"Jacksonville Symphony Visits Palm Coast"

Music under the stars... a gorgeous early summer night... front row table on the football field grass... and an appropriate "Symphony" candy bar in our delicious box picnic lunches. As the kids say, "It's all good." "Picnic and Pops," featuring the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra was a huge success. The venue, FPC High School's football stadium, was perfect. Normally, the sounds of raucous marching bands and staccato drum lines emanate from this field, but last night it was the symphony, led by their gregarious conductor, Scott Gregg. Jointly sponsored by the "Palm Coast / Flagler Foundation for the Arts and Entertainment, Inc." and the "Flagler Symphonic Society," the event demonstrated the success being enjoyed locally, due to these organization's efforts to enhance the presence of The Arts in Palm Coast and Flagler Beach. Officers of these organizations include Joe Ganci, Tom Corum, Sam Perkovich, Glenn Grube, and Linda Kuntz , with the Foundation, as well as Mary Stetler, Pam Richardson, Celia Pugliese, and Cornelia Manfre, with the Society. Thanks also go out to the Palm Coast City Council and the Tourist Development Council of Flagler County for their cultural grants, which helped to facilitate this concert. The music? It was wonderful. Highlights from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, The Best of the Beatles from John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and a tribute to Duke Ellington were the show-stoppers for me. Our fellow RE/MAX Oceanside Realtor and friend, Sam Perkovich, scored (excuse me, I mean sponsored) a front row table for our office and it was perfect. Sam has been involved with the Foundation for the Arts and is currently a VP for them, as they orchestrate Flagler County's emergence as a place where the Arts will flourish. I got smarter, too. From now on, when I hear the theme from "Raging Bull," or the score from "Godfather III," I'll say, "Isn't that Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana, by Mascagni, just beautiful?" If you didn't know that, you need to get out more...