as Kummer describes, pulling the lower layers forward while the paint is still wet. It is a technique that he experimented with for the first time. The piece itself conveys strength, stability, and pride in one’s accomplishments. It is the first in a series of three works—“Achievements,” “Beautiful Life,” and “Strength”(not pictured)—each defined by a metallic theme, with gold emphasizing richness (“Strength” is in silver for clarity).


“Beautiful Life,” 30″ x 30″ heavyweight canvas with a 2.5″ profile; acrylics and metallic copper tones, epoxy resin. Second in a series of three.

“Beautiful Life.” This work is saturated with vibrant acrylics and metallic copper tones. The painting celebrates vitality and joy, inspired by the artist’s relationship with his wife. The embedded Chinese characters, written in her hand, translate to “beautiful life,” embodying their shared journey. Layers of imagery include trees with green leaves in the background, setting the symbolic foundation of a meaningful life, while a waterfall of vivid colors represents the energy, happiness, and support found in companionship. Copper serves as the metallic theme for this work, and it represents vitality. As the second in the series, “Beautiful Life” builds upon the richness of “Achievements” and precedes “Strength,” which features silver to symbolize clarity.

“A Walk in the Park.” This work, capturing the quiet beauty of seasonal change, is a must-see. The uniqueness of this piece is that the “park” can be easily overlooked if not aware of it (the photo doesn’t do it justice). Soft sky blues form the background, while layers of rich, shifting colors mirror the transformation of leaves in autumn. The painting evokes the serenity of a peaceful stroll, encouraging viewers to look upward and embrace the natural palette of life.


“A Walk in the Park,” 30″ x 40″ heavyweight canvas with a 2.5″ profile; acrylics, metallic tones, and epoxy resin.

“Nature’s Yin Yang.” This work explores the balance between ambition and peace. Golds and reds symbolize drive and aggression, while blues, grays, and whites counterbalance with stability and calm. Kummer started the piece on opposite edges, articulately bringing it to form. The composition reflects the constant clash and reconciliation of these forces, a theme rooted in Kummer’s 15 years of Tang Soo Do martial arts training. The work embodies the discipline’s philosophy of balance, translating martial practice into visual form.


“Nature’s Yin Yang,” 24″ x 48″ heavyweight canvas with a 2.5″ profile; acrylics, metallics, and epoxy resin.

Steven Kummer is a local of South Florida; his origins root from New York. For more information about him and his artwork, go to www.artfullydonellc.com.

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From the Miami beat to the music beat—meet the MTVJ’s

When former Miami police officer Tom Braga, 63, traded his badge for a microphone, he didn’t just start a band—he created a tribute group inspired by memories of his youth. His newest project, the MTVJ’s, brings the biggest hits of the 1980s and ’90s back to life with a nostalgic nod to the era that shaped a generation.

A labor-of-love tribute band, the MTVJ’s play venues across South Florida, including Crazy Uncle Mike’s in Boca Raton, Galuppi’s in Pompano Beach, and Sharkey’s Bar & Grill in Coral Springs.

In addition to Braga, the core lineup includes guitarist Pete Lauria, bassist Lou Carollo, drummer Tom Gress, and keyboardist Lesley Gent. Many of the musicians also perform in Braga’s two other tribute bands: Jaded, an Aerosmith tribute founded in 2015, and Shake It Up, a Cars tribute launched in 2022.

Braga’s path to music was anything but traditional. A longtime hockey player, he was hanging out at a rink in North Miami wearing black-and-gold Boston Bruins gear when another Bostonian struck up a conversation. That fellow fan turned out to be Robbie Merrill, former bassist and founding member of Godsmack. The two hit it off, and Merrill soon began teaching Braga to play bass guitar.

“Before I knew it, I was playing at open mics and then in various bands,” Braga says. “I guess you could say I was gobsmacked.”

After five years on bass, Braga realized he had an unexpected gift: He was a stronger singer than player. He began learning how to command a stage, work a crowd, and replicate the tone and timbre of singers like Alice Cooper, Steven Tyler, and Ric Ocasek of the Cars.

Braga is still amazed by the discovery. “Who the hell knew I could sing?” he says. He performed his first show at age 44.

