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Orlando Shakespeare Theater Announces New Managing Director
Orlando, FL – The Orlando Shakespeare Theater is pleased to announce that Donna Law has been named its new Managing Director. Donna will join the Orlando Shakespeare Theater on August 15th. “I'm thrilled to be joining artistic director Jim Helsinger and the talented staff at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater,” she said, “It's a company with a great reputation, fantastic programs, and an exciting future. I'm looking forward to being part of it all.”

Palm Beach PHotographic Centre Announces Winners of INFOCUS 2007 11th Annual Juried Exhibitio
Delray Beach - The Palm Beach Photographic Centre today announced the winners of INFOCUS 2007, the 11th annual juried exhibition, which is on exhibition through August 4. The 2007 winners are:

First Place: Siobhan McClory of Upperville, VA for “Communication” (Best in Show)
Second Place: Stephane Vercruysse of Wellington, FL for “”Old Key Lime House” (Merit Award)
Third Place: James Larocco of Highland Beach, FL for “Contrast” (Merit Award)

The INFOCUS Juried Exhibition features photographic and digital works by the Photo Centre's members. From still life, portraiture and nature photography to digital art, this exhibition showcases selected images by talented professional and amateur photographers. The Best in Show ($750 cash prize) and two Merit Awards (free tuition for a photography workshop) were presented at the opening reception that was held on June 14.

Actors' Playhouse Announces New Box Office Manager, Education Coordinator and Public Relations Manager
CORAL GABLES - Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre welcomes Nedra Simpson to its staff as Box Office Manager. A graduate in accounting from the University of South Carolina, Simpson has over 21 years of experience in Box Office Management. Another addition to Actors' Playhouse is Allene Mahogany as Education Coordinator. Working closely with the Director of the Theatre for Young Audiences, Mahogany will coordinate all conservatory programs as well as camp and school fieldtrips for our Theatre for Young Audience season. Kayla Harris also joins Actors' Playhouse as the Public Relations and Marketing Manager. She is responsible for overseeing promotions and media relations for Actors' Playhouse productions and events.

The Art and Culture Center of Hollywood Receives $10,000 NEA Challenge America Grant
Hollywood– The Art and Culture Center of Hollywood has received a $10,000 Challenge America Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The Center will use the money to help underwrite the cost for OceanDance, a free dance performance held annually on Hollywood Beach. In 2006, more than 6,000 people came out to see Philadelphia-based Philadanco perform over New Year’s weekend. This year’s event will be held on Dec. 30 and 31.

Funding Arts Broward Elects 2007-2008 Board of Directors
Fort Lauderdale - At their annual meeting held recently at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Funding Arts Broward (FAB!) elected the following new members to their Board Of Directors: Johnnie Sue Glantz, Cindy Kashdin, Susan Loving and Drazia Rubenstein. The Officers for that Board term were also elected: Connie Folz, President, Erica Hartman, Vice-President, Cindy Kashdin, Treasurer, and Mary Riedel, Secretary. Bonnie Barnett is Vice-President of Community Relations and Francie Bishop Good is Chairman.

Locals Invited To Share In The Past
Kissimmee - The Osceola County Historical Society (OCHS) is hard at work building a comprehensive inventory of the county's historic sites and structures, and they need your help to complete the list. The inventory will include categories such as Buildings, Cemeteries, Communities, Railroad Depots, Native American Sites, and Military Battlegrounds and Forts. All of the sites included will be at least 50 years in age and have historical significance. Included in each listing, OCHS intends to provide a photograph of the subject from the past (where possible) and present, a description of its current condition, GPS coordinates, along with a brief history. If you know of a site or structure that should be included in the inventory and have specific historical information and or photos that you would like to share, you are invited to contact the Osceola County Historical Society at 407-396-8644.

Local High School Students Received Anne Frank Humanitarian Award
St. Petersburg - The Florida Holocaust Museum recently honored 80 high school juniors from Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Manatee and Sarasota counties with the sixth annual Anne Frank Humanitarian Award. The award ceremonies took place at the Museum on May 30th, 31st, and June 3rd. Since the awards inception, the Museum is pleased to have 100% participation form all public high schools in the five county area. See attached list for names of award recipients.

SPA-rty Event Raises $2,000 for the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood
Hollywood– More than $2,000 was raised for the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood at its SPA-rty fund-raiser, which was held on Sunday, June 10, at Elizabeth Arden’s Red Door Lifestyle Spa at the Hyatt Regency Bonaventure. Limited to 50 people, participants enjoyed champagne, wines, and hors d’oeuvres while they relaxed their minds and pampered their bodies at the newly opened spa. Men and women enjoyed foot and leg massages; neck and shoulder massage; consultation on hair color and cut; body assessment; and eyebrow shaping. Event chairs were Phyllis Scarberry and Anna Smith.

Orlando Philharmonic Flute Player is Chosen to Compete in the First Crusell International Flute Competition
Orlando - Lisa Jaklitsch, a member of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, has been chosen to take part in the First Crusell International Flute Competition, held in Uusikaupunki, Finland in July. Jaklitsch is the only American that was chosen to compete out of 101 applicants from 32 countries. Each year, musicians come together in Uusikaupunki, Finland to celebrate the life of composer Berndt Henrik Crusell. Known as the Crusell Music Festival, this event is dedicated to woodwind music. For the first time this summer, the Crusell Society is sponsoring an international competition that will be dedicated to a different instrument of the woodwind family each year - this year it is open to flutists only worldwide.

Frank Lloyd Wright Campus at Florida Southern College Included on World Monument Fund’s 2008 World Watch List
LAKELAND— The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings on the Florida Southern College campus have been included on the World Monument Fund’s list of 100 most endangered sites in the world. The College has the world’s largest single-site collection of Wright’s buildings and is the only college campus designed by the master architect. “We are honored to have been included on the 2008 Watch List,” said Florida Southern College president Dr. Anne Kerr. “Selection to this distinguished body of architecturally significant sites will draw worldwide attention to the outstanding Frank Lloyd Wright legacy at Florida Southern, and it will provide a powerful endorsement of our efforts to secure funding to restore this unique world treasure.” The World Monuments Fund chooses sites based on historical or cultural significance, urgency of the threat, and viability of a sustainable solution. All 12 Wright structures are in need of restoration, and their inclusion on the Watch List designates the structures as worthy of preservation. Other sites on the 2008 list include Peru’s Machu Picchu; Shanghai’s modern architecture from the 1920s to the 1940s; areas of New Orleans already devastated by Hurricane Katrina and threatened by rising seas; and sites along U.S. Route 66, once the main thoroughfare to the West. The World Monuments Fund has included other world renowned sites such as the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, Ellis Island, and the Panama Canal on past Watch Lists.