Sarasota Jazz Festival, Sarasota Florida.

          The Jazz Club of Sarasota in which I am a member and volunteer held its annual festival. The venue has been entertaining audiences for 43 years! Its conception was started by Hall Davis who began his P.R. career in the publicity department of CBS. He handled top talent like Benny Goodman's tours abroad. When he and his wife Evelyn retired to Sarasota, they began the club in their condo living room which later grew to the condo meeting room and eventually grew to be a three-day festival which quickly morphed into yearly week-long event.

          This year's festival director was acclaimed trumpet player Terell Stafford hailed as "one of the great players of our time". 

          This infamous soiree featured world renowned artists opening with five-time Grammy nominee Christian Sands who was accompanied by Phil Norris on bass and Ryan Sands on drums.

          Lizz Wright was present with her band that included Kenny Banks Sr. (keys), Ivan Edwards (drums), Adam Levy (guitar) and Ben Zerwin (bass).

          The Allen Carmen Project with Gumbi Ortiz (who played with jazz guitar giant Al Di Meola) is a group of friends since 1980 but have been gigging since 2015.

          Two-time Grammy award winner, Marcus Miller was backed up by trumpeter Russell Gunn, saxophonist Don Hayes, drummer Billy Kilson, guitarist Jordon Long, keyboardist Julian Pollack and on vocals was Leon Timbo.

          Friday night's main stage concert featured Dick Hyman, 2017 NEA Jazz Master and 2001 Satchmo Award was accompanied by Grammy nominated Diego Figueiredo.

          Another two-time Grammy winner, Kurt Elling, a renowned jazz vocalist was accompanied by Charlie Hunter on guitar, Cory Fonville on drums and DJ Harrison on piano.

          The closing night of the Sarasota Jazz festival wrapped up with Paquito D'Rivera, an NEA Jazz Master award winner and recipient of the National Medal for the Arts from President George W. Bush and winner of 14 Grammy and Latin awards. Playing with him was Alex Brown (piano), Hamish Smith (bass), Diego Urcola (horns) and Mauricio Zottarelli (drums).

           Along with the four main stage performances, the venue included a trolley pub crawl which showcased ten artists; Five Point Quintet, Hot Club SRQ, Michael Ross Trio, Eddie Tobin, Panama Drive, Mark and Anne Burnell, The Barker Project, Barbara Jordan Quintet, Melanie Massel Band and the La Lucha Trio who hosted the late-night jam session on Friday. 

          The Synia Carroll Band hosted the late-night jam session on Saturday. Both jams featured up and coming local artists. 

           The Sarasota Jazz festival had a line-up that drew the attention of true jazz aficionados near and far! I am definitely looking forward to next year's arrangement!

All the best,

GMarie

March is Women's History Month

          The month of March celebrates the accomplishments of women from all walks of life and how in their endeavors paved the way for the future generations of young women. I like to say that I was one of those bold women that played a part in that movement through my career, volunteerism and philanthropy. 60.5 years young and still going strong!

Sharing and enjoy!

36 Women's History Month Quotes To Share With Kids (today.com)

Women's History Month (womenshistorymonth.gov)

All the best,

GMarie

Hurricane Ian – the Aftermath

                   Residents who weathered Hurricane Charley, a Category 4 storm that ripped through Punta Gorda and Arcadia in 2004, said that Charley had nothing on Hurricane Ian!

          Hurricane Ian, a category 4 storm, made landfall in Florida on Wednesday, September 28, 2022 and is said to have been one of the most powerful hurricanes in American history; with winds above 150 miles per hour, and one of the most powerful storms to reach the United States mainland.

          As Floridians were deciding to either ride the storm out or evacuate, we prepared; boarding up the windows, ensuring adequate hurricane type supplies was plentiful and gassing up the vehicle just in case we had last minute thoughts to leave. I made sure I had the bathtub fill with water to flush toilets, plenty of ice in the freezer to keep the food cold in case of power outages and for the first time, an axe and saw, just in case I had to cut a hole in the roof to get out of my house due to storm surges, since I live on a canal.

          All the prep and anxiety got the best of me. Just when the storm made its way past Cuba and into the Gulf, I decided to evacuate to Ruskin, which is located northeast of Port Charlotte, to take refuge with some friends.

          The fastest winds recorded in the region was 124 mph on Wednesday in Punta Gorda shortly after Hurricane Ian made landfall.  Later, 110 mph winds were recorded along the east side of Charlotte Harbor. Port Charlotte sits across Charlotte Harbor from Punta Gorda. 