“It’s a lot of fun,” he adds. “People bring me hats and album covers to sign, and I get to dress up. I’m just a frustrated actor who happens to be able to sing.”

His musical influences include Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones, and he admires Steven Tyler for his showmanship. Although he came to music later in life, Braga approaches it with the same drive that defined his law enforcement career.

“I was loved by the Grove,” he says, referring to his years as a community police officer in Coconut Grove. “Now we want to be loved by our audiences.”

Braga isn’t the only band member with a long musical journey. Guitarist Pete Lauria, 59, has been with the MTVJ’s for three years, though he has played with Braga and several of the other musicians for a decade through their Aerosmith and Cars tribute bands. Now living in Port St. Lucie, the Boston native works by day as an outside sales rep for Plusco Supply, a plumbing supply company in Boca Raton.

Lauria received his first guitar at age 8 from his grandfather, though he didn’t get serious about playing until high school. He began writing songs, and by 2001 he was part of Superbone—a band performing original music (the name references oversized trombones). The group even released a record.

“I enjoy writing music and spending time in the studio,” Lauria says. He loves playing songs by Tears for Fears, U2, and Bruce Springsteen, and while the band sticks to the hits, they also dig deeper to revive tunes that audiences haven’t heard in a while. His guitar heroes include Ace Frehley of Kiss, Randy Rhoads of Ozzy Osbourne’s band, and Joe Bonamassa. On his own time, he gravitates toward hair metal and hard rock bands like Mötley Crüe.

Inspiration, he says, “just happens.” It often finds him while he’s out on his boat.

Coming from a nonmusical family, Lauria didn’t have early influences at home, but his relatives quickly embraced his passion and still come out to see him play. He’s a divorced father of five grown sons—one who’s a guitarist, another a drummer.

For Lauria, the best part of performing is simple—“jamming with my friends, smiling, playing music, having a great time and a night out. I enjoy the camaraderie.”

Rounding out the rhythm section is drummer Tom Gress, 70, who brings a lifetime of musical experience to the band. He spent 44 years as a high school choral and band teacher, including serving on the original staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where he was choral director from 1991 to 1997. He also taught at Stranahan High School, NSU University School, and St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, where he directed the marching band.

A voice major in college, Gress loves singing backup harmonies and jokingly calls himself “the singing drummer.” He admires drummers Danny Seraphine of Chicago and John Bonham of Led Zeppelin.

Outside of music, Gress loves golf and believes that both music and golf are vocations one can enjoy for life. Recently, he began playing acoustic guitar with singer-guitarist Ninowtzka (Nosh) Mier-Soika, forming a duo called Nosh and Gress. He also enjoys Americana artists such as Amos Lee, Jason Isbell, and Ray LaMontagne.

Listening to other genres, he says, “cleans my ears out.”

About his time drumming with the MTVJ’s, Gress says, “We have a passion and commitment to each other,” a spirit that shows every time they take the stage.

The MTVJ’s will perform on Thursday, Feb. 19, at Sharkey’s Bar & Grill, 10365 Royal Palm Blvd., Coral Springs; call (954) 341-9990. To learn more about the MTVJ’s, visit them on Facebook and Nosh and Gress at NoshandGressMusic.com.

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Aetherography

New art form captures the magnificence of birds

Coral Springs resident Meir Martin is the creator of “aetherography”—an art form that transcends photography to capture time, motion, and the rhythm of nature through birds. By fusing together hundreds of photos of individual birds into one large-scale image, Martin reimagines nature not as a frozen moment, but as an unfolding experience.

“It is the art of layering time,” explains Martin. “Where photography isolates, aetherography gathers. Where photography freezes, aetherography flows. And what it reveals is the truth of life as it actually happened: chaotic, abundant, overwhelming, and magnificent.”

Martin—who admittedly spends at least 340 days per year taking photos of birds in the Everglades each morning—has amassed a collection of about 1.5 million photos. “Everything in my life is birds, birds, birds. I’m addicted to it, and there’s no cure,” he jokes. With such an extensive library to sort through, it sometimes takes him years to complete certain pieces, which contain hundreds of bird photos. “I keep looking until I find the image that will fit.”

