Hometown News and Views

By Judy Wilson
PELICAN STAFF
Deerfield Beach – It may be when you are walking the beach boardwalk that several people burst into song. It may be at the green market when you are approached by a mime. It may be at a local restaurant where a young dance troupe, unannounced, performs a routine. It will be “Anyday, Anytime, Anywhere” that these “Random Acts of Culture” happen.
Tuesday night, the first “Act” in a series planned by the Deerfield Beach Cultural Committee, occurred. The South Florida Chamber Ensemble played classical music for 30 minutes prior to the city commission meeting before a sparse, but delighted, audience.
Said cultural committee chair, Judi Stanich, “I read an article recently on how the brain reacts to art. Wouldn’t it figure that lovely chamber music could trigger amicable results?”
The Ensemble is managed by resident Myrna Meeroff. She, on French horn, and two others, Brian Mirksy, violin, and Marie Schwartz, flute, played the music of  Hayden, Beethoven, Hummel and Dauprat.  One obvious effect of this brief cultural moment: the mood in the room lightened significantly.
“Random Acts” is the idea of TJ Egan who is a volunteer consultant for the Cultural Committee.  The plan is to stage at least one Act a month around town, but because the other idea is to keep these events random, there will be no pre-publicity. A sandwich board designed by Parks and Recreation employee Mickey Gomez will be the tipoff. It will identify the performers as being a Random Act.
The Cultural Committee has long been the sponsor of the annual Festival of the Arts held on the beach in January. The committee also arranges for several concerts a year, the next one on Dec. 7 when the 13th Army Band will play a patriotic concert in observance of Pearl Harbor Day. In the spring, it will sponsor the 2nd annual Storytelling Festival at Constitution Park.
The committee operates with funds raised from the art festival and by selling food and drinks at other local events. It receives no tax dollars, but does get advice and some services from the parks and recreation department.
Stanich said this week she is always open to new ideas for bringing more of the arts to Deerfield Beach. “The mandate of the cultural committee is to bring more art and culture to the residents of Deerfield Beach. Random Acts of Culture [ROC] allows us to bring art to people in a spontaneous, surprising and appealing manner. ROC hooks them, leaves them wanting more and, if theories prove correct, brightens their day.”