Coastal Companion

Your ultimate guide to the coast

Juneteenth at Telfair

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JUNETEENTH AT TELFAIR – Savannah, Georgia

June 14-19, 2010
Juneteenth: A Celebration of Freedom

In June, the Telfair proudly presents its third annual Juneteenth Festival, celebrating the anniversary of the end of slavery in the United States. This year’s event focuses on the roots of African music as well as its impact on American music. Throughout the week, the Telfair will present programs at multiple sites to explore black history, culture, and identity. Highlights include a talk by author and political commentator Farai Chideya, a performance by the renowned Senegalese rap group the Gokh-Bi System, and the third annual Juneteenth Family Day.

The Telfair will kick-off the 2010 Juneteenth festival on Monday, June 14, with an opening ceremony featuring storytelling by Aunt Pearlie Sue. Aunt Pearlie Sue is the creation of Anita Singleton-Prather, a native of the Sea Islands in Beaufort County, South Carolina. From 6:30-7:30 pm, the Aunt Pearlie Sue character, based on Prather’s grandmother, will entertain visitors with Gullah-flavored stories and folktales.

Owens-Thomas House Tour/Talk:
“How the Owens-Thomas House Got the Thomas Name”
June 15, 5 pm
Telfair’s Owens-Thomas House

Lecture by Multimedia Journalist Farai Chideya:
“The Color of Our Future: Race in the 21st Century”
June 17, 7 pm
Second African Baptist Church, 123 Houston Street
A former host of NPR’s News and Notes, Chideya is an award-winning political reporter and writer who has worked in print, television, and radio, as well as online. She has authored several books, including Kiss the Sky and Don’t Believe the Hype: Fighting Cultural Misinformation about African Americans.

Akonting Workshop with Sana Ndiaye of the Gokh-Bi System
Presented in collaboration with the Ships of the Sea Museum
June 18, 6 pm
Ships of the Sea Museum, 41 Martin Luther King Boulevard, Museum Garden Pavilion
Musician Sana Ndiaye will lead a workshop on playing the akonting—a stringed, banjo-like instrument used in parts of West Africa including Senegal and Gambia. Bring your akonting or come by to listen. Registration requested.

Juneteenth Family Day
June 19, 10 am – 1 pm
Telfair’s Jepson Center
This fun-filled morning features storytelling, instrument-making demonstrations, and more!

Family Day Schedule

10-10:10 am
Welcome with Drumming/Libations – Majied /J’miah

10:10-10:50 am
J’miah’s Juneteenth Storytelling

10:50-11:10 am
Health Restoration 101:
Presentation by Carolyn Guilford, Consulting Nutritionist

11:10am-11:40 am
Juneteenth and the Puppet People Theater

11:40 am-12 pm
World Music Interlude: “Hanif aboard the Black Star Liner”

12-12:30 pm
Conversation with Sana and Tony Pizzo, Director of Ships of Sea Museum (Musician Sana Ndiaye)

12:30p m
World Music Interlude and Broom Jumping with Sista V and Jahwalks

Activity Stations
Eckburg Atrium
Health Talk – Carolyn Guilford
Oral History Table – Barbara Fertig, Volunteer (Dr. Barbara Fertig, Preofessor of History at Armstrong Atlantic State University
Basket-weaving Demonstration – Jery Taylor

Gokh-Bi System/Rap Tassu from Senegal Concert
Presented in collaboration with the Ships of the Sea Museum
June 19, 5-7 pm
Ships of the Sea Museum, North Garden
Recognized as one of the leaders in contemporary African music, the Gokh-Bi System unites hip-hop with its ancient West African roots. The group uses a variety of instruments, including djembe drums and the traditional, stringed akonting, while rapping in English, French, Arabic, and Wolof.

All Juneteenth programs are free of charge and open to the public, thanks to project funding provided by the City of Savannah. Additional support for selected programs has been provided by the Ships of the Sea Museum.

telfair museum, savannah, georgia

World Golf Hall of Fame Military Appreciation

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WORLD GOLF HALL OF FAME OFFERS THANKS TO MILITARY WITH SPECIAL OFFER

This summer, the World Golf Hall of Fame will say “thanks” to men and women who serve and protect our country. Currently serving and retired members of the military, as well as reserve forces, can enjoy complimentary admission from Memorial Day weekend, Sat., May 29th through Independence Day weekend, Mon., July 5th.

