CULTURE & COCKTAILS Presents ‘Cool People Doing Neat Stuff’ in 2021

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Cultural Council for Palm Beach County

Announces 16th Annual Season of

CULTURE & COCKTAILS

‘Cool People Doing Neat Stuff!’

(Lake Worth Beach, FL – January 5, 2021) Dave Lawrence, President & CEO of the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County today announced the rest of this 16th annual season of CULTURE & COCKTAILS. The popular series is presenting three more fascinating conversations—the next two held virtually, with the traditional musical finale to be presented live at The Colony Hotel’s Coral Ballroom, located at 155 Hammon Avenuein Palm Beach.

The fun theme for this season of CULTURE & COCKTAILS is Cool People Doing Neat Stuff! The series started last month with Hollywood Historian Scott Eyman, the award-winning author of the new book Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise, as well as best-selling biographies of John Wayne, Robert Wagner, Cecil B. DeMille, John Ford, Lewis B. Mayer, and best buddies Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart. Nearly 200 people watched live online as he was interviewed by Lynn KalberBoca Magazine columnist and food editor (a/k/a Mrs. Eyman).

Coming up:

February 1 – 6 to 7 pm   

Cultural Dynamos

Douglas C. Evans

+ Douglas C. Evans, Executive Director of The Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach, has been an international cultural leader for more than three decades. In addition to being CEO of Premiere Global Partners an international consulting firm, he most recently held the position of Chief Development, Marketing and Communications Officer for the Perez Museum of Art in Miami. He was the Founder of Classical South Florida Radio, and has held the position of Chief Operating Officer of Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment and President of Broadway China Ventures. A prolific producer of Broadway musicals and plays, he has worked with a galaxy of classic stars, including Barbara Cook, Carol Lawrence, Nell Carter, Ann Miller, John Raitt, Juliet Prowse and Shirley MacLaine.

Marjorie Waldo

+ Marjorie Waldo, President & CEO of Arts Garage in Delray Beach, delivers innovative, diverse, meaningful and accessible visual and performing arts experiences to multi-cultural audiences. “The transformative nature of the Arts moves us, and Arts Garage is proud to connect our community to the world through the arts,” she says. Waldo earned her BA in Drama from the University of Virginia and an MA in Educational Leadership from FAU, A career educator with over 25 years’ experience, she worked for several decades as a high school principal at Tomorrow’s Promise Community School and as an education consultant focused on working with students facing debilitating societal and personal obstacles. A non-profit turn-around expert, Waldo has been running Arts Garage since 2016.

Interviewed by Dave Lawrence, President & CEO of the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County

Note: The second virtual CULTURE & COCKTAILS is FREE for everyone, both Cultural Council members and nonmembers. RSVP ASAP with Debbie Calabria at 561.472.3330 (or visit www.palmbeachculture.com/cocktails and she will email instructions on how to connect live).

March 1 – 5 to 7 pm   (via Zoom)

Bosom Buddies:

A Dishy Chat Between Faith Prince & Rob Russell

+ Faith Prince has been dazzling Broadway audiences since winning the Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for her performance as “Ms. Adelaide” in Guys and Dolls. As one of Broadway’s best loved leading ladies, she also won rave reviews and numerous Tony Award nominations for roles in such hits as Annie, A Catered Affair, Bells are Ringing, The Little Mermaid, Nick & Nora, Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, Noises Off, and Disaster, among others. On television, she has had recurring roles in Modern Family, Drop Dead Diva, and Spin City. She has sold-out cabarets and concert halls around the world, and recorded the album Total Faith at The Colony Hotel, Palm Beach.

+ Rob Russell was the longtime Entertainment Director & Emcee for the world famous Royal Room cabaret at The Colony Hotel. From his audience-wowing one man shows to occasional gigs as an announcer on Legends Radio, the ever dapper, occasional tapper Russell has been known to cause music lovers and fans of the Great American Songbook to jump up, dance between tables, and join in the revelry. He performs regularly at Café Centro in the Northwood Village neighborhood of West Palm Beach and The Pelican Café in Lake Park, and recently released his first CD, Hello Again. He is also a longtime chum of Ms. Prince.

