Submitted by Michelle Brown
DELRAY BEACH, FL –– Summer is upon South Florida, and as the weather heats up, so does the programming at the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum. Two community events are planned to bring people together to enjoy music, history and culture.
During the summer months, the museum will continue to offer its Ride & Remember City Tour (transportation and guide provided) and Step-On City Tour (guide provided) for those wanting an interactive, immersive history lesson on Delray Beach’s cultural neighborhoods. Visit https://www.spadymarketplace.org/historical-tour or call (561) 279-8883 to book either tour.
The museum will also offer tours of its permanent exhibition, “Strong Communities Emerging: The Development of Coastal Communities,” which invites visitors to learn how newly freed citizens made their way to this region for a new start. In spite of the obstacles that follow them to their new home, they thrive and leave a legacy of strong communities that endure today. Their stories will be told through photos, oral histories and narratives shared by the docent on a guided tour. Cost: Free to enter gallery; $20 for guided tour; no reservations needed.
What’s Upcoming
Saturday, May 20, 2023; 4-8 p.m. – Family Reunion Freedom Day Gospel Concert, featuring J. Sharp Band
Spady Cultural Heritage Museum, 170 NW Fifth Avenue
Delray Beach, FL 33444
Celebrate the communion of family – whether it’s your biological, communal, or cultural family – at this FREE event in the backyard of the Spady Museum. Family members can have their photos taken together, while children splash around in water play, and elders and Spady staff share the stories behind the many historical displays. Consider it a Family Reunion for all!
Learn more: https://www.spadymarketplace.org/news/a-delray-beach-family-affair/
Tuesday, May 30, 2023; 6-8 p.m.
Sip and See at Spady: “Sick and Tired”
This program was born out of the need to continue the enriching conversations sparked by tours of the Spady Museum’s exhibits. The history of the Black citizens of Delray Beach, Palm Beach County, and the State of Florida and how that history connects to the wider narrative of American history are broad topics that can require more time than a museum tour will allow. Sip and See at Spady is a monthly, 2-hour, social gathering that provides additional time to continue discussion of selected topics supplemented by scholars, documentaries, live presentations, publications and other source material.
Saturday, June 17, 2023; 6-8 p.m.; 7 p.m. concert begins
A Juneteeth Celebration: An Evening with Donna Singer and the Diamond Jazz Orchestra Paying Tribute to Count Basie
Spady Cultural Heritage Museum, 170 NW Fifth Avenue
Delray Beach, FL 33444
In recognition of Juneteenth, Donna Singer and the 18-piece Diamond Jazz Orchestra will pay tribute to Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and other big band greats. The museum will open beforehand for exhibit viewing. Guests will be encouraged to dance during the concert. All proceeds from this benefit concert, in honor of the Juneteenth holiday, will go toward underwriting programming and events of the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum. Tickets are $50 per person; $80 per couple. Rain or Shine.
Purchase tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-tribute-to-count-basie-tickets-609073103047
Performer Donna Singer has wowed jazz lovers around the world through her recordings and live performances at festivals, concert halls and jazz clubs. Her European concerts include dates in Paris, Switzerland, Ireland, Italy and Wales. She has performed at the Metropolitan Opera Guild Recital Hall in Lincoln Center, Central Park’s Naumburg Bandshell and The Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach. Learn more about Singer here: http://donna-singer.com/bio
For “An Evening with Donna Singer and the Diamond Jazz Orchestra Paying Tribute to Count Basie,” Singer said the audience should anticipate a night filled with inspiration, rhythm and above all else, dancing.
Q: What should the audience expect from the evening?
Singer: The music will be songs that Count Basie is well known for. He was a band leader, who inspired so many others, including Duke Ellington and Frank Sinatra, as well as a musician, so we will be focusing on his charts. We are paying tribute to the greatness of Count Basie.
Q: Where else have you performed this tribute?
Singer: I’ve been performing for more than 30 years, which includes formal training at The Julliard School. And I’ve been singing with Big Band orchestras since the 1990s in Fort Lauderdale. I decided to form the Diamond Orchestra, hand-picked by me, because I love singing with an orchestra and the ‘surroundness’ of that music. Since we came into being, this will be our sixth or seventh concert.
Q: Will there be anything different about this particular concert?
Singer: We plan to incorporate some instrumentals, arranged by Count Basie. For the first time, we are really going to feature the orchestra. Some songs Basie that arranged, I will be singing.
Q: Why the Spady Museum partnership?
A: We collaborated together at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast, then in partnership with Arts Garage, then again via Joan Cartwright, a mutual friend of mine and Museum Director Charlene Farrington. I wanted to do a fundraiser, so we designed this evening. Charlene was right there, loving the idea. We met each other’s energy.
