Life, Arts & Society ED 10th

Boca History Museum schedules Civil War talk and rst ‘free fun Saturday’

By Dale King

The Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum has scheduled two special events this month. For more information, visit www.BocaHistory.org or call 561395-6766, extension 100T.

To celebrate the opening of the new Boca Raton Brightline Station, the museum will offer free fun Saturdays -- starting on Jan. 7 and continuing the first Saturday of every month during 2023. On each of these special Saturdays, the museum will waive the regular admission fee ($12 adults, $8 students and seniors, free for members and children 4 years old and under)

for all visitors from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This is a perfect no-cost opportunity to enjoy the museum’s exciting and interactive exhibits that document the growth and development of Boca Raton from a small farming town to the sophisticated internationally known city it is today.

In addition, on Thursday, Jan. 12, a “Town Hall Talk is scheduled.” The topic for the evening is: “Escape, the Confederacy’s infamous Libby Prison and the Civil War’s largest jail break.”

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Rare memorabilia of Jewish Olympic athletes on display

At Levis JCC’s Sandler Center in Boca Raton through Feb. 28

The Adolph & Rose Levis Jewish Community Center’s Sandler Center has announced its upcoming exhibition, “Triumph of the Spirit: Jewish Athletes Before, During and After the Holocaust.”

The display, featuring rare and extensive memorabilia of famous Jewish Olympic athletes, opened Jan. 5 at the Judi & Allan Schuman Museum Gallery located at the Levis JCC Sandler Center and will run through Feb. 28, 2023. This exhibition is free and open to the public.

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Talented

Award-winning singer-songwriter, dancer, actress and social influencer Montana Tucker will headline a multi-arts “Concert-4-Kindness” Jan. 15 at 4 p.m. in the Carole and Barry Kaye Auditorium at the Florida Atlantic University Student Union on the Boca Raton campus. Tickets range from $10 to $20 and can be purchased at www.fauevents. com or by calling 561-297-6124.

Singer-songwriter Montana Tucker will headline a multi-arts Concert-4- Kindness Sunday, Jan. 15 at 4 p.m. in the Carole and Barry Kaye Auditorium at theFlorida Atlantic University Student Union.

The new Brightline Train Station in Boca Raton.

Photos by Dale King

Photos: Courtesy of the collection of Neil Keller

Hall of Fame swimmer Eva Szekely.

Track and field Olympian Jadwiga Wajsowna.

Hungarian-Israeli gymnast Agnes Keleti.

The new Brightline Train Station in Boca Raton.

Talented singer-songwriter to highlight ‘Concert-4-Kindness’ Jan. 15 at FAU

By Dale King

Award-winning singer-songwriter, dancer, actress and social influencer Montana Tucker will headline a multi-arts “Concert-4-Kindness” Jan. 15 at 4 p.m. in the Carole and Barry Kaye Auditorium at the Florida Atlantic University Student Union on the Boca Raton campus. Tickets range from $10 to $20 and can be purchased at www.fauevents.com or by calling 561-297-6124.

Marilyn and Jay Weinberg are presenting the concert. It was organized and conceived by longtime FAU supporters Bonnie and Jon Kaye of Kaye Communications PR & Marketing.

It will feature Tucker in her first hometown concert, along with dancers, FAU students and various community groups. This will be intermingled with “kindness” cameos by Tucker’s friends in the arts and entertainment industry meant to inspire unity and peace.

“To amplify kindness in South Florida and beyond, I look forward to headlining this concert,” said Tucker. “I hope each of you will help out by bringing all your friends from all walks of life to this incredible program.”

The event will also include performances by the following:

Clarence Brooks, director of dance at FAU, who will perform “Sweet in the Morning,” choreographed by Leni Williams with music by Bobby McFerrin.

BriGuel, the internationally renowned bilingual artistic duo from Spain and New York, who are on a mission to “harmonize humanity” one note, one film at a time. Brianne and Miguel will perform their own music and share award-winning fi lm shorts they created. Both grandchildren of Holocaust survivors, they support Ukrainian displaced persons fi nding refuge at the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation in Poland.

Florida Singing Sons and Chorale Soleil, a new high school student ensemble, will join forces vo-

cally to cultivate arts-aware youth as leaders of tomorrow.

Nat King Cole Generation Hope, named for their famous father by his twin daughters who live in Palm Beach County, provides a legacy of music education, mentoring and resources for youth with the greatest need and fewest resources. Local students and their mentors will perform instrumental music.

The performers all are donating their talents to support the future Kurt and Marilyn Wallach Holocaust and Jewish Studies building at FAU’s Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. While serving as the hub for Holocaust and Jewish Studies on campus, the Wallach building will bring together under one roof all multidisciplinary education that focuses on human rights’ education, conflict de-escalation, ethics and diplomacy, leadership training and peacemaking.

The building will also house FAU’s Peace, Justice and Human Rights Center, a university-wide effort that unites scholars, students, practitioners and community leaders engaged in the themes of social justice, human rights and peace and nonviolence. All concert proceeds will be directed into the “Make a Difference Fund” at FAU to support scholarships and programs within the building.

