Due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Boca Raton Brain Bowl will introduce a new format this year.
In lieu of the usual Country Club Luncheon, event organizers are inviting participants and their pets to “BARK to End Alzheimer’s” by taking part in an outdoor shopping experience.
“Our theme this year is ‘Bark & Browse,’” announced Attorney, Pamela Higer-Polani, President and Founder of Brain Bowl Events, Inc, a 501 (c )3 non-profit created to raise local awareness regarding neurocognitive diseases and disorders.
“We are bringing attention to pets who provide much-needed emotional support to families coping with the stress of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s, dementia and other related neurocognitive disorders.”
The 7 Annual Brain Bowl event – to take place Sunday, Feb. 28 – will be set up in a large county park, where attendees can mingle and browse the offerings of local vendors while remaining socially distant and adhering to all public health regulations.
“Vendors, all generously spaced apart from one another, will be providing information on their services, selling items and providing individually-wrapped items to eat or drink,” Higer-Polani noted, adding that tickets will be limited in availability and participants will be encouraged to wear masks and stagger their attendance times.
The event will also offer attendees an opportunity to have their pictures taken with their pets by a professional photographer, and the winner of a prior social media contest for voters’ favorite emotional-support pet will be announced. Proceeds will benefit the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s for Boca Raton.
The Brain Bowl Bark & Browse will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 28, at Burt Aaronson South County Regional Park in Boca Raton. Tickets are $20 per person. To register, visit www.BrainBowlEvents.org. For more information, please contact Pamela Higer-Polani, Esq., at (561) 496-4222 or Pamela@LawPHP.com.
Joining us for this episode is the owner of SoundsSweet Entertainment (www.soundssweetent.com) – David Brownstein. They create live moments into lasting memories.
You can reach him via email: info@soundssweetent.com. Or on Instagram and twitter, his handle is @soundssweetnews
Michelle
Kefford is pumped. And while spasms of enthusiasm seem to come with the job
when you’re a school principal, the new principal of Marjory Stoneman Douglas
High has plenty of legitimate reasons to be excited.
“It’s
coming back home,” Kefford, 44, said.
Those
four words explain almost every reason she’s back at the Parkland school,
coming full circle from where she began her career 20 years ago as a biology
teacher.
Kefford,
who begins work at Douglas on July 1, replaces former principal Ty Thompson, who stepped down in May,
and co-principal Teresa Hall.
The principal at MSD when a former
student opened fire at the school, leaving 17 dead and as many injured on Feb.
14, 2018, Thompson had been under investigation by Broward Schools and reassigned
to different duties at Douglas. A popular and exuberant figure at the school,
Thompson cited personal reasons for resigning after six years as principal. The
investigation, which district officials expected to complete by May, remains
ongoing.
Thompson’s departure widened the administrative
hole needing to be filled at Douglas. In the wake of 2/14 and the local and
state probes that followed, three assistant principals were transferred and a
second principal was named. Kefford’s hire is not only a move to fill that
void, but to begin building anew.
Kefford declined to speak specifically about past events at
the high school but did say she will be re-evaluating policies and procedures
going forward.
She has been working on her transition from Flanagan High, where she served as
principal for eight years. Her efforts at the Pembroke Pines school blossomed
these past two years as Kefford was named Broward’s 2018 Principal
of the Year, then in March earned the Florida Board of Education Principal of
the Year honor for 2019.
“I
love what I do,” she said. “It’s rewarding to work with kids.
“I’m
driven by their success. I want to prepare our kids for graduation and what
comes next in life.”
A
wife and a mother of two, Kefford and her family reside in Parkland. Her oldest
son attends Douglas, while the younger boy is a student at West Glades Middle
School.
Valerie Wanza, the district’s School Performance and
Accountability director, was Kefford’s first supervisor.
“I watched her career grow in the school district and watched
as her leadership grew at Flanagan,” Wanza said. “Under her guidance, Flanagan became a
consistently A-rated, high-performance school — not just academically, but as an
overall school experience.”
Describing her as a highly accomplished school leader, Wanza
believes Kefford is the right person at the right time to take the reins at
Douglas.
“Michelle will seize this opportunity to go home, help the
community recover, heal, and move forward,” Wanza said.
