The Eighteenth Annual Festival of the Arts Boca is back, brining a packed lineup of performances and engagements to Mizner Park Amphitheater in Boca Raton March 1-10. Read on for a day-by-day breakdown of the festivities.
March 1
The festival kicks off with a celebration legendary maestro Henry Mancini. Mancini’s iconic works will be brought to life by the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra and Henry’s daughter, vocalist Monica Mancini. The performance will be accompanied by a visual journey through iconic composer’s life.
March 2
Enjoy a screening of Jaws like you’ve never experienced before. The cinematic masterpiece will come alive through the Festival Orchestra Boca, seamlessly synchronizing with the Academy Award-winning score by John Williams.
March 3
On Sunday afternoon, sit in on a thought-provoking presentation led by executive coach Daisy Dowling, author of Workparent and founder of the movement with the same name. Dowling will discuss how working parents can create successful, fulfilling lives, while raising happy kids.
In the evening, the reigning queen of sopranos, Renée Fleming, will enthrall audiences with her mesmerizing voice. The five-time Grammy winner performed at the inaugural festival in 2007, and again in 2015, to sold-out, standing-room-only audiences.
March 4
Fleming returns to the Mizner Park Amphitheater stage to explore the profound connections between music and mental well-being. As artistic advisor at large to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Fleming has spearheaded the Sound Health collaboration with the National Institutes of Health and National Endowment for the Arts. The initiative explores and brings attention to research and practices at the intersection of music, health, and neuroscience.
March 5
The festival will spotlights emerging talents from South Florida during the Rotary Club Future Stars Competition. Hosted in partnership with the Rotary Club of Boca Raton, the performance will showcase some of the area’s top young singers and dancers.
March 6
Head to the festival’s Authors & Ideas Program with Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, and former editor-in-chief of Wired magazine. During his talk, Thompson will unravel the mysteries of the “Wired Future” and how technology impacts our lives and guide us on how to use it most effectively.
March 7
American poet and public speaker, Richard Blanco, will offer profound insights through poetry and prose. Selected by President Barack Obama as the fifth presidential inaugural poet, Blanco was the youngest and first Latin, immigrant, and gay person to serve in that role. In 2023, Blanco was awarded the National Humanities Medal from the National Endowment for the Humanities by President Joe Biden.
March 8
Barcelona Flamenco Ballet will take the stage to perform “Luxuria,” infusing traditional flamenco with jazz and contemporary ballet.
March 9
The multitalented Isaac Mizrahi will perform, “Hello Isaac,” his critically acclaimed cabaret show with an evening of laughter, design, and song. The fashion designer extraordinaire has directed productions of A Little Night Music and The Magic Flute for the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. He has performed cabaret at Café Carlyle, Joe’s Pub, West Bank Café, and City Winery locations throughout country.
For “Hello Isaac,” Mizrahi brings his six-piece jazz band to perform a range of tunes from the Great American Songbook, punctuated by hilarious musings from politics to his latest Instagram obsessions.
March 10
The Festival Boca Jazz Orchestra, conducted by Kyle Prescott and featuring pianist Dominic Cheli, will mesmerize the audience with “100 Years of Rhapsody in Blue,” a tribute to George Gershwin’s iconic quintessentially American composition. The performance will also include American jazz and swing band classics.
Tickets are $15-$150 and are available at festivalboca.org or by calling 561-757-4762 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission to the Rotary Club Future Stars Competition is free.