Culture & Cocktails 2019-2020 Season Set

Erin Manning

(PRESS RELEASE)_(Lake Worth Beach, FL – July 17, 2019) Dave Lawrence, President & CEO of the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County today announced the 2019-2020 season of the popular series CULTURE & COCKTAILS. For the 15th season in a row, from November 2019 through April 2020, five fascinating conversations will be held at The Colony Hotel’s Coral Ballroom, located at 155 Hammon Avenue in Palm Beach.


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November 4
New Faces, Favorite Places
A Conversation with Cultural Executives

+ Elliot Bostwick Davis, Director & CEO of the Norton Museum of Art. She joined the Norton in March after spending the past 18 years as chair of the Art of the Americas department at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

+ Erin Manning, Executive Director of the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum. She came to the Whitehall mansion in 2016 from the Historical Society of Princeton in New Jersey, where she served nine years as executive director.

+ Dr. Philip Rylands, President & CEO of the Society of the Four Arts. He assumes this position in September after serving as a founding director and, most recently, as Director Emeritus of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, Italy.

Interviewed by Dave Lawrence, President & CEO of the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County

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January 13
Hey, Madam Producer
A Conversation with Theatrical Impresarios

+ Marcie Gorman, Executive Producer & Artistic Director of MNM Theatre Company, which presents musicals at the Kravis Center’s Rinker Playhouse, including upcoming productions of Man of La Mancha and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

+ Vicki Halmos, Founder/Producer of Entr’Acte Theatrix, which stages musicals at Old School Square’s Crest Theatre, including the recent productions of The Addams Family and Monty Python’s Spamalot.

+ Jan McArt, Producer & Director of Theatre Arts Program Development at Lynn University, where she oversees three popular theatrical series: Libby Dodson’s Live at Lynn Theatre Series, Jan McArt’s New Play Readings, and the Mabel Mercer Foundation’s Cabaret at Lincoln Center Comes to Live at Lynn.

+ Marilynn Wick, Executive Managing Producer of The Wick Theater & Costume Museum, which this season will be presenting major  productions of The Music Man, Evita, A Chorus Line and more. 

Interviewed by Suzanne L. Niedland, Film and Broadway Producer

February 3
Preserving Precious Treasures
A Conversation with sisters Barbara Stella & Sandra Stella, Co-founders of Stella Art Conservation

+ President & Chief Conservator Barbara Stella has performed treatments on artworks by prestigious artists such as Rembrandt, Monet, Salvador Dalí, Kenneth Noland, Joan Miró, Gerhard Richter, and more.

+ Executive Manager Sandra Stella has a 20-year professional career working with ambassadors, government ministers and policymakers in Africa (UK Consulate, Italian Embassy), Italy, Canada and the United States.

Interviewed by Sarah Wetenhall, President & CEO of The Colony Hotel, Palm Beach

March 2
Black Widow

A Conversation between first-time author Leslie Gray Streeter and literary legend James Patterson

+ Leslie Gray Streeter is the pop culture columnist for The Palm Beach Post, where she has covered music, movies, celebrities,  staycations and more since 2002. Her first book, a memoir, is being published next spring by Little, Brown & Company.

+ James Patterson is the world’s best-selling author and a major cultural philanthropist. Books by the former advertising executive have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide—including the Alex Cross, Women’s Murder Club, Maximum Ride and Middle School series—and more than 100 of his titles have been New York Times bestsellers.

April 20
Wayne Hosford
& Stars of Tomorrow

Our annual musical finale of this series will feature a conversation with and performance by Wayne Hosford, an award-winning entertainer, singer, comedian, actor and composer, who tickles the keys regularly at Club Colette in Palm Beach. He has appeared with many cabaret giants (Michael Feinstein, Ann Hampton Callaway, Marilyn Maye) and will introduce musical performances by some amazing young talents at this season’s closing event.

Interviewed by Kathi Kretzer, Founder & President of the Kretzer Music Foundation.

CULTURE & COCKTAILS is generously sponsored by The Roe Green Foundation, Roe Green, Founder; The Donald M. Ephraim Family Foundation; The Gardens Mall; and Scott Teich, Teich Wealth Management of Raymond James. With additional support from Legends Radio 100.3 FM, The Palm Beach Daily News, and PR-BS, a Boca-based public relations firm. 

Admission to each CULTURE & COCKTAILS event is $75 per person in advance; $85 at the door, $125 for VIP Seating, and FREE for Supporter, Contributor, Patron and Business Arts Partner level members of the Cultural Council. All proceeds go to support the nonprofit Cultural Council of Palm Beach County. For membership information, please contact Debbie Calabria at 561.472.3330.

Each event will run from 5 to 7 pm, with registration and cocktails from 5 to 5:45 pm, and the “Conversation” from 5:45 to 7 pm, including audience Q&A. The Colony will serve complimentary beverages and an array of specially prepared hors d'oeuvres before each CULTURE & COCKTAILS conversation.

People interested in attending CULTURE & COCKTAILS can RSVP before each event by calling the Cultural Council at (561) 472-3330.

Also: Topics and speakers are subject to change depending upon the availability of scheduled participants. ​