Michelle Kefford (center) is flanked by Broward Schools officials, including superintendent Robert Runcie (right) at a May 13 press conference to announce her hire as principal at Douglas High. (WLRN photo
Robert Runcie, at a May 13 press conference announcing
Kefford’s appointment, said, “We are grateful to Michelle for taking on this
challenge. It speaks volumes to the type of leader she is.”
The Broward Schools superintendent cited the “culture of
pride” Kefford built with the staff and students at Flanagan.
“Given her qualifications and her background, we couldn’t be
more proud — and lucky — to recommend someone that’s so qualified to fill this
important role,” Runcie said.
For Kefford, the most fulfilling aspect of the job is witnessing
the success of her students.
“I get to see these kids from their awkward adolescence
through to young adulthood,” she said. “Watching (them) attain their
goals, receive scholarships, graduate, walk across the stage, go on to college,
and to know I’ve made a difference in their life is very satisfying.”
The daughter of two retired educators, Kefford once thought
she’d become a veterinarian. She said it was her mom who encouraged her to teach,
because of her passion for biology.
“I tried it out
and never looked back,” she said.
South Florida divers always look forward to lobster
miniseason, which for them is the biggest unofficial holiday of the year.
Properly known as the two-day sport season, which is the
last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday in July, miniseason is the first chance
for recreational divers to catch lobsters since the regular season closed on
April 1. That usually means lobsters are abundant, as commercial traps have
been out of the water since that date, and the bugs, as they are known, haven’t
been netted or snared by divers.
In addition, the tasty crustaceans are less wary than usual,
which makes them easier to catch. Instead of retreating into a hole in a coral
reef or under a ledge, like they do during the regular season, which opens Aug.
6, bugs in late July tend to stand their ground when a diver approaches.
Another reason the miniseason attracts thousands of divers
to South Florida is the daily limit outside of the Florida Keys is 12 lobsters
per person, which is double the regular-season limit. (For regulation info,
visit MyFWC.com.)
To get their limit, a fair number of divers will be in the
water at 12:01 a.m. July 24, when the miniseason begins. Most boaters don’t
head offshore until five or six hours later. They’ll be back on July 25 to
hopefully get another limit of bugs and the makings of a lobster feast for them
and their families and their non-diving friends.
Divers prepare for the miniseason weeks before it arrives.
Dive gear such as regulators and BCs (buoyancy compensators) are taken to a
dive shop for service and air tanks are filled.
Doing some dives also is part of pre-miniseason prep, both to
locate areas with lobsters and to make sure all your equipment is working
properly. For lobster divers, few things are as disappointing as having the strap
on a mask or a fin break during miniseason. Unless you have a replacement
strap, you probably won’t be catching any lobsters.
Two years ago, I dove the Monday before miniseason with my
good friend Jim “Chiefy” Mathie of Deerfield Beach. We were on the bottom in
about 60 feet and my mask was taking on water. When I tried to clear it, the
lenses popped out into my hands.
Mathie escorted me back to the surface. As it turned out, the
mask’s frame had cracked. Fortunately, Mathie had another mask on his boat that
I used that day.
The author of the book Catching the BUG: The
Comprehensive Guide to Catching the Spiny Lobster, Mathie will have a free lobster-hunting
seminar on July 23 from 6-7 p.m. to begin Lauderdale-by-the-Sea’s eighth annual
BugFest, a celebration of miniseason and the town’s beach access to local
reefs.
Following the seminar is a free miniseason kickoff party —
both will be held at Plunge Beach Hotel — during which divers can register for
BugFest’s popular Great Florida Bug Hunt. For a $20 entry fee, divers receive a
goody bag and T-shirt and the opportunity to win cash and terrific prizes such
as regulators, dive computers, air tanks, dive boat trips, and hotel stays.
The Chiefy crew lined up its limit of lobsters caught during the first day of the 2018 miniseason. (Photo courtesy Steve Waters)
In the past, a $1,000 prize was awarded to the two-person team
catching the heaviest total weight of 12 bugs on Wednesday. This year, $500
goes to the team with the heaviest weight caught off Broward County and $500 to
the duo with the top weight caught off Miami-Dade or Palm Beach counties. Other
prizes include $400 for the biggest bug caught anywhere off a boat, $400 for
the biggest bug caught off the beach, and a Sherwood Oasis regulator valued at
$420 for the biggest bug caught on a midnight beach dive off
Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. There are also prizes for the biggest bugs caught
Wednesday on the 6 a.m. dives on the Aqua View and Black Pearl dive boats at
South Florida Diving Headquarters in Pompano Beach.
