Coastal Companion

Your ultimate guide to the coast

First Wednesday Art Walk in Jacksonville – March 2011

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Don’t forget, this is the week of firsts on the coast with lots of art walks and other monthly events. One of the most popular is the downtown art walk in Jacksonville, Florida.

Here’s this month’s schedule. Click here to visit our special page for First Wednesday Art Walk to get download the map, watch or video from the art walk and get more info.

Snyder Memorial – Jacksonville Fashion Week presents “The Art of Fashion,” weaving together recycled material “clothing,” avant-garde costumes and more.

The Art Center Cooperative, Inc. (TAC II) – Jacksonville Fashion Week presents “Sew Artistic” featuring fashion photography, paintings and more.

111 E. Bay St. Studios – F13RCE Dance Theatre presents “Music, Fashion and Dance” at 7 p.m., plus a Fierce Magazine fashion show.

Elemental Gallery & Studio – The Jacksonville Weavers’ Guild demonstrates their fine craft.

Hemming Plaza Jewelers – Enjoy a bridal extravaganza!

The Jacksonville Landing – Design workshops and sewing lessons by Kara Bazma Dress Factory.

Southlight Gallery – Art and wearables by The Southlight Collaborative and Bodega of Plenty.

The Ivy Ultra Bar – Complimentary make-up and hair styling by Bella Hair Designs from 6-8 p.m.

Northstar “The Pizza Bar” – Features handmade earrings, necklaces, chokers and more.

The Library: 122 Ocean – The Fine Arts Department of Florida State College at Jacksonville returns with a superb multi-discipline event.

Main Library – Visit Jaxport’s “Mixed Cargo,” an environmentally-friendly mixed media art exhibit and the new home of the permanent exhibition, “Imagination Squared.”

Interactive Musical Robot Featured at 2011 Pulse Art + Technology Festival

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GEORGIA TECH INTERACTIVE MUSICAL ROBOT WILL BE FEATURED AT 2011 PULSE ART & TECHNOLOGY FESTIVAL

SAVANNAH, GA. (January 20, 2011) – Georgia Tech Savannah is proud to be a sponsor of the 2011 PULSE: Art & Technology Festival created by the Telfair Museums and will host a series of lectures, performances and workshops during the nine-day event that starts today. Dr. Gil Weinberg, founder and director of the Georgia Tech Center for Music Technology, will conduct a lecture and performance at the Jepson Center on Friday, Jan. 21 at 6 p.m. The performance will feature an interactive marimba playing robot named Shimon that was recently featured in the nationally televised 2010 Georgia Tech PSA (see link below). Attendees will have the opportunity to interact and make music with Shimon after the performance.

Shimon is not an ordinary marimba-playing robot because it improvises and interacts with human musicians. Using melodic and harmonic perception and improvisation modules, Shimon creates musical responses in conjunction with social cues from its human counterparts. The result is not only novel and expressive human-robotic interaction, but also great new music.

Visualize a pianist playing a musical phrase followed by Shimon, who builds on this input with a new improvised sequence. A fellow guitar player can then enhance Shimon’s ideas, leading to new responses that could inspire humans to play in ways they have never played before. The robot’s head provides visual cues that represent social-musical elements, from beat detection through tonality, to attention and spatial interaction. Just imagine the head bob of a jazz drummer or a DJ spinning a hip hop record and you have a picture of Shimon’s personality.

Weinberg conceived the concept of robotic musicianship in 2006 with the development of Haile—the world’s first robotic musician capable of improvisation with human musicians. His research focuses on expanding musical expression, creativity and learning through innovative new technology including cell phones, toys and aquariums. Weinberg’s interactive systems have been presented in museums such as the Smithsonian Museum, Cooper-Hewitt Museum and Boston Children’s Museum. Weinberg received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Media Arts and Sciences from MIT and is currently an associate professor of Music and adjunct professor of Computer Science at Georgia Tech.

“The goal of the project was to create real-time musical collaborations between human and robotic musicians that would capitalize on the combination of their unique strengths,” said Weinberg.
To learn more about Shimon visit: www.gatech.edu/music/shimon.html
The Public Service Announcement can be viewed at: www.gatech.edu/music/psa.html.
Georgia Tech Savannah will be hosting a number of additional workshops as part of PULSE taking place Jan. 20 – 29. These include:

Introduction to openFrameworks by Zachary Lieberman, Friday, Jan. 21 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. at Georgia Tech Savannah. Lieberman will provide a short introduction to openFrameworks a c++ library designed to assist the creative process by providing a simple and intuitive framework for experimentation. Participants must be 16 year old or older. Previous coding experience is helpful.

