out and about – Page 17

Florida Artist’s Gallery “Arts for All” Event

April 17, 2015April 14, 2015 by KTgreen

Florida Artist's Gallery "Arts for All" Event

Our second stop on Saturday was at the Florida Artists Gallery in Floral City for the family event “Arts for All”.

Anyone that is from this area knows that the drive from Crystal River (where we stopped first and I posted about yesterday) to Floral City is about 45 minutes.

But, anytime that the Florida Artists Gallery is having an event, it is worth the trip.

Florida Artist's Gallery "Arts for All" Event

I received an email from the Florida Gallery on the 8th (Wednesday). Here’s an excerpt from that email:

“Please join us on Saturday (April 11th) for our first major outdoor family event “Arts for all“. At least 14 of our artists will be demonstrating their art forms, be it wood carving, painting eggs, making jewelry or painting paintings in various mediums. Food will be available, and there will be flow arts – family yoga and hula hoops, wine tasting and live music throughout the day, culminating with the Citrus County Drum Circle starting at 4.30pm. From 1-2pm Vanessa Fuller-Brown will hold a free painting workshop for children.”

Floral City is a small town in Citrus County with big ideas. I love visiting there.

Florida Artist's Gallery "Arts for All" Event

Artisans were located throughout the grounds demonstrating their craft. Kids were discovering the arts through hands on demos.

The gallery was wonderful as usual.

And there were a lot of people there.

An auto-harp demonstration was scheduled for later in the afternoon but we weren’t able to stick around for that. And we didn’t have enough time to check out the other shops in Floral City or the heritage museum.

There’s just so much going on in this little town. Such a difference from our visit to Heritage Village in Crystal River.

Market Day with Arts and Treasures at Heritage Village

April 17, 2015April 13, 2015 by KTgreen

Terry and I along with friends Tim and Connie did some traveling in Citrus County on Saturday–from the west to the east.

We started out in Crystal River at Heritage Village for Market Day with Arts and Treasures. I’ve been to many of these market days over the past few years and expected to find sidewalk vendors with produce, crafts and art.

Not so. A few tents. No produce. Just like a regular Saturday on Citrus Avenue.

The only reason I knew that it was Market Day was my musician friend, Paula Bateman, gave me a flyer at our last acoustic meetup. She was performing at the gazebo with a friend of her son.

Paula Bateman Market Day with Arts and Treasures at Heritage Village

And it’s a really cute gazebo.

gazebo

As you can see from the above snap, there weren’t many in attendance. There wasn’t even a place to sit. A couple of benches and a few rocking chairs would have been a welcome addition.

Crystal River has a lot going for it with the influx of tourists coming to see the manatees in the winter, scalloping in the summer, and fishing all year round. So why aren’t these visitors shopping at Heritage Village with all of its little shops, art gallery, and cafes?

Even our local newspaper reported that there was an exodus from Heritage Village to downtown Inverness. An article that was a coup for Inverness but very discouraging for Citrus Avenue.

I can only believe that it’s a marketing issue. While Heritage Village does have an updated website, I see little advertising elsewhere.

This is a really nice area and I love shopping here. I bring our guests here plus I’ve bought many unique gifts over the years (sometimes for myself). Now I’m concerned that more of these stores will be closing down.

We did a little shopping, listened to Paula, and then headed on to our next destination.

Which I’ll tell you about tomorrow.

Friday Meanderings

April 3, 2015April 3, 2015 by KTgreen

So excited!

Jes and Andrew are flying in tonight!

Nothing but fun there!

We’ll be boating and eating and drinking and partying.

Same old, same old.Cause it’s always a party in Old Homosassa!

I haven’t posted as much as usual this week. Banjo Camp set me back a little.

And then I met up with a cousin that I haven’t seen in many many years. He claimed 50. So I was 9 the last time I saw him?

cousins — That’s me, Al, my sister Ellen, and my niece Michelle.

After a lovely lunch with my sister Ellen (the famous artist) and my niece Michelle (the famous blogger) Al and I plus two of his friends went to the Florida National Cemetery to see my parent’s grave site. My dad was in the army in WWII so that’s where he and my mom are buried. It’s a beautiful site–well cared for–but HUGE. Even though I had a map and had the numbers where their plot is, it took awhile to find it.

But we did.

And what’s going on this weekend?

A great band on Saturday evening at the Shed. We plan to be there!

Oh yeah, and it’s Easter. Easter egg coloring and hunts will ensue!

Most important of ALL!

Next week we have lots of meetings.

Monday at 7 pm is the monthly Homosassa Civic Club meeting. It costs $3.00 to belong to this group. They do a lot of good works and the membership is dwindling. We need YOU to join. Come on, 3 bucks. Be there a little early so you can join. One hour of your life once a month.

Wednesday night at 5:30 is the Old Homosassa Heritage Council Meeting held at the Gator Den. This group’s dues are a bit more. $15. This group is working on preserving and enhancing Old Homosassa starting with the water tower. In the meantime we are watching the progress of our new sidewalks and trying to keep tabs on everything in Old Homosassa!

The River Alliance meets Thursday evening. I’m not a member of this group but they also are a plus to the community. Their current big project is to stop the hotel that’s planned on Halls River Road. That development is nothing but ridiculous. Terry and I will be attending the hearing in Inverness on April 14th at 5:01 pm.

Okay. That’s it!

Have a great Easter!

Kathy