Divers don’t need to bag big bugs to win big. They receive a
raffle ticket for each lobster they weigh in on Wednesday and Thursday. Winning
tickets are drawn at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, following the lobster chef competition,
which starts at 6 at the Beach Pavilion at the end of Commercial Boulevard. So,
a diver who weighs 24 lobsters can win multiple prizes. Divers can register in
advance at Gold Coast Scuba in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea or South Florida Diving
Headquarters or online at DiscoverLBTS.com.
“It’s fun for the divers. It gives them more of an
incentive,” said Steve d’Oliveira, the town’s Public Information Officer. “The
town knows that BugFest is fun for divers and they get behind it, and everybody
has a good time.”
Other activities include a midnight beach dive on Tuesday, a fish
identification seminar on July 26, a free clean-up dive under and around
Anglin’s Pier at 8 a.m. July 27, and the third annual Diveheart Benefit Concert
from 6:30-10:30 that night.
Look — up in the sky — it’s a bird, it’s a plane! No — it’s
the Boca Raton Museum of Art’s new headliner, Beyond the Cape! Comics and Contemporary Art.
The exhibition offers a new look at the relationship between
contemporary artists and graphic novels and comic books.
Many of today’s most high-profile artists have been
influenced by this genre and the exhibit takes a deeper look at how graphic
novels and comics address societal issues of race, class, gender and politics.
“It’s exciting to see younger audiences express strong
interest in this exhibition,” Kathleen Goncharov, the museum’s senior curator,
said.
Goncharov — aided by Calvin Reid, senior news editor at Publishers Weekly and a comic book
expert — has selected an eclectic, playful, and sometimes wickedly burlesque
collection of video, photographs, sculpture, prints, and drawings in addition
to rare comics and contemporary and historic animation for display.
The installation features more than 80 works by 40 artists,
including Christian Marclay, Kerry James Marshall, Elizabeth Murray, Joyce
Pensato, Raymond Pettibon, Peter Saul, Kenny Scharf and Michael Zansky among
others. Works by Takashi Murakami and Yositomo Nara, who specialize in Japanese
comics, or manga, are also highlighted.
Work by Japanese manga artist Takashi Murakami.
“There is a long history here, in Europe and in Japan,
between comics and fine art,” Zansky, whose work is prominently displayed, said.
“Comics have a large influence in the culture and on contemporary artists. This exhibit showcases artists who are
attracted to (the) quirky visuals and subversive content of adult comics.”
Michael Zansky’s Saturn Series, standing 19 feet high, was created with carved, burnt, and painted plywood. (Photo by Jan Engoren)
Zansky comes to the world of comics naturally. His father
was Louis Zansky, who drew for the circa 1940s Classic Comics series of graphic adaptations of famous literary works.
Michael Zansky’s Walking Figure, a 16-foot-high
carved, burnt, and painted plywood panel of a giant foot on an octagonal
foundation, is based on the Colossus of
Constantine, a gargantuan marble statue of the Roman Emperor Constantine
the Great.
The work is displayed at the entry to the exhibit, next to and
juxtaposed with Manuscript, a giant
hennaed hand by Indian American artist Chitra Ganesh.
The show looks beyond the 1960s Pop Art movement, led by New
York-centric artists such as Andy Warhol and Ray Lichtenstein, and features the
“other” art movements from the ‘60s and ‘70s such as the Hairy Who and Bay Area
Funk Art. Hairy Who artists Gladys Nilsson, Jim Nutt, and Karl Wirsum,
along with works by underground comic book artists such as R. Crumb, Aline
Kominsky-Crumb, and Mimi Pond are also featured.
A highlight of the show is Chicago artist Kerry James
Marshall’s comic series Rhythm Mastr, which documents violence
in his hometown. Known for his flat, colorful paintings of contemporary black
America, Marshall’s work is in high demand.
Although comics and graphic novels are part of a genre
dominated by men, a number of women are highlighted in the show. New York
artist Jody Culkin, in particular, raises the feminist bona fides of the exhibit
with A Prophetic Drama. The 9-minute
animated comic is based loosely on a play about mummies coming to life in the
British Museum, written in 1875 by Harriet Hosmer, a celebrated 19th-century
sculptor who also enjoyed dabbling in science fiction writing.
