Thursday, February 16, 2017

PTA Special Edition - Founders' Day 2017


Founders' Day.  Each year we celebrate this day by gathering with other volunteers from local units, county councils and special guests.  We celebrate our membership achievements and we encourage everyone to contribute to our scholarship program.  We welcome new members, recognize longtime leaders (one county actually calls them "Dinosaurs"!) and inspire folks to pay attention to upcoming news about our Legislative Conference and Leadership Convention.  Maybe your county does even more...maybe not. 

But what is the true meaning of Founders' Day?  What are we celebrating?  We're celebrating the legacy that has inspired us to continue to advocate for children.  We're celebrating the lives and mission of three women who decided that enough was enough and wanted to not just talk about change, but become catalysts for change.  Do you think for one moment that Alice or Phoebe or Selena imagined that 120 years later, on the anniversary of the first meeting of parents, teachers, workers, and legislators, that there would be close to 5 million volunteers carrying a membership card that proudly bears the name PTA?

Then what were they thinking about, if not about fame, glory, and their aging photos hanging in schools and offices around the country?  I can't say for certain, but I have a strong feeling that they were thinking about their community.  They were thinking about the families that were hurting and whose children were being injured or dying in factories.  They were thinking about kids who needed better health care and vaccinations against diseases.  They were thinking that every child should have proper nutrition and enough food so that they were not going hungry.  They were thinking that every single child deserved the best education our constitution guarantees.  They took on big government and big industries without wavering in their fight for what was right, and they persevered!

So, here we are...120 years later and we're a part of a movement that has made great strides in all of these areas.  But, does it seem that the mission has been accomplished?  Does it feel like we have less work now that needs to be done?  Do you think that fundraisers and cookie bakes were destined to be our legacy?  I feel that most of you will agree that the answer is ABSOLUTELY NO!  Our work is most definitely not done.  This advocacy thing is not for the weak at heart, for the easily offended or for the armchair commentator.  This movement is for those who are not only focused on continuing a legacy but in leaving their own, by making lives better for OUR communities, for OUR hurting children, for OUR families in need.

This Founders' Day, take a moment to remember why we meet.  Their voices should be in the room.  Their passion should be stirring around each table.  Their faces are sitting in each chair.  Look around, tap into that energy and let's make history, shall we?
Cindy Gerhardt
President, Florida PTA

Dr Michael White's New Orleans Jazz Quartet @ Arts Garage Saturday

 
 
 
Dr. Michael White has been instrumental in keeping alive the New Orleans jazz tradition of his ancestors, some of whom were among the earliest jazz musicians. A professor of Spanish and African American Music at Xavier University in New Orleans, White has become well known on the jazz scene. He performs, writes and lectures on jazz, and is among a very few current clarinetists to develop an original authentic interpretation of the exciting New Orleans style.
White has performed and/or recorded with noted musicians such as Wynton Marsalis, Lionel Hampton and Marcus Roberts. He has played on numerous highly acclaimed recordings, including his own critically acclaimed Crescent City Serenade and New Years at the Village Vanguard.
Dr. White has been given numerous awards and recognition for his contributions, including the rank of Chevalier of Arts and Letters by the French Government in 1987 and a National Heritage Fellowship Award by the National Endowment of the Arts in 2008.

Arts Garage is located at  94 NE Second Ave in Delray Beach. Tickets are $30, $40, and $45 at artsgarage.org       
Dr. White appears courtesy of KCC Productions.

Miami Beach Cultural Arts Events February 16 - February 22, 2017


Cultural Arts Events February 16 - February 22, 2017
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TERROR
@ Colony Theatre, 2040 Lincoln Road
Weekly performances continue through February 19, 2017

Tony-Award winning Director Gregory Mosher joins Miami New Drama for the American premiere of Ferdinand Von Schirach's mind bending new play TERROR. A military pilot has shot down a hijacked commercial flight which was headed toward a crowded stadium, and now faces trial. This internationally acclaimed courtroom drama casts the audience as jurors, asking them to decide the pilot's fate. Each night the audience decides. 
 

Tonight's SOUNDSCAPE CINEMA SERIES 
PRESENTED BY Citi® Film has been CANCELLED due to road construction and the closure of 17th Street at Soundscape Park.

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CONCERTO SHOWCASE
@ New World Center, 500 17 Street
Saturday, February 18, 7:30 p.m. (WALLCAST™ concert) FREE
Sunday, February 19, 2:00 p.m.

In a popular all-concerto program-a staple of the NWS program-select Fellows take the coveted spotlight as winners of this season's concerto competition, an intense contest where Fellows compete head-to-head with their favorite solo work. Celebrate the immeasurable talent and accomplishments of the young musicians who call the New World Symphony home.
 
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FREE CONCERT!
@ Collins Park, 2100 Collins Avenue
Saturday, February 19, 3:00 p.m. 

Global Arts Project, Inc. opens their 2017 season with a celebration of Mardi Gras by Dr. Michael White's New Orleans Quartet. This is the first of five FREE concerts for the 2017 season in Collins Park! Dr. Michael White has been instrumental in keeping alive the New Orleans jazz tradition of his ancestors, some of whom were among the earliest jazz musicians.
 
THIS WEEK'S FEATURED FILMS!

@ O-Cinema Miami Beach, 500 71 Street
Multiple screenings February 17 - 22, 2016 

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@ Miami Beach Cinematheque
1130 Washington Avenue
Multiple screenings February 18 -
February 22
, 2017

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information.
 
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BIG MEAN SOUND MACHINE AT FOOD TRUCK & MUSIC NIGHT
@ North Beach Band Shell, 7275 Collins Avenue
Wednesday, February 22, 5:00 p.m.

The Virginia Key Grassroots Music Festival kicks off a Grass Roots Live series.  Free! Food Trucks & Music Night, presented every 4th Wednesday with the City of Miami Beach - free! Dinner and a show, as the street is lined with your favorite food trucks, and great music inside the Bandshell.
Big Mean Sound Machine is a polyrhythmic monster with a crisp, constant, unrelenting groove - a thunderous dance party that fuses Afrobeat, Jazz, Funk,and Psychedelia.
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GROUND CONTROL
@ Bass Museum of Art, 2100 Collins Avenue
Continues through March 15, 2017

'Ground Control' is an exhibition of work by 11 international artists, in addition to two recent acquisitions by The Bass, whose genesis is the investigation of time and space. Comprised of outdoor and site-specific works that mediate between figuration and abstraction, 'Ground Control' curator Nicholas Baume brings together a selection of artists across generations and thematic interests who share a fascination with technological progress and human subjectivity.
 
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Mark Your Calendars!
MIAMI BEACH YOUTH MUSIC FESTIVAL
@ North Beach Band Shell, 7275 Collins Avenue
Saturday, March 18, 2017, 4:00 p.m.
 
The City of Miami Beach and Rhythm Foundation are proud to
announce that nine youth performers have been selected to perform as part of the inaugural Miami Beach Youth Music Festival!
 
"It was an honor to have music industry pros Steven Gibb, Gloria Gibb and Betsy Perez selecting the lineup for our Youth Music Festival," expressed Miami Beach Commissioner John Elizabeth Alemán. "The talent of the young artists is impressive, and
their job wasn't easy." 
 
Check out video of the performers