ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Aug. 22, 2023 – PRLog — Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts kicks off its annual Class Acts Series with their first BAM! Fest Thursday, August 31st from 10:30 AM – 1:00 PM (BAM! Fest stands for Books, Art, Music Interactive Youth Arts Festivals) is a series of field trips for school children that celebrate performing and visual arts. The series fosters connection, creativity, imagination as well as social emotional learning.The festival is held outdoors on the waterfront Plaza and is held monthly throughout the school year.

“It’s an immersive and magical adventure celebrating the joy of reading and creativity,” said Katrina Young, Education and Youth Outreach Coordinator for Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts. “We’re excited to have themed festivals throughout this school year and have added two additional STEM themed festivals to be announced at a later date.”

The first field trip is BAM!: Get LIT with English as the curriculum connection. The first of the series is designed for grades 3-5, where students will explore book stations, enjoy interactive puppet shows, create their own stories and book covers, and engage in a thrilling literary scavenger hunt.

“We are going into our 30th Year for Class Acts by making these programs available to our school children in the Tampa Bay area,” said Bill Edwards, Founder & CEO of Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts. “It gives me great joy to see these kids having such a wonderful time taking part in a drum circle, drawing chalk designs on our walkways, or the sheer enthusiasm you see when the kids get a free book. It’s a day to take the classroom outside and get exposure to the arts in a unique environment. We really want to inspire our youth and give them every opportunity to learn about all the aspects of the arts – whether it’s reading, music, performing or visual,” he continued.

As part of their 30th Year, the Class Acts Field Trips are now available at no charge to schools throughout the six-county Tampa Bay area. Each trip is created to inspire a passion for the performing arts, while being simultaneously linked to current Florida B.E.S.T. Standards. Bus scholarships are available.

The Schedule for the series is:
8/31/23  Get LITerature!
10/02/23 Messy Art on the Plaza
11/08/23  IMPROV Festival
12/13/23 Holiday Traditions on the Plaza
3/19/24  Dance: On Your Feet Festival
4/08/24  Music and Mayhem on the Plaza
*TBD  STEM
*TBD  STEM

About Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts –
Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts was founded as a 501(c 3)  nonprofit in 2011 and is dedicated to providing arts education programs, community outreach, live performances as well as concerts and all genres of performing arts for the entire community with emphasis on culturally diverse programming for youth and families. The foundation is the support arm for the programming at the Duke Energy Center for the Arts – Mahaffey Theater. For more information about the foundation visit, BillEdwardsFoundationfortheArts.org or
TheMahaffey.com or call 727.650.0407

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – July 31, 2023 — The Left Bank Bistro in St Petersburg will be hosting a special event featuring author Daniel Magariel for a special reading from his new novel Walk the Darkness Down. There will be a brief introduction beginning at 6:30 pm with a short Q & A, followed by reading an excerpt from the book. Dinner service will proceed as usual, save for a short “request for quiet” during the reading. The restaurant will have a special cocktail created especially for the evening and complemented by live music from the Jazz Librarians. Local bookseller, Book + Bottle will be on-hand with copies of the book for purchase and signing by the author.

“We’re pleased to host this reading event at the Left Bank,” said Susanne Byram, Owner of Left Bank Bistro. “It is in keeping with my vision to have a gathering place to enjoy art, music and literature. We want to keep that same appreciation for the arts that began in Paris in the 1920s.”

About the Author:
Daniel Magariel is an author from Kansas City. His work has appeared in Granta, Lit Hub, Salt Hill, Stop Smiling, and Issue Magazine, among others. One of the Boys, his first novel, was a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice and Amazon Best Book of 2017, and was published in twelve countries. He has a BA from Columbia University, as well as an MFA from Syracuse University, where he was a Cornelia Carhart Fellow. He currently lives in New York with his wife.

About the Book
A powerful descent into an ink-black whirlpool of obsession and isolation on the turbulent eastern seaboard, Magariel’s book, Walk the Darkness Down, is an unflinching portrayal of love in the margins of twenty-first century America. It is a fierce, beautiful testimonial to a couple’s struggle to survive both the past and the present, and to chart a new path into the future.

About The Left Bank Bistro
The Left Bank Bistro is located in the MLK Business District, Uptown at 1225 Dr. MLK Jr. St. N., St Petersburg, FL 33701 The decor and setting takes you back to 1920’s Paris – where artists and poets lived during that time period. The restaurant is housed in a meticulously restored 1922 bungalow that features French cuisine along with signature top-shelf cocktails named after the artists of the day. There is inside as well as outside seating for patrons. For reservations call 727-256-1691 or visit the website at http://www.theleftbankbistro.com

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – July 24, 2023 — The Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts, the supporting arm for performing arts programming at the Duke Energy Center for the Arts – Mahaffey Theater recently launched their first-ever summer camp for kids. During the two-week camp, the kids will be rehearsing and participating in a production of Seussical Jr. learning the various aspects and phases of the performing arts. The show itself is a musical specifically adapted for young performers and inspired by the works of Dr. Seuss.

“I’m very proud that we are able to offer this program and these kids are going to be able to perform on our stage,” said Bill Edwards, Founder & CEO of the Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts.

