A New Season of Arts & Entertainment

Our friends at The Grand, The Baby Grand, The Playhouse, Delaware Symphony Orchestra, Opera Delaware, and the First State Ballet Company recently announced their line-up for the 2016-2017 arts, culture, and entertainment season.

Here's Mark Fields, Executive Director of The Grand, and David Amado, Music Director for the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, to share just some of what's happening:

You can find out more by clicking here.

Whether you enjoy country, rock, classical, comedy, drama, or any kind of art, culture, or entertainment, we have it in Downtown Wilmington.

I hope to see you at our incredible venues!

Marty

Downtown Wilmington in 6 minutes

Our friends at WITN, channel 22, have just produced an excellent overview of our Downtown Wilmington.

I appreciate the work Sheila Friedman and her team has done to showcase our incredible community.

Take a look at the video here:

You might want to take a look at all that WITN produces by clicking here.

We have a collection of great entrepreneurs, artists, educators, entertainers, residents, business leaders, non-profits, students, and more in our Downtown Wilmington - I hope you'll take time to explore all of these aspects of our community.

Marty

Growing employment opportunities

Our friends at Wilmington Rotary and TEDx Wilmington are teaming up to present a program about expanding employment opportunities in our city.

Fourspeakers will give 4 TEDx talks on Expanding Employment in Wilmington over lunch in the Gold Ballroom of the Hotel du Pont, which is included in the ticket price of $25:

• Bryan Tracy will talk about Sustainable Strategies to Re-employ Delaware’s Human and Financial Capital for the Next Big Industry Success;
• Sebastian Kretschmer will talk about Green Prison Reentry- Growing New Farmers;
• Francisco Castellanos's talk is entitled"Turning Coffee into Code:The art of Stoicism”
• Harold Lathon will talk about Self-Sufficient Economic Empowerment- The Sustainable Alternative to a Career in Illegal Drugs

WHEN: Thursday, July 21, 2016 from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM (EDT)

WHERE: Hotel du Pont - 42 West 11th Street, Wilmington, DE 19801

Click Here for more details and tickets.

I hope you will join me in learning about these exciting ideas.

Marty

P.S. Here's a video invitation from the organizers:

Get ready for Richard Raw Week in Wilmington

Our friend, Richard Raw, consistently pours himself into the local community, provides quality entertainment, and mentors young people throughout the city.

The week of June 4-11 is Richard Raw Week, with concerts, block parties, film screenings, and more planned throughout the week.

Click Here for more information.

I hope you will bring your family and friends out to these great community events.

Marty

OperaDelaware gains praise far and wide

Critics and audiences are amazed at what they're hearing and experiencing in Wilmington thanks to OperaDelaware.

Anne Midgette, classical music critic for the Washington Post, had this to say about OperaDelaware's production of Amleto:

Opera Delaware mounted a solid production of “Amleto” (by E. Loren Meeker) with generic medieval costumes and an outstanding cast far better than many I’ve heard from companies with 20 times the funds. Throw in Barrese’s terrific conducting, and “Amleto” is not only a success story but an inspiration 

Click Here for the full review

Philly.com Classical Music Critic David Patrick Stearns wrote this:

It's a smart cast. And the singers and the creative team alike say this operatic Hamlet needs no apologies. 

Click Here for more

Christine Facciolo with WHYY's Newsworks writes:

More than 500 patrons are coming from beyond a 30-mile radius—the company is hoping to attract 1,000—including one devotee who will ride his motorcycle down from Canada to attend a matinee. The company has also attracted more than 800 new patrons.

Click Here for more from Newsworks

Gail Obenreder with the News Journal had this to say:

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, has stormed gloriously into downtown Wilmington.

...

The unwavering vision of OperaDelaware General Director Brendan Cooke and his staff – as well as the passion of conductor Anthony Barrese to revive “Amleto” – have led this old-yet-new work to Wilmington, resulting in a riveting and unforgettable evening.

Click Here for the complete review.

The story behind this opera is fascinating - take a look at this:

I am so proud of the work being done by Brendan Cooke and the whole team at OperaDelaware. Downtown Wilmington is simply the place to be for arts and culture.

Marty

P.S. To learn more about this incredible organization (and to get tickets to an upcoming performance), click here.