Best Bets: Theater, concerts, art openings, historic home tours on tap for this weekend
Support local journalism: Find offers for new subscribers here: Special Offers — FLORIDA TODAY.
Want to read our e-Edition? Here are some tips for getting the best experience.
Due to potential changes and cancellations, we encourage you to check with presenting organizations about the status of their events.
Melbourne orchestra begins fall season
Melbourne Community Orchestra looks forward to a cooler part of the year with “Fall into Music,” a pair of free concerts at 7 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 7 and 8, at Melbourne Auditorium, 625 Hibiscus Blvd.
The eclectic program will feature sea shanties, a Strauss waltz, a Beatles medley and selections from “The Merry Widow,” the “Peer Gynt Suite” and the “Adagio” from “Spartacus,” along with featured performances from the orchestra's principal flute, clarinet and oboe players.
The concerts mark the first two performances of the orchestra's 2022-23 season. Doors open at 6 p.m. for best seating.
“Our musicians can’t wait to perform once again for the people of Brevard,” said conductor Mark Nelson.
New this season for the Community Orchestra are pre-show ensembles performing onstage for the entertainment of the gathering audience. There’s more, too.
“In addition to six themed concerts this season, we’ll be performing our first concert for children and a special concert to benefit the homeless,” Nelson said.
Call 321-285-6724 or visit MCOrchestra.org for more information.
Dwight Icenhower and The Rocket Band
Five-time world champion Elton John tribute artist Dwight Icenhower and The Rocket Band will perform one night only at The Tangiers, 4500 Dixie Highway, Unit 1A, Palm Bay.
This concert focuses on the years of 1970s and ‘80s of Elton John's career and will include popular songs like “Yellow Brick Road” and “Remember When Rock was Young.” The show at the Vegas-style entertainment venue will be at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3. Tickets start at $46. Call 321-327-8759 or visit thetangiersflorida.com.
Free Love
The Rad Movement hosts this free event at Rad Ink Tattoo & Piercing, 760 W. New Haven Ave., Melbourne, on Friday, Sept. 2 from 5 to 10 p.m. It will include vendors, live entertainment, raffles, refreshments and a meet-and-greet with “Ink Masters” season 5 competitor Robbie Ripoll. The first 50 guests can receive free “love” tattoos with the idea of paying it forward by doing a good deed. Call 321-499-3357 or visit radinkflorida.com.
Special Olympics fundraiser
Sons of the American Legion Squadron 200 will host a Texas Hold 'Em poker tournament on Saturday Sept. 3, at American Legion Post 200, 105 Ocean Blvd, Satellite Beach. Registration begins at noon and the tournament begins at 1 p.m. Proceeds will benefit Special Olympics. A donation of $30 includes the event and food. Call 321-610-1412.
Pure Florida-winning artist exhibit
For September, Fifth Avenue Art Gallery will go “Face to Face” with a solo exhibition of the works of Eliza Pineau Casler, first place winner of Fifth Avenue Art Gallery’s 2022 100% Pure Florida” juried show. Casler’s realistic portraiture is being showcased this month at the gallery, 1470 Highland Ave., in the Eau Gallie Arts District.
Born in France, Casler embraced the United States as her own, and has resided in Florida since 1977. Comfortable with oils, acrylics, pastels and charcoal, she earned a dual degree in studio/fine arts and graphic design and worked in both the printing and graphic design fields.
Casler belongs to the Portrait Society of America and exhibits her artworks with the Women Artists Group, the Florida Women’s Arts Association and at the Art League of Daytona. A free opening reception runs from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 2. The show continues through the month.
The gallery is also featuring “Local Color,” a pop-up show by plein air impressionist Emily Neel, who specializes in beach-themed works. Fifth Avenue Art Gallery is at 1470 Highland Ave. in the Eau Gallie Arts District. Visit fifthavenueartgallery.com or call 321-259-8261.
Still playing
‘The Little Mermaid’: The musical is on stage at the Henegar Center, 625 E. New Haven Ave., Melbourne through Sept. 11. Based on the classic animated Disney film, this show follows the beautiful young mermaid Ariel as she longs to leave her magical kingdom under the sea to live in the world above. Tickets start at $34. Call 321-723-8698 or visit henegarcenter.com.
“Assassins”: Melbourne Civic Theatre, 817 E. Strawbridge Ave., presents the musical through Sept. 11. The show explores the dark side of the American experience through the lives of the nine people who assassinated or tried to assassinate the President of the United States, from John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald. Tickets are $30. Call 321-723-6935 or visit mymct.org.