The mission of the foundation is to make performing arts accessible to all with several of the participants attending the camp on a full scholarship. The campers, under the direction of Katrina Young, Education and Outreach for Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts, learn how to act, work with a group and work together to put on a production for a live audience.

“Katrina is a former educator and currently teaches theater and dance. She is the perfect person to be spearheading our Summer Camp efforts. We’ve added the camps to our repertoire of educational offerings and now have this to offer in addition to field trips, workshops, hands-on art festivals and more,” said Amy Harriet Miller, President of the Bill Edwards Foundation. “We offer the program to all children of all socioeconomic backgrounds, since you never know where the talent is going to come from.”

Two performances at the Mahaffey Theater are slated for Friday, July 28th at 7:30 pm and a Saturday matinee on July 29th at 3:30 pm. Tickets are on sale and available through Ticketmaster or calling 727.300.2000 and are just $10 with FREE parking.

About Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts –
The Bill Edwards Foundation for the Arts was founded as a 501(c0 3 nonprofit in 2011 and is dedicated to providing arts education programs, community outreach and performances as well as concerts for the entire community with emphasis on diverse programming for youth and families. The foundation is the supporting arm for the performing arts programming at the Duke Energy Center for the Arts – Mahaffey Theater. For more information about the foundation visit, BillEdwardsFoundationfortheArts.org
or call 727.308.5100

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – July 20, 2023 — Bev Jennings, Founder & CEO of SEE Company Inc. has added to her catalogue of luxury brand apparel by introducing a new Men’s Accessory line. The SEE brand apparel was launched in 2021 and has continued to add new clothing and accessories with the men’s items being the most recent.

“When I diversified the SEE brand by adding a luxury apparel line, I wanted to stay true to my commitment to diversity, inclusivity and sustainability. Our mission is to “See Everyone Elevate.” With that being said, we knew we wanted to include men’s wearables into our offerings,”  says Bev Jennings.  “We’re excited to launch our beautifully designed silk pocket squares, silk men’s neckties (with a special message included) and our designer men’s socks.”

In keeping with the SEE brand promise of diversity, inclusivity and sustainability, Bev’s team collaborated with noted London designer, Furious Goose to create the SEE Signature “S” Pattern Silk Pocket Squares and necktie. Available in three accent colors individually or as a Power Pak of 3.

“The “patterned with purpose” necktie design is like no other and includes unique messaging on the reverse side to keep diversity, inclusivity and sustainability close to your heart,” said Jennings.

About Bev Jennings and SEE Company
After over 30 years with Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and most recently as Head, Global Supplier Diversity & Inclusion, Jennings was a key leader in J&J becoming the first Healthcare company to join the elite Billion Dollar Roundtable. Jennings founded SEE Company Inc. in Jacksonville, Florida to partner with business leaders and decision makers in realizing their potential for transformational growth and success while cultivating diversity and inclusion. With the overall mission of SEE Company to “See Everyone Elevate” Jennings made the conscious decision to use diverse suppliers throughout her business structure. The SEE Collection embodies diversity, inclusivity and sustainability. For more information about the SEE Company visit SEECompany.co and SeeCoStyle.com. (https://www.seecostyle.com/)

TAMPA, Fla. – July 18, 2023 — On May 25, members of the GFA Festival Committee members and organization leadership met at the Tempus Projects in Ybor City to fulfill a long-time tradition of the “Passing of the Chairs.”  GFA 53 Co-Chairs Clay Hollenkamp, Jeff Nader, and Sabrina Pollard passed their respective chairs along to the Co-Chairs for the 54th Annual Raymond James Festival of the Arts.

GFA 54 Festival Co-Chair Cynthia Banua
Cynthia Banua is a Tampa-based designer and art advisor and strives to make art collecting accessible to everyone and to support a diverse group of artists.  She has been a member of the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts committee since 2019, serving on the load-in/load-out and emerging artist teams.

GFA 54 Festival Co-Chair Adam Nichols
Adam Nichols has been a Florida resident for 18 years. Adam joined GFA as a Festival volunteer seven years ago and decided to join the concessions committee six years ago. He took over the committee four years ago with his best friend Catherine and has enjoyed being part of the leadership team.

GFA 54 Festival Co-Chair Jennifer Versaggi.
Jennifer Versaggi is a Tampa native and an expert in Property and Casualty insurance and financial services.  She is a Certified Personal Risk Manager who specialize in private client and high-end art collections.  As a Festival Co-Chair for GFA 54, she gets to combine her love of art with giving back to her community.

The Festival Co-Chairs are responsible for managing and executing tasks with over 18 different committees and nearly 400 volunteers who make the Festival possible.  GFA 54 will be held at Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park in downtown Tampa on March 2 and 3, 2024.

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About GFA: The Gasparilla Festival of the Arts is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation dedicated to producing an annual, premier juried outdoor art festival for the enjoyment and education of patrons, artists and guests as well as for the enhancement of the Tampa Bay area’s cultural arts. The non-profit organization relies on support from sponsorships, on-site retail sales, and corporate and individual gifts to fund its programs and events. To learn more, visit GasparillaArts.com.