Morean Arts Center plans Family Day
ST. PETERSBURG — The Morean Arts Center will host Family Day in the Chihuly Garden on Saturday, May 2, from 9 to 11 a.m.
Located at the East Gate entrance of the Morean Arts Center, visitors will find a chalk path which leads to landscape of lush Florida-native blossoms. At the event, families will have an opportunity to meet summer camp instructors as well as the center’s education team. Visitors can explore their creativity and engage in art activities, with supplies provided by BayFirst Financial. There will be light bites and refreshments, including goodies from the Melting Pot.
Other planned activities include face-painting and a visit with feathered friends from Tampa Bay Raptor Rescue.
All families are welcome, and no RSVP is required. Adults must be accompanied by a child to attend Family Day. This event is designed for children and their caregivers to enjoy together.
The Morean Arts Center is at 719 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. For more information, visit /moreanartscenter.org/family-day/.
Straz to host Arts & Mind Village Convening
TAMPA — The fourth annual Arts & Mind Village Convening will take place on Wednesday, May 20, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., in TECO Theater at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, 1010 N. W.C. MacInnes Place, Tampa.
Presented in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University’s International Arts + Mind Lab and as an extension of the virtual Arts & Mind Village Chat, this event will create an engaging environment where scientists, researchers, and members of our community discuss the impact and actualization of the arts and healing. Participants will explore the bridge connecting research provided by the scientific community and how that information can lead to practical application and actualization in the arts and healing community. Through a series of sessions, mini workshops, panel with leaders of the arts and health community, attendees are empowered to embrace art more deeply as a vital part of health and wellbeing.
Registration is $20 and is required for entry. Visit https://www.strazcenter.org/events/2526-season/community-engagement/arts-mind-village-convening-keynote/
This event is supported in part by BayCare and the Division of Arts and Culture, the State of Florida, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
For information about the Patel Conservatory and Straz Center for the Performing Arts and its upcoming events, visit www.strazcenter.org.
EVO Entertainment developing new entertainment destination
CLEARWATER — A major new entertainment destination is planned for downtown Clearwater, as EVO Entertainment prepares to develop its flagship family entertainment center at the entrance to the Cleveland Street corridor.
The 83,000-square-foot project, located at Cleveland Street and Myrtle Avenue, will establish a new focal point at the primary gateway to downtown and is designed to generate sustained, high-volume activity across the district.
The development represents an approximately $50 million private investment and marks the next milestone in a broader transformation now underway along Cleveland Street, bringing a level of scale and sustained activity not previously present in the corridor.
At the core of the project is a seven-screen multiplex anchored by the largest cinema screen in the world, spanning more than 130 feet in width. The auditorium will be paired with Dolby Vision projection and Dolby Atmos sound, delivering an immersive cinema experience at a scale not previously seen in the market.
The multiplex will be the first in the world where every auditorium features both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, establishing a new standard for premium cinema presentation.
To learn more, visit clevelandstreetalliance.com.
Morean Center for Clay announces new exhibition
ST. PETERSBURG — Charles Morrison, an artist in residence at the Morean Center for Clay, explores the power of living in a realm without taking on the customs or values of it. An opening reception for “Head in the Sky, Feet on the Ground,” Morrison’s upcoming exhibition, will take place on Saturday, May 9, 5 to 9 p.m., at the Morean Center for Clay, 420 22nd St. S., St. Petersburg.
With a newly found fascination for the giraffe, (a creature whose head is quite literally in the sky, while its feet remain planted firmly on the earth), Morrison uses artistic depictions inspired by ancient mythology to convey a spiritual concept related to existing in the world today.
Having one’s head in the sky in this instance refers to a deep interest in spiritual matters, occulted aspects of society, and ancient histories of our world as Morrison applies research from those areas to inform his work.
Morrison says: “Without a change in the hearts and minds of the masses, there will never be a change in our shared physical reality. I hope to encourage that change.”
Morrison, a graduate of Saint Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Indiana, in 2017, first started working with clay in 2016. He has since exhibited throughout the Midwest in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana. He eventually joined the Morean Center for Clay in 2024, where he now shares his exit show as the artist residency comes to a close.
Using clay as his primary means of communication, Charles also employs print, paint, and performance to convey his message. Taking great inspiration from the ancient world and indigenous cultures around the planet, he finds himself working to remind us today, of an ancient past.
The exhibition is free and open to the public Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibition will run through May 30. Visit www.MoreanArtsCenter.org for more information.