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6 Let’s Go! E/N/C/V May 9-15, 2012 ROAD TRIP Happy birthday Kasi BY KIM COOL FEATURES EDITOR For its first birthday, Kasi, my favorite cheetah at Busch gardens Tampa Bay, received its first annual checkup with the park’s veterinary staff and in full view of several park patrons looking through a window into the park’s new animal care center. Also watching was Mtani, Kasi’s best friend. A year ago Kasi was the size of a kitten, frolicking with its then-new friend, a yellow lab named Mtani. At 1, Kasi is larger than Mtani by almost a head, yet the two remain close, although larger than the lab, Kasi still obeys Mtani. The annual check up included a dental exam and cleaning, x-rays and endoscopy of its intestinal tract while the cat slept peacefully under anesthesia. Kasi was awake and back at his Cheetah Run habitat by early afternoon the same day. The cat and canine combination began April 16, 2011, when Kasi was just 8 weeks old. Mtani was 16 weeks old and the larger of the two at that time. Busch animal experts paired the two with the hope that they would be life-long friends and that Mtani also would help in the socialization of Kasi for public appearances. These days, the two live together full time in the park’s Cheetah Run area when not on the road for public appearances at schools and on television. Traveling with them are Busch zoo keepers who talk about the plight of the cheetah in the wild and the efforts of the Busch conservation team. When not on the road for their public appearances, they play together and continue to train with keepers in their habitat. Both animals like to run, although Kasi will always be the faster of the two. While visiting the not-so-odd couple, take time for a ride on Cheetah Hunt, the triple-thrust coaster inspired by Cheetah Run. Its bright green tracks loop and spiral all over the park, offering riders great views of all of Busch Gardens but only if riders keep their eyes wide open. Call 888-800-5447 or visit www.buschgardens. com for current hours and prices, including Florida resident deals. There also are combination deals that include parking at Busch Gardens or a combo deal that includes unlimited admission to both Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Sea World Orlando. From Sun Coast country, take Interstate 75 north past I-4 (exit 261) to exit 265 (Fowler Avenue). Bear left on the exit ramp onto Fowler Avenue. Continue west to McKinley Drive, the first light past the entrance to the University of South Florida. Head south on McKinley to parking and PHOTO COURTESY OF BUSCH GARDENS TAMPA BAY Kasi, the year-old cheetah at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, has grown larger than his best friend, a yellow lab named Mtani. the main entrance to the park. If the lot nearest the gate is filled, there is plenty of parking on McKinley and regular shuttle service between that lot and the gate. The park is located at 10165 North McKinley Drive, Tampa. Wet ‘n Wild Orlando is building new sandcastle-themed water playground PROVIDED BY WET ‘N WILD Wet ‘n Wild Orlando is building a new attraction. Covering an acre and featuring a new sandcastle-themed water playground, the new Kids’ Park is expected to be the largest of its kind in Florida. l e . i Scheduled to open this summer, this will be Wet ‘n Wild’s first new attraction in over four years. “We are excited to offer a tremendous, new experience for families and children of all ages,” said Sr. Vice President and General Manager of Wet ‘n Wild Michael Black. “As the water park T;,pEN SUMM ER 2012 , f . . , recognized for shared thrills and multiperson attractions, we wanted to add new thrills for the kids to share with their families.” The new interactive water playground will span more than 60-feet in height, expand across two pools (two levels: upper and lower) and have more than 85,000 gallons of water for guests to enjoy. The sandcastle playground itself will encompass more than 15,000 square feet, and will feature 17 slides and over 160 soakers, jets, waterfalls and water cannons. Built on the site of Wet ‘n Wild’s current kids’ park, the new attraction will be a beach-themed area unto itself with only one entrance/exit. The area will include dedicated seating set amidst lush, tropical landscaping. “We’ve all seen kid’s areas at water parks,” Black stated, “but this will be bigger and unlike any other around. It will be fun and engaging for everyone, stimulating our