Stetson University’s School of Music invites the community to experience Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s beloved opera, The Marriage of Figaro. The Stetson Opera Theatre will stage this classic comic opera with performances on Friday, March 21, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, March 23, at 3 p.m., at University High School in Orange City, Florida.
Culture
City Repertory Theatre Takes Trip to Matters of Faith and Race with ‘Violet’ Musical
In “Violet,” a musical that opens Friday at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre, it’s 1964, and Violet is about to travel by bus from her North Carolina home to Tulsa, Okla. The play’s themes are reflected in music that spans gospel, Memphis blues, bluegrass and jazz, with the cast singing to recorded backing tracks. Christian faith is an ongoing theme, as is race, judgment and life’s scars, visible and invisible.
University of Chicago’s Tony Banout, Freedom of Expression Expert, Speaks at Stetson March 26
As academic freedom and freedom of expression become flashpoints on college campuses nationwide, Stetson University will host a national expert March 26 to speak about the importance of free inquiry and expression. Tony Banout, Executive Director of the University of Chicago’s Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression, will give a talk entitled “Why is Wrongheaded, Immoral, and Offensive Speech Protected on Campus and Constitutionally?”
Read Across Flagler Event at Central Park Brings Out the District’s Own Student Novelists
The second annual Read Across Flagler at Palm Coast’s Central Park, an event organized by the school district’s media specialists, focused on the district’s own authors , including three high school students who have already published their first novel and are working on their second. There was a petting zoo, a balloon art station and two tables-full of books being given away, but the focus was on the writers.
“Warbirds Over Flagler” Fly-In Returns to County Airport March 22-23
“Warbirds Over Flagler” at the Flagler Executive Airport returns this year as a two-day warbird fly-in event on Saturday, March 22, and Sunday, March 23 to salute all veterans, both past and present. The event will offer thrilling flybys, historic aircraft displays, live music, and more.
Palm Coast Is Not a Business. It’s Not an Army Base. We Need a City Manager, Not a CEO in Fatigues.
The fetish of government as a business has a stranglehold on politicians. The mayor likes to call the city “Palm Coast Inc.” and wants a “CEO” to manage it. The fetish for a manager plucked out of the military is just as brawny. It’s a mistake. It will compound Palm Coast’s problems, which for the most part were not created by management. The city administration, because of its professionalism and deeply credentialed staff, has for years been the last thing standing between chaos and civility, between governing and fiscal, populist irresponsibility. The problem has been misguided policy by undisciplined councils.
Daytona Solisti Chamber Orchestra to Perform Music of Mendelssohn and Dvorak at March 23 Concert
Composer Felix Mendelssohn’s beloved Violin Concerto in E Minor, performed by violinist Olga Kolpakova, will be featured during “Romancing the Strings,” a concert by the Daytona Solisti Chamber Orchestra. The concert, which is the final performance of Daytona Solisti’s 2025 Winter Festival celebrating the group’s 20th anniversary, also will include Mendelssohn’s lively String Sinfonia No. 2 and Antonin Dvorak’s famous Serenade for Strings, Op. 22.
Federal Judge Clears Way for Publishers’ Lawsuit Against Florida and Volusia Boards of Education Over Banned Books
With major publishing companies and authors arguing a 2023 state law violates First Amendment rights, a federal judge Friday refused to dismiss a lawsuit against members of the State Board of Education over the removal of school library books. U.S. District Judge Carlos Mendoza, appointed by President Obama, rejected a state motion to dismiss the case, which also names as defendants members of the Orange County and Volusia County school boards.
Who Do You Think You Are? Here’s Why You Should See ‘The Niceties’ at CRT
“The Niceties,” which opens tonight at City Repertory Theatre, is familiar to our ideologically poisoned times, raising questions about whether there is such a thing as objective truth. It subverts assumptions about American and Black history, generational divides, and power. It will make you angry only if you’re not honest with yourself as it also subverts your own assumptions about who you think you are.
“Shut up and Listen!” City Repertory Theatre’s Production of “The Niceties” Explores the Mis-Education of Black History
In “The Niceties,” Eleanor Burgess’ 2018 two-person play, Zoe – a Black millennial Ivy League student – heatedly confronts her white, female Boomer history professor: “Listen, there is one appropriate way to respond to a woman of color when she says ‘I have an idea to assert,’ and that is to shut up and listen because she has experiences that you cannot possibly know and insights you can learn from.” The play, running from Thursday to Sunday at City Repertory Theatre, challenges conventions of Black history, the generational divide, and the meaning of objective truth.
