Community Calendar

Camp Gordon Johnston WWII Museum in Carrabelle is presenting a special exhibit on Operation Market Garden. This exhibit will be on display at the museum from Tuesday, September 1 until Saturday, October 3. The museum is open every Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm ET. There is no charge for admission, but donations are gladly accepted.

Operation Market Garden (September 17th - 27th, 1944) was the attempt to establish control of the bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem on the border of Germany and the Netherlands. This involved the combined efforts of the First Allied Airborne and the XXX Corps of the British 2nd Army. The battle was unsuccessful for a variety of reasons, including the dependence on a single raised highway the ground forces had to use to link up with airborne troops (US, British and Polish) dropped at the three bridges.

This exhibit presents the military commanders from both the Allied and the German forces, and presents information of the Horsa and Waco gliders, as well as the Douglas C47 Skytrain aircraft used to bring troops and equipment from England.

The battle was commemorated in “A Bridge Too Far”, the 1977 film. “Band of Brothers”, a miniseries from HBO in 2001, also depicted the 101st Airborne's part in this battle. They landed near Eindhoven and Veghel.

Camp Gordon Johnston WWII Museum is located at 1873 Hwy 98 West, directly across from the very beach where the beach assault training occurred in 1942-1943. Carrabelle Beach was the site of many practice beach assault landings. For more information, contact Camp Gordon Johnston Museum at (850) 697-8575 or museum@campgordonjohnston.com. Funded in part by the Franklin County Tourist Development Council.

LeMoyne Arts invites you to experience Loose Thread, a solo exhibition featuring the work of Laura De Valencia-Kirk.
Through fiber and mixed-media works, Loose Thread explores themes of identity, resilience, displacement, adaptation, and belonging. Drawing upon the personal stories and experiences that shape individuals and communities, De Valencia-Kirk invites viewers to consider the threads that connect us, to place, memory, culture, and one another.

Join us throughout the exhibition and celebrate with us at these special events:

Opening Reception
Thursday, September 24 | 5:00–7:30 PM
Be among the first to experience Loose Thread and enjoy an evening of art and community at LeMoyne Arts. Food by Klassic Katering & Events. Live classical guitar by Susana Frade.

Muffins & Mimosas
Saturday, September 26 | 11:00 AM–12:30 PM
Spend your Saturday morning immersed in the exhibition while enjoying in-house mimosas, baked goods from Uptown Cafe, and freshly brewed coffee from Argonaut Coffee. Live Music by the Community Youth Orchestra of Tallahassee.

LeMoyne Arts
125 N. Gadsden Street | Tallahassee, FL
Exhibition on view September 24–October 31, 2026

Books built Democracy, books can save Democracy.

In celebration of America’s 250th birthday, join us for an evening with Dr. Michael Fischer as he discusses his groundbreaking book, How Books Can Save Democracy, with James Madison Institute president Dr. Bob McClure and award-winning science fiction editor Ann Vandermeer. We’ll be giving away 250 copies of How Books Can Save Democracy, leading up to and at the event, so don’t hesitate to swing by Midtown Reader to snag your copy now!

This event is in partnership with our charitable initiative, Let's Read, and the Community Foundation of North Florida, thanks to a generous anonymous donation.

ABOUT HOW BOOKS CAN SAVE DEMOCRACY
How Books Can Save Democracy is essential reading for educators, community leaders, and anyone concerned about the future of American democracy. Now more than ever we need works of literature to help us benefit from our differences instead of being threatened by them, and our bookshelves may hold the solution to this pressing civic challenge.

ABOUT MICHAEL FISCHER
Michael Fischer is the Janet S. Dicke Professor in Public Humanities Emeritus at Trinity University and the author of several books of literary analysis. He lives in San Antonio, Texas.

ABOUT ROBERT MCCLURE
Dr. Robert McClure is the President and CEO of The James Madison Institute (JMI). JMI is a nonpartisan, public policy research organization based in Florida. JMI’s ideas are rooted in the U.S. Constitution and the principles of economic freedom and opportunity for all Floridians.Dr. McClure was appointed by Governor Jeb Bush to the Florida Elections Commission and has served on the State of Florida Education Strategic Planning Council.

ABOUT ANN VANDERMEER
Ann VanderMeer is an award-winning editor, writer & anthologist. She serves as an acquiring editor for Reactormag.com. She was the editor-in-chief for Weird Tales, during which time she won the Hugo Award. Along with other nominations, she has won a World Fantasy Award, the Locus Award, and a British Fantasy Award for The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories. She was recently honored with the Robert Bloch award for her work Her non-fiction has been published widely, including essays for the British Library and The Paris Review. Her latest anthologies include The Big Book of Classic Fantasy and The Big Book of Modern Fantasy.