          Hurricane Ian's ferocious winds hit Port Charlotte with a vengeance and left a path of destruction trapping people in flooded homes and knocking out the power for millions. Ian left may buildings flattened and streets unpassable due to severe flooding and many with only the clothes on their backs!

          I decided to return home to Port Charlotte on Thursday and face the challenges and destruction Ian had bestowed upon my town. The drive back was nerve wrenching to say the least but as I turned the corner of my street, I saw that while my house was mostly spared from this monster storm (roof shingles downed fence uprooted from the cement!) there were a lot of my neighbors who did not fare as well. A neighbor, who also evacuated, asked me to take photos of their home and text them so she could be mentally prepared on the trek back home. Her home had similar damages to mine. I changed my clothes and immediately began cleaning up the debris that had totally overtaken our small community.

          While cleaning, you could hear the stream of fire truck and ambulance sirens and helicopters overhead responding to many residents who had to be rescued from their flooded and splintered homes by boat and by air. Rescuers continued to search for survivors in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. The surge was extremely broad, so it pushed a great deal of water inland. The streets were turned into rivers and there were downed trees and powerlines everywhere.

          More than two million Florida homes and business were left without electricity. But even as I cleaned up as much debris as possible, all you could see was a plethora of volunteer organizations helping with this massive cleanup and linemen from out of our area assisting with getting the electricity back on.

           

          To date, the statewide storm related deaths in Florida (most due to drowning) is at 123:

Lee County (Cape Coral, Bonita Springs, Fort Myers, Sanibel, Lehigh Acres, Estero and Pine Island), the death toll is at 59

Charlotte County (Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte and Englewood), 24 deaths

Collier County (Marco Island, Naples and Golden Gate) is at 5 deaths. 

May they rest in peace.  Condolences to their families and prayers that their fond memories of their loved ones comfort them.

          Ian has left a trail of destruction and a huge emotional toll on all that were affected by this horrific natural disaster. But WE WILL continue to clean up the messes, WE WILL navigate the bureaucracy for financial assistance, WE WILL maintain our stress levels while dealing with the insurance companies and WE WILL rebuild!  Things may seem bleak for those whose homes and livelihoods were hit hard and displaced due to Ian but the big picture view is OUR communities WILL recover and WILL flourish again!

All the best, 

GMarie

Links to donate food, household items or money:

To check on loved ones: 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767)

Red Cross:  https://www.redcross.org/donate/donations.html

Salvation Army: https://www.salvationarmyusa.org

The Florida Disaster Fund: https://www.volunteerflorida.org/donatefdf/.

Feeding Florida: https://www.feedingflorida.org/florida-food-banks

Lost and displaced animals: https://www.humanesociety.org

Sanding Ovations 2020

    The pandemic has not stopped the return of the annual sand sculping event called Sanding Ovations which is held annually behind the Bilmar Beach Resort at Treasure Island, Florida, November 19-22, 2020. With several tons of sand and water the masterpieces created by master sculptors are beyond awesome! 

Sanding Ovations is one of the largest exhibitions in the United States. Spectators can watch the sculptors that are local and across the country create astonishing works of art with nothing but their tools, sand, water and a vivid imagination. There is also an assortment of beach foods, arts and crafts, a kite festival and three days of live entertainment with fireworks. What a prefect venue on a wide-open space with plenty of room to social distance on Treasure Island overseeing the Gulf of Mexico!

Typically, there are more artists showcased, but due to international travel being tricky, this year will be an exhibition instead of a competition with ten sculptors. The theme this year is "Sandhenge, a Sand Sculpting Exhibition". The sculptors invited includes: Deborah Barrett-Cutulle (Saugas, MA), Melineige Beaureggard (Montreal, Canada), Manuel Campos (Jacksonville, FL), Damon Meri (Indian Rocks Beach, Florida), Abe Waterman (Canada), Bruce Philips (who will be creating Sanhenge), Dan Doubleday (Treasure Island, FL), Sue McGrew (Tacoma, WA), Meredith Doubleday (Treasure Island, FL) and Mark Price (Treasure Island, FL). This free event will take place through Sunday.

All the best,

GMarie

This Thing Called Life We are Now Living Called Covid-19

               In these unprecedented times where folks are working from home full-time, parents are home schooling, the wearing of masks has become the "uniform of the day", and major adjustments is now the new norm or "business-as-usual" in this climate we are living called COVID-19 aka the coronavirus.

     The “new rules” such as practicing social distancing and in some cases isolation, federal and local governments are mandating curfews and closures with no idea as to when this will end.  So we have had to adjust to a new way of living and working considering COVID-19, as maintaining relationships has become an absolute must to get through this all. We desire a sense of community even though it's especially difficult in times of social distancing and quarantining in the safety of our homes.   
    

