ARTS AND CULTURAL Events ~ CCIRC

Performances & Events

Riverside Theatre presents “Carousel” one of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s most beautiful and compelling musicals. January 4 – 23,  Performances Tuesday through Saturday with matinees on Wednesday, Saturday & Sunday.

Impressions of Light Exhibit ~  Art at The Emerson Gallery.  On view through January  6.   Local photographers exhibit. Gallery hours: Monday – Friday, 10 – 3 pm. Upcoming 2nd Annual Celebrating Black History Exhibit January 7 – March 1.  Artists Reception on January 14, 5:30 -7 pm

Art at the Emerson Gallery, 1590 27th Ave., Vero Beach Gallery hours: Monday – Friday, 10 am – 3 pm

Gallery 14 presents VISUAL POETRY: Derek Gores, Cliffton Chandler, Joan Earnhart and Maslow This multi-faceted exhibit is sure to please a multitude of tastes. Artist Reception January 7, 5 – 8 pm. On View through January 28

DEREK GORES, returning to Gallery 14 for his fifth year, will dazzlewith his upcycled beauties who wink at the past from the near future. Gores is an internationally acclaimed collage artist who recycles magazines, maps and papers in his lush works on canvas. Considered part of the Pop Surrealism and New Contemporary movements, this year will mark his fifth season showing at Gallery 14. Gores was honored to exhibit at the Manifest Hope show at the Presidential Inauguration in 2009 and was commissioned by Playboy to create the cover portrait for their Hugh Hefner Tribute Issue. 

CLIFFTON CHANDLER, where Dali meets Banksy in the wood shop, is an artist-designer with an architectural background. Happily returning to Gallery 14, his sculptures use layers of planes and cutouts, paint and inlay, in a wide variety of materials and surface treatments. Most of his work features central themes of human perspective and storytelling through depictions of a personal emotional iconography. 

JOAN EARNHART, with her surreal combinations to entertain the psyche, is represented by Gallery 14 year round. She has been a featured artist in Vero Beach Magazine and 32963 among other publications, and has received numerous prestigious awards locally at Art By The Sea, Under The Oaks and Backus Gallery ‘Best of the Best’ show. She is in collections across the country, in Europe and in Japan. Her spiritually enriching assemblages employ found objects and antiques in intriguing juxtaposition. 

MASLOW, with his light-speed visions of timeless nature, has painted murals all over the world. He is most recognized for his multi-story public works and his fine art paintings that incorporate abstract, realism, graffiti, and ethereal surrealism. A natural collaborator, he works closely with non-profits, collectors, brands, and corporations to create custom-tailored projects. His clients include NASA, SpaceX, Starbucks, and United Against Poverty. 

First Friday Gallery Stroll on January 7, 5 – 8 pm Enjoy art along the avenue as the galleries in the Historic Downtown Arts District open their doors for browsing and shopping. Light refreshments available at various locations. Free to the public. Historic Downtown 14th Avenue, Vero Beach

Vero Beach Art Club presents “Art by the Sea” on January 8, 10 am – 5 pm. Vero Beach Museum of Art, 3001 Riverside Park Drive, Vero Beach

The A.E. Backus Museum presents The Highwaymen: Art / History, the latest exhibition in its annual series recognizing the accomplishments of the original artists who made their names selling their paintings on Florida’s open roads. Drawn from private collections with notable paintings never presented to the public, the exhibition is on view January 8 through March 6, 2022 at 500 North Indian River Drive in Historic Downtown Fort Pierce.

The Vero Beach Elks Lodge #1774, 1350 26th St. presents A Tribute to Johnny Cash on January 8, 7 – 9:30 pm.  Bill Forness has been sweeping the country with the iconic sounds of legendary Johnny Cash since 2010. Celebrating the life and music of one of the most influential musicians of our time, Bill Forness has mastered the essence of a real Johnny Cash performance. With a deep baritone voice and a theatrical stage presence, Bill has become the most sought after Johnny Cash Tribute act anywhere. The show delivers hits from the 1950s onward, most notably “Ring of Fire”, “Folsom Prison Blues”, “I Walk the Line” and “Boy Named Sue”. Visit http://veroelks.com/

Vero Beach Opera presents La Boheme January 9, 3-5 pm 

VBHS Performing Arts Center, 1707 16th Street, Vero Beach

Visit http://verobeachopera.org/

Space Coast Symphony Orchestra New Year begins with Amazing Grace: Wintley Phipps in Concert, January 9, 3 pm at The Emerson Center, 1590 27th Ave in Vero Beach . Acclaimed international singer is Vero Beach resident and Central Florida minister Wintley Phipps will lend his booming baritone for a powerful program with the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra. Amazing Grace: Wintley Phipps in Concert at the Emerson Center, 1590 27th Ave in Vero Beach on January 9 at 3pm.

