Plan ahead for June 17-30: Art shows, ballet, a wine dinner and yoga at the Avenue

Maria Sonnenberg
For FLORIDA TODAY

Virtually very fair

The art gallery is as far away as your tablet or laptop as Florida Tech’s Renee Foosaner Education Center hosts a virtual art fair showcasing more than 200 pieces from Brevard students.

“Many local student art shows and exhibitions have been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic,” said Elizabeth Peterson, curator of education at the center.

“Students have worked hard all year to create and showcase their art, and we wanted to give them that opportunity.”

The Education Center worked with art teachers across Brevard Public Schools to encourage students to submit their art.The show features paintings, drawings, sculpture and more from students in elementary, middle and high schools.

A link to the virtual gallery is available under the “Exhibitions” tab at foosanerartmuseum.org. The virtual show runs through August.

The Foosaner Art Museum proper has reopened, with operating hours running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesdays through Saturdays. As a safety precaution all visitors and staff members are required to wear masks inside the museum.

The current exhibition encompasses the works of the Florida Artist Group. The show runs through July 25.

Dancers from Galmont Ballet will take the stage at Cocoa Village Playhouse for two performances Saturday, June 27.

Time to pirouette, again

Galmont Ballet takes the spotlight once again when it returns to Cocoa Village Playhouse for performances at 2 and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 27.

“We will be the first dance company returning to stage performances in the state of Florida and possibly in the nation, in an effort to retake normalcy,” said Lucia Montero.

The Playhouse’s resident ballet company is resuming its season with a one-hour production featuring Frank Galvez’s innovative choreography and the advanced dancers of the Galmont Youth Ballet Company and professional dancers Daliana Gutierrez and Reagan Ramsey.

The show will have no intermission to avoid crowds in the lobby.

Tickets range from $18 to $26. To purchase, call the box office at 321-636-5050 or visit cocoavillageplayhouse.com.

Hot off the press

If you are looking for some escapist summer reading to make you forget your pandemic troubles, Rockledge romance writer Leigh Duncan has just the “write” stuff with her hot-off-the-press book, “A Cottage Wedding.”

Second in a series of sweet romances for Hallmark Publishing, the book is set in Heart’s Landing near famed Newport, Rhode Island. Known as America’s Top Wedding Destination, the tree-lined avenues carry names such as Bridal Carriage Way and sport shops such as I Do Cakes.

During its first week alone, the book received 30 five-star reviews at Amazon.

The prolific Duncan, a National Readers’ Choice Award winner, is the author of more than 24 novels, novellas and short stories. Hallmark chose her “Journey Back to Christmas” to introduce its new line of romance novels.

Duncan grew up in Brevard before heading to Guam, Los Angeles and the D.C. metropolitan area with her husband. The couple moved back to Brevard in 1990.

For more, see leighduncan.com or visit her on Facebook.

Two in a row

Because its July 9’s “A Night in Sonoma” quickly sold out, Green Turtle Market renamed the wine dinner “Two Nights in Sonoma” and added Friday, July 10, to the calendar.

The 7 p.m. extravaganza features afive-course menu features pf house-smoked tuna and salmon poke, rock shrimp hash on toasted boniato cake, herbed Porcini mushroom ravioli, Wagyu beef cheeks and mini Pavlova with Grand Marnier, all paired with Sonoma valley wine selections.

Cost is $99.99 per guest, which includes a $15 credit toward purchases of wines featured that evening.

Prepaid reservations are required. Call 321-773-2001.

For full menu, see greenturtlemarket.com.

The Green Turtle has also resumed its free weekend wine tastings from 4 to 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Half a dozen interesting vinos are usually on the program, and the winemakers are often there, too. Cheese and crackers are complimentary, too.

Tastings change weekly and encompass wines from around the globe. +The event has been moved from the market proper to the Grapevine Café to observe current distancing protocols.

Blue content

Strawbridge Art League has reopened with “Classic Blue,” a members’ show centered around the color blue, which considering how we are all feeling these days, is the perfect color for the season.

The show runs through July 31 at the gallery, 819 E. Strawbridge Ave., downtown Melbourne. Admission is free.

For more information, call 321-952-3070.

Also back in action

Art Gallery of Viera at The Avenue is back, with hours that run from noon to 7 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

For more, see artgalleryofviera.com.

In-person yoga classes have also resumed at The Avenue. Classes are held from 8 to 9 a.m. on Saturdays through Aug. 29. Social distancing is in effect and bring your own mat and blocks. Tune to Facebook Group page for more details.

Ryan Rhoads from Digital Caricatures Live will offer complimentary caricature art from noon to 4 p.m., Saturday, June 27, at The Avenue’s Central Park. The set up will ensure safe social distancing and the work will be delivered digitally to avoid direct contact.

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