Cake decorating classes in Satellite Beach
A five-week “Classic Cakes” course will run Thursdays in September from 6 to 9 p.m. at Florida Academy of Baking, 1370 S.R. A1A, Suite E, Satellite Beach. Classes will meet Sept. 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29.
The course covers five classic cakes, complete with complimentary frostings.
Participants will learn multiple techniques and receive an offset spatula and complete recipes with variations to recreate these cakes at home. Most importantly, they can take home everything they bake. The class covers Black Magic Cake, Triple Vanilla Molly Cake, Hummingbird Cake, Red Velvet Cake and Boston Cream Pie Cake.
Individual cake classes are $149; attendance at the five-week series costs $596.
Florida Academy of Baking offers a variety of individual classes, private events and Chef Nights. Register at fabbaker.com or 321-622-6185.
Eau Gallery celebrates Indian River Lagoon
The riches of the Indian River Lagoon provide plenty of subject matter for “Life on Our Lagoon,” Eau Gallery’s show for the month of September. The show, which runs through Sept. 30, in in support of the Marine Resources Council and features the works of local artists using the theme of the Lagoon and its residents.
“Life on Our Lagoon” opens with a free reception from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 2, at the Gallery, 1429 Highland Ave., in the Eau Gallie Arts District. Visit eaugallery.com or call 321-253-5553.
Historic homes open for tours
Historic Lawndale, the thoroughly restored museum home on scenic River Road in Rockledge, will hosts docent-led tours from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 3. Visitors will discover what it was like to live in Central Florida in 1895 by touring this unique house at 1219 Rockledge Drive, just 1 mile south of Cocoa Village. Admission $10 for adults. Call 321-632-5650 or visit FriendsofLawndale.com.
Also open for tours in September is Green Gables at Historic Riverview Village, 1501 S. Harbor City Blvd., Melbourne. The Queen Anne-style residence, built in 1896, has survived for 126 years. Preserving the home’s rich history significantly enhances Brevard’s connection to its past. Admission is $10 for adults and free for children. Tour donations are used for the rehabilitation and restoration of the historic home and its family legacy. Visit greengables.org.
Rolling Readers volunteers needed
Rolling Readers Space Coast is welcoming volunteers back into classrooms for the 2022-2023 school year. In person, with or without a mask, volunteers will “make a difference in a child’s life, one book at a time.” All that is required is a desire to work with children, a love of reading and 30 minutes to one hour per week of time available. Volunteers range in age from 18 to the sky’s the limit. Visit rollingreadersspacecoast.org or call 321-254-9976.
'Poetry - A Labor of Love'
Labor Day weekend, the Florida Tech Alumni Center, 2600 Country Club Road, Melbourne, will host a Labor of Love program celebrating the creativity of poets, the beauty of poems and the joy of reading or listening to these unique works of art. The free event is slated from 1 to 3 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 3.
Guest speakers are Dr. Scott Tilley and Kit Adams. Tilley, president and founder of Precious Publishing, is professor emeritus at Florida Tech, president and founder of the Center for Technology & Society, president and co-founder of Big Data Florida and a Space Coast Writers’ Guild Fellow. His recent books include “Aftermath,” “Pets” and “Pandemic.”
Adams’ writings have been published in journals from England to Hawaii, California to Florida. His poetry readings in Missouri and Florida have been well received. A former vice president of Space Coast Writers’ Guild, Adams retired from teaching English in Brevard County and Florida Virtual School and was a mentor with the National Writing Project. He is current president of the Brevard Scribblers. His first poetry collection, “Spanish Cedar: Preserving the ART of the Cigar Experience,” appeared in March 2014.
Call 321-604-1294 or email stilley@preciouspublishing.biz.
Samsons Island Boat Tours
The City of Satellite Beach provides transportation to and from Samsons Island conservation area and nature park on the first Sunday of each month at 1 p.m, weather permitting. Samsons Island is a 52-acre passive nature island in the Banana River open dawn to dusk. Due to increased popularity and limited availability, advance reservations for the boat shuttle are required. Visit satellitebeach.org.
Free movie in the park
The Marvel movie ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ (PG-13) will be shown outdoors at Mitchell Ellington Park, 575 W. Hall Road, Merritt Island, on Friday, Sept. 2 at 8 p.m. Bring lawn chairs or blankets. Admission is free. The event may be canceled in case of severe weather. Call 321-633-1874 or visit facebook.com/events/628663471586328.
Support local journalism: Find offers for new subscribers here: Special Offers — USATodayNetwork.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Things to do on Space Coast: Melbourne orchestra, historic home tours
