FPC teacher and Formality Singers director Amy Fulmer replaces Lisa McDevitt, whose 16-year tenure at the auditorium was cut short by illness and her death in January.
Leisure & Tourism
FPC’s Epic Student Musical Energizes ‘Les Misérables’ With Song, Fury and Redemption
FPC’s $17,000 production of “Les Miserables,” the musical, opens tonight and runs through Saturday at the Flagler Auditorium, featuring a cast of 57, lavish costumes and music from one of the most enduring musicals of all times.
Palm Coast Songwriters Festival’s Reprise Brings a Dozen Musicians and Their Stories For 3 Days at 2 Venues
The Palm Coast Songwriters Festival’s innumerable live acts and workshops runs Friday through Sunday at the Daytona State College Palm Coast Amphitheater, and the Palm Coast Arts Foundation stage.
Ocean Palm, Flagler Beach’s 9-Hole Golf Course, Is Finally Seeing Green All Around as Disputes Fade
Ocean Palm Golf Club’s difficulties are in the past, with vastly improved the grounds, new equipment, and a restaurant that just got a full liquor license as well. Ocean Palm has been running tournaments and leagues, and it’ll be adding new events every week.
‘Tick Tick Boom’ Musical Brings ‘Rent’ Creator’s Artistic Anxiety to City Repertory Theatre
“Tick Tick Boom” is fueled by that tension between the food-on-the-table demands of everyday life versus one’s artistic ambitions, and all those struggles to make it work.
Citing ‘Corruption’ Potential, Sheriff Turns Over Investigation of Tourism Director Matt Dunn to FDLE as Lukasik Takes Over Division
The Sheriff’s Office requested that the criminal investigation of Flagler Tourism Director Matt Dunn be conducted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Amy Lukasik, the tourism bureau’s marketing director, is taking over Dunn’s duties for now.
Flagler Beach Kills Paid Parking Proposal for the City: ‘We Don’t Have a Parking Problem’
The paid-parking proposal in Flagler Beach, the latest of many, would have generated money but not for the city: it would have paid for a company to run a complicated system.
Palm Coast Poised To Make the Arts Central To Its Innovation District as New Sculpture Garden Redefines Central Park
The Gargiulo Arts Foundation is making possible a new sculpture garden in Palm Coast’s Central Park and helping to redefine the city’s innovation district, with the arts playing a central role. More funding may be next.
Exult, Rejoice: Flagler Youth Orchestra’s 30 Top Musicians Showcased In Their Newest Concert Venue Saturday
The Flagler Youth Orchestra’s top ensemble, the Harmony Chamber Orchestra, performs a concert to benefit the FYO at 4 p.m. Saturday, March 2 at a new venue for the musicians: First Baptist Church in Bunnell, 2301 Commerce Parkway.
How Palm Coast Tamed Shakespeare’s Shrew, With Eyes On A Lot More at Arts Foundation’s Town Center Venue
City Repertory Theatre’s second edition of Shakespeare in the Park kicks off tonight at the Palm Coast Arts Foundation’s venue in Town Center, which the city sees as an anchor to future cultural growth.
126.1 Million Visitors To Florida in 2018 Sets Another Record; Almost 90% From U.S.
The increase was bolstered by 7.1 percent growth in U.S. travelers, who accounted for 88.6 percent of the state’s visitors, according to the Visit Florida numbers. Overseas visitors declined by 1 percent, to 10.818 million, after falling by 2 percent a year earlier.
Lisa McDevitt, Flagler Auditorium’s Vigor and Champion, Remembered as ‘Mama Lisa’ Of the Performing Arts
Paying tribute to Lisa McDevitt, the Flagler Auditorium’s long-time executive director, were some 300 people Saturday, including family, friends, and performers she’d shepherded through the stage over the years.
Palm Coast Is Concerned: Not Enough Sports Fields For Tournaments, Local Teams and Growth
Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland wants broader planning for additional sports fields in the city that ensure local sports organizations and residents aren’t sidelined by money-generating tournaments.
In Flagler Beach, A1A Shops and Restaurants Hope Their ‘Open For Business’ Signs Are Louder Than Road Construction
A1A businesses in Flagler Beach worry that year-long construction on the road will once again hurt business even as they prepare a campaign to remind patrons that doors are very much open.
On Captain’s BBQ at Bing’s, Commissioner Hansen Says Compromise Is On the Table
Allaying fears that his mind is made up, County Commissioner Greg Hansen said he’s willing to go for a compromise that would locate Captain’s BBQ away from the center of Bing’s Landing.
