Nutcrackers

I have nutcrackers in Naples and West Hartford.  These are the Naples nutcracker soldiers and kings.  Well, the 11 inch indoor nutcracker soldiers and kings.

Two five foot tall nutcracker kings guard the front door.

Nutcracker King

A nutcracker king guards the entrance to the Sugden Theater in Naples.

"The Colors Above Our Heads Are Under Our Feet as Well."

This is a new outdoor installation at Artis Naples.

It is a pergola with colored ceiling panels, designed for this site by
the noted French Artist, Daniel Buren.

You might remember Daniel Buren from his famous installation (the Buren Columns) at
Palais Royal in Paris, shown in my 2015 shot.

Artis Naples

Artis Naples suffered major damage during Hurricane Irma.  Its art museum, the Baker Museum, has been closed since the storm.  The concert halls are, in general, unaffected. 

While the museum is closed, they are moving forward with a major expansion.

Some of the Baker's artworks are displayed in the concert hall's exhibition spaces.
This exhibition shows works from the collection on the subject of music and musicians.

One beautiful work is a photograph of violinist Jascha Heifetz by Albert Eisenstaedt.

  A full program of performances continues in the concert halls. 

Two Docents

So, which of these Artis Naples docents is a New Yorker and which is a Midwesterner?

Yup.  You guessed it.  

Susan is from Milwaukee, where she is involved with the Milwaukee Art Museum.  She loves to travel.  Susan has visited many of the French towns identified with Vincent Van Gogh.

Nina is from New York City.  She has long been involved with the arts and fashion.  Her "fun fact" is that a well known actress (I think it was Gloria Swanson) once stayed with her
in Manhattan for two weeks. 

Night Lights at Naples Botanical Garden

Night Lights runs for most of December and the first few days of January.

Figures by German glass artist Hans Godo Fräbel line up across a small pool.

Dueling Hospitals

Fort Myers in Lee County and Naples in Collier County are the big gorillas in Southwest Florida.

Estero and Bonita Springs are the fast-growing and (mostly) affluent towns in between.

Route 41 is the main connector route.

Lee Memorial Hospital (from Fort Myers) and Naples Community Hospital (NCH, from Naples) are battling over Estero and Bonita.  Today NCH is opening a glistening new emergency room facility

 on Route 41 on the Estero-Bonita Springs line.  Lee Memorial opened a competing emergency services facility on Route 41 a mile north two weeks ago.