Neighborhoods

Susan Gold, Archives & Collections Manager, Beaches Museum Duncan U. Fletcher High School was built through a federal grant secured with the assistance of Senator Duncan Fletcher, who the school is named for. The location was chosen so the school would be in the center of the school district, and the 22-acre site cost $5,750. The building itself was to cost $69,000 to build. The cornerstone was laid Sept. 25, 1936, and the doors opened on Sept. 20, 1937. Principal Frank Doggett recalled it was hard at first to convince the students to attend, with many wanting to continue attending …

Jacksonville is getting back into the swing of things! Click here to find out what you’re doing this month.

            Let me start off by telling you how much shrimp I eat: A LOT, but it wasn’t until a international journalism course with Professor Nicolas Tatro that I really began to question the source of my seafood and the importance of sourcing seafood locally. Shrimping has been a vital aspect of Northeast Florida’s commerce since the early 1900s when Greek boat builders Michael Tiliakos and Demetrios Deonas moved to Fernandina Beach. Using larger engined boats with the ability to trawl larger nets, they helped establish Fernandina as the birthplace of the modern shrimping industry. By …

“Footloose” opened at the Alhambra Dinner Theatre on October 22 and will remain on stage through November 22, 2020. The Dual Critics of EU Jacksonville – Dick Kerekes & Leisla Sansom – did not review the opening of this production, which was sold out before it even opened! Looks like the “Grease” crowd wanted to see it and turned out in force. We’ve seen productions in other venues and loved them: the plot revolves around a teenager facing the challenge of life in a small town that has outlawed dancing. If you want to see it, you can try calling …

The Island Theater Delivers a Whopper with Big Fish the Musical Good stories sometimes take a long time to tell. Such is the case with Big Fish at The Island Theater. Originally scheduled for May of 2020, this heartwarming tall tale was a victim of the pandemic and one of many theatrical shows postponed but not cancelled.  And we should be so glad it was not cancelled. The show is on stage through October 18th. Based on the 1998 novel by Daniel Wallace and the subsequent 2003 film by John August, this father/son musical story of Edward Bloom and his …

ALHAMBRA THEATRE AND DINING REVIEW The Alhambra Dinner Theatre is staging “Love, Sex and the IRS,” a farce that plays out at whirlwind speed. It opened on September 30, 2020 and will remain through October 18, to be followed by “Footloose” and “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The play, written by Billy Van Zandt and Jane Milmore, debuted in 1979, delivers non-stop laughs for two hours, and remains one of the comic greats. The setting is a large two-story apartment in New York, which at today’s prices would probably cost at least $3,000 dollars a month to rent. Two struggling musicians …

When COVID-19 forced Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens to close its gates for two months, the nonprofit lost critical revenue during its busiest months. The Zoo is now asking for the community’s help to recover through the ZOO-A-THON, which aims to raise $250,000 in donations by Sunday. “Many people are surprised to learn how expensive it is to maintain our day-to-day operations, even after we closed to the public on March 14. We still had to feed and care for our animals daily, as well as employ the dedicated staff who worked through our closure. We were closed during our busiest …

The Cultural Council Virtual Arts Awards Will Include Violin Virtuoso Phillip Pan, a Caribbean Vacation and One-of-a-Kind Glass Wave Awards Cultural events are at a standstill but the 44th annual Cultural Council Awards is live-streaming ahead! A virtual fete re-imagined event will be showcased Sept. 2 at 7pm on the Cultural Council, WJCT, and Downtown Vision’s Facebook page and the Jesse Ball DuPont Center website. The theme of this year’s Arts Awards is “Bridges: Connecting Arts, Business, and Community” which highlights the inter-connectivity between the arts, business and community. Organizers shifted programming to a virtual format ahead of the pandemic …