The offer allows free entrance into the World Golf Hall of Fame and one round on the Hall’s 18-hole, natural-grass putting course. A government-issued military photo identification will be required upon entry to receive the offer.

The World Golf Hall of Fame honors the history of the game by preserving the legacies of the world’s greatest players and contributors. In the museum, located at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Fla., the Hall of Fame serves as a steward of the game through elaborate storytelling and exhibits featuring artifacts, works of art and photography significant to the history of golf and its members.
World Golf Hall of Fame at World Golf Village I-95, Exit 323, St. Augustine, Fla.

Memorial Day weekend, Sat., May 29th through Independence Day weekend, Mon., July 5th
www.WorldGolfHallofFame.org or 904-940-4123

Great Southern Tailgate Cookoff in Amelia Island, Florida

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The Amelia Island Convention & Visitors Bureau (AICVB) has opened the entry process for The First Annual Great Southern Tailgate Cookoff, scheduled for August 27-28.  Interested teams can register to participate in the barbeque competition until August 13, with a $50 discount for all entries submitted before June 1.

The Great Southern Tailgate Cookoff will be held at Main Beach on Amelia Island, and include entries on both the professional and amateur level. Teams will compete for more than $20,000 in prize money and trophies. The Great Southern Tailgate Cookoff is a Kansas City Barbeque Society sanctioned event and will serve as a Florida State Championship contest.

The cost to participate is $100 per Backyard (amateur) team and $250 for each Professional team.  Contestants can also enter a best sauce, dessert, and seafood category for an additional $25.  The event will also be kicking off football season and will include a “Best Decorated” Team Booth.

To register, or for more information about the Great Southern Tailgate Cookoff, visitwww.gstailgatecookoff.com.

Go Red For Women Luncheon and Educational Forum – Jacksonville, Fl

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Speak Up To Save Lives!

First Coast – Celebrate the fabulous females of the First Coast and the hearts of women everywhere this Mother’s Day season. Join WJXT Channel 4’s Melanie Lawson and WOKV News Talk Radio’s Roxy Tyler for the Fifth Annual Go Red For Women Luncheon and Educational Forum Friday, May 14th at the Prime Osborn Convention Center. Registration begins at 10 a.m. Call 904-256-5642 to reserve your ticket today. Available seating is limited.

Of course, a heart healthy lunch will be served at 12 p.m. with life changing messaging from passion speaker Mrs. Joyce Beatty and keynote speaker Dr. Annabelle Santos Volgman, mentioned as Oprah Winfry’s cardiologist in O Magazine.

Go Red For Women Chair Susan Mack of Main Street America and the 2010 Signature Sponsor St. Vincent’s Healthcare are proud to present an enlightening forum designed for busy women.

Take advantage of complimentary blood pressure screenings provided by Solantic Baptist Urgent Care and Baptist Health and experience a fabulous expo with life saving educational sessions.

Education is key to making beneficial choices. The 2010 topics include:

*Women and Heart Disease, What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You presented by St. Vincent’s Healthcare

*Get to Know Your Winn-Dixie Pharmacist

*Gold Medal Fitness For Women On The Go Featuring Gold Medalist Shannon Miller provided by Baptist Health

Understand your health inside and out with picture and a promise from St. Vincent’s Healthcare. See your heart immediately with a sonogram and take your Red Dress picture home as a reminder to love your heart every day. Professional images provided by Melissa Posey Photography.

Deutsche Bank will also present a $1,000 scholarship to the 2010 Show Us Your Heart Art Contest featuring middle and high school students.

The color red and the red dress have become linked with the ability all women have to improve their heart health and live stronger, longer lives. Choose to go red in your own fashion, by spreading the Go Red for Women message. Speak up to save lives.

In America, 43 million women are living with cardiovascular disease. Every woman’s heart is a treasure worth protecting. Join the American Heart Association, change lives and Go Red for Women in 2010.

Alhambra’s Celebrity Week to Raise Money for Local Charities – Jacksonville, Fl

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Media and Local Celebrities to Make Cameo Appearances in Alhambra’s “The Foreigner”

— Alhambra’s Celebrity Week to Raise Money for Local Charities —

Audiences coming the see “The Foreigner” at the new Alhambra Theatre & Dining will get a bonus the week of May 10. New owner Craig Smith announced today the Alhambra’s first-ever Celebrity Week, during which each of that week’s seven shows will feature a cameo appearance by some of Jacksonville’s local media personalities and celebrities.

