THINGS TO DO
'Siyontanka' teaches audience about Native American culture

Submitted Photo Greg Bond will be one of the performers in the PLT showing of "Siyotanka: The Legend of the Flute."

Writer/Director Dr. Stephen C. Lott hopes his new play, Siyotanka: The Legend of the Flute will help audience members' learn more about the traditions of a culture with which many people are not familiar. Siyotanka was inspired by a Lakota folktale about the origins of the wooden flute.

Lott and his colleague Dr. Michael DeMaria were able to combine their creative interests and their professional training as child psychologists to develop an entertaining and thoughtprovoking play that premieres at Pensacola Little Theatre in April.

In Siyotanka: The Legend of the Flute, young Native American Takoda (Greg Bond) is frustrated with being taunted and teased by other males in the tribe who are stronger and faster than he. He sets out on a physically demanding and seemingly impossible task in search of a way to stand out. His encounters with several wise animal spirits inspire him to create the first wooden flute and a new type of music.

To give audience members another opportunity to learn about Native American culture, on Sunday, April 20, Bobby Johns Bearheart, Chief of the Perdido Bay Tribe of Creek Indians, will bring his Native Paths Mobile Museum to Pensacola Little Theatre. The exhibit will open immediately after the play, at approximately 4:30pm.

"Siyotanka: The Legend of the Flute" debuts at Pensacola Little Theatre on April 11 and runs through April 20. Friday and Saturday performances begin at 7 p.m. and Sunday Matinees start at 2:30pm. Tickets are $14 to $18 for adults; those 16 and under pay half price. Pensacola Little Theatre is located inside the Pensacola Cultural Center at 400 South Jefferson Street, downtown.

For tickets or season subscription information, call the PLT Box Office at 850-432- 2042 or visit our website, pensacolalittletheatre. com.

'You Can't Go Wrong' exhibit at Artel Gallery

Artel Gallery will present "You Can't Go Wrong With Red", a juried exhibit, April 15 through May 16. An opening reception will take place on Friday, April 25, from 6 to 8 p.m.

This exhibit is sponsored by SunTrust Bank, Harper-Pinzino Island Realty, Southern Wine and Spirits and Varona's Authentic Cuban Cuisine.

Juror is Cheryl Vernon Fox, artist and arts advocate. Although a strict adherence to the color is not required, all works must contain some red. Drop off of submissions is Saturday, April 12, 10 - 4, and Sunday, April 13, 1 - 4. Artists may enter up to three pieces. Entry fees are $25 for members and $35 for non-members.

For more information call the gallery at 850-432-3080 or visit Artel's website at artelgallery.org. Sandestin Wine Festival is this weekend

The 22nd annual Sandestin Wine Festival at Baytowne Wharf, April 10-13, uncorks four full-bodied days of private dinners, rare wine auctions, celebrity winemakers and Grand Wine Tasting events. The Grand Wine Tastings will feature more than 600 domestic and international wines, available for purchase at specialevent pricing in the Retail Wine Tent, as well as the opportunity to meet celebrity vintners and winemakers.

Wine novices and aficionados alike will toast to the festival's schedule of events.

For more information on the 22nd Annual Sandestin Wine Festival at Baytowne Wharf, visit www.sandestinwinefestival. com.

PJC hosts flower and garden festival

The 11th Annual Emerald Coast Flower & Garden Festival promises to brim with blooms, indigenous and exotic plants, citrus trees, garden art and accessories.

The free, family-oriented event is from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, April 11; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 12; and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 13, at the beautiful Pensacola Junior College Milton campus.

The event features commercial plant vendors, exhibits and plant sales by area garden clubs, local chapters of national plant societies and organizations, arts and crafts, tours of the campus gardens, the PJC Student Horticulture Educational Display and much more.

The festival is presented by The Friends of the Gardens of Northwest Florida Inc., in cooperation with PJC and the University of Florida at the Milton campus, 5988 Highway 90 West.

For more information, contact Amy Compton at 850-484- 4433, acompton@pjc.edu, or go to http://itech.pjc.edu/acompton/; or contact Gina Jogan at 850-587-2621, gvjogan@panhandle. rr.com.

Butterfly House set to open

The Panhandle Butterfly House, is scheduled to open April 17. The outside gardens are a colorful example of what residents can plant in their own yard to attract butterflies and the tours give an insight into the life of a butterfly.

The touring team is comprised of both UF/IFAS Florida Master Gardeners and community volunteers. Reservations are now being taken for both adult and youth tours.

To schedule a tour, go to http://panhandlebutterflyhouse. org and click the page "Come See Us" and then click the link saying "Contact Us" to write an email requesting a tour. State who you are, when you would like a tour and please include a phone number. One of the chairs will get back to you.