Cultural Council of Palm Beach County Showcases South Florida Talent at U.S. Travel Association Seminar

Palm Beach County performers brought an audience of more than 650 U.S. travel professionals to its feet on Tuesday night, as the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County presented a spectacle promoting arts and culture in The Palm Beaches to attendees of the 2016 U.S. Travel Association ESTO seminar. The performance, which had the crowd and musicians wearing shades and dancing, included a mash-up of big band sounds, cabaret, dance and Latin percussion by local artists who appear around the world.

VISIT FLORIDA and the U.S. Travel Association invited the Cultural Council to produce entertainment for the closing night of the travel industry conference, based on the success of the Cultural Council's previous triumph: At the 2014 Governor's Conference on Tourism, the Council created a surprise performance with Vanilla Ice, the Palm Beach Symphony and Ballet Palm Beach. For that feat, the Council was awarded the American Business Association's "Stevie" Award for Best PR Event.

This year's performance for ESTO, held at the Boca Raton Resort & Club, included vocalist Carole J. Bufford, winner of Nightlife, Bistro and Broadway World Awards for Outstanding Vocalist, featured performer in Michael Feinstein's "Great American Songbook" series at Jazz @ Lincoln Center, and regular at The Royal Room of The Colony Hotel in Palm Beach; Grammy-nominated superstar conguero and master percussionist Sammy Figueroa and his band The Latin Jazz Explosion; and the dancers from Ballet Palm Beach. The Cultural Council assembled an orchestra of legendary local performers including world-renowned saxophonist John Michalak, master trumpeter Cisco Dimas and others, branding them "The Palm Beach All-Stars."

"The Cultural Council of Palm Beach County was pleased to produce this performance that shined a light on the unique musical offerings in The Palm Beaches," said Marilyn Bauer, director of marketing and government affairs. "Travelers choose The Palm Beaches when planning warm-weather trips based on the outstanding quality of the performing arts here."

The production combined music, dance and images of arts organizations in The Palm Beaches with striking visuals of celebrities from the Council's groundbreaking "Shades of Culture" advertising campaign.

Borrowing from the "Shades of Culture" campaign, all through the finale band members and the audience donned Palm Beach-aqua sunglasses, the symbol of art and culture made famous by such notables as Tito Puente, Jr., Ben Vereen, Judy Gold, John O'Hurley and others, who encourage visitors to "see the arts through a different lens" in the Cultural Council advertising.