Walking into Martin’s home, which he converted into his gallery after his wife’s passing, is a surreal experience that pulls you deep into the vision of an impassioned creator. Every surface—from the ceilings to the windows and soon the floors—is covered with artwork, each piece set in a custom wood frame that Martin makes himself.

Before birds became his calling, Martin, born in Israel, began his career primarily as a wedding photographer. But one day, when a man walked into his store asking for a camera with a 400-millimeter lens, Martin’s trajectory changed. Sick of the photography he was doing, he joined the man on a field trip and fell in love with photographing birds.

Martin spent the early 1980s photographing desert birds in Israel. In 1983, while on a trip to the Dead Sea, he became the first person to take a color photograph of a pair of desert tawny owls, and in 1986, he published a book, “Desert Birds of Israel.”

“Israel is one of the most amazing places in the world for birding,” says Martin. “Nobody knew that until I published a book in 1986. In America, you have only three species of eagles. In Israel, which is the size of New Jersey, we have about 12.”

After moving to Florida with his wife, Martin took a break from photography and—an innate creator—invented a new system to clean pet urine from oriental rugs. In 2008, after a chance encounter with a man at a dog park while walking his 172-pound Neopolitan Mastiff, he was drawn back into photography, joining a camera club.

“I went to the club, and everyone was taking regular pictures,” recalls Martin. “The digital camera came to the world, and everyone is taking pictures. My pictures would just be one of them. This is not what I want. This is not my style. I have to find something else.”

There was a competition in the club every Thursday to see who had taken the best photo that week. The first time Martin entered, his photo didn’t garner much attention. But the second time he did, the members took notice. Using Photoshop, he had combined images from multiple photographs he had taken, to create something different.

While Martin’s work received attention, acceptance was a different story. “The guy from the photography club said we are photographers and this is not photography. They didn’t accept it, so I left the club,” he says.

After leaving, Martin devoted himself fully to this emerging art form, and aetherography was born. “I’m the first one in the world making this new artwork,” he says—an assertion he supports through extensive research, including the use of ChatGPT, in search of anything resembling aetherography across the globe.

That sense of originality extends beyond technique into meaning. Each piece carries its own narrative, one Martin eagerly brings to life when he speaks about his work. “Everything that you do, you have to have a story,” he says. “What is the image for? What is the artwork for?”

Recently, he began the months-long application process to turn his home from a gallery into a museum. “This house will now become the Aetherography Museum,” enthuses Martin, who wants people to be able to experience this new art form in person.

While he wants to share his work and his stories with the public, he is still unsure about selling his pieces. “Right now I don’t sell any artwork. It’s mine, I love it,” explains Martin. “When I open the museum, it’s probably going to be different.”

Martin is currently working on a piece to honor the anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. He was across the street from the school that day and heard the gunfire. The artwork, which will be featured in the February issue of the Parklander, includes a golden eagle from a photograph he took in Israel in the 1980s. Above the eagle are 17 birds, each representing the 17 victims of the shooting. “This is a very powerful image with a lot of history in it,” says Martin, who is willing to donate the piece to the high school.

For more information, visit www.meirmartin.com.

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Thinking of adopting a pet for the holidays?

Many families consider adopting a pet companion during the holiday season. Pets can fill our lives with love, but they also come with many additional responsibilities.

Ensure Your Pet’s Needs Match Your Lifestyle

Each pet has its own unique needs, so research its needs before adoption. A labrador will require more attention than a hamster, and kittens love to get into every corner of your house and knock things over. So before you take the steps to adopt a new family member, consider your daily routine and how much time you can dedicate to feeding, grooming, exercising, and playing with your pet.

If you are considering adopting a pet before the holidays, be mindful of your plan during those holidays, whether it’s travel, hosting guests, or attending events. The first few days after a new pet’s arrival often require more attention.

It’s a Long-Term Commitment

Adopting a pet can span a decade or more. A dog or cat may live 10–15 years or more, and a parrot or turtle can live more than 50 years. Beyond the initial adoption fee, you should plan for food, bedding or shelter, toys, grooming, and potentially training classes. 

To ensure that you have a happy and healthy pet, you should budget for regular veterinary expenses, spaying/neutering, and vaccinations.

