Plan ahead for Nov. 13-19: Ballet, a Christmas home tour, Thanksgiving goodies and music
On (Swan)Lake Time
Fifty dancers from Melbourne City Ballet Theatre will perform selections from Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” at 2:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 16, during a benefit gala at Greenwood Place, 2680 Croton Road, Melbourne, in advance of their Dec. 27 and 28 performances at the King Center. Satellite Instrumental Music will provide orchestral accompaniment.
The gala supports both the ballet and the Parkinson’s Support Group of Brevard. Parkinson's disease is a chronic movement disorder, with symptoms that worsen over time. One Senior Place is among the sponsors.
The event includes hors d’oeuvres, assorted refreshments and the opportunity to bid on silent and live auction items.
Tickets are $55 per person, or $90 per couple for the semi-formal event. For tickets and more information, visit BenefitGala2019.eventbrite.com.
Gone touring
The popular Christmas Home Tour orchestrated by the Spade & Trowel Garden Club returns this year from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 20.
A holiday tradition since 1964, the tour this year takes in two private Merritt Island residences, plus Sams House on Pine Island, all three decorated to the hilt for the holidays.
The 2050 Chase Hammock Road home is on a sprawling acreage that was transformed from grapefruit grove into an equestrian farm for the owner’s daughter. It is now decorated for the enjoyment of their grandchildren.
The 540 Chase Hammock Road is a ranch-style home tucked among trees. The lady of the house loves and tends to her orchids and flowers, and she is known for her holiday decorations. There is a special playroom for the grandchildren.
Sam’s house on Pine Island is a historic home and preserve that details the lives of the area’s pioneers.
Refreshments will be served at one of the homes. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door. Advance tickets are available at The Bath Cottage, Season Tickets Boutique and Fischer Realty in Cocoa Village; Candelighters Thrift shop in Indialantic; Meehan’s Office and Art Products, Designs of the Times and Fischer Realty in Melbourne; Suga’s Beauty Salon, Cabana Boutique, Merritt Island Florist, Ellen’s Hallmark, Adore Spa and Sam’s House in Merritt Island, and at Rockledge Gardens.
Proceeds benefit local charities such as Candlelighters.
Logged in
Taking inspiration from the iconic Christmas Yule Log Cake, Goodie-licious Custom Baking has announced the birth of a new Thanksgiving centerpiece and gustatory delight: the Harvest Birch Log Torte.
Four layers of spicy pumpkin cake filled with bourbon buttercream form the log, which is surrounded with pumpkin sugar cookies, gingersnap maple leaves and gilded acorns. “Carved” into the “bark” of the log are the simple words: “Give Thanks.”
The limited-edition Harvest Torte is custom made with free delivery in time for Thanksgiving, as long as you order before Nov. 22. Cost is $50.
Phone 321-305-2828. For more details, visit goodie-licious.com.
Popping up
Join the SPCA of Brevard at its Pop-Up Adoption Event from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 16, at Wickham Park Community Center, Melbourne. It will be the perfect time to make a new furry best friend, for the adoption fee for any pet this day, from playful pups and kitties to sweet seniors, has been reduced to $20. All animals are spayed or neutered, vaccinated and micro-chipped.
In addition to pet adoptions, there will be holiday vendors and food trucks during this family-friendly day.
To preview adoptable pets, visit spcabrevard.com.
For more information, call 321-567-3615.
Quite the quartet
At 7:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 22, the Melbourne Chamber Music Society will present the Dover String Quartet at St. Mark’s Church, 2030 N. State Road A1A, Indialantic. The concert features the music of Mozart, Hindemith and Brahms.
Tickets are $35 for adults and $10 for students. Purchase at 321-213-5100, online at melbournechambermusicsociety.org or at the door.
In their honor
To benefit Honor Flight, the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 200 in Satellite Beach will be hosting a fundraiser at 3 p.m., Saturday Nov. 16. The event includes a dinner of Shepherd’s Pie for $10 and auctions.
Honor Flight celebrates veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam by escorting them on all-expenses-paid trips to Washington to visit the military memorials.
For more information, call 321-652-8266.
Give thanks
The Single, Separated, Widowed and Divorced group will hold a Thanksgiving potluck dinner at 5 p.m., Friday, Nov. 15, in the Angel Room of Church of Our Saviour, 5301 N. Atlantic Ave., Cocoa Beach
Everyone is welcome to bring a dish to share and canned goods for the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
The group will also meet for lunch and birthdays celebration at noon, Tuesday, Nov. 19, at Coaster's Tap House, 5675 N. Atlantic Ave., Suite 1222, Cocoa Beach.
For additional details, please call 502-299-8949 or 321-890-4310.
Mainly Maine
Eau Gallie High School’s theater troupe will present “Almost, Maine,” at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday. Nov. 15 and 16, and again at 2 pm.. on Sunday, Nov. 17.
Directed by Rachael Zeligman with a set designed by Edward Dunne, John Cariani’s “Almost, Maine” is a charming, quirky, and touching series of stories that explore the many aspects of love and loss within a small town in Northern Maine.
Tickets are $5. Reserve by calling 321-242-6400, ext.23835, or by emailing Zeligman.rachael@brevardschools.org.
Tribute
Southern gospel group Tribute Quartet will perform at 6 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 17, at the Great Outdoor Community Church, 144 Plantation Drive, Titusville. The group has appeared at Dollywood, as well as on television channels such as Fox.
Admission is free. For more, call 321-385-9732.
Plenty of art
Give yourself a good part of the day to take in the current artsy offerings in the Eau Gallie Arts District.
At the Foosaner Art Museum, “Crosscurrents,” an exhibition featuring dozens of contemporary works from Cuban artists, recently opened. The works highlight the New Cuban Art movement that arose in the 1980s in the country’s capital, Havana.
The show runs through March 14, 2020. For more information, visit foosanerartmuseum.org.
At Eau Gallery, 1429 Highland Ave., the animal works of Susan Carden-Flicker are on display. The artist will donate 15% of sales from the “Wild and Domesticated” show to the Florida Wildlife Hospital. The show runs through the end of the month.
For more information, call 321-253-5553 or visit eaugallery.com.
A few steps away at 1470 Highland Ave., you will find Fifth Avenue Art Gallery’s 37th annual Designers’ Holiday Craft Show, the perfect venue to find unique and reasonably priced gifts.
The show runs through Jan. 4.
For more information, call 321-259-8261 or visit fifthavenueartgallery.com.
Wizardry
The Wizards of Winter, a rock group with strong classical and progressive rock influences, will perform at Melbourne Auditorium at 8 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 14.
Tickets are $49, available at etix.com or elkoconcerts.com.
Email toastofthecoastfloridatoday@gmail.com.