Art Beat - WUCF

Jim Henson's Fantastic World will close in 2 weeks at the History Center. The Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit features archival material and his beloved muppets.

Special events include a Brown-bag lunch with Heather Henson, Thursday, April 30 at Noon and a Family Funshop on Saturday May 2 at 10am.

Companion exhibits: The Dark Crystal Redux and Puppetry in Central Florida continue through May 10.

The Orlando Philharmonic presents Rags to Riches - The Birth of Jazz and Jazz-Inspired Classics. There are two concerts - a free one Saturday, 4/18 at 7pm at St. Lukes Lutheran Church in Oviedo, and Monday, 4/20 at the Lowndes Shakespeare Center.

Orlando Shakespeare Theatre is running two shows on alternating nights - Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing and The Merchant of Venice, controversial because of its treatment of the character Shylock. A talk-back will be held after the performance on Thursday, April 16.

Listen to Jim Helsinger talk about the 2009-2010 season.

The Daytona Beach International Festival offers 17 days of leading international music artists, from jazz and bluegrass to Latin, world and classical music, including the only American residency by the London Symphony Orchestra.

The jazz series opens the festival on April 16 with trumpeter Chris Botti; also on the series is Chuck Mangione, Chuchito Valdes and The Yellowjackets.  Tthe new Late-Night Series brings jazz singer Sophie Milman to town. She will be the guest on Monday's ArtBeat. 

Melody Moore is a rising opera star who can be seen Tuesday night in Orlando Opera's production of Suor Angelica. It starts at 7:30 at the Bob Carr PAC. See a video of Moore from this production.

Also, a visit with Etta Jean Juge; her photography exhibit, Near and Far, is at the UCF Library through April 30th. Also at the library is an exhibit marking the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. Events include the film, Lejos de la Isla, on Thursday, April 9 at 6pm, with the director and writer in attendance.

Students in Professor Theo Lotz's BFA Seminar class have a special assignment this semester...the soon-to-be-graduating seniors are completely in charge of putting on an off-campus art show. From finding a venue (the old Mini-Cooper showroom at Orange Avenue and Jefferson Street) to building display walls and promotion, the 20 students will showcase their work tonight at tomorrow at a show called Driven. It's free and open from 7-10pm April 3 & 4.

Other UCF art events - Knights for the Arts features work by Rosen College students, Friday, April 3 from 7-10pm at the Engineering Center; and a Reception for Etta Jean Juge at the UCF Library, Friday, April 3 from 5-7pm. Her photography exhibit runs this month at the library - free parking is in Lot B-3.

Find community art events at Red Chair Project.com

This is Research Week at UCF - there are workshops for students presented by the Office of Undergraduate Research.  On Thursday, projects by 250 students will be featured in the Research Showcase and the public is invited to see the poster presentations. It's April 2 from 1:30-5pm in the Pegasus Ballroom of the UCF Student Union. We also hear an archive story on research with Ball State theatre professor Jennifer Blackmer.

Ticket giveaway - win a pair of tickets to Saturday's concert by the National Philharmonic of Russia, presented by the Festival of Orchestras. A pair of tickets is still available....email now to win! Be sure to include your name, address and phone number.