It’s a Family

Accepting a new pet into your home is a family affair. Your home may need to be pet-proofed to prevent accidents. Small objects, toxic plants, and exposed wires can all be hazardous and need to be secured.  

Your family members should be consulted before adopting. Does a family member have an allergy? Will they be okay with cleaning up after the new pet? Who will handle the additional chores? These considerations should all be discussed, to help ensure that the pet is integrated into and loved by the whole family. Last thing: New pets often get abandoned after the holidays. So if you can wait until after the holidays to adopt, you may help a loving animal find its forever home

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8 tips for allergy-free holidays

Winter holidays bring cheerfulness and plenty of opportunities for festive eating. While common food allergens lurk in many traditional dishes served at Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa celebrations, a little preparation and planning can help you—whether you’re the parent of a child with food allergies or hosting guests who have them—glide through the holidays safely.

These tips can help you navigate food allergies safely and healthfully this holiday season.

5 Tips for Avoiding Food Allergens at Home

  • Host at your home. Because you are in control of what is served, this can be the safest option when managing food allergies. You may choose to prepare only “safe” foods and let guests know what they can and cannot bring into the house. If you do have foods containing allergens, designate separate areas for these foods to be served to help prevent cross-contact.
  • Focus on whole, unprocessed foods. While cooking from scratch may seem like more work, it helps to ensure that food and prep areas are free from food allergens. You might even find that you save time in the long run because you don’t have to scour every ingredient list.
  • Modify traditional recipes using allergen-free ingredients. Once you know a few simple swaps, you may realize just how easy it is to modify your recipes. Focus on similar items when considering swaps, like non-dairy milk for cow’s milk (or vice versa), or naturally gluten-free grains for wheat. Eggs in recipes often can be substituted with ground, rehydrated flax or chia seeds.
  • Always read all ingredient labels. Even if you think a product is allergen-free, read the label. Food manufacturers change formulas, which may introduce allergens into previously “safe” foods and beverages.
  • Keep it clean. Prevent cross-contact and cross-contamination by encouraging frequent handwashing.

3 Tips for Avoiding Food Allergens Away from Home

  • Offer to help the host. If you help plan the menu or shop for ingredients, you can choose items that you know are safe. If you cook, you can help ensure that dishes are prepared without allergens. And don’t hesitate to ask your host to save labels from products to reference and provide you peace of mind.
  • Bring snacks and desserts. If helping ahead of time is out of the question, bring a few allergen-free options. Bring your own allergen-free snacks and desserts, as baked goods feature common allergens such as wheat, dairy, eggs, nuts, and soy. Pack snacks such as fresh fruit with sunflower butter packets, carrots with hummus, popcorn, and homemade trail mix made with rice cereal, seeds, and chocolate chips. For easy festive desserts, melt chocolate chips as a dip for dried apricots or allergen-free cookies, or bake apples sprinkled with cinnamon and brown sugar and top with allergen-free whipped topping.
  • Communication is key. If a host is unfamiliar with how to handle food allergies, he or she might fall victim to the “a little bit won’t hurt” mindset. Communicate at the start that a little bit can hurt, and that you’d be more than happy to help with shopping or prep so that the host can feel comfortable and you can feel confident in the foods served.

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Discovering Old School Square

Contemporary art showcased at Cornell Art Museum

While taking a stroll in Downtown Delray Beach recently for a local arts festival, my husband and I came upon a yellow gem in the middle of Delray’s Old School Square. What used to be a school is now a local art museum, known as the Cornell Art Museum, located on the Old School Square campus. The museum showcases contemporary and provocative art from emerging and established local and regional artists. Exhibitions are theme-based, often evolving into dynamic group shows that attract a diverse audience.

The museum is housed in a historic 1913 elementary school building, adding architectural charm to its cultural offerings. It’s part of a broader arts hub that includes the Crest Theatre, the Old School Square Fieldhouse, and the Creative Arts School, making it a central node in Delray Beach’s creative scene.