Snapshot showing a scene from New York artist Jody Culkin’s animated comic A Prophetic Drama. (Photo by Jan Engoren)
Also featured are Chitra Ganesh, figurative artist Elizabeth Murray and Jamaican feminist artist Renee Cox, known for upending sexist and racist stereotypes with her art. Beyond the Cape! runs through Oct. 6.
Back in the 1960s, vocalist Lou Christie sang a pop tune
called Two Faces Have I. In the ‘90s,
two famed puppet/mask designers took that concept to create masks for the live
stage version of Disney’s The Lion King.
The idea not only worked, it roared.
Since The Lion King
debuted on Broadway in 1997, more than 90 million people worldwide have
experienced its visual artistry and reveled in its award-winning score.
Based on the eponymous animated Disney film, the stage
adaptation features music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice. Six indigenous
African languages are spoken throughout the show and extraordinary costumes often
exceed the expectations of show planners and audiences.
The Lion King has
just passed through South Florida. In mid-spring, the Serengeti was recreated
behind the footlights at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm
Beach. The production, with its array of performers and elegant scenery,
completed its run at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami on May 26.
The show that packed those two venues combined the talents
of Disney Theatrical Productions with the redoubtable capabilities of Julie
Taymor, the show’s director, costume designer, and —with Michael Curry — mask
co-designer.
Julie Taymor, director of The Lion King and co-creator of the masks used in the stage show. (Photo courtesy of Broadway World)
Taymor is the first woman to win a Tony Award for Direction
of a Musical. Curry is owner and operator of Michael Curry Design, which
creates live performance-oriented devices for Cirque du Soleil, Super Bowl
shows, the Olympics, and was the creative force behind New York City’s
millennium event in 2000.
With a nod to Christie’s song title, the masks for most lead
characters are attached to the top of the actors’ heads, meaning their faces as
well as their animal avatars can be identified. The masks drop to cover faces
when characters reveal their more animalistic sides.
Background performers are fitted with more stylized devices
or puppet-style gear, including bicycle-like equipment for herds of running
gazelles; stilts and neck extensions for giraffes, and a vast amount of rigging
and structuring for elephants. The stampede, critical to the plot, is artfully
crafted in a manner that defies explanation. But it appears so real and works
so well in the show.
Taymor said once she discovered she needed to show both the
human and animal traits of The Lion King characters,
she labored to convince Disney of her concept. That involved creating three
versions of the character Scar, three Zazus, and two Timons, and presenting all
to Disney’s then-CEO, Michael Eisner. He gave the thumbs-up.
The musical is a sweet love story between a father and son —
Mufasa, the lion king at the opening and his son and successor, Simba. Later
comes the sweetheart tale of the mature Simba getting to know his betrothed,
Nala.
Masks used in The Lion King, on display at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. (Photo by Dale King)
Taymor explained the imagery of the masks. “Obviously,
Mufasa is the sun. That’s why you have the circle [the song, Circle of Life]. He’s very much about
symmetry and radiation, the sun god. Simba and Nala are in that world of
Mufasa.”
Of her experience with The Lion King, Taymor said: “It’s the
most fun thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
If
you’re not up for braving the South Florida heat this summer, these local
venues offer family-friendly activities available during the quiet — and less
hot — afternoon and evening hours.
Gumbo
Limbo’s environmental complex in Boca Raton is an indoor / outdoor nature
center with several aquariums and exhibits. A variety of group programs,
including guided nature trail walks, sea turtle talks, and animal feedings, are
offered throughout the week. A popular activity that only takes place on summer
nights is the Turtle Walk and Hatchling Release, where participants have the
opportunity to learn about Florida’s native sea turtles, walk to the nearby
beach, and watch a nesting Loggerhead or see baby turtles race for the sea.
View
Gumbo Limbo’s calendar of events for information on how to register.
Where: 1801 N. Ocean Blvd, Boca Raton
When: Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 4
p.m.
