Bonnet House Blog

What do Ringo Star, Celine Dion, Willie Nelson and Barbra Streisand have in common? All have recorded songs written by Steve Dorff!

On Thursday, November 6, 2014 at 7 PM, Songwriter Steve Dorff will be performing on the Veranda at Bonnet House Museum & Gardens. 

Steve Dorff has been dubbed an enigma who has evolved into a gifted composer in every musical field. He is a fixture on the nation’s charts. His dossier includes nine #1 film songs and 15 Top 10 hits, including the Kenny Rogers’ classic “Through The Years”, a BMI 3 million performance song, as well as “I Just Fall In Love Again “, the Anne Murray record that captured Billboard’s #1 Song Of The Year honors.

Join us on the Veranda for a live performance by three-time Grammy nominee Steve Dorff. Two glasses of wine will be included sponsored by Shady Lane Cellars. Premium and General Seating available. General seating is $40 for members and $45 for non-members. Premium seating for members is $45 and $50 for non-members.

Bonnet House is located at 900 North Birch Road, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304. For more information and details, please visit www.bonnethouse.org or call (954) 703-2614.

No, we’re not referring to the passengers . . . we’re talking about sharing a fascinating slice of Florida history while enjoying a fun river cruise aboard the Carrie B on Saturday, November 8 at 3:30 p.m., as Bonnet House presents “Cruising Down The River: Speakeasies, Gangsters and Rumrunners.”

Hear about the shadier side of the history of the New River, and the scallywags and scoundrels that lived, worked and played along its shores in our not-too-distant past. Featured speakers include Melissa Timo, Outreach Coordinator for the Florida Outreach Network at Florida Atlantic University, and Birch Willey, long time Fort Lauderdale resident. And enjoy live music performed by Gold Coast Banjoes and 2 glasses of wine generously provided by Red’s Bar & Package Store. Cash bar will be available for water, soda, cocktails and snacks.

Admission is $45 for members and $55 for non-members. The yacht embarkation site is 440 North New River Drive East in Fort Lauderdale. For more information and to reserve your seat, please call (954) 703-2614 or (954) 653-1554, or visit www.bonnethouse.org/calendar.

Bonnet House Museum & Gardens, accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is recognized as a historic landmark by the City of Fort Lauderdale. The story told here spans and parallels a wide swath of American history and makes a visit to the estate a uniquely educational, entertaining and truly unforgettable experience.

Having previously served as the Curator at Bonnet House Museum & Gardens from 1996 to 2002, Denyse Cunningham is now absolutely delighted to return to this magical place to oversee the restoration and preservation of the beautiful 35-acre estate in Fort Lauderdale. A graduate of the State University of New York at Oswego with a degree in Fine Arts, Denyse earned her Master’s Degree in American and New England Studies from the University of Southern Maine, and has been a professional curator of historical collections for over 30 years. Her field of specialization is early twentieth century decorative arts, and for the past 20 years she has worked with collections throughout southeast Florida. For the past 12 years, Denyse served as the Curator for the Broward County Historical Commission, where she did programing, exhibits, arranged the archives and assisted numerous researchers.  She is an active member of the American Alliance of Museums, the American Association of Archivists and the Society of Florida Archivists, and is a founding member of the Gold Coast Archivists.She and her husband, Bill, reside in Boca Raton, Florida.

Bonnet House Museum & Gardens, accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is recognized as a historic landmark by the City of Fort Lauderdale. The story told here spans and parallels a wide swath of American history and makes a visit both to these pages and to the estate a uniquely educational, entertaining and truly unforgettable experience. Bonnet House is located at between the Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway at 900 North Birch Road, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304. For more information and details, please call (954) 563-5393 or visit BonnetHouse.org

Our world-famous orchid collection is one of the many reasons why a visit to South Florida is truly not complete without time spent at beautiful, historic Bonnet House Museum & Gardens. Our greenhouses and display house hold approximately 1,200 beautiful, exotic plants in various stages of development. And as a special treat for orchid enthusiasts and novices, our popular Orchid Greenhouse Tours will resume on the second Tuesday of each month, starting August 12. Our Bonnet House Orchid Curator will show you around our greenhouses and discuss how our orchids are bred and cultivated – including our impressive seedling program, with orchid seedlings available for purchase. These tours are offered from 11am to 12pm, in groups of 15 to allow for questions and discussion, for $20 per person.

The story told at Bonnet House Museum and Gardens spans and parallels a wide swath of American history and makes a visit both to these pages and to the estate a uniquely educational and entertaining experience. Bonnet House is located at 900 North Birch Road, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304. Limited reservations are available, and pre-registration is required. To register, please call (954) 703-2606 or visit BonnetHouse.org.

Bonnet House Museum & Gardens will be offering morning orchid care classes, beginning in August, to help you keep your orchids healthy and blooming all year long. Classes will be held on the beautiful Bonnet House Estate, and each class will be followed by a tour of the orchid greenhouse, lathe house and display house. Orchid supplies will be available for purchase at all classes and students will receive a Bonnet House ‘baby’ orchid seedling.