ICONS of ART. The Cornell Art Museum introduced “ICONS of ART Italian Mosaic Portraits” in February of this year. The hype of its popular works demanded an extension of this exhibit, so it was showcased through Oct. 27, as a result of its acclaim by enthusiastic viewers. The exhibit featured 40 hand-crafted mosaic portraits from the Scuola Mosaicisti del Friuli, a world-famous Italian mosaic school in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy. All the portraits are of iconic figures from the worlds of popular culture in art, music, and film.


ICONS of ART, “Morgan Freeman,” Alina Chubova, Venetian Smalti, marbles, cotton fabric, and decorative ferrous inserts (2017, 12″ x 12″, Italy).

The ICONS of ART project is the product of a growing partnership between Delray Beach’s Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and Palm Beach County’s broader arts community with Le Associazione Naonis of Italy.

Dorothy Gillespie. Recently opened and on view until Jan. 14 at the Cornell is a collection of Dorothy Gillespie (1920–2012) called “Retrospective Color in Motion.” It is in collaboration with the Dorothy Gillespie Foundation of the 20th Century American Artist.

Gillespie’s life spanned nearly a century of artistic evolution, and she remained creatively active well into her later years, advocating for women in the arts and transforming aluminum into jubilant, ribbon-like sculptures that still grace public spaces across the United States.

“Tabletop Starburst,” Dorothy Gillespie, sculpture (circa 1990) made of enamel-painted aluminum with gilt edges.

Gillespie, active from the late 1930s through 2010, was known for transforming aluminum into exuberant abstract forms that often filled public spaces. Her “Starburst” series, whether monumental or tabletop, symbolized her philosophy of color, light, and motion, which culminated in her Rockefeller Center installation of 185 sculptures in 2003.

This vibrant piece exemplifies Gillespie’s signature style, where explosions formed of color and movement through ribbon-like metal. Gillespie was a highly collected artist who passed away in Coral Gables.

Crystal Bacchus. Opened Oct. 18 and running through Feb. 22, Crystal Bacchus’ “In the Garden” will take visitors through a whimsical landscape of eco-systematic consciousness by the use of thick strokes and vibrant colors. This is the first Spotlight Exhibition for Bacchus, whose artistic journey since age 13 has explored creative color concepts inspired by nature, embodied in texture, patterns, and bold composition.

Bacchus is recognized for taking the unpredictability of watercolor and absorbing it into a full-range filtration arrangement on paper. Founder of Xtal Art Studios Inc., Bacchus has been active in the Florida art scene since 2011, producing a range of hand-drawn journals, greeting cards, and wearable art.

For more information about Bacchus, visit www.xtalart.com.

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A trek through verdant nature in Davie

There once was a dairy farm in Davie that was slated to get developed as a golf course and golf community. But in 1980, Broward County officials decided to protect and conserve this property for residents’ enjoyment, and it eventually became Tree Tops Park. Right in the middle of residential Davie, locals now have a beautiful 243-acre community park, featuring nature trails, a thriving forest, a 1,000-foot boardwalk extending over a restored freshwater marsh, pavilions, gazebos, and even an equestrian center and equestrian trails.

Tree Tops Park’s conservation success story is evident in its lovely preservation of ancient live oaks, wetlands, and tropical hardwood hammocks. And now it’s all part of Broward County Parks and Recreation.

My friend Susan and I recently planned an outing to Tree Tops. We brought sandwiches and drinks and found plenty of tables under a beautiful oak canopy to sit at, where we enjoyed a quiet weekday picnic in nature.

You can get lost in the beauty and peace of this park, surrounded by trees, fauna, foliage, and water. And there is so much to do here. Various features include playgrounds, exercise stations, hiking, observing native plants and wildlife, climbing to the top of an observation tower, boating, fishing, and more. Visitors can rent canoes to explore the waterways, landscapes, and archaeological sites within the park. Equestrians love the 8 miles of dedicated horse trails.

There is also a large event hall, which is where Susan and I headed after we had our picnic lunch. We were driving through the park, looking for signs for a “visitors center,” but they didn’t have any, only to the “park office.” When we got inside that building, Oak Ridge Hall, we realized that’s the place we were trying to find; it has pamphlets, maps, informational displays on the walls, and other things to guide visitors. We just wished they had better signage for visitors looking for the building.

