Books

A BOOK REVIEW BY THE DUAL CRITICS, DICK KEREKES & LEISLA SANSOM Jacksonville’s is celebrating an anniversary throughout 2017: fifty years of presenting outstanding on-stage entertainment. As part of the celebration, the theatre commissioned the preparation of “Alhambra Theatre & Dining, 50 Years of Memories,” a commemorative book designed to capture and share the history, events and memories of the last five decades. The first edition of the book, written by and edited by , was published in December, 2016; we noticed a number of copies being purchased by patrons at the theatre’s 2016 New Year’s Eve Celebration. As theatre …

As an author, has written an eclectic collection of books, featuring many of Jacksonville’s most revered characters. He’s also dredged the city’s darkened fringes for those stories that are often spoken of in solemn, hushed tones. For Gilmore, there is no discretion when it comes to storytelling. Just as every story deserves to be told, all storytellers deserve a platform to share their voices. The third annual  celebrates local voices from 3-6pm Saturday, Nov 12, at various venues throughout Park & King Streets in Riverside. The student showcase takes place from 2-3pm at Il Desco. The festival after-party and book …

Folklore is a time-honored tradition filtered through generations as a way to preserve the mythology of a region from one generation to the next. It also helps keep the fires of local scandals and speculation flickering at a slow burn. Rumors of the atrocities committed by Reverend Robert Gray against dozens of children lingered in Jacksonville like the shadows cast by Gray in the fundamentalist Baptist community.

10 Questions courtesy of our friends at the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville Andre Gruber is an illustrator, painter, and musician.  Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Andre relocated to the United States at the age of 10 and settled in Jacksonville, Florida.  Andre was a student at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts from 2003 through 2007, where he studied Visual Arts. He never graduated, however, due to being deported back to South America in 2007. After being deported from the United States spent nearly two years living in his native country of Venezuela.  He continued his pursuit of the arts by attending a music conservatory in …

Jacksonville’s started on Friday, August, 19, 2016 at the Lexington Hotel. This three day event was full of cosplay, karaoke, Pokemon Go events and more. People who travel all over the East Coast, and even those who reside in Orlando made their way to Lexicon to sell their items or to simply indulge in all that Lexicon has to offer. The anime room, filled with Sailor Moon cosplayers, consisted of karaoke and different booths. The fun and light vibes motivated anyone to simply let go of their shyness and join the group. Vendors spread throughout Lexicon were there with original …

If you put the greatest writer in the world and the greatest artist in the world in the same room, there is a good chance they will make a work of transformed images and magnified words. A comic book, to be exact. Jacksonville, Florida, is the home of a slew of comic creators and innovators. We have heroes, leaders and ambitions that are so grand that they can only be contained just beyond our imaginations. We are also lucky to be the home of several fine comic shops and cons. The comic book stores, the hobby shops and the conventions …

Cosplaying is a combination of the words costume and play.  Part of it is organization, form, and unity. Another part of it is satisfaction, enjoyment, and entertainment. Having the freedom to be anything, anyone, and in any way you see fit is a tempting idea. It is a blank canvas for icons like Batman, Wonder Woman and Captain America to be portrayed in our own respective definitions. If a person is disabled, for instance, that isn’t a wall to them in cosplay; it can truthfully be an empowerment. Acceptance takes on a human shape as a person changes how they …

Passions drive us to seek out the amazing, the unknown, and the fantastic. For collectors of the finer things in life, there are few greater ambitions than discovering what is curious and exciting. A fan is deeply passionate, even to the extent that they wish to demonstrate this affection to others. It is when fans gather together that something very unique takes place, namely a convention, or a Con for short. These conventions are organized events that act as outlets for expression and gathering points for fans to connect to each other. They are massive social points where new treasures …

Employing anachronistic speech, the mercury is rising (even while it’s retrograde). We remember why we live around bodies of water separated by concrete and prefabricated homes. Also, it’s time to grab a book en route to a vacation destination, which can also be a staycation in Ponte Vedra. Whether your reading habits are dictated by the New York Times, a podcast, or whatever you see during a layover waiting for the Chili’s To Go to open so you can begin your vacation with two-for-ones 30,000 miles up, the summer is the perfect time to devote to reading. ’s  sounds like …

Florida is known for many things, mostly football and horrific news stories that cannot be blamed on heat and illiteracy alone. The is offering a reprieve from the Floridian madness in the form of a film series. Every Tuesday beginning on June 14th, the Main Library will be hosting films all summer long in the Hicks Auditorium. As with all library programming, these events are free and open to the public. While all the film selections are adaptations of novels, there is still diversity in tone to ensure that at least one offering will be of interest. Thematically, the films …