Cost: Free ($5 suggested donation); free parking
Details: GumboLimbo.org
Hugh Taylor Birch State Park
Hugh Taylor Birch State Park features a canoe-kayak launch in its long list of amenities. (Courtesy photo)
Favorite
activities at Birch State Park range from live animal presentations to guided
mangrove and trail walks, and all are excellent opportunities for families to
explore Florida’s natural ecosystems and wildlife, and learn about the history
behind this local state park. The two-mile loop surrounding the natural habitat
is bike- and rollerblade friendly, while the Intracoastal Waterway allows for
easy access to fishing and makes for a perfect sunset-viewing picnic spot.
Birch State Park offers paddleboard rentals for those looking to visit Fort
Lauderdale’s stretch of beaches along A1A. In addition, the park is home to
Camp Live Oak, an immersive nature program for children ages 5-13, as well as a
variety of scheduled tours, educational classes, and events.
Where: 3109 E. Sunrise Blvd, Fort Lauderdale
When: Every day, 8 a.m. to sunset
Cost: $6 per family/group vehicle
Details: FloridaStateParks.org/HughTaylorBirch
Bark Beach at Spanish River
Park
Release
the leash and let Fido roam free on the sands of Spanish River Park’s beach!
Bark Beach is sectioned off from the rest of the park to ensure dogs don’t run
too far and other park visitors remain unscathed by licks or wet paws. Summer
hours are conveniently scheduled in the early morning and late afternoon. Bark
Beach is open to all families of Boca Raton who have purchased a dog permit at
their nearest community center. A single weekend pass is also an option,
allowing unlimited access to Boca’s best dog-friendly beach from Friday through
Sunday.
Where: 3001 N. State Rd A1A, Boca Raton
When: Friday through Sunday, 7-9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to sunset
Cost: Bark Beach dog permit required; $11 weekend pass; parking
$17 weekdays, $19 weekends OR free with annual beach pass
Details: MyBoca.us
INDOOR DESTINATIONS
Children’s Science Explorium
Located
inside Boca’s Sugar Sand Park, the Children’s Science Explorium is a must-visit
attraction. Activities during the summer include a variety of interactive,
science-geared exhibits and exciting educational programs. The Grab ‘n’ Go Eco
Pack gives young children and their families the opportunity to embark on a
scavenger hunt throughout Sugar Sand’s nature trails and explore the park’s
plants, birds, and insects. Kids-only activities include the one-week Summer
Science Camp — open to youngsters in grades kindergarten through 5th — and the
after-hour Friday Nights @ the Museum, featuring a cool experiment and movie
night! Check the events calendar in early June for a list of summer exhibits
and more info on registering.
Where: 300 S. Military Trail, Boca Raton
When: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday and
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cost: Free ($5 suggested donation); free parking
Details: ScienceExplorium.org
Young At Art Museum
Young At Art Museum’s ArtScapes features works that explore a child’s perspective on the world. (Photo courtesy Young At Art Museum)
What’s
one thing that makes the Young At Art Museum unique? Through its program YAA
for ALL: Access to Lifelong Learning, the museum has developed special programs
and events for children and adults with autism and other disabilities. In
addition to its pre-scheduled classes and exhibits, the YAA opens one hour
earlier every second Sunday of the month, giving exclusive access for families
with disabled children. Specialized activities include the Sensory Studio Art
Class, which creates a warm and friendly environment of hands-on art-making
alongside specially trained staff members.
Where: 751 SW 121st Ave, Davie
When: Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday and
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Cost: $14 for adults/children; $12 for seniors and Broward County
residents; $11 for military families. Membership and group rates available.
Details: YoungAtArtMuseum.org
Museum of Discovery and
Science
The Museum of Discovery and Science’s AutoNation IMAX and 3D Theater. (Courtesy photo)
In
addition to its array of science exhibits and children’s Discovery Camp, a
distinctive feature of the Museum of Discovery and Science is its in-house IMAX
3D theater, which presents a number of documentaries and Hollywood films. With
numerous showtimes throughout the day, as well as wheelchair-accessible and
sensory-friendly screenings, this theater is a great pick for families. This
summer, the Museum’s featured exhibit, Hall
of Heroes, immerses visitors in the superhero world of crime-catchers,
Batmobiles, spy gadgets, and more.
Where: 401 SW Second St, Fort Lauderdale
When: Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to
5 p.m.
Cost: $17 for adults; $16 for seniors; $14 for military families
and children ages 2-12; free for children ages 1 and under; parking $6-$10.
Museum membership rates available.
