The CITY OF CASSELBERRY presents: JAZZ, ART & GOLF WEEKEND A Weekend of Fun, in the Name of the Arts

On Saturday, October 24 from 6-9 pm, jazz comes alive at the Casselberry City Hall Complex. This FREE event sponsored by City of Casselberry, Smooth 103.1 WLOQ and SunGard Public Sector will entice all jazz lovers to gather and be engulfed in the enjoyment of the innovative, contemporary sax sounds of recording artist, Jessy J. There will be food and other specialty vendors. Bring your blankets, chairs and friends to enjoy a wonderful evening of Jazz.

During the Jazz Concert, there will be a special exhibit at Casselberry City Hall for “Dearly Beloved, where long-term love and art go hand-in-hand. This art show will be both romantic and artistic in nature and will feature Central Florida’s most successful husband and wife artist teams.

On Sunday, October 25 come out and “Swing ‘Fore’ the Arts” at the Country Club at Deer Run in Casselberry. Tee up with other golf enthusiasts and enjoy a day of competition that includes continental breakfast, lunch and many great prizes. Join us for a continental breakfast at 7:30 am with a shotgun start at 8:30 am and it will conclude with lunch and an awards ceremony. The cost is $50 per player, $85 for a twosome and $150 for a foursome space is limited. All proceeds will go to support the art programs in Casselberry and Seminole County. Sponsored by the City of Casselberry, Smooth 103.1 WLOQ, SunGard Public Sector and many more. Come out for a great day of golf and support the arts and culture in the community!

National Fire Prevention Week

From October 4th through 10th, fire safety advocates across the country will be spreading the word on the importance of keeping homes fire safe and avoiding burn injuries.  The Fire Prevention Bureau personnel have been scheduling fire safety at schools within the City and gathering educational and promotional material related to this year’s theme – ‘Stay Fire Smart!  Don’t Get Burned’.  Most teachers request presentations by Fire Department personnel and/or visits by on duty fire companies and build educational themes around the theme.

The Casselberry Fire Department will be visiting Lake Forest Prep, Casselberry Elementary and other sites within the City to help spread the importance of fire safety.

Casselberry “Recycles” and Goes Green with Art

The City of Casselberry has recently become a recipient of 2 magnificent sculptures that were created by “recycling” two large dead trees that were designated to be removed from the back of City Hall at Lake Concord Park.  One sculpture started as a dead oak tree and has since evolved to become a beautiful work of art titled “Family of Herons” and the other, originally a dead magnolia stump, became a graceful, solitary heron perched on the top of a hand-carved tree trunk next to Lake Concord.

The City is quite familiar with “recycled “art when, in May of 1998, it received 3 large pieces of art created by students from Casselberry Elementary.  The artwork was made entirely of recycled material and in exchange for the artwork, the school received a grant from Seminole County to purchase new playground equipment made out of recycled plastic.  Several years ago, the Rupp Family contacted the City to explain that they were interested in commissioning an artist to create a sculpture from a tree trunk and once, complete, the artwork would be donated to the City.  The sculpture project commemorates the life of their daughter Tracy Rupp, the beautiful daughter they lost 13 years ago in a vehicular homicide.  The artist they selected was Keith Carroll, an artist from Melbourne.

Carroll was selected based on his previous outstanding works of art that adorn parks and other natural settings throughout the State of Florida.   He started his career as a woodcarver 18 years ago while he was a pastor at a church.   His close friend, a wood carver, moved to Missouri and on a whim, Keith purchased all his equipment and took over his business.  Although he had never previously carved or produced any art, he quickly found out that he had a great gift of creating art in 3-D form. Since then, he has created many works of art carved out of dead tree trunks throughout the state as far north as Tallahassee and stretching to the southern tip of Miami.  One of his favorite pieces was created from a tree that fell during Hurricane Katrina as it passed through Ft. Lauderdale.

The “Family of Herons” and the solitary heron now have new homes gracing the top of the tree trunks that overlook Lake Concord.  Recently, the Rupp Family came to the site to review the finished work and they were quite pleased with the both sculptures.   While Keith was putting on the finishing touches, he was quick to point out that one of the herons looks across the lake towards the Casselberry Home Depot where Tracy had worked as a lost prevention supervisor before she died.  He said he carved that one with Tracy in mind.