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out. Artwork and quotes from students at 10 schools in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties were chosen for the exhibit. Altogether, entries from 20 area artists and 34 area-based quote writers were selected, the release says. Embracing Our Differences' annual out- door exhibits are the heart of a year-round program designed to use art as a catalyst to create awareness and promote diversity, the release points out. Aside from the annual out- door exhibition, Embracing Our Differences' ongoing initiatives include teacher work- shops; creative writing workshops presented in partnership with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Florida Studio Theatre; a retreat for art teachers; and the Make-a-Day-of-It! program, which provides free bus transportation for area students and teachers to the outdoor exhibit and to other cultural venues, including Florida Studio Theatre, Mote Marine Aquarium and Ringling Museum, the release continues. More than 13,000 students participated in that program during the 2012-2013 school year. For more information about this exhibit o r t h e E m b r a c i n g O u r D i f f e r e n c e s o r g a n i z a t i o n , c a l l 4 0 4 - 5 7 1 0 o r v i s i t embracingourdifferences.org. % DOWNLOAD THE PDF View the Embracing Our Differences 2013 annual report "Five Guys Named Moe, an exuberant trib- ute to the music of rhythm and blues pioneer and alto saxophonist Louis Jordan," will open Tuesday, April 1, on Venice Theatre's MainStage, the theatre has announced in a news release. The musical will run through Saturday, April 19. (No show will be offered on Easter Sunday, the release notes.) Performances will be at 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and at 2 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $20 to $28 for adults and $10 to $15 for students, the release adds. They are available at the theatre's box office, online at venicestage.com or by phone at 488-1115. A special rate of $20 is available (not online) for the first week of the show. Discounted rates are available for groups of 20 or more, the release points out. "Directed and choreographed by Brad Wages with musical direction by Michelle Kasanofsky, Five Guys Named Moe is built around an energetic quintet of zoot-suited singers named Moe who emerge in a puff of smoke from a radio to offer advice to a love- sick young man named Nomax," the release explains. Four of the five guys will be played by Venice Theatre (VT) veterans Edwin Watson (Smokey Joe's Café, Crowns); Kristofer Geddie (Ragtime, Smokey Joe's Café and numerous other VT credits); Brandon Michael Fleming (Ragtime, Superior Donuts and 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee); and FIVE GUYS NAMED MOE TO TAKE OVER VENICE MAINSTAGE IN APRIL Sarasota News Leader March 28, 2014 Page 109