Tucker, who has a total of more than 14 million social media followers combined on TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, has opened for icons like Jennifer Lopez, Flo Rida, Ciara and Pitbull. She will perform her popular original song “Be Myself” and show her music video “I’m Not Alone,” also known as “the song that saves lives.” Tucker wrote these songs for her music videos to inspire young people to respect their own and others’ inclusion and diversity.

Extending her message beyond her music, Tucker is using her vast social platform for change. She recently retraced her roots to Poland in an ex-

Boca History Museum schedules Civil War talk and rst ‘free fun Saturday’

By Dale King

The speaker, Dr. Robert Watson, is an award-winning author who has published more than 40 books and 200 scholarly articles and essays on topics in political, military and social history. He is also a professor at Lynn University.

“Escape” is the story of one of the worst and deadliest prisons in American history, one where senior Union officers suffered and died in alarming numbers. Located in the heart of the Confederacy’s capital—Richmond—the infamous prison was used for propaganda pur-

poses by southern leaders and took on symbolic significance far beyond that of just a prison.

However, it was also the site of a bold and daring prison break by a group of high-ranking Union offi cers, an event that captivated the nation, outraged the South, and sparked one of the largest manhunts in American history.

The event begins at 6 p.m. with check-in and refreshments, and the lecture starts at 6:30 pm. It is free for BRHS members and $10 for guests.

ploration of her maternal grandparents’ experience during the Holocaust on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and other national media outlets. This experience was captured on-camera for her followers in a recently released “How to: Never Forget” Holocaust education docuseries.

Commenting on the upcoming performance, Bonnie Kaye of Kaye Communications Inc., co-chair and sponsor of the event along with her husband, Jon, said:

“As we lose the generations from all backgrounds who bore witness and survived injustice, bigotry and watershed events in history in their lifetime, who better than their grandchildren to stand up and speak out against hate, bullying and discrimination, and advocate for better education and understanding.”

For more information about the concert, visit www.fau.edu/artsandletters/concert-4-kindness/. For information on sponsorship opportunities, contact Laurie Carney at 561-297-3606 or lcarney@fau.edu.

Singer-songwriter Montana Tucker will headline a multiarts Concert-4- Kindness Sunday, Jan. 15 at 4 p.m. in the Carole and Barry Kaye Auditorium at the Florida Atlantic University Student Union.

Dr. Robert Watson will be the featured speaker at a “Town Hall Talk” Jan. 12 at the Boca Raton Historical Museum.

Rare memorabilia of Jewish Olympic athletes on display At Levis JCC’s Sandler Center in Boca Raton through Feb. 28

The Adolph & Rose Levis Jewish Community Center’s Sandler Center has announced its upcoming exhibition, “Triumph of the Spirit: Jewish Athletes Before, During and After the Holocaust.”

The display, featuring rare and extensive memorabilia of famous Jewish Olympic athletes, opened Jan. 5 at the Judi & Allan Schuman Museum Gallery located at the Levis JCC Sandler Center and will run through Feb. 28, 2023. This exhibition is free and open to the public.

Local collector Neil Keller has amassed more than 22,000 sports collectables over a 35-year span by leading a worldwide pursuit of prominent Jewish figures throughout history.

What started out as a purchase of a 1961 Topps Sandy Koufax baseball card in 1987 turned into three-and-a-half-decade passion for collecting rare and personal items of prominent Jewish sports, political and entertainment figures throughout history.

“I have spent the better part of my life tracking down family members and other individuals that

would lead me to discover the stories behind these remarkable athletes,” said Keller. “This has been a fulfilling quest and I am honored to share it.”

The exhibit includes one-of-a-kind items such as autographed family photos that belonged to World Champion Jewish boxer Victor “Young” Perez and well-known boxer Kid Francis, both of whom were ordered to fight other Jewish prisoners to the death. Perez and Francis were internationally known before the war and their items, much to the surprise of Sotheby’s, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. and Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Israel, have remained in Keller’s private collection for years. These photos, among so many other rare magazines, trophies, trading cards and never-before seen items, will be on display during this exhibit.

Also featured are track and fi eld athlete Marty Glickman; Fort Lauderdale Swimming Hall of Famer Eva Szekely and Helene Mayer, named by Sports Illustrated as one of the top 100 female athletes of the 20th Century, are all featured in the

exhibition, among many others.

“We are so proud and honored to be able to share this truly unique collection of photographs and memorabilia of Jewish athletes with the community here in Boca Raton,” said Karen Lazar, Arts, Culture & Learning Chair of the Levis JCC Sandler Center.

“We are so fortunate to have unique access to Neil Keller’s remarkable collection. It’s likely the only one of its kind in the world, and the depth and breadth of artifacts and information he has collected about Jewish athletes before, during and after the Holocaust is astounding. The stories of these athletes are inspiring, heartbreaking and truly unforgettable.”

To view the complete Arts, Culture and Learning brochure, visit https://levisjcc.org/culture/. All events take place in-person at the Levis JCC Sandler Center located at 21050 95th Avenue S. in Boca Raton unless otherwise specified. For more information, call 561-558-2520.

Hall of Fame swimmer Eva Szekely

Boxer Victor Perez with his mother, Rene

Hungarian-Israeli gymnast Agnes Keleti.

Track and field Olympian Jadwiga Wajsowna

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