The big winner, however, will be local charities that each celebrity will represent. The Alhambra is donating a portion of tickets sales from each show to the charity of that celebrity’s choice. Additionally, to make it a friendly competition, the celebrity with the biggest draw – the one who essentially has the most tickets sold for their show — will receive a bonus donation to his or her charity.

Said Florida Times Union entertainment columnist and author of the tracy.com blog, “I get to check ‘perform on the Alhambra stage’ off my bucket list. I cannot wait.” On a more serious note, she added, “There are so many charities for which I have a strong affection, and I chose “Kids at Heart,” the new young professionals group for daniel Kids. I love daniel and I thought this would be a great way to enlighten Jacksonville about this new fundraising troop.”

“I love live theatre and I’m flattered to be asked to participate in an Alhambra production,” stated Melissa Ross, host of WJCT’s “Jacksonville Connects.” She added, “The Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Florida serves 13 counties and literally hundreds of agencies across this part of the state that help feed people in need.”

Schedule for the Stars

On their respective nights, each of the guest stars will appear in the same scene early in the second act of the show. The scene is actually not in the original script and is being “written in” by Alhambra Executive Producer Tod Booth, Sr. “The guest stars are going to have a ball doing it, and the cast is excited,” said Booth.

Currently lined up to perform at the Alhambra, and the charities for which they are raising money include:

Tuesday, May 11 Phil Amato, WTLV-TV JaxReStore, Habitat for Humanity

Wednesday, May 12 Melissa Ross, WJCT The Second Harvest Food Bank

Thursday, May 13 Tracy Collins, Times Union Kids at Heart, daniel

Friday, May 14 Arthur Crofton, WEJZ Salvation Army

Saturday, May 15 (e) Surprise guest

Sunday, May 16 (m) Richard Nunn, WJXT-TV American Diabetes Association

Sunday, May 16 Matt Saffer, WAWS-TV Child Cancer Fund

“I am an actor at heart. Growing up in New Jersey, I performed in countless shows throughout my life. In college, I attended one of the top musical theater programs in the nation and performed throughout New York City. Being able to step back onto the stage for a wonderful cause is something I can’t say no to. I’m honored the folks at the Alhambra asked me to do this,” said WAWS FOX30 reporter Matt Saffer.

The Foreigner Synopsis

Imagine yourself so pathologically shy that you move from your native country to the “middle of nowhere” and, to remove yourself from the world, you go so far as to pretend you’re from an exotic country and you don’t speak English. Because people think you can’t understand, you suddenly become the repository for all the town’s scandalous secrets. So goes the tale of Englishman Charlie Baker who finds himself plunked in rural South Georgia by a friend.

Winner of two Obie Awards and two Outer Circle Critic Awards as “Best New American Play” and “Best Off-Broadway Production,” The Foreigner is an inspired comic romp that demonstrates what can happen when a group of devious characters erroneously confess their sins to the wrong guy. Written by Larry Shue, the play ran for nearly 700 performances at New York City’s Astor Place Theatre to rave reviews. The New York Post describes The Foreigner as “a devilishly clever idea.” The Village Voice declared The Foreigner, “a constant invitation to relax and laugh at the foolishness of life.”

The Foreigner opens April 30 and will run through June 13, 2010. Show times are 8:00 PM for evening shows Tuesday through Sunday. Doors open at 6:00, buffet starts at approximately 6:45. Matinees on Saturday are at 1:15. Doors open at 11 and the buffet starts at 11:15. Sunday matinee is at 2:00. Doors open at noon and the buffet starts at 12:15. Group sales are available. Tickets start at $42 and include dinner and the show. Tickets for the Gala are available by becoming a Season Ticket or Triple Play Partner. Call the box office or visit www.alhambrajax.com for details.

The new Alhambra Theatre & Dining

The Alhambra Theatre is the nation’s oldest continually operating professional dinner theatre. Opened in 1967, The Alhambra has hosted legends such as Tony Curtis, Claude Aiken, Sid Cesar and Cesar Romero, and she was the place of Betty Grable’s final acting role. The Alhambra is also home to former Miss America, Orange Park native Leanza Cornett who started at the Alhambra when she was 15. In November 2009, the Alhambra was purchased by Theatre Partners, LLC, headed by Jacksonville entrepreneur and Alhambra patron, Craig Smith as way to give back to Jacksonville and preserve what he believes is one of its cultural jewels.