DeSantis Wants to Move Ringling Circus Museum to New College
In his budget proposal released earlier this month, DeSantis included language that would transfer the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, the Ringlings’ Ca’d’Zan mansion, and the Ringling Circus Museum, located less than a mile from the New College campus in Sarasota.
Palm Coast Accepting Art Grants Through Flagler County Cultural Council
Management of the Palm Coast Cultural Arts Financial Assistance Grant program has transitioned to the Flagler County Cultural Council (FC3), the Official Arts Agency for Flagler County. This partnership represents a significant opportunity to expand and enhance the arts and cultural landscape in our community.For many years, the City of Palm Coast has provided grants to Flagler County-based nonprofit organizations to support cultural arts programs and events within the city. By shifting management to FC3, the city frees up staff resources while ensuring continued investment in the local arts community.
Sen. Tom Leek Files Bill to Name St. Johns County Site for Florida’s Black History Museum
Sen. Tom Leek, a North Florida Republican, filed a bill Monday to officially name St. Johns County as the site for Florida’s Black History Museum. Leek’s filing of SB 466 comes more than six months after a panel tasked with making recommendations for the museum’s construction issued its final report to Gov. Ron DeSantis and the leaders of the Republican-led Legislature.
Daytona Solisti String Quartet Will Feature Mozart, Irish Tunes and Guest Guitar Soloist Miles McConnell
A work Mozart wrote for a king, but which the cash-strapped composer sold “for a song” to a music publisher, will be featured during “Chamber Music Masterpieces,” a concert by the Daytona Solisti String Quartet. The concert, the second in Daytona Solisti’s Winter Festival celebrating the group’s 20th anniversary, also will include a Mozart serenade featured in the 1984 Oscar-winning biopic “Amadeus,” and Orlando-based guitarist Miles McConnell will perform classical works and Irish tunes.
Flagler County Historical Society Prepares Inaugural Bunnell History Day as Accelerant for City’s Renaissance
With a $5,000 state grant and local sponsorships, the Flagler County Historical Society is organizing Bunnell History Day, with the inaugural all-day event scheduled for June 7. Society members outlined the plan to the Bunnell City Commission as an effort to use history to focus attention on the city’s identity and enduring impact on the county.
Yacht Club Gives Up Palm Coast Boat Parade After 41 Years, Citing Costs and City’s Obstacles; Mayor Pledges Takeover
The Palm Coast Yacht Club is giving up on the Holiday Boat Parade, a local fixture for 41 years. The Yacht Club cited burdensome costs and too many obstacles and expectations from the city, all of which have taken the fun out of running it, its organizer says. The Palm Coast City Council today signaled its willingness to take it over and run it as a special event. But it would have to be approved through the coming budget process.
David Lynch Exposed the Rot at the Heart of American Culture
Lynch’s films and TV series reflected the dark, ominous, often bizarre underbelly of American culture – one increasingly out of the shadows today. American cinema holds up a mirror to society. Lynch was a master at this. His images of corruption, violence and toxic masculinity ring all too familiar in America today.
Exhibit Features May Pang’s Intimate Photos of John Lennon’s ‘Lost Weekend,’ at Ocean Art Gallery
Few people knew John Lennon as intimately as May Pang. Pang was Lennon’s lover during the infamous “Lost Weekend” which lasted 18 months during late 1973 through 1975. During this highly creative time for Lennon, Pang took candid photos of Lennon in a comfortable, relaxed environment. A collection of these private photographs including several taken at Disney World, will be on display and available for purchase at Ocean Art Gallery in Ormond Beach on Jan, 21 and 22. Admission to the exhibit is free to the public. All works are available to purchase – See John Lennon as May saw him.
Marineland Suspends All Event Permits Until Town and Flagler County Comply with State’s River to Sea Park Rules
The Marineland Town Commission Thursday evening agreed to suspend all permitting of special events, including vendor markets, 5K runs and weddings anywhere on the grounds of the River to Sea preserve–a public park–until the town and Flagler County government are in full compliance with the management terms of the preserve both had violated. The suspension is not a small matter for Marineland, whose character as a town with only a handful of residents and just one private business is defined at least in part by the events that take place in town, especially in connection with its natural amenities.