Details: MODS.org
(Note: The IMAX 3D Theater has its own hours and
admission fees. Please visit the MODS website for details.)
Neil Armstrong notched a
singular spot in history as the first man to walk on the moon.
But astronaut Scott Kelly has
made his own impressions on the space-time continuum. Not only are he and Mark
Edward Kelly the only identical twin astronauts ever to serve with NASA in the
U.S. space program, but Commander Kelly has also logged more time in the “final
frontier” than any other American spaceman.
Kelly is about to share with
the public dozens of digital photographs he took during his year aboard the
International Space Station (ISS). Space
Odyssey 2019, a display of images taken during that 12-month mission from
2015 to 2016, will open June 20 and run through Aug. 3 at the Palm Beach
Photographic Centre in West Palm Beach.
“One’s perspective shifts
when one lives for an entire year — as Commander Scott Kelly and no other
American astronaut in history has — in the isolating, grueling and utterly
unforgiving vacuum of space,” Fatima NeJame, the Centre’s president and CEO, said.
Kelly is a former military
fighter pilot and test pilot, an engineer, a now-retired astronaut, and retired
Navy captain. A veteran of four space flights, he commanded the ISS on three
expeditions. He is also the brother-in-law of former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords
(D-Ariz.), who survived a gunshot wound to the head after an attack at a
constituent event in 2011.
NeJame said the Space Odyssey 2019 exhibition will feature
between 40 and 60 frames, all reproduced using the center’s digital printer.
“We are making them large so visitors can see the detail.”
“Kelly mastered the rare art
of microgravity photography,” NeJame said.
Microgravity photography? “Using
a Nikon D4 with an 800-millimeter lens and a 1.4x magnifying zoom lens, he
panned the camera as the shutter released to compensate for the space station’s
velocity: 17,500 miles per hour relative to the earth.”
In the display, his photos
will be accompanied by personal commentary to put the images into their proper
contexts.
During the ISS mission, while
breaking records for time spent in outer space, Kelly spoke with President Barack
Obama about what he was seeing and the pictures he was taking. The President
encouraged him to share the photos with the world via Twitter and Instagram,
which he did. Kelly’s artistic eye helped make him a social media sensation.
Looking down at a frozen Himalayan lake from space.
Through his lens, Kelly captured sunsets, moonrises, the Aurora Borealis, and the luminous, hazy tapestry of the Milky Way. “There are hurricanes, wrinkled mountains, New York City shining like a galaxy,” NeJame said. “Glorious photographs that are, in themselves, a passionate argument for the preservation of our planet in the face of climate change and environmental destruction.” In one of the images taken over South Asia as the Expedition 46 crew orbited high above Earth, Kelly looked down on a vivid blue body of water shot through with white. “Cool frozen lake in #Himalayas! #YearInSpace” he tweeted on Jan. 6, 2016, to his more than 5.6 million followers.
Astronaut Scott Kelly shared the last sunrise of his yearlong mission on space on March 1, 2016, aboard ISS.
Like Tibetan sand mandalas, which are swept up and
scattered on the water, the Temple of Time is about the moment, the process, the
creation, and the transitory nature of life itself.
The beech-plywood temple on Sample Road, created by artist
David Best, is the first of five public art installations in Coral Springs and
Parkland that are part of the series Inspiring
Community Healing After Gun Violence: The Power of Art.
The two cities, in partnership with the Coral Springs
Museum of Art, were awarded $1 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies to fund
the projects, which aim to use art to help heal the community after the
shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February 2018.
With help from local residents, the Balinese-like temple rose
from the site of the old City Hall over a two-week span in early February, and opened
to the public one year after the Feb. 14 school shooting that left 17 dead and
as many injured.
What Best, his crew and community members created was an
object of great beauty out of shared loss.
The temple, where visitors are encouraged to leave
mementoes and write messages directly on the raw wood, has transformed into a
repository of the community’s hopes, fears, wishes, and dreams.
The Temple of Time, said Best, is a way of honoring
the time it will take for the community to process the feelings it shares from
a common tragedy.
The California-based artist has dedicated his life’s work
to designing and building ornate yet ephemeral temples for communities that
need healing.
In what some might say is a paradox, the 35-foot-high,
non-denominational structure will be set on fire and destroyed in May. It is
Best’s hope the community’s grief over the shootings and the loss of life on
2/14 and in the aftermath will dissipate with the flames.