Proposal Calls for $1-an-Hour Paid Parking on A1A in Flagler Beach, Restrictions Elsewhere, and Meter Maids
The Flagler Beach City Commission is yet again considering a paid-parking proposal for its downtown area, but the plan, which projects $300,000 in revenue, would cost almost as much to run.
At Bing’s Landing, an Alternate, Compromise Location Emerges For Captain’s BBQ
The County Commission today heard new options on the expansion of Captain’s BBQ at Bing’s Landing in the Hammock, a plan that drew some support from the public, though rancor and controversy still simmers.
Before Barbecue: How Flagler County Saved Bing’s From Development
Bing’s Landing before the current controversy over Captain’s BBQ’s proposed expansion could have been sold off to developers. It wasn’t, thanks to one woman’s vision. Her daughter tells the story.
Flagler Will Try a Different, Riskier Strategy to Protect Its Short-Term Rental Regulations
Flagler County government may lobby lawmakers less intensely than they have over the past three years on vacation-rental regulations, hoping instead that the county is carved out of a potential statewide retreat on such regulations.
Divided County Commission Approves Captain’s BBQ Lease That Will Reshape Bing’s Landing
The vote followed more than three hours from 41 people, almost split between supporters and opponents of a lease that would reshape Bing’s Landing.
Entering Hotel Business, Flagler Government Dedicates 3 ‘Cottages’ at Princess Place
For Tourism and Science
The three cottages will be rented out to tourists and to environmental researchers for $125 to $150 a night, with 10 more planned for the River-to-Sea Preserve next year.
Something All Can Happily Vote For: Palm Coast Arts Foundation’s Free Concert Series
The Palm Coast Arts Foundation is in the running to bring a 10-week live music series to Palm Coast in 2019, but it needs you to register and vote to pull it off.
Legendary B-25 Bomber Among Two Dozen Aircraft at Flagler Airport’s Freedom Fest Saturday
Freedom Fest 2018 will include an air parade, a special pinning ceremony for Vietnam-era veterans, three tribute rock bands, numerous displays and fireworks to end it all.
Gargiulo Foundation’s Flagler Canvas Brims With More Artists, More Galleries, More Artist of the Year Nominees
Rather than just declare a Flagler County Artist of the Year, this time the Gargiulo Art Foundation nominated six potential winners and is working up to a winner through shows at two separate galleries.
‘Rocky Horror Show’ Takes Palm Coast in City Rep’s Season Opener, With Midnight Gigs
In Palm Coast for the first time, the campy raunchy musical parodies vintage science fiction and horror B movies and relies on audience participation for extra-special effects.
St. Johns River District Was Barreling Into Flagler Beach’s Marshes to “Restore” Them. Then It Met Fierce Opposition.
With little notice, some haphazardness and many unanswered questions, the St. Johns River Water Management District was speeding toward a $500,000, 113-acre “restoration” of marshes at the south end of Flagler Beach, angering residents and businesses, who slowed the project.
Déjà Vu All Over Again at Flagler Beach Golf Course as City Grants Yet Another Probation
Even though the city commission found a golf management company in default of its lease, the commission offered yet another conditional set of terms to make the nine-hole golf course work.
Flagler Youth Orchestra, Accompanist to Generation of Students, Marks 14th Year With Open House Wednesday
Many thousands of students have enrolled in the free Flagler Youth Orchestra’s strings program through the years, with some 400 enrolling each fall. Its open house is next week.
Flagler Approves $227,500 in Tourism Spending, Including $150,000 for Marina
The grants were part of the annual county tourism bureau’s funding round and are designed to enhance tourism and the visitor count in the county.
As County Completes 5.75 Miles In Dune Reinforcement, ‘Mobi-Mats’ Give Protective Access to Beaches
Installation of Mobi-Mats and “Dodge the Dunes” signs at nine beach access points in unincorporated Flagler County are scheduled for completion by the end of the week.
Flagler Unemployment Settles Below 4% in Echo of Pre-Recession Vigor, Labor Force at New High
The Flagler labor force hit a new high of 47,204, up 600 compared to a year ago. Of those, 45,423 residents are holding jobs either in the county or out of the county.
Flagler Beach Restores Beach Management Panel In Hopes of Securing $500,000 A Year
The Flagler Beach City Commission restored the Beach Management Committee disbanded in 2014 in hopes of ensuring that a state agency sends $500,000 a year to the city for management of 6 miles of dunes.
