Memorial Day is around the corner. You can mark this special day by attending services at the Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary’s Memorial Day Observation Ceremony. It begins 9 a.m. Monday, May 31, and features retired military speakers. Visitors also have the opportunity to reflect amidst the memorials to men and women of Indian River County who gave the ultimate sacrifice to our country.
The Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary is adjacent to Riverside Park on the barrier island, south of the Merrill Barber Bridge. For more information, call 772-567-2144 or visit COVB.org.
You can also travel south to the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum for its special Memorial Day Service on Monday morning. That schedule starts at 8:30 a.m. with the arrival of “Beyond the Teams,” a group of retired Navy SEALs who conduct fundraising events.
They will arrive on the beach after paddling a six-man outrigger canoe 300 miles from Key West to Fort Pierce in support of the museum and its Trident House Charities. Services continue at 8:30 a.m. with a reverent Flag Retirement Ceremony for which the public is invited to bring American flags that need to be retired due to wear and tear.
The Memorial Day Ceremony begins 9 a.m. with the National Anthem sung by Cynthia Watkins Pishdad, LTC U.S.A. (Ret.). She will be followed by an official welcome and invocation. The keynote speaker will be Sara Wilkinson, NSW Gold Star and Surviving Spouse. There will also be a special wreath laying, a dedication of the Memorial Garden and Living Beach, a Retirement of Colors and a service conclusion led by Rev. Mike Shockley.
The Memorial Day Service is held outdoors at the museum’s Memorial Wall. It is free and open to the public. There will be complimentary admission to the museum, which will close at noon on Memorial Day. The Navy SEAL Museum is at 3300 N. Highway A1A, on North Hutchinson Island, Fort Pierce. Call 771-595-5845 or visit NavySealMuseum.org.
The First Presbyterian Church of Vero Beach will host Dezmond Rogers in a double bass recital beginning 3 p.m. Sunday, May 30. Rogers, a graduate of Indian River Charter High School, received his music degree from the prestigious Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. He began playing the double bass at the age of 12. He was a member of the Florida All-State Orchestra and toured with the Cuban American Youth Orchestra.
He won a scholarship from the Vero Beach Chorale Society and received a full scholarship to the Frost School. Rogers will be accompanied on stage by pianist Jacob Craig, director of the church’s music and arts program. They will perform works by Giovani Bottesini. Admission is free but a $10 donation would be appreciated. The First Presbyterian Church is at 520 Royal Palm Blvd. Call 772-562-9088 or visit FirstPresVero.org.
Images of the celebrated installations will be on view in “A Tribute to Christo & Jeanne-Claude: The Tom Golden Collection.” The recently opened exhibition runs through Sept. 5 at the Vero Beach Museum of Art.
Golden, who worked closely with the late artists, donated his collection of collages, prints, photographs, drawings and objects to the Museum of Sonoma County in Santa Rosa, California. The collection is the most extensive one in the country and spans 37 years.
This traveling exhibition includes works from many of Christo’s environmental “wrap” projects, including: “Running Fence,” which was done in Northern California in the 1970s; “The Umbrellas,” which was a joint project with Japan and the U.S. in the late 1980s; “The Gates,” which turned New York City’s frozen Central Park into a magical place blooming with paprika colored fabric; “Wrapped Reichstag,” which brought out hundreds of volunteers helping to wrap silvery fabric around Berlin’s famous edifice; and “Surrounded Islands,” for which the artists wrapped pastel pink fabric around islands in Biscayne Bay, Fla.
The museum also has works by glass artists on view in the “VBMA Glass Works” exhibition, which runs through Sept. 1. Artists in that exhibition include Dale Chihuly, Karen LaMonte, Kenneth Kerslake, Jon Kuhn, Danta Marioni, Benjamin Moore, Italo Scanga and more.
The Vero Beach Museum of Art is at 3001 Riverside Park Dr. Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. Admission is $8 general, $7 senior, and free for children under 17 years of age. Free also to members.
Discounts available for students, active military and first responders. Call 772-231-0707 or visit VBMuseum.org.