In ‘Every Brilliant Thing,’ City Rep Produces the ‘Most Hilarious Show About Depression You’ve Ever Seen’
“Every Brilliant Thing” a one-man play, is the story of a man who as a child sought to cope with his mother’s depression and suicidal tendencies, and to find a way to cheer her up. At first glance, “Every Brilliant Thing” may seem to be a play that labors and strains under the profound, harsh realities of depression and suicide. But a critic called it “the most hilarious show about depression you’ve ever seen.”
Howard Holley Presses Legislators for Money for Florida Museum of Black History
Howard Holley, a board member of the Museum of Black History and member of the state task force establishing the museum, pressed the St. Johns County legislative delegation to fund the new Florida Museum of Black History.
Daytona Solisti Chamber Orchestra Opens 20th Concert Season Jan. 19 with ‘Baroque and Classical Gems’
The Daytona Solisti Chamber Orchestra will open their Winter Festival – the group’s 20th concert season – with “Baroque and Classical Gems,” featuring Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, a work by his youngest son Johann Christian Bach, and an original piece, based on a 17th-century Lutheran hymn, by Solisti principal cellist Joseph Corporon.
Flagler’s New Legislative Delegation, Meager in Money and Seniority, Tells Locals: Don’t Expect Much
The much-diminished Flagler County Legislative Delegation took its seats this afternoon in Bunnell, cautioning local government and organization representatives seeking state aid for numerous projects that it’s a new, poorer day in Tallahassee, where federal Covid aid and legislative seniority are gone. Sen. Tom Leek and Rep. Sam Greco are each in his first term, though Leek brings eight years of service in the House, where he rose to the appropriations committee chairmanship before he was term-limited.
Lee Greenwood Brings His ‘God Bless the USA’ and American Spirit Tour to Palm Coast’s Fitz Arts Center
Country music star Lee Greenwood bring his trademark patriotism, his star-spangled-shirt, his veteran recognitions, his “God Bless the USA,” his many hit songs and many that weren’t to the Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center in Palm Coast the evening of Jan. 23 for a 7 p.m. concert, just six days after Crystal Gayle, that goddess of country, descends with her river of hair on the Fitzgerald stage.
Rethinking Who Belongs on Historical Markers
As the United States prepares to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026, many states are inventorying, mapping and repairing old historical markers, as well as installing hundreds of new roadside signs, plaques and interpretive panels. In South Carolina, the focus is on sharing lesser-known stories of women, children, Native Americans, enslaved and free Black people and even the Loyalists who sympathized with King George III.
Remembrance of Reads Past: Flagler County Leaders and Thinkers’ Favorite Books of 2024
What started last year as FlaglerLive’s end-of-year gift to our readers is back this year with 18 community leaders and thinkers sharing with us their favorite book of the year. Each was a surprise, a discovery, a challenge in the most rewarding sense. Your to-read pile is sure to grow. Happy New Reads in what we hope will be a page-turning 2025.
As Florida Celebrates Ignorance, SAT Scores and College Rankings Drop, Teachers Flee
A recent column in the Independent Florida Alligator laments how college professors and other educators who teach disfavored subjects or use certain words are beginning to self-censor. The headline reads, “Think While It’s Still Legal.” Gov. Ron DeSantis and his angry regime aren’t big fans of thinking. Or learning. They hate and fear knowledge.
Justifying Book Bans, Florida Says It’s Not Required to Provide Libraries to School Students. Publishers Disagree.
Major publishing companies and authors Friday argued that a federal judge should deny Florida’s request to dismiss a lawsuit over the removal of school library books, saying a controversial state law violates First Amendment rights. Attorneys disputed a state position that selection of school library books is “government speech” and, as a result, is not subject to the First Amendment.
Bob Dylan’s Creative Leap
The Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” starring Timothée Chalamet, focuses on Dylan’s early 1960s transition from idiosyncratic singer of folk songs to internationally renowned singer-songwriter. Sixty years ago, on Halloween Night 1964, a 23-year-old Dylan took the stage at New York City’s Philharmonic Hall. He had become a star within the niche genre of revivalist folk music.