Youth Workshop: Introduction to Scratch on Saturday, Jan. 22 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. at Georgia Tech Savannah. Developed at the MIT Media Lab, Scratch is a programming language that makes it easy to create individual interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art and share creations on the web. As young people create and share Scratch projects, they learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also learning to think creatively, reason systematically and work collaboratively. Students between the ages of 9-18 are encouraged to attend.

Read more about 2011 Pulse Art + Technology Festival in Savannah, GA, on our special events page.

MOSH Jacksonville Planetarium Opens Veterans Day Weekend

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The Bryan-Gooding Planetarium at MOSH (the Museum of Science and History) in Jacksonville, Florida, is re-opening after the renovation.

The wait is almost over! The Grand Opening Celebration of the Bryan-Gooding Planetarium is scheduled for November 11th through 14th. The opening will begin a new chapter in the Museum of Science & History’s 59-year history of space science programming.

The new Bryan-Gooding Planetarium will offer visitors total-immersion entertainment in a 360-degree theater at super-resolution four times better than the best HDTV. The new full-dome digital system is the latest in planetarium technology and is the only system of its kind in Florida. Expanded programming will take guests into the body of an astronaut to experience a shuttle launch or to the far edges of the universe to explore the mysteries of black holes. The debut schedule rotation, which includes programming suitable for all age groups, includes:

Black Holes: No longer the stuff of science fiction, the discovery of the black hole is a triumph of modern science. Explore the fascinating world of black holes in this program narrated by Academy Award nominated actor Liam Neeson. (Recommended for adults and children in grades 6 or higher.)

Astronaut: The exploration of space is humankind’s greatest endeavor. Go on an incredible voyage to discover what it takes to be an astronaut as you experience a rocket launch from inside the body of “Chad,” our test astronaut. (Recommended for adults and children in grades 4 or higher.)

Sesame Street’s One World, One Sky: Elmo and Big Bird meet a new friend – Hu Hu Zhu – who lives far, far away in China. The friends soon discover that despite the distance, they still see the same stars in the night sky! (Recommended for children in grades Pre-K through K.)

Zula Patrol: Down to Earth: While on a routine fossil hunting expedition, the Zula Patrol discover that someone’s been dumping trash in Earth’s prehistoric past! On their mission to catch the culprit, they learn all about the formation and development of Earth and its inhabitants. (Recommended for children in grades Pre-K through 4.)

In addition to planetarium programs every hour on the hour, extended hours, guest lecturers and rooftop stargazing, highlights of the Opening Celebration include:

– FREE Admission for Active & Retired Military – In observance of Veterans Day, all active and retired military will receive free admission to MOSH. In addition, from November 11 to November 24, veterans will receive $10 off the purchase of a MOSH Membership. Visitors can enjoy exhibits like Prehistoric Predators, which features 16 animatronic dinosaurs, or take in a show in the new state-of-the-art Bryan-Gooding Planetarium. Museum admission is $10 for adults, $8 for children 3-12, and free for children 2 and under and members. Planetarium programs are $5 per person, per show.

Friday, November 12
Cosmic Concert Preview Party
Experience total-sensory entertainment as laser lights, high-def images and digital sound collide to create a Cosmic Concert! The Cosmic Concert Preview Party is from 8 p.m. to midnight. Cost is $20 for non-members/$15 for members and includes one drink ticket, one cosmic concert, live music by The Druids, rooftop stargazing and access to museum exhibits. Additional drinks are available for purchase. Led Zeppelin will show at 9 p.m. followed by Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon at 10 and Pink Floyd: Best of The Wall at 11. Purchase tickets online at www.themosh.org or call 396.MOSH, ext. 240.

Saturday, November 13


 NASA Guest Speaker
NASA Aerospace Technology Engineer Antonio Pego will present “NASA’s Role in Astronomy” at 2 p.m. in the Bryan-Gooding Planetarium. Pego’s appearance is part of the Grand Opening Celebration of the Bryan-Gooding Planetarium at MOSH taking place November 11 through 14. Tickets to the lecture are free with paid museum admission and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Museum admission is $10 for adults; $8.50 for military; $8 for children 3-12; and free for children 2 and under and members.