Oak Ridge Hall is a 3,440-square-foot, multipurpose building of natural wood set against an oak hammock and with a beautiful outdoor patio nestled within the trees. This building includes a reception hall, meeting rooms, catering kitchen, and bathrooms. It is available for event rentals.

After we walked all around this grand hall, inside and out, and got the lay of the land, we headed over to our next destination: the boardwalk over the marshland. There was a nice, quiet paved trail to lead us there.

Once we got to the “boardwalk,” we realized this structure wasn’t really walkways made of boards. The floor of this raised walk is cement, not wood, but the side rails are wooden boards, and regardless, we loved the lush natural views all around us. This Marsh Observation Area covers 23 acres of freshwater marsh.

Next, Susan and I wanted to go find the Observation Tower, which is in a different part of the park, so we walked back to our car parked in front of Oak Ridge Hall, and drove to the parking lot indicated on our paper map. Nearby is the 28-foot-high wooden tower, which is only handicap-accessible for the bottom half, with ramps that lead from the ground up to a wooden landing. At the landing, it’s only accessible by way of climbing three staircases to get to the top. Once up there, it’s a great place to observe birds, wildlife, and the dense vegetation all around.

After that, we drove to a small lake we had seen earlier, with picnic tables dotting part of the perimeter, and enjoyed the quiet scenery and wildlife. Even an iguana walked out to the end of a pier and gazed over the water, seeming to also enjoy the nice day.

There is much more to see at Tree Tops Park, including a lakeside cottage (also available for rental), gopher tortoise preserves, a Sam Jones exhibit and statue, a campfire ring for Scouts and other youth groups, and a biking/jogging path that connects to Pine Island Ridge Natural Area. From Tree Tops, it’s easy to access Pine Island Ridge, another park offering its own peaceful connection with nature.

During the week, there is no fee for entering Tree Tops Park. On weekends and holidays, the gate entrance fee is $3/vehicle. Entry is free for people who walk, ride bicycles, or come by horseback into the park. Visit www.broward.org/parks/Pages/Park.aspx?=40.

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Holiday card trends

From mailboxes to inboxes

As the holiday season approaches, one tradition still stands strong: sending annual holiday cards. With October here, it’s a good time to start thinking about them—whether that means booking a photo session, picking out a design, or deciding between sending cards online or sending them through the mail. In 2025, families are finding new ways to share winter wishes, balancing the ease of digital with the warmth of something you can hold in your hands.

There’s still something special about opening an envelope, unfolding a card, and putting it on display that a digital message can’t quite replace. Part of the appeal is in the design itself, with industry watchers noting that clean, modern styles, minimalist layouts, and metallic touches are among the most popular choices for 2025. Even traditional cards are evolving with contemporary taste. “For me, it’s about seeing my grandkids’ faces on the fridge all season,” says Parkland resident Susan G.

Digital cards have quickly become part of the tradition. Younger families, or those with relatives spread out across the country, often prefer the speed and creativity that come with going online. An e-card can include animated graphics, short video clips, or even a slideshow of the year’s highlights—things you just can’t do with a printed card. Social media has also made holiday posts another option, though many still lean toward more personal platforms that offer privacy and customization. “We switched to digital because our family is spread across many states and even countries,” explains Coral Springs resident Pamela M.

No matter the format, photography remains the heart of the holiday card. Platforms like Shutterfly and Minted note that families are moving away from stiff studio portraits in matching sweaters and instead choosing lifestyle photos that feel natural and authentic. A beach walk, a stroll on the Loxahatchee levee, or a snapshot from a family trip often feels more personal and memorable than a posed image. Local photographers have even started offering quick holiday mini-sessions at nearby parks and beaches, giving families an easy way to capture seasonal moments.

Looking ahead, holiday cards are starting to take on a more interactive and eco-friendly feel. Plantable-seed paper designs are catching on with environmentally conscious shoppers, especially through sites like Etsy. On the tech side, more cards now include QR codes that link to video messages or family highlight reels, adding a modern twist to the tradition.

In the end, whether tucked inside an envelope or sent with the click of a button, holiday cards are about connection. They offer a chance to pause in the rush of the season and share a piece of ourselves with the people who matter most. The format may change, but the spirit behind the holiday card remains as strong as ever.

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