CULTURE & COCKTAILS At The Colony Returns for 12th Season with Five Fascinating Conversations

Rena Blades, President & Chief Executive Officer of theCultural Council of Palm Beach County, today announced the 2016-2017 season of the popular series CULTURE & COCKTAILS. From November 2016 through April 2017, five fascinating Conversations will be held at The Colony Hotel Pavilion, located at 155 Hammon Avenue in Palm Beach.

November 7

KRAVIS MEMORIES

A Conversation about the 25th Anniversary of the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts

Sharing back stage stories about Palm Beach County's largest performing arts center and many of the celebrated stars that have appeared there will be:

+ Michael Bracci, Chairman of the Board

+ Judith Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer

+ Lee Bell, Senior Director of Programming

Interviewed by Lee Wolf, Author, Lecturer and Co-chair of the Kravis Center's Lunch & Learn Series.

January 9

HERITAGE VALUES

A Conversation with Two Star Appraisers from Antiques Roadshow

+ Kathleen Guzman, Heritage Auctions, Managing Director, New York

+ Nicholas Dawes, Heritage Auctions, Vice President, Special Collections, New York

Now with an office in Palm Beach, Heritage Auctions is the third largest auction house in the world and the largest auction house founded in the United States, Ms. Guzman is a recognized appraiser and auctioneer with over 25 years experience, who auctioned over 1,500 sales with over 500,000 objects valued at over a half billion dollars (including a Monet watercolor for $4.3 million and the Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz for $600,000). Mr. Dawes has spent over 35 years as an international antiques dealer and is a leading authority on Lalique Glass, Majolica and Art Deco.

Interviewed by Scott Simmons, Editor of Florida Weekly and "Collector's Corner" columnist

February 6

HOUSES, HOMES & HEMINGWAY

A Conversation with Bob Vila

Mr. Vila has hosted a variety of home improvement TV shows over the last 30 years, including This Old House, Bob Vila's Home Again, Bob Vila and Restore America with Bob Vila. He has written 12 books and for the last few years has been helping with the restoration of Ernest Hemingway's home and collections at Finca Vigía near Havana, Cuba.

Interviewed by John Blades, Director Emeritus of the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum

March 6

SPARKLE & SHINE

A Conversation with Coomi

Coomi is a true Renaissance woman, whose creativity and inherent artistic nature have driven her careers as a textile designer, architect, and landscape designer and now fuels her exquisite jewelry collection which is carried by leading luxury retailers such as Nieman Marcus. Coomi's feminine yet powerful lines and motifs, handcrafted in high karat gold, rose-cut diamonds and precious gemstones have garnered industry awards and international acclaim.

Interviewed by Michele Jacobs, Corporate Director of Marketing/Operations Florida for The Forbes Company

April 3

SING SING SING

A Conversation with Two Extraordinary Vocalists

+ Avery Sommers starred on Broadway in Ain't Misbehavin' and Showboat, in the national touring companies of Chicago (with Joel Grey and Chita Rivera) and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (with Ann-Margaret), and in shows at the Kravis Center, ArtGarage, Palm Beach Dramaworks and The Colony's Royal Room Cabaret.

+ Jill Switzer co-hosts The Morning Lounge on Legends 100.3 FM with husband Rich Switzer. She has headlined at Birdland in NYC and locally at The Colony's Royal Room and with the Palm Beach Pops, recently released the CD By Special Request, and is the author of The Diva Next Door: How to Be a Singing Star Wherever You Are.

Interviewed by Rob Russell, Entertainment Director at The Colony Hotel, Palm Beach

CULTURE & COCKTAILS is generously sponsored by The Milton and Tamar Maltz Family Foundation. Additional support for the series is provided by The Roe Green Foundation, Roe Green, Founder; The Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Daily News; First Republic Bank;and PR-BS, a Boca-based public relations firm.

Admission to each CULTURE & COCKTAILS event is $65 for advance RSVPs and $75 at the door, and FREE for members of the Cultural Council ($250 level and above). All proceeds go to support artist programs of the nonprofit Cultural Council of Palm Beach County. For membership information, please contact Debbie Calabria at 561.472.3330.

Each event will run from 5 to 7 p.m., with registration and cocktails from 5 to 5:45 p.m., and the "Conversation" from 5:45 to 7 p.m., including audience Q&A. The Colony will serve complimentary beverages and an array of specially prepared hors d'oeuvres before each CULTURE & COCKTAILS conversation

People interested in attending CULTURE & COCKTAILS can RSVP before each event by calling the Cultural Council at 561.472.3330.

Topics and speakers are subject to change depending upon the availability of scheduled participants.

About the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County:

The Cultural Council is the official support agency for arts and culture for Palm Beach County serving non-profit organizations, individual artists and arts districts. The Council promotes the county's cultural experiences through an integrated program of advertising, public relations and marketing activities to both visitors and residents. Each year, the Council administers more than $3.6 million in grants, supports arts and cultural education, provides capacity building training, and advocates for funding and arts-friendly policies. Located in the historic Robert M. Montgomery, Jr. building in downtown Lake Worth, the Council mounts a series of group and solo exhibitions featuring Palm Beach County artists and provides other programming.

Connect with the Council at palmbeachculture.com or (561) 471-2901. The Cultural Council visitor center, gallery and gift shop are located at the Cultural Council headquarters, an iconic Art Moderne former movie theater at 601 Lake Avenue in Lake Worth. Gallery, visitor center and the Roe Green Unique Palm Beach Store hours are 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.

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