Page 52 - 2024-2025 Travel Guide to Florida

CENTRAL EAST FLORIDA
ARTS AND CULTURE
In historic Fort Pierce, the 100-year-old Sunrise Theatre, a beautiful performing arts venue, hosts top-notch entertainers, comedy acts, musicians and performing artists. Also on the downtown waterfront of Fort Pierce, the A.E. Backus Museum & Gallery houses the nation’s largest public exhibition of artwork by Florida’s preeminent painter, A.E.
Backus, as well as the state’s only permanent multimedia exhibition on the Florida Highwaymen. Changing exhibits from artists of national and international acclaim round out the museum’s Florida-centered mission.
Located in the middle of Central East Florida, Vero Beach has two very special venues. The Riverside Theatre runs off-
KAYAKING AT BREVARD ZOO • FLORIDA'S SPACE COAST OFFICE OF TOURISM
Broadway performances each season and live stand-up comedy on select weekends. Second is the Vero Beach Museum of Art, which houses regional, state and national art exhibits.
Melbourne’s Eau Gallie Arts District is a cultural pearl that supports the arts through galleries, museums, local stores and antiques. You will find a combination of poets, dancers, potters and painters in this cute neighborhood. Commonly referred to as EGAD, it is home to Brevard County’s top fine art galleries.
Visit Historic Cocoa Village and catch a show at Cocoa Village Playhouse, part of the community since 1924 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Situated between Cocoa Beach and Orlando, the award-winning main-street community of DeLand holds onto its past as it moves into modern times. DeLand is a thriving community full of pride and passion that is apparent by its numerous art murals, friendly patrons, shops and galleries. The Athens Theatre, which is over a century-old, is a masterpiece of Italian Renaissance architecture that features classic movies, independent films and live entertainment.
The Hub on Canal, in New Smyrna Beach (NSB), is unsurpassed for its individuality and original artworks. More than 70 artists convene in this contemporary exhibit hall, which doubles as a workspace where visitors can observe artists at work and buy directly from them. This is only one venue within the town’s four-block radius that makes up the Arts District filled with boutiques, galleries and cafés. Be sure to check out the Atlantic Center for the Arts, which draws aspiring artists from across the country to study in the fields of visual, literary, performing and musical arts.
Another artsy community is located in the greater Daytona Beach area. A visit to the Museum of Arts & Sciences (affiliated with the Smithsonian) gives you access to the Root Family collection of Coca Cola memorabilia and the favorite giant ground sloth in the Prehistory of Florida Gallery. Check out the Cici and Hyatt Brown Museum of Art, home to the largest private collection of Florida-themed oil and watercolor paintings in the world.
5 MUST-SEE ATTRACTIONS
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER VISITOR COMPLEX, MERRITT ISLAND
kennedyspacecenter.com
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
daytonainternationalspeedway.com
MEL FISHER’S TREASURES, MUSEUM & GIFT SHOP, SEBASTIAN
melfisher.com/Sebastian/Sebastian_Museum.asp
NATIONAL NAVY UDT-SEAL MUSEUM, FORT PIERCE
navysealmuseum.org
STETSON MANSION, DELAND
stetsonmansion.com
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50 2024-25 TRAVEL GUIDE TO FLORIDA