Palm Coast to Host USTA Pro Circuit Event at Southern Recreation Center
The Southern Recreation Center is the new home of the annual Palm Coast Open, a USTA Pro-Circuit event. This year, we are excited to introduce the Women’s 35k Tournament alongside the Men’s 15k Tournament, which has been a community staple for over 13 years. Over the years, Palm Coast has hosted tennis legends like Andre Agassi, Michael Chang, Monica Seles, Jimmy Connors, and local star Reilly Opelka.
Town Center Glitters with Palm Coast’s Starlight Parade and County’s Float Takes Best of Show
This year’s Grand Marshal, Randy Stapleford, a retired U.S. Navy Captain and Flagler County’s Florida Inland Navigational District Commissioner, led the parade in grand style. Commander Stapleford, recognized as Flagler County’s Veteran of the Year in 2023, brought his dedication to service and holiday spirit to this cherished community event.
Ragga Surf Fiasco: How Flagler County Risked Losing River to Sea Preserve Over Botched Favor for a Private Business
Flagler County government and the town of Marineland have come close to losing their joint ownership of the 90-acre River to Sea Preserve, the public park, after the state’s land trust discovered that the county and the town were allowing the for-profit Ragga Surf Cafe to use the preserve for its operations since September without permission from the state and in violation of the county’s own rules and procedures. Here’s what happened.
Don’t Ban Health-Related Books from Florida Schools, Groups Urge
Four groups — the Florida Freedom to Read Project (FFTRP), PEN America, EveryLibrary, and the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCA) — sent a letter to school superintendents and attorneys representing Florida’s school boards urging restraint when it comes to books that include topics such as anatomy, teen pregnancy, and sexual assault.
The Firefighters of Notre Dame
The firefighters who saved the majority of the cathedral, which could very well have collapsed without their heroism, now stand as tall and as anonymous as the architects and masons of Notre Dame. They deserve their own Victor Hugo.
Addiction v. Redemption in City Repertory Theatre’s Production of Clifford Odets’s ‘Country Girl’
Clifford Odets’s play, opening at Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre Thursday and running as a staged reading through Sunday, tells the story of Frank Elgin, a once-lauded actor who’s become mired in booze even as he’s hoping to return to his past glory, while his ever-faithful wife, Georgie, struggles to keep him from tumbling into an alcoholic abyss. CRT is staging some of its leading stars and veterans, including Director John Sbordone.
Holiday Concert Featuring Ashley Estevez at The Stage in Palm Coast’s Town Center
Get ready to kick off the holiday season with free live music as the City of Palm Coast presents The Holiday Concert at The Stage at Town Center, at 1500 Central Ave, Palm Coast. The concert will take place on Thursday, December 5, from 6 to 8 p.m., featuring singer-songwriter Ashley Estevez performing beloved holiday classics in a cozy, outdoor setting.
Feet to Feast 5K Run/Walk Draws Record 1,000 Participants
The City of Palm Coast’s annual Feet to Feast 5K Run/Walk saw record numbers this year, with over 1,000 participants rising early to take part in the fun, festive community outing before the big meal. This number surpasses last year’s record of just over 800 participants, which included everyone from avid runners to families.
Randy Fine, One of Florida’s Most Bruising and Bellicose Lawmakers, Will Run for Mike Waltz’s Congressional Seat
Randy Fine, whose latest financial disclosure report showed a net worth of $30.3 million, was an early Trump supporter in the GOP presidential primary and has unabashedly signaled his allegiance to Trump on social media. The only Jewish Republican legislator in Florida, Fine often has taken an openly combative approach to political opponents, an image he has embraced publicly. “Unafraid to say what needs to be said,” Fine’s X profile boasts.
Turtle Shack Cafe in Flagler Beach Sustains ‘Significant’ Damage in Early Morning Fire
Turtle Shack Cafe, the popular Flagler Beach restaurant operating for two and a half decades between 21s and 22nd Street on State Road A1A, was damaged in an early-morning fire, drawing firefighters from across the county. The fire is believed to have started in the kitchen, but is still under investigation by the Flagler Beach fire marshal.
