A new festival, a grand opening and an artistic passing
We’ve got a grand opening to celebrate and a passing to sadly mark in this installment of “The Artistic Type,” but first let’s talk about the daylong Arts in April celebration coming to Winter Garden on April 17.
With a theme of “The World Outside,” the free Arts in April is presented by the city government and the Winter Garden Art Association.
Among the activities: a Chalkin’ It Up sidewalk art contest, plein-air painting, a scavenger hunt and four separate art exhibits — at City Hall, the Sobo Art Gallery, the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation and the Highland Building.
In the evening, the Winter Garden Art Association will present a ticketed event, “Art Night VIP,” which includes access to curated art experiences in intimate settings — COVID-19 precautions will be in effect. The $75 ticket also includes a voucher for five drinks and a year’s membership in the association. Go to wgart.org/vip for more information.
For a complete guide to Arts in April, go to downtownwg.com/arts-in-april.
RITZY RAGS: Congratulations to Leigh Shannon, who has successfully relocated Ritzy Rags to a new home in College Park. The “Wigs & More” store has been around for 32 years in the Mills 50 neighborhood, starting out when Shannon was “selling wigs and jewelry in the back” of a consignment shop.
After new landlords hiked the rent while sales were down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Shannon decided on a new location — and a new vibe.
“It’s a brand-new building, it’s all new inside,” said Shannon — the more fabulous alter ego of Marty Fugate Jr — about the new digs at 1833 Edgewater Drive. The store has shed some of its fringe businesses — costume consignments and a flea-market area — to focus on its core strengths, such as providing wigs to cancer patients and women suffering hair loss.
“That’s our niche,” Shannon says. “They need us.” A Zoom setup lets family members model wigs for patients who can’t come to the store in person.
Arts groups such as Orlando Ballet and Russian Ballet Orlando, mimes, female impersonators, cosplay fans and other performers also are among the store’s clientele.
Ritzy Rags will still stock a selection of masks, costumes and its cosplay and artistic makeup. A new boutique section offers jewelry, handbags and knickknacks — things that are “more College Park-y” says Shannon, whom you can catch performing regularly at Hamburger Mary’s downtown.
The new location is in soft opening now, with a grand-opening celebration planned for noon-5 p.m. April 25. Shannon promises a “major storewide sale,” food and celebrity lookalikes.
Although it was “scary” and “emotional” to leave the Mills-50 district, Shannon says the new location has better parking and more walk-by traffic.
“When I saw this space, I knew it was the one,” Shannon says. “I truly believe it was meant to be.” Friends gathered April
9 to remember artist
IN MEMORIAM:
Giuseppe Corazzina, who died March 26 at age 75. The artist was well-known for his specialty of fresco painting, the ancient art of putting paint to plaster. He taught that and other art classes at Seminole State University; the comments about him on the Rate My Professors website are a hoot.
Some students found his thick Italian accent incomprehensible and some refer to him as “Grandpa” but among the favorable comments is one from a student who compared learning from Corazzina like being in the studio of
an Italian master — without going to Italy.
A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, Corazzina also was skilled in acrylic, oil, tempera and watercolor painting. His work is included in the permanent collections of significant Italian buildings, including St. Antonio Cathedral in Padua, his hometown.
He had lived in Central Florida since 1996 and had his own studio at his Winter Park home. When I interviewed him a few years ago in his classroom, I liked his philosophy: “The problems of the world, they
stay outside,” he told me. “Here, we work for art.”
or find me on Twitter @matt_ on_arts. Want more news and reviews of theater and other arts? Go to OrlandoSentinel.com/arts