CULTURE & COCKTAILS At The Ben Returns with a Dramatic Conversation on January 8

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Dec. 12, 2023 - PRLog -- (Lake Worth Beach, FL – December 11, 2023) Dave Lawrence, President & CEO of the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, today touted the 2024 kick-off of CULTURE & COCKTAILS. The theme of the 19^th annual season of the popular series is Looking Back, Looking Forward.

January 8

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A Dramatic Conversation Between William Hayes & Michael McKeever

+ William Hayes is the producing artistic director and a founding member of Palm Beach Dramaworks, where he has directed some 50 productions for the company.

+ Michael McKeever is an award-winning playwright, actor, and designer, whose plays (Daniel's Husband, Mr. Parker, The Code, Suite Surrender, 37 Postcards, Stuff, Melt, etc.) have been produced around the world.

February 5

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A Revealing Conversation with Best Selling Author James Patterson

+ James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time. He is the creator of unforgettable characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women's Murder Club, Jane Effing Smith, and Maximum Ride, and of breathtaking true stories about the Kennedys, John Lennon, and Princess Diana, as well as our military heroes, police officers, and ER nurses.

+ Leslie Gray Streeter is the former pop culture columnist for The Palm Beach Post, where she covered music, movies, celebrities,  staycations and more. Currently, she writes for The Baltimore Banner and appears regularly on WJZ-TV/CBS. Her memoir, Black Widow, was published by Little, Brown & Company, and her first novel is coming out soon.

April 1

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A Hopeful Conversation about the Future of the Royal Poinciana Playhouse & the Sunset Lounge

+ Cheryl Mendelson is the executive director of the Palm Beach Cultural Innovation Center at The INNOVATE, which is currently redeveloping the historic landmark theater in the Royal Poinciana Plaza with the goal of transforming the long-shuttered facility into a cultural arts venue with up to 400 seats, plus a stage with a retractable backdrop wall to create an alfresco waterfront performance space.

+ Alisha R. Winn, Ph.D., is an applied cultural anthropologist, historian, and consultant for community and heritage education projects who lives in the neighborhood around the Sunset Lounge, the Historic Northwest. An adjunct professor at Palm Beach Atlantic University's School of Ministry, she is the founder of Consider the Culture, was director for the Palm Beach County African American Virtual Oral History Project and served as a board member for the City of West Palm Beach Mayor's Taskforce for Racial and Ethnic Equality.

Attached Jpegs:

1. William Hayes
2. Michael McKeever  (Photo Credit: Chris Headshots)

Media Contact:

Gary Schweikhart

PR-BS, Inc.

561.756.4298

gary@pr-bs.net