Note: The third virtual CULTURE & COCKTAILS is FREE for Supporter, Contributor, Patron and Business Arts Partner level members of the Cultural Council, and $15 per person for nonmembers. RSVP ASAP with Debbie Calabria at 561.472.3330 (or visit www.palmbeachculture.com/cocktails and she will email instructions on how to connect live).

April 5 – 5 to 7 pm   

Wayne Hosford

& Stars of Tomorrow

Postponed from last season: Our annual musical finale of this series will feature a conversation with and performance by Wayne Hosford, an award-winning entertainer, singer, comedian, actor and composer, who tickles the keys regularly at Club Colette in Palm Beach, was featured in five different shows at The Colony Hotel’s Royal Room, and has appeared with many cabaret giants (Michael Feinstein, Ann Hampton Callaway, Marilyn Maye). He will introduce musical performances by some amazing young talents, including:

+ Kai Alivia, 18, is the recipient of the 2016 Young Artist’s Award for the Society of the Great American Songbook, and has performed with her musical mentors Jill & Rich Switzer, and at such legendary venues as the Palladium, Carnegie Hall, Birdland Jazz Club, and the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.

Tyler Corbett, 11, a sixth grader at St. Vincent Ferrer School, has performed in shows both there and at the Lake Worth Playhouse, and is a three-year member of the Delray Summer Sing Camp.

+ Kaylee Owen, 8, a second grader at Plumosa School of the Arts, performs as both a singer and pianist with the hip-hop dance club, K-2 Choir, and the Delray Summer Sing Camp.

+ Zachary Lee Williams, a 17-year-old piano player who has performed with the Kretzer Kids, has been described as “an old soul with a classy touch, defying his young age.”

Interviewed by Kathi Kretzer, Founder & President of the Kretzer Music Foundation.

Note: The Yamaha Grand Piano at this event is generously provided by Piano Distributors in Jupiter.

Note: Admission to this season’s final CULTURE & COCKTAILS At The Colony is $75 per person in advance; $85 at the door, $125 for VIP Seating, and FREE for Supporter, Contributor, Patron and Business Arts Partner level members of the Cultural Council. RSVP with Debbie Calabria at 561.472.3330 (or visit www.palmbeachculture.com/cocktails).

The 2020-2021 season of CULTURE & COCKTAILS is generously sponsored so far by The Roe Green Foundation, Roe Green, Founder; Scott Teich, Teich Wealth Management of Raymond James; The Palm Beach Daily News; Legends Radio; and PR-BS, a Boca-based public relations firm.Additional sponsorship opportunities are still available.

Please Note:

All proceeds from CULTURE & COCKTAILS go to support the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County’s mission to champion, engage and grow the arts in Palm Beach County. For membership information, please contact Debbie Calabria at 561.472.3330.

Also:

Topics and speakers are subject to change depending upon the availability of scheduled participants. 

ABOUT THE CULTURAL COUNCIL FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY:

The Cultural Council for Palm Beach County is the only organization solely dedicated to supporting arts and culture in The Palm Beaches, Florida’s Cultural Capital®. In its sustaining effort to foster growth of the cultural sector, the Council provides support services to cultural organizations and creative professionals, administers public and private grant programs, advocates for cultural funding, enhances local arts education, and promotes cultural tourism.

The Council serves as a venue highlighting works by Palm Beach County visual and performing artists at its headquarters in the historic Robert M. Montgomery, Jr. Building in Downtown Lake Worth Beach. The building is also home to the Roe Green Uniquely Palm Beach Store featuring items by local artisans; the Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf Visitor Information Center; and the outdoor Project Space, offering the best view of the building’s iconic Martin Luther King Jr. mural by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra.

The Cultural Council’s galleries are now open to the public with reduced days/hours (Tuesday-Fridays, noon-5 pm) and limited capacity, but will close for the holidays the weeks of December 21 and December 28.