Book signing, outdoor wellness festival, charity golf: What to do around the Beaches

String quartet performs

Discover an edgy new musical vibe with a performance by ETHEL, a string quartet in a free concert on Friday, May 6, hosted by Beaches Fine Arts Series.

Established in New York City in 1998, ETHEL quickly earned a reputation as one of America’s most adventurous string quartets. More than 20 years later, the band continues to set the standard for contemporary concert music. Known for its lively blend of uptown, conservatory musicianship with downtown genre-crossing, ETHEL has been described as “indefatigable and eclectic” (The New York Times), “vital and brilliant” (The New Yorker) and “infectiously visceral” (Pitchfork).

Since its inception, ETHEL has released nine feature recordings (one of them nominated for a Native American Music Award), performed as guests on more than 40 albums, premiered 225 new works, won a Grammy with jazz legend Kurt Elling and performed in 14 countries, 45 states and 250 cities.

The church is located at 465 11th Ave. N. in Jacksonville Beach. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. and the concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Seating is first come, first served and a reception follows the performance, featuring the art of Pablo Rivera. For more details, go to BeachesFineArts.org.

Wellness festival

Grab your yoga mats and head to Johansen Park tomorrow for the fourth annual Beaches Wellfest, sponsored by Here Tomorrow.

The event steps off with a Coffee Crawl at 9 a.m., where participants may run, walk, skip or crawl a series of 1-mile loops through Atlantic Beach, with several coffee stations along the route. A free yoga session, sound healing workshop and live music from The Kalani Rose Band are on the schedule, while Precision Imaging will also be on site with its mobile mammography unit.

In addition, food trucks and a small makers market will be on hand.

Johansen Park is located at 1300 Seminole Road in Atlantic Beach. Get complete details on Facebook or Instagram @DiscoverWellfest.

Book signing

Florida author Robby Weber will be at The BookMark on Saturday, May 7, from 2 to 4 p.m. to sign copies of his new young adult novel, “If You Change Your Mind.”

Hilarious and heartfelt, Weber’s debut novel tells the story of an aspiring screenwriter who learns that sometimes love has its own script.

Harry wants nothing more than to write Hollywood screenplays. He knows the first step toward achieving that goal is winning a screenwriting competition that will seal his admission into the college of his dreams, so he's determined to spend his summer free of distractions — also known as boys — and finish his script. After last year, Harry is certain love only exists in the movies anyway.

But then the cause of his first heartbreak, Grant, returns with a secret that could change everything — not to mention, there's a new boy in town, Logan, who is so charming and sweet, he's making Harry question everything he knows about romance. As he tries to keep his emotions in check and stick to his perfect plan for the future, Harry's about to learn that life doesn't always follow a script.

Masks are required for this in-store author event. For more information, visit BookmarkBeach.com, email bkmark@bellsouth.net or call (904) 241-9026.

Charity golf tourney Monday

Take your best swing on May 9, and support Beaches Habitat for Humanity during the the annual Builders Classic Golf Tournament. Queen’s Harbour Yacht and Country Club is the venue for this year’s tournament, with all proceeds benefiting Beaches Habitat’s mission of building affordable homes in the Jacksonville Beaches.

Jeff Prosser of 1010XL‘s “The Drill” has been announced as Honorary Host. Prosser will be on hand at Queen’s Harbour to play and also welcome the golfers and sponsors.

The format for the tournament is best ball with a shotgun start at 12:30 p.m. Four Par 3 hole-in-one contests feature prizes that include a Pebble Beach golf vacation, a 2022 Land Rover Defender from Fields Auto Group and a 2022 vehicle from Nimnicht Buick GMC. Prizes will also be offered for Longest Drive, Closest to the Pin and putting contests. One player has the opportunity to shoot for $1 million, plus four lucky golfers can win a chance to shoot for $100,000.

All golfers will enjoy a boxed lunch at registration, complimentary drink tickets and an awards banquet following tournament play. More information, including online registration and sponsorships, can be found at BuildersClassic2022.com or by calling (904) 595-5794.

PV Beaches Coalition to meet

The Ponte Vedra Beaches Coalition hosts its next monthly meeting on May 9, beginning at 10 a.m.

Featured speakers include Kelly Barrera of the St. Johns County School Board, and Lisa Johnson Cook, who will provide updates on a number of county meetings.

The meeting takes place at the Ponte Vedra branch library, 101 Library Blvd., Ponte Vedra Beach. For complete details, go to PVBCoalition.org.

'Groove in the Grove' at TrailMark

Join the nature-first community of TrailMark for a day of music, fun and friends at Groove in the Grove on Saturday, May 14, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The family-friendly music festival event is free and open to all.

The event features live music by Northeast Florida’s top acts, including the Cumberland Band, The Band Be Easy and the Honey Hounds.

Plenty of noshes will be available from local food trucks, including Hapa Li, Mama’s Food, Saffron, Mister Softee, and Tikiz Shaved Ice and Ice Cream. There will also be a beer and wine tent as well as a variety of beverages for purchase. In addition, a family fun zone will offer face painting, rock climbing and a giant slide, while the community’s Adventure Trail and playground are open to all. In addition, the market area will feature local vendors offering jewelry, artwork, plants and more.

Visit EventBrite at https://bit.ly/3FfhotU for complete details and free tickets, and follow TrailMark on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates.

Archaeology talk: Egyptian tombs

The Archaeological Institute of America — Jacksonville Society will meet at noon on Saturday, May 21, in Building 51 at the University of North Florida to hear a lecture by Dr. Melinda Hartwig of Emory University.

Her lecture, “All the King’s Men: Officials’ Tombs in New Kingdom Thebes,” will discuss her 30-year project documenting the rock-cut tombs of New Kingdom officials in the Noble’s Necropolis of western Thebes in modern day Luxor. Hartwig will discuss the superbly painted scenes that offer a window into nobles’ careers, families and Egypt’s cultural history.

Free and open to the public, the lecture will be followed by complimentary refreshments in the Physical Anthropology Lab. On Saturday, parking is free, with staff, faculty and vendor spaces available to everyone.

For more information, contact Melva Price at (904) 241-9411 or aiajaxsoc@gmail.com.

Submit events to shorelines@jacksonville.com.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: LEADING OFF: What to do around the Beaches