29 Million Domestic Visitors Push Florida Tourism To New Quarterly Record
Florida drew an estimated 33.2 million visitors from January through March, which was a 7.4 percent increase over the same period in 2017.
Marineland’s Latest Adventure Rededicates Iconic Arch to Memories Past and Future
Marineland’s arches are stamped in the memory of the town and its millions of visitors through the years, and today one of the iconic arches was reopened and dedicated.
County Defends $284,000 Tourism Website Deal and Commissioners Are Mollified
County Administrator Craig Coffey and tourism officials put commissioners’ questions about the expense of a website to rest with 75 minutes of details and only a few straw men.
Flagler Government Spent $1 Million on 3 Websites Since 2010, Wants $300,000 More In Next 4 Years
Flagler County government wants to spend $284,000 on a tourism website over the next four years. It has already spent $1 million on three websites in the past nine.
Flagler Government Wants $284,000 Contract For Tourism Website Revamp
The proposal never went before the Tourist Development Council. The county administrator says the $284,000 cost will actually be less than the existing contract.
Flagler Palm Coast High Thespians Go Big With ‘Little Mermaid’ and Again Raise Bar
For Local Musicals
The $18,000 production of FPC “Little Mermaid” is, Like Matanzas’s “Sherk” last month, giving Flagler audiences a new look at high school musicals that have little to differentiate them from professional productions.
Palm Coast’s City Repertory Theatre Leaps Into Faith and Murder with ‘Agnes of God’
“Agnes of God” is an investigation of religion, of faith, of science, of what, how and why we believe, says City Repertory Theatre John Sbordone. The play opens Friday.
With “Shrek The Musical,” Matanzas High School Mega-Production Aims To Make Everyone a Believer
“Shrek the Musical” at Matanzas’s Pirate Theatre Wednesday through Saturday is a huge, roaring production involving a cast and crew of 90, with a 20-piece live orchestra.
Tax-Evaders Beware: Flagler Will Take Over Local Collection From Short-Term Renters, Projecting Jump in Revenue
The Flagler County Tax Collector, not the state Department of Revenue, will be collecting the 5 percent tax on short term rentals starting in July–a tax hundreds of property owners are evading currently.
Flagler Moves to Protect Public’s Use Of Beaches Ahead of Law Granting Property Owners Restrictive Rights
The new law allows beachfront private property owners to trespass the public from private beaches, something not allowed currently, and never done in Flagler.
In Praise of Pops: Jax Symphony’s Palm Coast Picnic Returns in Salute To Bracing Favorites
The Jacksonville Symphony’s 11th Picnics and Pops concert with the Palm Coast Arts Foundation is an exploration of the worlds of pop music’s Mozarts.
City Rep’s ‘Blood Knot’ Peels Off Limits of Black and White Skins Through Apartheid
The Athol Fugard play tells the story of two South African brothers in the early 1960s, one of whom returns to live with his sibling after years of passing as white.
Tiny RV Park Proposed for Colbert Lane Revs Up Residents’ Rebellion, and Is Denied
Upscale or not, Palm Coast Plantation and Grand Haven residents saw a proposed RV park on Colbert Lane as a trailer park, and the county commission rejected it Monday evening.
Another Exhausting But Short-Term Victory For Flagler Government as Vacation-Rental Deregulation Fails Again
Flagler County government had staunchly opposed lawmakers’ attempts to eliminate local regulation of short-term vacation rentals, regulations crafted in 2014 largely at Flagler’s behest.
Flagler Beach Cuts Its Lifeguards in Half, Narrowing Coverage Area Closer to Pier
A $100,000 cut from the lifeguard budget accommodated the addition of a cop, a firefighter and a raise to the city manager, but will result in a smaller lifeguard coverage area.
With ‘Macbeth’ and Measureless Content, Palm Coast Arts Foundation and City Rep Theatre Launch Shakespeare In the Park
It’s “Macbeth” time Thursday through Sunday as the Palm Coast Arts Foundation and City Repertory Theatre hope Shakespeare in the Park, in Town Center, becomes a local tradition.
Palm Coast Vacation Rental Agency Ransacked, Hammock Unit Used To Print Counterfeit Cash
The Vacation Rental Pros office on Palm Coast’s Utility Drive was ransacked and keys to units stolen apparently by a tenant who used his unit possibly to print counterfeit currency.
Flagler Loses Hutson and Lopsided Vote as Vacation Rental Deregulation Advances
Sen. Travis Hutson voted with the 9-1 majority of his Senate committee today to advance a bill that would strip local governments of regulatory authority of vacation-rental homes.