News from Britt Hill – February 2025

IT’S 2025! The moment the calendar page flips to a new year, Britt springs into action! Every year presents new opportunities and challenges, and 2025 has some huge things in store. We’re so excited to share them with you!

You might have already gotten the announcement of this summer’s Britt Festival Orchestra season, and it’s an absolute winner. We have four guest conductors, and they’ve programmed a gorgeous season featuring music by Beethoven, Brahms, Gabriela Lena Frank, Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Strauss, Stravinsky, and so many more. The soloists joining us are the best of the best. And of course, we’re bringing another movie to life with the orchestra playing the score live to picture. Dinosaur fans rejoice: Jurassic Park will light up the Britt hill on June 12 & 13. (And if you’re there, be prepared to tell me your favorite dinosaur, because this is one of my favorite things to know about people. Mine is stegosaurus, followed closely by triceratops. If I see you on the hill, I’ll definitely be inquiring!)

We’re also kicking-off the United States Hotel renovation this year, and I hope you’ll join us for an Open House event on Sunday, March 2, from 1-5pm. The event is admission-free, and we’ll have an assortment of awesome raffle/auction items for your perusal and bidding. Our selected architecture firm, arkitek, will be on site to share a bit about their process and meet the community. Based out of Ashland, they’re no stranger to historic renovation and designing community spaces, and we are looking forward to introducing them to you! We are also grateful to be partnering with our Jacksonville restaurants and wineries and are encouraging open house attendees to “dine about town.” Our food and beverage partners are generously contributing a portion of proceeds to kick-off the fundraising campaign for the building renovation, and we are incredibly grateful. Stay tuned for more details in the coming days.

Finally, keep your eyes peeled for some big announcements coming later this month. On February 14, we’ll be making our first announcement for our popular music shows. The lineup is looking amazing! And toward the end of February or beginning of March, we’ll be unveiling two very special projects that we’ve been working on for the better part of a year. I’m dying to spill the beans, but you’ll just have to wait and see!

It’s going to be an incredible year of music and arts on the Britt Hill and beyond, and it’s truly a delight to share it with you. Summer will be here before we know it, but until then, we’ll see you out and about in Jacksonville.

All best, Abby