youngest guests and delighting entire families.” Wet ‘n Wild Orlando, the world’s first water park as recognized by the World Waterpark Association, introduced the world to the waterpark concept in 1977. Today, over 15 themed rides and attractions comprise an arsenal of thrills that provide guests an exciting variety of ways to “share the rush” with family and friends. For more information on Wet ‘n Wild Orlando, visit www.wetnwild.com. Sailing from Ft. Lauderdale to San Diego. Visiting Cartagena, Colombia; Panama Canal; Puntarenas, Costa Rica; Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala; and Puerto Vallarta & Cabo San Lucas, Fly FREE Mexico. BONUS: Return Air to Ft. Lauderdale. Vision of the Seas.............................................$ 1399 I I 11-Night Baltic / Scandinavia from $137 / Day Sailing round trip from Copenhagen, Denmark. Visiting Warnemunde, Germany; Tallinn, Estonia; St. Petersburg (overnight onboard), Russia; Helsinki, Finland; & Stockholm, Sweden Hotel Stay BONUS: 2-Night hotel stay in Copenhagen. ( NORW EGUM Norwegian Sun.................................................$ 1499 I Expedia I 447041 I 14-Night Panama Canal w/Air from $100 / Day cruisectfMFcenters- 812 Tamiami Trail #3 PC FL 33953 1-800-721-2469 www.portcharlotte.cruiseshipcenters.com Restrictions apply. Rates are per person and based on double occupancy, availability and include port tax. Some taxes are additional. Call for restriction details. I I I BILOXI 1 - 8 0 0 - 2 8 4 - 1 0 1 5 ( 9 4 1 ) 47 3 - 1 4 8 1 Escorted Motorcoach • Groups Welcome! Local Pick Ups On The Road Td Again Tours fS 455260 Mini Vacation a Get-Away May 13 th , May 27 th & June 11 th Includes 4 days /3 nights Receive $75 Free Play and 3 meals at Isle of Capri Casino Resort $219 ppdo since 1995 115, FL ST#37304 ILLUSTRATION PROVIDED NOW ON FACEBOOK! Do you sell travel from home Call about OUR programs!! NEW! 16 Day Carib-Beantown Rail & Sail Sail from Tampa to Jamaica, Curaçao, Aruba, St. Maarten, St. Thomas & Boston. Enjoy a 2 nt stay in Boston, then train back to Florida! NO FLYING! FREE BUS! fr. $ 999 49 Day South America Splendor Sail Los Angeles to New York via exotic ports in Mexico, South America & the Caribbean! Chance of a lifetime! fr. $ 3,289 11 Day 2012 Anniversary Cruise Sail to St. Thomas, Dominica, Barbados, St. Lucia & St. Maarten! Cocktail Party! Bottle of Wine! Gift! FREE BUS! fr. $ 679 22 Day Scotland/Spain/Portugal 7 day land tour of Scotland plus a 15 day transatlantic sailing to Spain, Portugal & the Azores. fr. $ 1,749 11 Day Pacific Coast /Grand Canyon 1 nt Seattle, 5 nt Pacific Coastal cruise to Astoria & San Francisco plus a 4 nt escorted Arizona land tour featuring the Grand Canyon & MORE! fr. $ 1,099 All Aboard Travel Prices per person plus cruise taxes & fees. Subject to availability. Restrictions apply. Cash/Check Pricing. 447565 Wir Sprechen Deutsch 447537 . a Southwest Florida’s ONLY Casino, where you can play DICE & ROULETTE! FREE CRUISE!* With this ad! *Reservations Required - EXCLUDES $5 PORT TAX* May not be used in combination with any other Big M offers or coupons. Expires 04/29/12 5/31/12 You MUST be 21 to cruise with us. Day Cruises every Wednesday thru Sunday 10:30-4:30 Evening Cruises every Thursday thru Sunday 6:00-11:45 450 Harbor Ct Fort Myers Beach, Fl 33931 239-765-PLAY(7529) www.bigmcasino.com CSH
May 9-15, 2012 E/N/C/V Let’s Go! 7 Florida Studio Theatre hosts play reading festival BY KIM COOL FEATURES EDITOR Two play readings remain in Florida Studio Theatre’s annual play reading festival. The festival, which features three new plays by contemporary American playwrights, continues at 2 p.m. Saturday and concludes at 7 p.m. May 21. “American Beauty Shop,” by Dana Lynn Formby opened the series this past Monday. Saturday’s play is John Walch’s “In the Book Of” which was inspired by the book of Ruth in the Bible, according to a press release from the theater. Its focus is the impact of illegal immigration. Its main characters are Naomi, an army veteran and Anisah, an Afghan translator. The setting is a small town in Mississippi. A panel discussion, The State of the New American Play,” follows Saturday’s reading. Participating in the panel discussion are: Theatre Communications Group director Theresa Eyring, National New Play Network executive director Jason Loewith, Walch and Jack Canfora, playwright of “Jericho” which is currently running in the Keating mainstage theater at FST. There is no charge to attend the panel discussion