May 2, 2005 - Florida Humanities Council May Program to Feature Author Dr. Gary Mormino at the Oxbow Eco-Center

The St. Lucie County Cultural Affairs Council and County resident Allen Anter are sponsoring the Florida Humanities Council's May program "Florida in the 20th Century." The program will feature author/historian Dr. Gary R. Mornino at the Oxbow Eco-Center in Port. St. Lucie on Tuesday, May 24 at 7 p.m.

Dr. Gary Mormino is co-director of the Florida Studies Program at University of South Florida in St. Petersburg. He will explain about how Florida has emerged as one of the largest and most diverse states in the country, after years of being one of the least populated and most isolated areas in the South. The lecture is free and open to the public.

A prolific writer and historian, Mormino is the author of a wide range of academic and popular books including the award-winning: "Immigrants on the Hill" (University of Illinois press, 1986) and "The Immigrant World of Ybor City" (University of Illinois Press, 1987). His new book, "Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams: A Social History of Modern Florida" will be published this spring by the University Press of Florida. Michael Gannon, Distinguished History Professor at the University of Florida, writes that it "will be the book by which all future studies of modern Florida will be measured." Mormino has also written articles for the St. Petersburg Times, Tampa Tribune, Orlando Sentinel and Miami Herald.

The Florida Humanities Council is a nonprofit organization, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the State of Florida and private contributors. The group holds similar workshops and lectures around the state. In recent years, the St. Lucie County Cultural Affairs Council has hosted a number of similar Florida Humanities Council programs including last month's feature on the Rivers of Florida with author/filmmaker Bill Belleville.

The Oxbow Eco-Center is located at 5400 N.E. St. James Drive, Port St. Lucie. This event is sponsored in part by the St. Lucie County Cultural Affairs Council, Allan Anter and the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs.

For information about the Florida Humanities Council's May program, contact Vickie Straeffer, St. Lucie County Cultural Affairs specialist, at (772) 462-1767 or e-mail: straeffv@co.st-lucie.fl.us.