Terry Hummel -- OrlandoSentinel.com

Terry Hummel

VISUAL ARTS

Festival of Trees heralds the season

November 14, 2008

The holiday art season is officially upon us; several galleries have works especially selected and priced for holiday gift-giving. The biggest holiday event each year is the Festival of Trees at the Orlando Museum of Art. Most of the museum is converted into a winter wonderland of professionally decorated trees, vignettes, gifts, ornaments, music, refreshments and art, all for sale. It's also the perfect place to snap those photos of the kids in their finest to use in your holiday cards. They usually have a special area for kids to create some art or craft, and for them to buy gifts for their family. There are demonstrations, entertainment and other special happenings during the week of the festival, such as the Holiday Jazz Stroll next Friday (call for prices, days and times of special happenings, 407-896-4231). General admission is $10, with discounts for kids and seniors. There could also be a $5 fee per car for parking, so get together with friends and go in one car. You'll have a wonder-filled time and help to support our great OMA, too!

Recent columns

Downtown Disney has two really big shows

November 7, 2008

I rarely mention any of our many outdoor art festivals because the quality of these shows has had a downward trend for the last 5 to 10 years; even the better shows can be fairly inconsistent in the standards they use year to year to jury the artists they admit (more than 200 for this show). So, I'm going out on a limb here to remind you that Disney's Festival of the Masters and House of Blues' annual Folk Art Festival are being held simultaneously today through Sunday, 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. at Downtown Disney. I helped jury this show several years ago; it's usually a safe bet for seeing some really good original art, especially since each entrant must have won at least one award in another recognized show during the previous year (hence the "Masters" in the title). I always go early to avoid traffic and parking problems at this very well attended festival, especially when the weather is as gorgeous as it has been lately.
Time for fresh art -- and a road trip

October 31, 2008

As you're reading this, I'm in beautiful Palm Springs, Calif., with several close friends, family and my partner, Nector Collazo. We'll be at the Riverside County clerk's office getting our marriage license -- something we can't get in my home state of Florida.
Orlando Folk Festival returning to Mennello

October 24, 2008

There's a great event every spring at the Mennello Museum in Loch Haven Park, the Orlando Folk Festival (Feb. 14-15, 2009). It's held in the museum and its lakeside park area just outside. They invite several important folk artists (some from this area), have dance groups, bluegrass music, stuff for the kids to do, food, etc. All of this is sponsored by the museum for our community. They do an excellent job (I've been several times) with the entire event. The only negative I've noticed is the lack of guests -- maybe people just don't know about it. Well, the Mennello is starting early this year with its publicity by holding an event, Heroes and Hellions, Saturday evening, 7-10. It's in keeping with the Halloween season, as guests are encouraged to "let your alter ego come out to play" by dressing as your favorite real or fictional hero -- or hellion. This event is a fundraiser for the Folk Fest, so there will be a silent auction, nibbles, wine and a mask workshop for kids. At least 17 artists have donated work for the auction. Admission is free; call for details, 407-246-4278.
Raves and faves with an artistic edge

October 5, 2007

I haven't yet seen the results of our first "101 Best" poll, but here are some of my faves:

Terry Hummel

Bio | E-mail

Terry Hummel

VISUAL ARTS

Recent columns

Search Classifieds

Popular stories