Concert will feature “It Is Well with My Soul,” “To God Be the Glory,” “I Surrender All,” “How Great Thou Art,” “Amazing Grace,” and many other well loved spirituals and hymns.  Phipps has performed for six American presidents along with performances for Mother Teresa and South African president, Nelson Mandela. Mr. Phipps’ work has been featured numerous times on television. Wintley Phipps has recorded nearly three dozen albums and compilations. Videos of Phipps’ “Amazing Grace” rendition at Carnegie Hall have racked up more than 25 million cumulative views on YouTube.

A resident of Vero Beach, Wintley Phipps has served for 20 years as the senior pastor of the Palm Bay Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Palm Bay, Florida. Phipps, who never had a professional voice teacher, credits his vocal style to the hours spent listening to radio in his youth; specifically to the string of top-10 hits by Welsh singer, Tom Jone.

AAUW Vero Beach (The American Association of University Women Book Review Breakfast on January 10, 9:30 am The Richardson Center at IRSC, 6155 College Lane, Vero Beach

Book – My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams, edited by Margaret Hogan and C. James Taylor with Speaker Laura Moss, Indian River County Commissioner and Former Vero Beach City Council Member and Former Mayor of Vero Beach. Learn about the powerful role the Adams couple played in the American Revolution and the correspondence between them.  Free of charge. Please donate books for Pre-K and early readers.

The Emerson Center presents E-Series’ Whose Vote Counts January 11, 7 pm. Panel discussion to follow film with Speaker: LaVon Wright Bracy

Appearing on October 20, 2020 just a few weeks before the national election in November, this PBS documentary focuses on the primary election in Wisconsin just six months earlier at the beginning of the Covid lockdowns gripping the country. Interviews with local Wisconsin officials and residents as well as national spokespersons discuss the problems which were experienced in Wisconsin and were expected to occur again in the national election. The twin issues of mail ballot fraud and voter suppression are discussed and debated, a debate which led to violence in January following the election and remains fiercely divisive today.   LaVon Wright Bracy has been a champion for education and has awarded thousands of dollars in scholarships to support college students.

E-Series’ programs are open to all and are free of charge as part of the Emerson Center’s mission to provide quality educational and thought-provoking events for our community.  Visit: https://theemersoncenter.com/e-series/ 

Vero Beach Theatre Guild presents CALENDAR GIRLS January 12 – 23, Tuesday – Saturday @ 7:30 pm. Saturday & Sunday @ 2 pm

When Annie’s husband John dies of leukemia, she and best friend Chris resolve to raise money for a new settee in the local hospital waiting room. They manage to persuade four fellow WI members to pose nude with them for an “alternative” calendar. The news of the women’s charitable venture spreads like wildfire, but Chris and Annie’s friendship is put to the test under the strain of their new-found fame. http://www.verobeachtheatreguild.com/new-season-sneak-peak

Vero Beach Art Club Annex presents “Florida Treasures”

On View through January 17. Tuesday – Friday, 11 am – 3 pm, Located at 1903 14th Avenue, Vero Beach.

Art in Public Places Program sponsored by the Cultural Council of Indian River County at the IRC Administration Buildings A & B, 1801 27th St., Vero Beach. Portraits and People ~ Member Exhibit

On View through January 12

Art in Public Places Program sponsored by the Cultural Council of Indian River County at the Intergenerational Recreation Center

Mixed Media ~ Member Exhibit

Feature the work of: Steve Reid,  Sheila McAvoy, Yvonne Steere, Judy Burgarella, Gail Jaffe, Mark San Souci, Richard Gillmor, Tara Rovani,  Gwenn McNenney & Ella Chabot. On View through January 26

Artists Guild Gallery is a fine-art gallery featuring original art by local artist-owners. Diverse styles and mediums are represented, and the art is changed, and rotated on a monthly basis. Classes are offered in oil, watercolor, acrylics, pastels, and drawing.  Located: 1974 14th Avenue, Vero Beach

Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Friday, 11am – 3pm, Saturdays 11 – 3 starting Jan 8

Art in Public Places Program sponsored by the Cultural Council of Indian River County at the Indian River County Courthouse.

Spoken In Thread  ~ Yvonne Steere and Sheila McAvoy

On View through March 10

Artists and sisters, Sheila McAvoy and Yvonne Steere present evocative images created from fiber materials and needlecraft.

McKee Botanical Garden presents Dinosaurs Around the World: The Great Outdoors 

Through May 1, 2022.  In this specially constructed outdoor version of the popular Dinosaurs Around the World exhibition, visitors will be whisked back in time on a dinosaur adventure and a tour of an Earth that’s very different from the one we inhabit today.  Travel back to the time before the continents as we know them existed, when arid deserts covered Brazil and polar darkness was the norm in Australia! With advanced animatronics, a multi-layered narrative, cutting-edge research, in an outdoor environment surrounded by nature, you’ll experience the Age of Reptiles brought back to life!  Dinosaurs Around the World: The Great Outdoors is open daily to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am – 5 pm and Sunday from 12 pm – 5 pm. The last admission ticket is sold at 4 pm and the Children’s Garden closes at 4:30 pm. Tickets are available to purchase at McKee Botanical Garden and www.mckeegarden.org.