Florida’s New Condo Laws Recognize Price of Living on the Beach
Nearly a million Florida condo owners face an important deadline at the end of the year. That’s when a law passed in 2022 requires most Florida condo associations to submit inspection reports for their buildings and to collect money from owners to pay for any needed repairs. Condo owners are reporting that new condominium rules are driving up fees and inducing outrageous assessments.
Ta-Nehisi Coates on Israel’s Jim Crow-Like Apartheid
Aware of the racism that surrounds him as a Black American, Coates can imagine himself as both Palestinian and Israeli. This generosity of imagination does not prevent critical analysis. His accounts of life in the occupied West Bank underline the reality that Israel has imposed a regime that is effectively based on the subordination and dispossession of Palestinians – and a deliberate attempt, he writes, to deny any possibility of a genuine two-state solution.
Drug Court Graduation During Addict’s Murder Trial Draws Thin Line Between Abyss and Recovery
Four participants in Flagler County’s Drug Court graduated Thursday in a ceremony presided over by Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols, with Retired Judge Terence Perkins, in unique circumstances: the ceremony took place in the same courtroom where a murder trial was ongoing, with the jury deliberating over the fate of a drug abuser and dealer, whose shot of fentanyl killed another man. The juxtaposition of the two events sharpened the thin line between loss and recovery for substance abusers.
On Voltaire’s Birthday, a Look Back at Candide, Tale of Human Folly in Times of Crisis
Voltaire’s Candide, or Optimism (1759) is widely recognised as his masterpiece. A darkly satirical novella taking aim at human folly, pride and excessive faith in reason’s ability to plumb the deepest metaphysical truths, it remains as telling in this era of pandemics and wild conspiracy theories as when first published.
Moby-Dick, The Book for Our Times
We can’t afford permanent enmity or exile from each other. Secession and civil war might be a nice distraction but consumer splurging suggests that’s not in the cards. So for all of us grass-leaved Americans, “Moby-Dick” is the book for us, in this moment, in this whale of whiteness delirium. “Moby-Dick” is our book of revelation.
Palm Coast Developers Will Pay Public Arts Fee on Projects Above $1 Million, But Spending Is Unclear
The Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday approved imposing a 0.5 percent fee on all commercial projects in the city with a value of $1 million or more. The city will use parts of the money to fund its long-standing cultural arts grants, but it’s unclear how else it will use the money. It would largely be the purview of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, with a more specific policy to come to set out spending and installation criteria.
Quincy Jones, Epic Transformer of America’s Sounds
Quincy Jones transformed our understanding of musical arrangement. His work spanned decades and genres, from jazz and pop to hip-hop and film scoring. He worked with pop icons like Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin, and also collaborated with lesser-known artists such as Lesley Gore and Tevin Campbell.
The Sex Wars Through Neil Simon’s Wit: City Rep Stages “Jake’s Women,” a Comedy in Dramatic Acts
In Neil Simon’s “Jake’s Women,” opening tonight at City Repertory Theatre in Palm Coast, Jake is a novelist who has issues with intimacy, guilt, trust and all sorts of other familiar themes of the sex wars as he navigates the shoals of upper-class middle-age American dynamics, back when those problems were all we had to worry about. But it’s not a traditional play, as Neil Simon has a lot of fun breaking the fourth wall–that imaginary divide between the stage and the audience.
Bunnell, Palm Coast and County Will Host Joint Veterans Day Ceremony and Parade Nov. 11
The parade will travel east on Moody Boulevard and conclude at the Government Services Building where the traditional ceremony will begin. Retired U.S. Naval Captain James Randall “Randy” Stapleford – a career naval aviator who served from 1972 to 2003 – will be the grand marshal of the parade and will share a few words at the ceremony.
An Invitation to Mobility Week Nov. 1 at Lehigh Trailhead
The City of Palm Coast, in partnership with Flagler County Government, the River to Sea Transportation Planning Organization (TPO), and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), invites residents to join us for a Mobility Week Trail Walk, with staff, elected officials, and local partners to promote active transportation and community connectivity.
Palm Coast Council Sharply Divided Over Making Large Developers Pay ‘Minuscule’ Fee for Public Art
The Palm Coast City Council is divided over a modest program to fund public art installations that would require larger developers to devote half of a percent of the value of their project to the arts. One council member calls it “awesome.” Another says it “makes no sense.” A third is “torn.”