which will begin at 5 p.m. in the Keating. The May 21 reading will be Matt Schatz “The Tallest Building in the World.” With the installation of girders that make the replacement building at the World Trade Center site taller than the Empire State Building, this reading may be particularly timely. The play concerns the design and construction of the original Twin Towers back in the 1960s. Some plays featured in past readings have since received full productions at FST or elsewhere. “Black Pearl Sings! was read in the 2009 series and later produced at FST and many other theaters in the U.S. Tickets are $10 per person for each of the readings. Readings will be in the Keating Theatre, 1241 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota. To order tickets, visit www.floridastudiotheatre.org or call the box office at 941-366-9000. Rewriting ‘Gone With the Wind’ BY KIM COOL FEATURES EDITOR Opening May 18 at the Golden Apple Dinner Theatre is a comedy about the rewriting of “Gone With the Wind.” “Moonlight and Magnolias” takes a black and white but mostly farcical look at the reworking of Margaret Mitchell’s first novel into the Oscarwinning film of the same name. Billed as a comedy, the show is about some of the key players involved in the changes sought after by David O. Selznick, who hired director Victor Fleming away from “The Wizard of Oz” and hired popular screen writer Ben Hecht who had not yet read the book to do a quick redo of the story. Fleming won one of the film’s eight Oscars. Hecht’s name was not even on the credits, although he supposedly was paid $10,000 for his script doctoring, according to a biography of the man found at www.IMDbPro.com. The three men barricade themselves in a room for five days to create what many today consider one of the world’s great films. The Golden Apple production is being directed by Carole Kleinberg, with Chris Caswell, Ryan Fitts, Alana Opie and B.J. Wilkes in the cast. May 16 is a preview show with tickets for $25 and Chef Caldwell’s summer menu available a la carte. Performances are May 18 to July 1, with show tickets at $27 per person and the summer menu available at an additional cost. There will be a special opening night party and show May 17 to benefit the Professional Learning and Theatrical Organization, a new 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to “produce professional theatre while providing theatrical training and community outreach.” Tickets for the fund-raising show are $70 per person and include a $30 donation to PLATO, valet parking and a special southern dinner themed to the show, with cash bar service available. The theater is at 25 N. Pineapple Ave., in downtown Sarasota. Parking is available in back of the theater within the Palm Avenue Garage. For reservations, visit www.thegoldenapple.com or call the box office at 941-366-5454. Asolo stars shine on Broadway BY KIM COOL FEATURES EDITOR & Clyde” had a short run on the Great White Way last December but it ‘Bonnie was long enough to earn a Tony Award nominations for its leading lady, Laura Osne. Osne, who originated the role of Bonnie Parker in La Jolla, two years ago was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for the show’s Broadway run. Jeremy Jordan portrayed Clyde Barrow for the first time in Sarasota during the Asolo Repertory Company’s 2010 season when the show was almost totally reworked by its creative team in preparation for Broadway. While he went to Broadway as Barrow, his nomination is for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for “Newsies,” Disney’s latest hit with music by eight-time Oscar winner Alan Mencken. One New York critic who panned the show as a poor remake of the film, which it was not, also slammed the show’s music by Frank Wildhorn with lyrics by Don Black. Both were nominated for Best music in a musical for “Bonnie & Clyde.” That critic at least praised Osne and Jordan as well as the sets by Tobin Ost. Also nominated for this year’s Tonys are Jeff Calhoun who directed “Bonnie & Clyde” in 2010 and Ost, the show’s set and costume designer. Calhoun was nominated for “Best Direction of a 447566 ASK ABOUT PRIVATE CHARTERS Musical for the Broadway show, “Newsies.” Ost was nominated for Best Scenic Design of a Musical for “Newsies,” Well received by area critics when “Bonnie & Clyde” ran on the Mertz stage of the FSU Performing Arts Center, “Bonnie & Clyde” had mediocre reviews from New York critics at best although most reviewers did praise the stars, Ost’s