Best began creating temples in 2000, as a way to honor a
friend killed in a motorcycle accident, and he and his 14-person Temple Crew
have become known for the elaborate structures they’ve built at the annual Burning
Man Festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.
Best recently spoke about his work to the Miami New Times: “I make an empty
structure — it doesn’t mean anything; it’s just a pretty shape. And then people
come, and they put in their religion, their faith, their anger. Whatever
they’ve got, they put it [in the temple], and they develop their mythology. It
doesn’t matter what we believe. It matters what they believe.”
The Temple of Time in Coral Springs is very nearly
covered with the inspirational and heartfelt messages visitors have left on the
carved mosaic-like scrollwork. “Tell the sun and stars hello for me. We love
you, Gina Rose,” reads one of thousands of personal notes. Another states: “Hate,
anger, fear, indifference, and jealousy will never win.”
Hand-painted rocks emblazoned with “MSDStrong,” “A Little
Bit of Gratitude Goes a Long Way,” and “There is Always Hope,” adorn the temple
altars along with stuffed animals, photos, religious trinkets, hand-drawn
hearts, flowers, and a brown manila envelope full of shredded bully
testimonials from students at Pioneer Middle School.
Particularly poignant is a photograph from 18-year-old
Meadow Pollack’s kindergarten teacher saying, “Proud to have been your
kindergarten teacher, Meadow.” A senior at Douglas, Pollack was among the 17 killed
by a lone gunman at school that day.
On a cool weekday morning in March — the installation is
open every day from 7am until dusk — the temple was alive with visitors. Jonathan
Koota, a massage therapist and Coral Springs resident, came with friends Lynne
Mass, of Delray Beach, and Judy King, of Pompano Beach. They walked quietly
through the temple, discreetly taking photos and reading the temple’s messages
of love and hope to their grandkids.
Lanie
Hyman Shapiro visited the temple in February. The Coral Springs woman called
the temple “an amazingly powerful and intricate” tribute to MSD’s 17 victims.
“It’s a place to come together, to reflect,” Shapiro said. “It’s a place to
begin a catharsis.”
For more than a decade, area residents
have literally taken steps to bring about peace.
Each time Coral Springs’ Silent Peace
Walk participants gather, once a month, early in the morning, to walk for
peace, leader Audrey Ehlin reminds them how small steps can lead to a larger
impact. Specifically, peace within their hearts can lead to peace within their
families. Further, a peaceful community can spread to neighborhoods, the nation
and the world.
Ehlin, of Coral Springs, as well as
others gather at 7 a.m. on the first Saturday of every month at the International
Peace Garden, located behind the Coral Springs Center for the Arts. Birds chirp
and one can hear the soft sound of tree branches swaying in the breeze, but for
the most part, quiet reigns. Folks move forward in a single-file line for about
20 minutes. Ehlin estimated the walks attracts anywhere from seven to 20
people.
“I believe one person at a time can
make a difference,” she said.
Making a difference was on Coral
Springs resident Piero Falci’s mind when one day, back in 2006 or so, he was watching
the news. A horrific scene was unfolding in the Middle East, as a conflict
between Israel and Lebanon raged.
“I saw images on TV of this man, about
my age, in a residential area where bombs had fallen,” Falci said. “His house
had been hit by a bomb and neighbors were removing the rubble to retrieve the
bodies of his wife and two sons. I immediately thought about my family. I, too,
have two sons.”
Falci heard an inner voice: What are you going to do?
What
can I do? he wondered. After all, he was halfway around the globe. “But I
was deeply touched, and the command to do something persisted,” he said.
At the time, Falci also was reading books
about peace. An idea sprang to mind: He should start a peace walk. When Falci
approached Coral Springs city officials with designs for a monthly event at the
International Peace Garden, “the idea was received with enthusiasm,” he said.
“Many people ask why we do it,” added Falci,
author of the book Silent Peace
Walk: From Inner Peace toWorld Peace. “It is
our belief that cultivating inner peace will help bring peace to the entire
world.
“We think a lot about the survivors (of tragedies), and their pain,
and our heart aches for them. In a way, in the middle of the beautiful
International Peace Garden, we bring to our awareness how fortunate we are for
living in a safe environment, and we compassionately connect with those who
don’t have the same safety and comfort.”
