The brand new (and gorgeous Arts Warehouse).
Mighty Max Delivers for the Arts Garage
E Street Band Drummer, Rock N’ Roll Hall of Famer and proud Delray resident Max Weinberg sold out two shows at the Arts Garage in February to raise money for the organization.
Max Weinberg’s Jukebox is an ingenious idea. Drawing from over 300 songs from the 60s and 70s, Max and his incredible band (three quarters of New Jersey’s Weeklings) play music that the crowd wants to hear from monitors scrolling song titles throughout the venue.
The performance was amazing with songs ranging from The Beatles and Rolling Stones to Steppenwolf and of course Bruce Springsteen. It was a party—with people dancing, singing and just having a great time.
After years behind the kit, Max proves to be a great band leader engaging the crowd, talking about his love for Delray, the Arts Garage and Haagen Daz chocolate ice cream. He even sprinkled in some yiddishisms (always a treat).
After an energetic two shows, he eagerly greeted fans backstage.
We’ve gotten to know Max over the past year and have shown him the sights of his new hometown. What impressed us the most was that he dived into all of the city’s websites reading master plans and visioning documents in an effort to understand the city. He’s a big fan of Delray Beach, especially our community’s support for the arts and culture.
He also happens to be a truly nice guy who has lived an amazing life and is generous with his time and stories.
Max is a powerful drummer with a great feel for the classic songs of the rock era. If you have a chance, run don’t walk to see the Jukebox on their tour.
P.S. we were treated to two songs by Max’s daughter, Ali Rogin, a journalist for ABC News. She did a great version of “Somebody to Love” and “Different Drum”, sounding every bit as good as Grace Slick and Linda Ronstadt.
Kudos to Arts Garage Board Chair Chuck Halberg and President Marjorie Waldo for pulling this special fundraiser off and for doing incredible work at an important local arts venue.
Happy 70th Rotary
Bexley Trail Community Park is now 106 trees richer thanks to some pretty awesome members of our community.
Community Greening teamed up with the Delray Beach Rotary Club and added 70 cypress trees and 36 slash pines to the landscape. The Rotary Club generously donated all of the cypress trees for the event, and volunteers from The Young Professionals Association of Delray Beach came out to help plant the trees.
“The Rotary Club of Delray Beach is proud to have been invited by Community Greening to improve Delray Beach’s ecosystem with the planting of 70 trees,” said Rotary Club President John Fischer.
The Delray Rotary is also celebrating its 70th birthday this year.
I was unable to attend their birthday event, which featured some past mayors but bought a few seats and I hope others had a chance to celebrate this outstanding group which has done so much for Delray Beach.
Negroni’s Trio
Speaking of the Arts Garage, we enjoyed a great show by Grammy nominated Negroni’s Trio this month.
The jazz band features a father and son duo from Puerto Rico, a bassist from Venezuela and two talented singers from Miami.
It was a joyous evening of stellar playing and singing.
The group mentioned three times during the show that the Arts Garage was their favorite venue in the world. Yep, the world.
They have good taste, catch them when they return to Delray.
Losing a community legend
A few weeks back we wrote about Vince Canning, who received a well-deserved proclamation from the City Commission recognizing a lifetime of service to the people of Delray.
Sadly, Mr. Canning passed in February, shortly after receiving the honor.
We send our condolences to Mr. Canning’s friends and family.
As someone wrote on social media, Vince Canning was part of the fabric of this community. Indeed, he was.
A very strong thread who touched a lot of lives; mine included.
Delray Beach Open
Congratulations to the Delray Beach Open.
The tennis event crowned a new star—20 year-old American Francis Tiafoe won his first ATP event—and set a new attendance record.
We enjoyed a few sessions and it was really great to see so many top 20 players and past legends including John McEnroe entertain local fans.
Estimated local economic impact: $17 million.
Arts Warehouse Debut
Congratulations to the Delray CRA for its successful launch of the Arts Warehouse near Third and Third.
The space is absolutely amazing and worth a visit. It will be a community asset for years to come (if the legislature and local politico’s leave the CRA alone) while also providing low cost studio space for local artists—many of whom get pushed out by gentrification.
Manager Jill Brown and her team have done a terrific job and we heard lots of oohs and ahs…as people toured the facility.
It was also nice to see Old School Square staff and board members in attendance evidence of Delray’s collaborative spirit. A rising arts scene lifts all cultural boats.
Personal Note
A lovely and astute reader called and asked why I didn’t include Old School Square in last month’s things we love feature.
Well, that’s a good question. So let me first say that I will always love Old School Square.
This list is a short list of things we love this month not a definitive list of all we love. We like to think we have a big heart and there’s simply not enough time to list everything we love every month.
But rest assured, Old School Square will always be first in our hearts and minds.
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