Here & There

I Frame, I Saw, I Concrete

The Children’s Museum of Memphis will present an exhibit that focuses on the homes of people around the world and how the environmental setting of a house influences its construction. Titled “Your House, My House,” and running through May 26, it is an exciting hands-on interactive exhibit that looks at large and small houses, apartments, portable houses, houseboats and more.

Activities include designing, building and visiting sample homes to gain an understanding of the various factors that drive their design. There are three walk-in “model homes” to examine: a Mongolian herder’s ger, an m’bure from the tropics of Fiji and a Malaysian stilt house. The Design Center features activities that include a computer and drafting table, and a “Build Your Own” area that allows guests to build a timber house and several tabletop house models.

For more information, call (901) 458-2678 or visit www.cmom.com.

Fish Fly

Every year, on the last weekend in April, folks from Florida and Alabama mosey on over to Pensacola, FL, on the border between the two states and take part in the annual Interstate Mullet Toss. Other events during the weekend include the Mullet Man Triathlon and the Great Gulf Coast Beach Party.

The rules are notably straightforward: Competitors are to throw a one-pound dead mullet from a 10-foot circle in Alabama; the mullet can’t be weighted, the contestant can’t wear gloves, and you can’t step out of the circle during your throw or the follow-through. The person whose fish flies furthest into Florida wins. The event is scheduled for April 25-27.

For more info, call (850) 492-3048, (850) 492-0611 or e-mail info@florabama.com.

No Grits, No Glory

Once only a Southern staple, grits have gained in popularity in many parts of the country. But nowhere are they more popular than the town that claims to be “The Grits Capital of the World”—Warwick, GA. Other towns in the South might dispute that claim. Nevertheless, The 11th Annual National Grits Festival will be held in Warwick on Saturday, April 12 with a host of activities focused on this breakfast delight. There will be live entertainment, food vendors, craft dealers, pony rides and lots more family fun.

Other events are the corn-shelling contest, the Quaker Grits eating contest and the grits cooking contest.

For info, call (229) 395-4737 or e-mail wlbaboi@gmail.com

The Greatest Show On Surf

Florida State University’s acclaimed Flying High Circus will bring its thrilling three-ring aerial and stage production to Panama City Beach in June, marking the first time in its storied 60-year history that the circus will spend the summer in Florida.

The Circus by the Sea, which will be staged at Frank Brown Park, will showcase junior and senior students performing an evening of jaw-dropping routines rivaling any professional troupe, with occasional special guest intermission performances. Nightly shows will begin on June 13 and run six days a week (Monday thru Saturday) through Aug. 2. The colorful, air-conditioned Big Top, with seating for 2,000, will start to rise above the sandy shores of the park on May 12.

In addition to the shows, the circus will debut the first children’s Circus Camp, which will include lessons in a wide variety of dazzling circus performance skills, entertaining games and fun activities. Working one-on-one with FSU performers, campers will learn the art of balancing acts to juggling—and yes—even flying high on the trapeze. The camp will begin June 23.

For more information, call (866) 234-8895 or visit www.circusbythesea.com.

Vanishing Act

Have you ever wondered how those rabbits keep coming out of the hat? Or the torn up newspapers that suddenly appear whole again? Or how the magician miraculously gets out of that locked trunk? Before you can say “Abracadabra,” all could be revealed when the latest exhibit “Magic: The Science of Illusion” opens March 22 at the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Tampa.

The exhibit offers visitors an opportunity to discover the secretive art and science of entertainment through artifacts, films and interactive experiences.

Mind reading, floating in thin air, a head without a body—is it magic or science—or a little of both? Visitors can learn how magicians use psychology, physics, math, engineering and the art of performance to create complex and visually stunning effects from two perspectives: that of the audience and as the magician’s apprentice.

While in the “front stage” environment, audiences will feel the emotional impact of the magic performance and learn the history of each illusion. As the magician’s apprentice, visitors go “backstage,” where they will learn the important artistic and scientific principles the magicians used to create the illusion they just witnessed.

But all will not be revealed. Before leaving the backstage area, guests will have a chance to be baffled again to keep the sense of wonder alive. Science is key to understanding what’s going on in a magic show, but so is the art of performance. In Magic, visitors can explore the magical arts for themselves when they visit the Magician’s Training Academy to learn new card tricks and mind-reading illusions that they can perform at home.

In other areas, learn about the history of magic and its most famous performers—from Houdini to Henning—in The Magicians and Performances exhibit. Visitors will see the handcuffs that Houdini once escaped from. The exhibit continues through May 26.

For more info, call (813) 987-6100 or visit www.mosi.org.

Puerto Rico

Food Festival

Puerto Rico will debut the island's first Saborea Puerto Rico: A Culinary Extravaganza at the world-famous blue flag beach of Isla Verde in Carolina from April 4-6.

Saborea Puerto Rico celebrates both Caribbean traditions and worldwide flavors. These three days of flavor and taste bring together celebrities, master chefs and signature events organized by industry professionals. The programmed activities include demo kitchens, signature events, wine seminars, kids' kitchens and a Grand Tasting Pavilion.

The Culinary Extravaganza kicks off Friday with visits to a coffee plantation and a local "Plaza del Mercado," where fresh local ingredients are available for purchase. Saturday and Sunday, Saborea Puerto Rico is open from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. at Isla Verde Beach, and each evening there is a signature event at a close-by hotel.

The event is being promoted island wide, throughout the U.S. and internationally to attract visitors.

Event proceeds will benefit the Puerto Rico Hotel & Tourism Association's Educational Fund, which provides training and certifications in a variety of specialties for people in the hospitality industry.

For more information, call (787) 758-8001 or visit www.prhta.org.

The Greatest Show on Surf

Florida State University's acclaimed Flying High Circus will bring its three-ring aerial and stage production to Panama City Beach on June 13 through Aug. 2. The Circus by the Sea will be staged at Frank Brown Park and run six days a week (Monday thru Saturday). No animals are used in the Flying High Circus.

For more information, call (866) 234-8895 or visit www.circusbythesea.com.

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