DELRAY BEACH --- The Palm Beach Poetry Festival is taking a hiatus in 2023 as it regroups from the death of its founder, Miles Coon, and searches for a new home. Officials said the festival plans to return in 2024 in a new venue, a new city and with a new name. Founded in 2005, the festival brought many big-name poets, including poet laureates Billy Collins, Robert … [Read more...]
Artist Hundt wins Cultural Council’s Dina Baker grant
Michele Hundt's business is running an apparel boutique for members of Wellington's equestrian community. But her passion is art, and her work in that field has been recognized by the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, which has named her the winner of the 2021-22 Dina Baker Fund for Mature Female Artists grant. “It was a great surprise and an honor to receive this … [Read more...]
Hallmark, Lifetime movie fans unite: The stars are aligning in West Palm Beach this week
Bringing the stars, screenwriters and producers of made-for-TV movies and the romantic dramas of The Hallmark Channel, Lifetime and Netflix to West Palm Beach, RomaDrama Live! comes to the Palm Beach Convention Center this week. Originally scheduled for last January, the event was rescheduled to June 24-26 because of COVID-19 and the omicron variant. “We are thrilled to … [Read more...]
Palm Beach Poetry Festival founder Miles Coon dies at 84
Miles Coon, a former business executive who founded the Palm Beach Poetry Festival after coming to the art form late in life, has died, festival officials said. Coon, who was 84, died May 21, the festival said. Susan Williamson, the festival’s director, remembers Coon as the first poet who welcomed her to Florida in 2006 and got her a seat at the workshop that year, … [Read more...]
Maltz gets underway in new house; companies announce 22-23 season
After two postponed productions and a third delayed by a week, the Maltz Jupiter Theatre opened in late March with critical acclaim for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and for its renovated and expanded playhouse. With much of the stress of construction deadlines over, producing artistic director Andrew Kato paused long enough to discuss the new, improved theater and the upcoming first … [Read more...]
The Queen at 96: Happy birthday, Your Majesty. You can retire now.
It’s April 21st, and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II turns 96. We wish her a very happy birthday. Last February 6, the queen celebrated 70 years since she ascended to the throne at age 25, the same age as Elizabeth I in 1558, who reigned for 45 years. Elizabeth II’s long reign, now the subject of the Netflix series The Crown, has provided insights and some intimate moments … [Read more...]
Palm Beach Opera gets $6 million gift; announces 2022-23 season
WEST PALM BEACH — Palm Beach Opera has received a gift of $6 million from a local foundation, the largest donation in the opera company’s 61-year history. The gift, announced last week, will allow Palm Beach Opera to move forward with renovations on its new home in the artsy Northwood section of West Palm Beach. The company announced in September it had bought an … [Read more...]
Festival of the Arts Boca set for live return
By Dale King The big tent that covers the Mizner Park Amphitheater in Boca Raton is back in place. The newly painted stage doors are prepared to open shortly to ignite nearly a dozen evenings of dancing, music and speeches by famed lecturers and authors. Food booths vending hot dogs, beer, soda and other audience snacks are ready to go. The 16th Annual Festival of the … [Read more...]
New Kravis CEO: Let’s program for the community
Cue the arrival of the new Kravis Center chief executive officer. Take two. When the longtime head of the West Palm Beach performing arts center, Judith Mitchell, announced that she was retiring, it triggered a nationwide search for her successor. Eventually, Terrence Dwyer, a veteran southern California arts manager, was selected, but he lasted a mere five months during … [Read more...]
Former ’60 Minutes’ producer pulls back the curtain behind that ticking clock
Over the course of his long career – 25 years as producer at 60 Minutes and another 15 years as senior producer of ABC’s Primetime Live and 20/20 – Ira Rosen has won a long list of accolades, including multiple Peabody and duPont awards, 24 Emmys and six Investigative Reporters and Editors awards -- more than Washington Post editor Bob Woodward. But for Rosen, the most … [Read more...]