Wine and Cheese with local artists

Dec. 14--Several area artists will host a wine and cheese reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Main Street Antiques, 201 Main St., Leesburg. A variety of original works, prints, note cards and pottery will be for sale from local artists Evelyne Albanese, Yvonne Faevearyear, CZ Hamilton, Jeanine Johnson, Suzanne Pelcha and Carmella Catutti.

All the artists regularly showcase at Main Street Antiques, which opened in September.

The entire store will also be open, and door prizes will be handed out. Details: 352-978-3462.

Concert series

The lineup for the 2009-10 season of the Mount Dora Community Concert Series will feature a mixture of music from an evening of jazz, bluegrass and pop to a performance by the Canadian Tenors to a musical revue showcasing Hollywood movie favorites.

The new year will bring the Canadian Tenors, dubbed "Canada's National Treasure," to the stage Jan. 15. The foursome's repertoire features a mix of music and sounds from theater, classical, operetta and alternative world pop in various languages including English, Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Maltese.

Musical prodigy Rudolf Budginas will headline Feb. 13.

The pianist was born into a family of musicians in Lithuania, began his studies at the age of 4 and made his debut at 9 with the Lithuania National Symphony.

The season will end March 13 with "Red Hot Hollywood!" A versatile cast of 11 will sing, dance and re-create magical movie memories from the 1930s to the present -- Singin' in the Rain, Wizard of Oz, Chicago, Grease and Hairspray.

All concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium at Mount Dora High School, Eighth Avenue and Highland Street.

Concertgoers are encouraged to bring donations of canned food and toiletry items to the performance, which will be given to Lakes Cares food pantry in Mount Dora.

Tickets are $25 per show. Tickets, 352-383-1165.

Performing arts series

There's something for the entire family at the 2009-10 Lake-Sumter Community College Foundation's annual George O. Pringle Performing Arts Series.

The Brass Band of Central Florida will present a program of Christmas and holiday favorites Dec. 12.

The band has 30 Central Florida brass and percussion musicians who perform in the traditional British brass-band style with an American twist. The group competes nationally and internationally and has won many awards.

On Jan. 9, the Golden Dragon Acrobats, a troupe of athletes and aerialists from China, will combine contemporary theatrical techniques and traditional dance as they showcase their talents from juggling umbrellas to scampering up poles and balancing on bicycles.

Rekindle the flame in the hearth with stories, music, song and dance from Ireland's cultural heritage by spending an afternoon with storyteller Tomaseen Foley as the stage unfolds with a boot-stomping and flagstone-sparking Celtic show on Feb. 20.

The final show, Radio Days, set for March 6, will feature music popular from 1941 to 1945 and is a tribute to World War II soldiers. Five by Design, a song-and-dance group from Minneapolis, will present the musical journey.

All shows will be in the Paul P. Williams Fine Arts Theater at the college's Leesburg campus, 9501 U.S. Highway 441. All performances are scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturdays. Tickets are $95 for the season or $20 for each show.

To order tickets or for more information, call 352-365-3506.

New Rascals in concert

Many of the well-known songs of the 1960s group The Young Rascals were Top 10 hits, including "It's a Beautiful Morning," "A Girl Like You," "How Can I Be Sure" and their No. 1 hits "Good Lovin'," "Groovin'" and "People Got to Be Free."

A lot of those songs can still be heard on radio stations, but you can catch the New Rascals live at the field house at Christian Home & Bible School, 301 W. 13th Ave., Mount Dora, at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27.

Original members of The Young Rascals included Gene Cornish, Dino Danelli, Eddie Brigati and Felix Cavaliere. The quartet combined the British Invasion's pop sense with soul music. The group later became the Rascals before disbanding in 1972.

The Rascals reunited for a brief tour in 1988 featuring Cornish, Danelli and Cavaliere. They returned to the road again in the '90s but lasted only a short time. In 2006, the group remerged as the New Rascals with Cornish, Danelli and two new members, Bill Pascali (formerly of Vanilla Fudge) and Charlie Souza (formerly with Tom Petty's original band).

The Rascals were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. The Rascals were also inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2005.

The concert also will feature Laurie Ann Fondiler, a stand-up comedian, who talks about her weight, dog, husband, menopause and more during her act. She also plays parodies on her ukulele.

The Mount Dora Library Association and Waterman Communities are presenting the event.

Tickets are $30. Proceeds will benefit the W.T. Bland Public Library in Mount Dora and its programs.

The Rotary Club of Mount Dora also has planned a dinner in the school's cafeteria, renamed "The Jersey Cafe" for the event. Cost is $10 a person and includes fried chicken, baked potato, green beans, coleslaw, roll, dessert and iced tea or coffee. There will be two seatings, 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. Proceeds will benefit the Mount Dora Library Association and the Rotary's youth scholarship fund.

Tickets for both events are available at the library, 1995 N. Donnelly St.; Uncle Al's Time Capsule, 140 E. Fourth Ave.; Mount Dora Area Chamber of Commerce, 341 Alexander St.; visit mountdoralibrary.com. For group tickets, call 352-383-8808.

Orchestra Christmas Concert

The Florida Lakes Symphony Orchestra will present The Glorious Sounds of Christmas concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at St. Patrick Catholic Church, 6803 Old U.S. Highway 441, Mount Dora.

Artistic director Guy Saint-Clair will conduct the two-part concert that will begin with secular favorites and transition into more spiritual selections.

The first half of the concert will feature Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride" "Frosty, the Snowman," "Winter Wonderland" and "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire."

Vivaldi's "Winter" from "Four Seasons" will begin the second half, with concertmaster Constantin Dmitrov as a soloist. Saint-Clair's arrangement of "O Come O Come Emmanuel" will be followed by "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "Adeste Fidelis."