Discover a remarkable selection of paintings, drawings, and sculptures by pioneering American women artists in this Major Exhibition from the Huntsville Museum of Art – Sellars Collection. The exhibition highlights the achievements of women artists who painted and sculpted during the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries, offering a captivating glimpse into a pivotal period in American art history.

Image: Agnes Millen Richmond, A Young Friend, 1922, oil on canvas

Natalia Andreeva invites you to step into a world where light dances, emotions stir, and canvases come alive with enchanting brushstrokes. In her series of paintings, Andreeva illuminates the profound connection between art, light, and the depths of human experience.

A special Founder’s Collection exhibition will share early Art in Gadsden works of art now found in private collections, and the stories that go back to the earliest days of Gadsden Arts.

Enjoy the second Artists Guild exhibition of 2025, on view in the Gadsden Arts Center & Museum’s Bates Community Room through June 7, 2025. On display is artwork by Jan Austin-Hicken, Douglas Bondurant, Deborah Bullock, Michael Burchfield, Anthony Butkowski, Amy Cober, Kathy Ferrell, Ellen Fournier, Theresa Francisco, Thomas Friedman, Debbie Gaedtke, Echo Kidd Gates, Sal Guastella, John Isaacs, Stan Kitching, Sandra Lipner, MJ Lord, Kristin Manos, Janice Ecinja McCaskill, Hui Chiu McClure, Michele Moffett , Kent Putnam, Jill Quadagno, Linda Rabon, Maria Renzulli, Ann Robinson, Stephen Bennett Smith, Debra Spitler, Karen Stewart, Mary Liz Tippin-Moody, Georgia Turner, Amy Von Chamier, Lisa Waxman, and Erika Zambello.

Image: Michael Burchfield, Emily’s World, 2021, oil

America’s Everglades: Through the Lens of Clyde Butcher
September 25 – December 12, 2026
Sara May Love Gallery

This exhibition presents the America’s Everglades, the most acclaimed body of work by Clyde Butcher, and celebrates the life and legacy of Harry S. Truman, the visionary who dedicated the Everglades National Park and expanded our National Parks system.

Clyde Butcher is one of America’s foremost landscape photographers and a leading voice for environmental conservation in Florida. His accolades include the National Medal of Arts in 2022, the highest honor given to artists and arts patrons by the United States government, and Florida Artists Hall of Fame recognition in 1998, the highest honor given to an artist by the State of Florida.

Through his monumental images of the Florida Everglades, Butcher captures the quiet beauty, mystery, and resilience of one of the nation’s most treasured natural landscapes. His photographs reveal the delicate balance of life within this vast wilderness, inspiring viewers to reflect on the importance of preservation and the enduring relationship between humanity and nature.

Support for this program is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, celebrating NEA America250: Arts Projects Honoring the National Garden of American Heroes.

Funding for this program was provided through a grant from the Florida Humanities with funds from The Mosaic Company. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this (publication) (program) (exhibition) (website) do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or The Mosaic Company.

Art and our Environment
September 25 – December 12, 2026
Zoe Golloway Gallery

This exhibition brings together the work of five distinguished Florida artists,
Beth Appleton, Mark Messersmith, Bob Bischoff, Jesse Aaron, and Bessie Harvey, whose work illuminates our evolving relationship with the natural world. Beth Appleton (b. 1949) creates intricate cut-paper assemblages shaped by a lifetime of observing Florida’s shifting landscapes. Mark Messersmith (b. 1955) is known for his vibrant, layered paintings that merge wildlife, lush vegetation, and human impact into dramatic narratives, often extending beyond the canvas with sculptural frames. Bob Bischoff (1950-2023) became known for creating large, public stained-glass installations with his wife Jo Ann Bischoff. Together, these artists’ work forms a compelling exploration of the beauty, fragility, and resilience of the natural world, inviting viewers to reflect on the connections between art, place, and the environment.

Image: Beth Appleton, Hurricane Charley, paper, watercolor paint, 2006, 28 x 22 in

Joel Thornton
September 12 – December 12, 2026
Munroe Family Community Gallery

Joel Thornton, a Tallahassee-based artist, brings together a vibrant body of work shaped by many years of dedicated practice and ongoing artistic study. Born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, Thornton discovered his love of painting in his youth, guided by his mother, who inspired him to create and cultivated his passion for the arts. After setting aside painting to build a career and raise a family, Thornton rediscovered his passion for painting. His paintings span portraits of both iconic figures and people from his everyday life, animals, and vibrant landscapes, all unified by his expressive use of color, attention to form, and deep interest in storytelling.

Image: Joel Thornton, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, 2022, oil, 20 x 24 inches