All classes take place on Saturdays from 10am – 12pm. The schedule is as follows:
Orchid Basics – August 2, 2014
Orchid Repotting – August 9, 2014
Orchid Mounting – August 16, 2014
Diagnosing Pests & Diseases – August 23, 2014

The cost of each class is $30 for members and $35 for non-members. Bonnet House is located at 900 North Birch Road, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304. For more information or to Register, visit www.bonnethouse.org or contact Linda Schaller at [email protected] or (954) 703-2606.

Bonnet House Museum & Gardens presents Cruising Down the River: A Boat Ride Past 200 Years of History on the Carrie B Saturday, July 26, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. Hear about the history of Fort Lauderdale’s New River with featured speakers Everett Osceola from the Seminole Tribe of Florida and Educator and Historian Bill Sydnor. Enjoy Cocktails and Canapés on the Carrie B. Your admission includes 2 glasses of wine and canapés generously provided by Kelly’s Landing, Southport Raw Bar and The Downtowner. Cash bar will be available for water, soda and cocktails.

Admission is $45 for members and $55 for non-members. The yacht embarkation site is 440 North New River Drive East, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301. For more information and to reserve your seat, please call (954) 703-2614, (954) 653-1554 or visit https://bonnethouse.org/calendar/.

Bonnet House Museum & Gardens is proud to announce that it has received a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence award. The accolade, which honors hospitality excellence, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveller reviews on TripAdvisor, and is extended to qualifying businesses worldwide. Establishments awarded the Certificate of Excellence are located all over the world and represent the upper echelon of businesses listed on the website.

When selecting Certificate of Excellence winners, TripAdvisor uses a proprietary algorithm to determine the honorees that takes into account reviews ratings. Businesses must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, volume and recency of reviews. Additional criteria include a business’ tenure and popularity ranking on the site.

“Winning the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence is a true source of pride for all of us at Bonnet House and we’d like to thank all of our past visitors who took the time to complete a review on TripAdvisor,” said Karen Beard, CEO at Bonnet House. “There is no greater seal of approval than being recognized by those that tour the estate”.

“TripAdvisor is pleased to honor exceptional hospitality businesses for consistent excellence,” said Marc Charron, President of TripAdvisor for Business. “The Certificate of Excellence award gives top performing establishments around the world the recognition they deserve, based on feedback from those who matter most – their customers. From Australia to Zimbabwe, we want to applaud exceptional hospitality businesses for offering TripAdvisor travellers a great customer experience.”

Bonnet House is located at 900 North Birch Road, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304. For more information and details, please call (954) 563-5393 or visit BonnetHouse.org.

Bonnet House Museum & Gardens has added a four-week session of its popular Calligraphy workshop to this calendar year. This workshop, headed by Anthony Pastucci, is an advanced course beginning on Tuesday, May 6, and running from 9:30 to 11am every Tuesday through May 27 in the Island Theater.

Mr. Pastucci, a medieval history buff who draws inspiration from the Book of Hours and other illuminated manuscripts of the period, has taught calligraphy throughout the State of Florida for a quarter century. In his own words, “Calligraphy, the art of beautiful writing, can be learned by almost anyone, and will improve the student’s regular penmanship as well.”  In addition to hands-on learning of the art itself, participants will also be taught the history of pen lettering and the importance of the hand-copying of great works of antiquity, especially the Bible, in the scriptoria of the great monastic houses of the Middle Ages.

The cost of the 4-week session is $90 for members and $115 for non-members, and art supplies are included. Workshop is limited to 15 participants, reservations are required, and classes are non-refundable. Bonnet House, one of the nation’s historic houses and gardens – and perhaps its most beautiful – is located at 900 North Birch Rd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304.
For more information and to register for the Calligraphy Workshop, please call (954) 563-5393 or visit www.Bonnethouse.org/adult-workshops.

Another Great Season of Concerts Under the Stars at Bonnet House Culminates with Special Presentation by Rising Stars from Florida Grand Opera’s Young Artist Program

One of Fort Lauderdale’s most popular music series concludes its 2014 season on Thursday, April 10 at 7pm, when the Bonnet House Museum & Gardens hosts a performance by rising stars from Florida Grand Opera’s Young Artist Program.

Since its foundation in 1984, Florida Grand Opera’s Young Artist Program has gained worldwide recognition as one of the leading operatic training programs in the United States, providing talented young singers and coach/accompanists with an opportunity to refine the skills developed during formal music education, targeting those areas necessary to develop
a successful career in opera.

Bonnet House’s Young Artist Music Series has successfully become one of this Fort Lauderdale landmark’s most treasured programs. Individual tickets for this very special final presentation range from $35 – $45, and in addition to a great musical evening, you can also please your palate in grand style, as wine, dessert and coffee will be included in the price of admission through the auspices of Whole Foods Market. It’s quite possibly the “best deal in town.”

The beautiful art for the Young Artist Music Series poster is produced by the honors class at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, with this season’s winning design provided by Paul Tran.

Bonnet House is located at 900 North Birch Road, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304.
For more information or to purchase tickets, call (954) 703-2614 or visit us at
www.bonnet house.org/music-series.