Education Center celebrates 35 years with a party

At the Longboat Key Education Center, Feb. 12 was not only set aside celebrate the beginning of Valentine's Day weekend, but also to commemorate the center's 35th anniversary. The occasion was celebrated with a romantic concert featuring singer Joy Leitner accompanied by Robert Lischetti and pianist Lee Dougherty Ross. 

There were 10 in-person attendants accompanied by several more on Zoom. Carl Kurtyka, the resident technology wrangler, navigated the ring lights and multiple cameras for the Zoom attendants while executive director Susan Goldfarb welcomed all attendants. The concert was billed as a romantic evening on the Riviera from Italy to France, but of course there were educational elements, as well. Leitner gave a brief description of the history and tradition with each song she and Lischetti sang. 

Towards the middle of the concert, Leitner sang a piece from Giacomo Puccini's "Gianni Schicci," the favorite opera of the late Michael Grossberg, Goldfarb's husband. He died just before the pandemic began in early 2020. 

"Unfortunately with the pandemic, we have not yet been able to give him a proper memorial," Leitner said. 

After the brief memorial, Leitner and Lischetti took attendees from Italy to the salons of Paris for a burst of coy and creative songs. As the romantic evening came to a close, Goldfarb delivered glasses of champagne to each of her attendants before everyone dispersed for the time being.