Did you know Early Florida was an Orchid Paradise?!
Hundreds upon hundreds of magically blooming, wildly colorful Orchid beauties thrived, contributing and decorating our unique State ecosystem. Tragically, in the 1800's, an new train line cut an irreparable scare across a pristine environment and unleashed rapid, aggressive exploitation of the land and its natural habitats that continue to the very day.
Orchids are a beacon, an alluring, enchanting call for action to "protect, conserve and understand our connection to the land..." A call to step up NOW and apply creative and effective ways for urban development to coexist with our delicate, vital and varied Florida ecosystems.
Don't feel frustrated! Everyday there are Floridians hard at work with their hearts on their sleeves advocating and actively working for the preservation and care of our Ecosystems. Like this EVENT. It's just one aspect of ongoing work towards real and tangible strides towards this goal.
You can attend this ONE DAY event hosted by our Friends of the Feta Foundation in tandem with the Knight Foundation, Miami-Dade County, Miami Beach Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Rhythm Foundation.
Yours Truly, Kawaii Universe was tapped a few years ago to CREATE and highlight Florida Orchids for the amazing Feta Foundation and in the recent past was chosen to create ARTWORK for the City of Miami, Virginia Key Beach Coastal Hammock Ecosystem.
For the FIRST TIME Kawaii Universe sets the Orchids in the unique Coastal Hammock
in a large scale artwork that will be exhibited at the show along with our Orchids apparel and stickers!
Come hang (pun intended) with us and the Orchids, they love our trees and hammocks as much as we do! They request your presence!!!
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Please read one of the Press Releases below
Next Sunday, February 12 with
Closer Encounters: The Orchid Adventure, an exciting participatory collaborative experience with Pioneer Winter Collective and Miami Children’s Chorus.
Please, come and join us for an outdoor journey at the Miami Beach Bandshell!
Juraj Kojš, Pioneer Winter Collective and the Miami Children’s Chorus
present
Closer Encounters: The Orchid Adventure
Music, movement and technology experience for children of all ages
February 12, 2023 at 6PM
Miami Beach Bandshell
7275 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33141
Tickets: www.rhythmfoundation.com
Once upon the time, Florida was an orchid paradise. More than one hundred native species bloomed profusely around the state, weaving a colorful ecosystem. In the late 1800s, the new train line to South Florida stimulated exploitation of the landscape, leading to near extinction of many.
Orchids have thus become a call for action to protect, conserve and understand our connection to the land and each other in respectfully integrated ways.
Closer Encounters: The Orchid Adventure will take you on an immersive sonic journey, exploring the famous Encyclia tampensis: The Butterfly Orchid as imagined by the composer and artphibian Juraj Kojš, the contemporary dance company Pioneer Winter Collective and Miami Children’s Chorus.
Where does the orchid live? How did it get to South Florida from the Bahamas and Cuba? Can you grow it in your garden? Betzaida Ferrer, the story-telling grandmother, will guide us in an inter-generational sonic journey in which the orchid’s habitat, culture and botanical features will be explored through music, movement, language, technologies, play and performance.
The Orchid Adventure, with the Miami Children’s Chorus, is the first of four upcoming performances of Kojš and Winter’s Knight Foundation Challenge Award project Closer Encounters that aims to rediscover, reclaim and nurture our sense of intimacy and connectives in the post-pandemic era. For the MCC, the performance continues to push the organization’s vision of re imagined performance opportunities for children’s choir.
Whether you are an orchid or plant aficionado, music, dance and technology lover, children of all ages are invited to participate. In addition to the performance, you’ll get to experience an orchid market, including the Encyclia tampensis interactive installation designed by Monica Leslie Travis, Rodrigo Arcaya, Troy Rogers and Juraj Kojš, an orchid exhibit, tables by Coalition for Orchid Species, Million Orchid Project and Kawaii Universe.
Juraj Kojš, creator and music
Pioneer Winter, choreographer
Miami Children’s Chorus. Liana Salinas, artistic director
Betzaida Ferrer, guide and story-telling grandmother
Luisa Buitrago, production
Supported by FETA Foundation, Knight Foundation, Miami Beach Cultural Affairs and Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and Rhythm Foundation.
