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For the arts, a year of thriving

Among the highlights was the exhibit of Florida Highwaymen paintings at the Old Courthouse Heritage Museum.

By JORGE SANCHEZ
Published December 30, 2005

With its goals of presenting a fine arts festival, offering lots of mouthwatering seafood and helping many community agencies with financial assistance, the Homosassa Arts, Crafts and Seafood Festival staged another successful event in November, making it the top arts and entertainment story of the year.

With the money it raises from admission fees and other sources at the festival, the Homosassa Civic Club hands out thousands of dollars every year to area agencies. The civic club sponsors the festival.

This fundraising has helped schools, Scouting groups and garden clubs. Other groups help produce the massive festival and are rewarded for their participation.

And the general public isn't left out either: There are numerous raffles and door prizes at the festival.

Among the biggest drawings was a boat raffle. This year's package included a 15-foot aluminum boat, a 9.9-horsepower Mercury motor and a trailer, which was given away during the festival.

Many Homosassa charities and educational groups raised funds by selling tickets for the festival. These groups are given half the raffle ticket proceeds.

Among them were the Family Readiness Group, Nature Coast Young Marines, Foster Parents of Citrus County, Boy Scouts, Nature Coast Unitarian Universalist Church, Rock Crusher Safety Patrol, Citrus County Library Partnership Fund, Hernando Central FFA, Homosassa Garden Club, Blue Bird Springs, Crest School, Kiwanis and the Chamber of Commerce.

The other major arts and crafts festivals - the Florida Manatee Festival in January in Crystal River, the Floral City Strawberry Festival in March, and the Inverness Festival of the Arts in November - also drew large crowds.

The Citrus County Fair in March also drew huge crowds, particularly on opening night.

For the second year the fair featured a Dollar Night. Last year, a record opening night crowd of about 6,000 people took advantage of the bargain. Admission was just $1, rides at the midway were $1 each, and many food items were $1.

But festivals and fairs weren't the year's only entertainment attraction.

In January a celebration of Florida landscapes painted by the fabled Highwaymen artists brought a rare first-rate art exhibit to the Old Courthouse Heritage Museum.

The Highwaymen exhibit took viewers on an artistic voyage into a colorful Florida daydream of stirring sunsets, palms of magnificence and ruggedness and beautifully secretive bayous. The Highwaymen painted Florida like no other artists, and the public's demand for their work made most of them wealthy.

The Highwaymen were painters based mostly in Fort Pierce during the late 1950s who, through the next three decades, bonded spiritually, enjoyed financial success and produced affordable paintings of Florida landscapes in quantity.

The gallery at the Citrus County Art League hosted many artists, and a new gallery, Galeria San Sebastian in downtown Inverness on the Courthouse Square, also hosted exhibits by many local artists.

In early February, the Beatles tribute group Beatlemania Now performed at the courtyard of Chateau Chan Sezz Restaurant, 207 N Apopka Ave., Inverness. Using guitars, amps and costumes similar to those that the Beatles used, they performed an audience-pleasing show.

Other musical highlights included the December performance by fingerstyle guitarist Richard Gilewitz at the Arts Center Theatre, on the grounds of the Citrus County Art League in Citrus Springs.

Country stars Travis Tritt and Trace Adkins also performed in December at the long dormant Rock Crusher Canyon Amphitheater, marking the first time major stars have come to the county since the venue was closed in 2003.

Jorge Sanchez covers arts and entertainment in Citrus County. Call 860-7313 or e-mail sanchez@sptimes.com

[Last modified December 30, 2005, 01:22:03]