     Who would ever think that the onset of this pandemic would set in the need to dispose of the playbook when it comes to engaging with family, friends and customers while medical facilities continue to strategize on how to serve patients. Thanks to all the brave souls that have unselfishly put themselves in harms way to continue to care, protect, assist, deliver and transport. Big up to all those working hard to keep America safe. Celebrate their bravery!

              While the COVID-19 crisis has affected everyone be it financially or any one of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, we do know that there are those who are facing more hardship than others. In the face of this unfolding crisis, we believe that it is more critical than ever to come together. We are definitely going through the storm, but history shows we will eventually have light and calm. We are "going through it" right now but we will get through this together.  

All the best and remain safe,

GMarie

Nuremburg Germany

This past weekend I decided to visit the annual Easter Market (Ostermarkt in German) in Nuremburg Germany. It was going to be a gorgeous day (70’s) so it would be a great day to visit the market as well as explore Germany’s second largest city known for the famous post-war Nuremburg Trials, Nuremburg Castle, St. Lorenz Church, Schöner Brunnen and Nürnberger Bratwurst. By car, it is a little over an hour from Grafenwoehr to Nuremburg. Rather than drive, I could take in more scenery by using the German rail system called Deutsche Bahn, or DB for short. Two can travel on an all-day Bayern pass for as little as 38 euros which is about $42.00. I met up with a friend at the Freihung train station and headed out to Nuremburg.

The ride took about 52 minutes. Germany really is a beautiful place to see by train!  A ten-minute walk, the historical market (traced back to the 1400’s), is held in the Hauptmarkt Square in the castle compounds. To reach the market, you must enter through the old castle walls. 

Once inside the walls, you can shop, explore or just partake in all of the eateries and of course, beer. It was quite crowded with multiple stalls filled with booths of sweets, yummy eats, housewares and, of course, Easter wares. The big lure of the market is its medieval walls, ancient castle, bread made without any additives or preservatives, gingerbread and Nürnberger bratwurst.

Who would ever imagine that this place because of its connection to Hitler and the Nazis, was heavily bombed by allies in the 1940’s and that it was the chosen site for the war crimes trials.

You can’t walk through these German markets and not eat something! So after salivating long enough, I finally tried some of the bratwurst and bread. Absolutely the best I have ever had in my life! I read that the sausage is protected by European Union (EU) which means it can only be produced in Nuremburg! The seasoning used in these sausages is marjoram and typically grilled over beech-wood fire. At the edge of the market square is a medieval gothic fountain called the Schoner Brunnen.

             The fountain that was constructed in the 1300’s by architect Heinrich Beheim is 62 feet tall! The statues represent philosophy and the seven liberal arts (composed of two groups: the trivium, or lower studies—grammar, rhetoric, and dialectic —and the quadrivium, or higher studies—arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music). Below the seven liberal arts are the four church fathers. These include Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, and Saint Gregory the Great in the Western Church, and Basil, Athanasius, Gregory of Nazianzus, and John Chrysostom in the East and the four evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).  The nine worthies include three pagans (Hector, Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar), three Jews (Joshua, David and Judas Maccabeus) and three Christians (King Arthur, Charlemagne and Godfrey of Bouillon) who were legendary dignitaries. The seven holy roman electors are above the seven liberal arts. At the top sits Moses and the seven prophets (Hosea, Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Isaiah and Joel). Fortunately, the monument was not harmed in WWII.

          Located in the heart of Nuremburg and its popular dominance in the Nuremburg skyline is St. Lorenz Church. It was built in the 13 century and like many of the other structure in Nuremburg the Lorenz Church was damaged in WWII.  Being the largest church in Nuremburg, it is considered a gothic masterpiece! 

Though originally a Catholic church, it was converted to Lutheran after the renovation. St. Lorenz Church’s interior and exterior are both magnificent!

The Castle Kaiserburg is definitely a must see!. The view over the city is this castle that is an important structure of the Holy Roman Empire. 

          There was a bit of a steep climb through the cobble stone streets to get to the castle which dates back to the 13^th century. We made it to the top floor called the Sinwell Tower which houses the Tiefer Brunnen (Deep Well) and hosts a magnificent view of the city!

The structure with its incredible history was not only a prestigious residence for several emperors of the Roman empire but it was also used for administrative functions and festivities. Even though the castle was damaged during WWII, it was virtually restored to its original state. The castle is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from April to September, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. from October to March.

Nuremburg. Besides the Franconian beer, 1000-year-old castle, and bratwurst, the location alone makes it worth a visit!

All the best,

GMarie