Elizabeth Velez, of Tamarac, has
participated in the peace walk since 2011. She said doing so not only brings
her inner peace, but lets her meet like-minded people who enjoy connecting with
nature.
For Coral Springs vice mayor Joy
Carter, each time she makes the trek, she notices something different within
the garden – different colors amid the foliage, for instance.
Among the garden’s permanent features
is a peace pole bearing the words “May Peace Prevail on Earth” written in
several languages.
“I
find it’s a really good way to start my day,” Carter said. “It just brings a
balance to my persona, my soul. It keeps you centered.”
There must be at least
two considerations to label something as art. The first is … there must be the
recognition that something was made for an audience of some kind to receive,
discuss or enjoy. … The second point is simply the recognition of skill.”
Brannon
McConkey
At Stacey Mandell’s first solo
exhibition, Letters to Our Younger Self,
at the Miami Dade College Hialeah Campus Art Gallery, there could be no doubt
in a viewer’s mind the artist was sharing, successfully, the way she
experiences the world and that her work was an extension of her personality.
Her unique art form encompasses words, emotions, culture, but also activities
of daily life and current events.
“If Love is the Sun, Gratitude is the Moon”
Mandell uses shorthand words and
phrases — whether actual Gregg shorthand, cursive writing, even Braille — as an
abstract gestural form, in which the form’s meaning provides an abstract
narrative on the canvas.
“I believe we have much more in common
than we may think — love and gratitude, diversity and inclusion, identity and
culture, encourage and nurture. Saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you,’” Mandell said.
“These are expressions of the soul. We all share the same hopes, dreams, and
fears. We all have good days and bad days.
“My artwork is the physical manifestation of the expressions
of my soul,” she said. “My messages are the conversations contained in the
artwork.” xhibition curators Noor Blazekovic and Alejandro Mendoza, in a
joint statement, said they were fascinated how Mandell frames an idea and
communicates it to an audience. “What sets her creative work apart from other
human expression is that she is creating in the world of non-verbal
communication — she uses different tools: shorthand, words, visual images,
movement, ideas, and more — to create feelings, thoughts, images, and ideas in
the audience to communicate her particular message that as creator she wants to
share. The intent is to inform, move, and open the audience’s mind and
perspective to seeing the world in a different light than before.”
“This is not a blank steno pad” (48″ x 60″, Acrylic on Canvas. 2018)
One work that
shows that “different light” is This is not a blank Steno pad, a
5-foot-high acrylic-on-canvas image of the familiar off-green paper notebook.
We may know it’s called a steno pad, and many of us of a certain age understand
these notepads, with the spiral at the top for easy page-flipping, were
popularized in their use by actual stenographers — secretaries, court
reporters, close-caption writers in yesteryear’s TV industry, and the like.
Mandell has
more than a passing familiarity with proper penmanship. A devotee of
punctilious handwriting since her mother taught her cursive in grade school in
rural central Illinois, Mandell made her way in the world — in quite the
circuitous way, as it turned out — depending on Gregg Shorthand. After graduating
from college prepared to teach music and math, Mandell instead took a clerical
job where she had to learn shorthand.
“Learning
Gregg Shorthand was a turning point on my career path,” Mandell said. From
there, she became a legal secretary and, later, jumped to law school, employing
her shorthand skills at every point.
“Throughout
my 20-year legal career, I utilized shorthand to take notes and draft
documents,” Mandell said. During that span, she said, she became fixated on
using shorthand to communicate different ideas in a very different way — to
express herself as an artist.
Once she left
lawyering behind and relocated to South Florida when her husband retired,
Mandell decided to pursue that idea.
This
is not a blank steno pad was
her first work in her steno pad series. It’s as much a statement about her
present as it is about her view of our present culture: Much like the absence
of ink and scrawl on Mandell’s canvas, the very jobs it represents — or, at
least, the job titles — are now part of the past.
Mandell’s
steno pad is blank, she said, “because of technology; no one uses it for its
intended purpose anymore. It represents the dying art of a beautiful, phonetic
language.”
Mandell
said after she painted the pad of paper, she’d planned to add to it a number of
life lessons — in shorthand, of course. “But every time I thought about writing
on it, I stopped. I could not bring myself to write on this one,” she said. “I
finally realized this one meant more than anything I could express with
shorthand.”