The final medley will be four pieces of holiday favorites, including "It's Christmas Time" and "Jingle Bells."

Tickets are $42 and will be available at the door. For reservations or for more information, call 352-589-1500.

Lyric Opera series

The Central Florida Lyric Opera and its production company, Music Live Inc., will present its 2009-10 season featuring three fully-staged operas, a lighthearted Broadway musical concert and Three Tenors Plus One -- take-off of the famous Three Tenors.

The series will be in the Paul P. Williams Fine Arts Auditorium at Lake-Sumter Community College's Leesburg campus, 9501 U.S. Highway 441.

Next up is The Marriage of Figaro, one of Mozart's outstanding comic operas, on Jan. 23 and 24. Figaro, Count Almaviva's valet, and Figaro's bride-to-be, Susanna, are preparing for their wedding, but in the course of the opera, they're faced with one complication after another.

Actor Grant Norman, who has made his mark on Broadway, film and television, will star in "Encore! Broadway on Tour" scheduled for Feb. 6 and 7. Norman starred in Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon on Broadway in the 1990s. He went on to play the role of Beast in Disney's touring company of Beauty and the Beast and later played Gaston in the Broadway production in the mid-2000s. "Broadway on Tour" will feature the Music Live ensemble of singers as they perform a tribute to the music and drama of Broadway.

Il Trovatore, one of the top operas in the world, will be March 20 and 21. The opera tells the story of how a daughter's devotion to vengeance turns into a mother's despair for her son.

The final show will be Three Tenors Plus One accompanied by Bill Doherty, artistic director and president of Music Live, on April 25 and 26. The singers will have the audience laughing out loud as they competitively weave pranks and insults on one another while they thrill you with songs operas and Broadway. A surprise female performer will heat things up.

All Saturday and Monday shows are at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Individual tickets per show are $28 for adults, $25 for seniors, $10 for students in kindergarten through college. Group rates are available for 15 or more people.

To order tickets, call 1-800-624-8038, Ext. 1, between noon and 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays. Season subscriptions may be purchased online at centralfloridalyricopera.org.

Crafts for Cancer

Crafts for Cancer, a volunteer group that supports the Lake-Sumter Unit of the American Cancer Society, is seeking crafters to make items to be sold at fundraising events. Volunteer crafters meet from 9 to 11 a.m. the first and third Mondays of the month from November through March.

Bev Bennett from New York will teach the group how to make items.

The group meets in the fellowship hall of First United Methodist Church, 600 S. Grove St., Eustis. Some of the handmade items are given to cancer patients at Florida Hospital Waterman Cancer Center in Tavares, American Cancer Society's Leesburg office and the Hope Lodge in Gainesville.

Donated items, fabric and materials are accepted.

Proceeds will benefit cancer patients in Lake and Sumter counties.

Items not used by patients will be available , 901 N. Central Ave.; Feb. 9 at the annual Cancer Survivors Dinner at Eustis Community Center, 601 Northshore Drive; Feb. 27 at the annual George Washington's Birthday Festival in Eustis; the annual fundraising craft sale in March in front of the Mount Dora Walmart off U.S. Highway 441; and the 2010 Relay for Life.

Details: Joan Grant, 352-253-0086.

Sunday afternoon concert

Jane Christeson, mezzo-soprano, and a vocal ensemble will be featured at the next Sunday Afternoon Community Concert Series from 3 to 5 p.m. Nov. 22.

Christeson has had a varied career in opera, oratorio and music theater. She has appeared with various opera companies. Her primary focus in recent years has been her career as a college voice teacher. She taught at Northern Kentucky University and Daytona State College before joining the faculty of Stetson University in DeLand as an assistant professor in 1996.

The series is presented by Lake Eustis Institute and are at the Eustis Woman's Club, 227 N. Center St.

Tea will be served by members of the Woman's Club during intermission.

Upcoming performances include soloist Diana Blanchard on Dec. 20; Ann Adams and woodwind ensemble on Jan. 24; Lynn Musco and clarinet choir on Feb. 28; and David Schmidt and brass ensemble. Schmidt is the brass ensemble director and low-brass instructor at Stetson.

Tickets for individual concerts are $10 for LEI members and $15 for nonmembers.

Reservations: 352-357-3995 or lakeeustisinstitute.org.

'Night of the Arts'

The GFWC Umatilla Woman's club is sponsoring a "Night of the Arts" program, which will feature local artists, musicians, singers and dancers, on Jan. 29 at Umatilla First Baptist Church.

The artists' works will be on display before the musical program and during a 30-minute intermission.

Those who are interested should contact Lynn Cline at 407-695-3724 or lynncline@cfl.rr.com.

Painting Demonstration

The Camellia Garden Club of Eustis will host "One Stroke Painting," a demonstration by Julia Van Beck at 1 p.m. January 5. Members of the club are invited to learn how to paint using this technique. The event will be held at the Lake County Agricultural Center, 1951 Woodlea Road, Tavares. Details: 352-357-3712.

Kids Theater Registration

The Melon Patch Players will hold registration for the spring session of its children's division from 4 to 6 p.m. Jan. 14 at the theater, 311 N. 13{+t}{+h} St., Leesburg. Classes will be held Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning Jan. 19. The K-5 group will meet from 4 to 5 p.m., followed by the Senior group (6{+t}{+h} grade through high school) from 5:15 to 6:45 p.m. Each group will perform in April. There is a $15 registration fee, and the $150 semester cost is due by the first class. Details: 352-787-3013.

Items to be considered should be submitted to Debbie Manis, The arts in Lake, Orlando Sentinel, 1898 E. Burleigh Blvd., Tavares, FL 32778, faxed to 352-742-5938 or e-mailed to dmanis@orlandosentinel.com

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