Sunday, November 14
Hubble’s Greatest
The Hubble Space Telescope has unlocked numerous mysteries of the Universe as well as added many new questions. The best – and in some cases – strangest of Hubble discoveries will be examined in “Hubble’s Greatest,” a presentation led by Mike Reynolds, Ph.D., Dean of Liberal Arts, Florida State College of Jacksonville, inside the planetarium at 2 p.m. Tickets to the lecture are free with paid museum admission and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Museum admission is $10 for adults; $8.50 for military; $8 for children 3-12; and free for children 2 and under and members.
* Dr. Reynolds will be available for interviews immediately following the presentation until 4 p.m.

Thursday, November 18
 Music Under the Stars
Learn about the stars that shine over Jacksonville and then enjoy a live musical performance under the stars of the Bryan-Gooding Planetarium. Event is from 6 to 10 p.m.; presentation begins at 7 p.m. Admission, which includes museum access, one drink, music presentation, star show, and rooftop stargazing, is $10. Musicians courtesy of Friday Musicale. Call 396.MOSH (6674), ext. 230 for tickets.

Visitors will be able to purchase tickets, preview program trailers and see a complete schedule of events on the new website www.moshplanetarium launching prior to the November 11 opening.

The Museum of Science & History (MOSH) is located at 1025 Museum Circle near Friendship Fountain Park. MOSH, first chartered in 1941, stimulates the joy of learning for visitors of all ages in science, astronomy and the history of the region. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday – Thursday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday. Museum admission is $10 for adults, $8.50 for military and senior citizens, $8 for children 3-12, and free for children 2 and under and members. There is no admission fee for children 2 and under or Museum members. Admission is $5 on Fridays. Admission to the Bryan Gooding Planetarium is an additional $5 per person for the first show and $1 for each additional show.

MOSH Planetarium Jacksonville Florida

Gingerbread House Contest in Charleston, SC

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The Holiday Festival of Lights Gingerbread House Competition is a beloved Lowcountry tradition and now it’s time to warm up your ovens, gather up sugar, spices, and add a spoonful of creativity to the mix to participate. Registration for the 12th Annual Holiday Festival of Lights Gingerbread House Competition is open now through November 5.

[picappgallerysingle id=”5100727″]Here are the basic rules;

Houses must be made entirely of edible materials (except the base), and cannot exceed 18” in width, length or height. Entries will be judged based on creativity, overall appearance, difficulty, and craftsmanship.

Houses can be entered in one of four different age categories – ages 6 and under, ages 7-11, ages 12-16 or ages 17 and up. The contest will be judged by a panel of 20 people, with each house judged individually in each category.

The top three entries in each category will be displayed in Santa’s Sweet Shoppe and other locations during the Holiday Festival of Lights.

Contest coordinator Marianne Bower encourages creative bakers of all ages and experience levels to participate in this fun event. She suggests the use of gingerbread house patterns to help with construction of your ginger bread house masterpiece, but not to use “all-in-one” kits.

“There are many websites out there that provide inspiration for unique and amazing creations,” said Bower. Entries must be actual “domiciles;” however, Bower says that she has seen a number of unusual gingerbread houses, including churches, trains, and once, even the Millennium Falcon from “Star Wars”.

Registration ends Friday, November 5. An award ceremony for the top winners will take place at the Park Center at James Island County Park as part of the opening of the annual Holiday Festival of Lights on November 12. The award ceremony will take place at 6:30 p.m.

Click here to read more about The Holiday Festival of Lights will be open November 12, 2010 – January 2, 2011 at James Island County Park.

Participants are encouraged to sign up through the Park and Program Services Center by calling 843-795-4FUN. Or, download an application in pdf format right here.

Museum Mile Weekend – Charleston, SC

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Museum Mile in Charleston, South Carolina is an area in historic downtown with lots of museums and cultural sites. As you know, the city of Charleston is rich in history, so the museum density in downtown comes as no surprise. No matter where I go, I always seem to miss out on some of the museums – lack of time and entry fees for a family of four will do that. That’s why I think the Museum Mile Weekend in Charleston is one of the best deals around.

Charleston Museum MileJust buy a weekend pass and explore all 13 sites in the Meeting street area downtown during September 25 & 26, 2010.

To find out more, see what sites are participating, download a map or to get ticket information, visit our special events page for Museum Mile Weekend – Charleston, South Carolina