sets and Calhoun’s direction. Biggest winner of all may be the Asolo Rep, which also sent “Tale of Two Cities” to Broadway in the 2008 season when it ran for about 60 performances before closing and earned an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for Best Musical, three Drama Desk nominations and a Drama League Award for its lead James Barbour for Distinguished Performance by a Leading Actor. “Tale” was directed by Michael Donald Edwards, the Asolo’s artistic director for the past several years since the retirement of Howard Millman. One other Asolo performer earned a Tony nomination this season. Judy Kaye, who appeared in the Asolo’s 2009 production of “Souvenir,” received a nomination for Best Performance by an Actress for a Featured Role in a Musical for “Nice Work If You Can Get It.” No wonder this area is referred to as the Cultural Coast, employs so many people in the arts and has more theaters per capita than New York City. Sailing from Downtown Fort Myers Daily Sightseeing Lunch & Dinner Cruises 50 PP+TXS 00 PP+TXS Adults Kids Enjoy a 3 hour sunset cruise Enjoy a 2 1/2 hour cruise on the Caloosahatchee River on the Caloosahatchee. $ 4-5 hours, Sailing East to the W.P. Franklin $ 32 50 PP+TXS with a Buffet Lunch, Dancing & Sightseeing on our open 3rd deck. Buffet Dinner & Music for Dancing, Cash Bar. + GRAT. Franklin Lock Luncheon Cruise 32 50 PP+TXS $ Locks, observe the working of the locks 16 00 PP+TXS Adult Children 4 hours. Sailing west towards the Gulf of Mexico, passing $ 32 50 PP+TXS $ Edison/Ford Estates, homes along the waterway. 16 00 PP+TXS Adult Children $ 27 Gulf of Mexico Luncheon Cruise wawa Harbor Luncheon Cruise Tuesday, May 15th Sailing 11am-2pm $ 20 00 PP+TXS Enjoy a luncheon buffet and music for dancing. Open 3rd deck for sightseeing and sunbathing. Was $27.50 MOTHER’S DAY CRUISE - SUNSET DINNER DANCE CRUISE Sun. May 13th, 12:30pm - 3:00pm Fri. May 25th Sailing 7:30pm-10:30pm SPECIAL 25% OFF This date only $ 16 3 hours. See Fort Myers from a different perspective as we sail along the Caloosahatchee River. $ 27 50 PP+TXS $ 16 00 PP+TXS Harbor Luncheon Cruise Adult Children Capt. JP is a 500 passenger paddlewheel with two enclosed climate controlled decks, and a third deck outside. We cater to small and large groups. Call for more details. JCC ruises.com 239-334-7474 r 449823 Sergio Mendes to headline Wine & Jazz Festival The line-up for the 2013 Wine & Jazz Festival is now complete. Joining world- renown Rick Braun and Richard Elliott on the stage on Feb. 16 will be possibly the largest jazz entertainer brought to date to Punta Gorda – the one and only Sergio Mendes. Born in Brazil, Mendes has enjoyed over 55 album releases throughout his career. This year, he was nominated for best original song at the Oscars for “Real in Rio” from the movie “Rio.” He will bring a bossa nova flair blended with jazz and funk to the festival. To purchase tickets, visit www.puntagordachamber.com and click either the Wine & Jazz Festival link under quick links or click the online payment center from the home page. For more information, call 941-639-3720. HARD ROCK - $20 PER PERSON $25 Free Play - $5 Food Voucher Thursdays & Sundays in M ay 5/13, 5/17, 5/20, 5/24, 5/27, 5/31 IMMOKALEE - $20 PER PERSON $30 Free Play - $5 Food Voucher M onday & Tuesdays in April & M ay 5/14, 5/15, 5/21, 5/22, 5/28, 5/29 BIRGHTON CASINO - $20 PER PERSON $20 Free Play - $3 Food Voucher $5 Off Bingo - $55 in Poker Chips w /$40 Buy BILOXI - $199 pp/ Double Occupancy MAY 21-24, JUNE 18-21 & JULY 23-26 4 Days/3 Nights 4-Star Deluxe Accom m odations @ IP-Casino Resort & Spa Fully Escorted-Lunch & Restroom Stops En route - Fun & Gam es on Bus - $45 in Free Play - 2 Breakfasts & 1 Lunch OVERNIGHT TRIPS (Call for Flyer) Oct 27- Nov 2 - Fall Foliage Dec 23-27- Christm as In N ew Orleans PHOTO PROVIDED Sergio Mendes will headline the 2013 Wine & Jazz Festival in Punta Gorda. All Around Tours Presents: • Casino Trips • Sightseeing Tours • Dining & Entertainment Outings DAY TRIPS 5/17/12 - Cinderella Broadw ay Palm - $75 6/14/12 - Tam pa Bay History M useum w /lunch - $49 6/28/12 - Grease @ Broadw ay P alm - $75 7/4/12 - Fourth of July on Starlite Princess - $99 M ULTIPLE B US CASIN O PICK UPS IN : • Pt Ch arlo tte • Pu n ta G o rd a • N o rth Po rt • En glew o o d • Saraso ta • Ven ice an d B rad en to n ! Call For A Brochure: ALL AROUND TOURS 941-488-9393 License# ST313558 www.AllAroundBus.com
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