Artist Kate Carney Selected to Create Official Poster for Mayfaire-by-the-Lake 2026 Festival
The Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art at Florida Southern College has announced painter Kate Carney as the Featured Poster Artist for the 54th annual Mayfaire by-the-Lake, one of Central Florida’s celebrated outdoor art festival.
Held each year over Mother’s Day weekend, the 2026 event will take place May 9–10 along the scenic shores of Lake Morton in Lakeland. The festival, presented by Citizens Bank and Trust and The Ruthvens, attracts artists and visitors from across the country and has long been recognized as a premier outdoor fine arts showcase.
Each year, organizers select a past exhibiting artist to create the festival’s official poster image, which becomes the visual signature of the event and appears on merchandise including posters, apparel and promotional materials. Carney’s selection places her work at the center of the festival’s public identity for 2026.
Carney is known for expressive oil paintings that celebrate living subjects—birds, animals, plants and people—rendered with a blend of classical underpainting, an Impressionist-inspired palette and contemporary brushwork. Working primarily in oils, she often paints directly onto her signature orange-primed canvases, allowing forms to emerge through intuitive mark-making rather than detailed preliminary sketches.
“I love living things—birds, people, animals, plants,” Carney said. “I see the whimsy, pathos, love and power of life, and it inspires me to express that wonder as honestly as I can.”
Born and raised in England, Carney developed her artistic sensibilities through early exposure to London’s museums and galleries. She studied at Chelsea School of Art before pursuing humanities at University College London, where art history became a major influence on her creative outlook. After years spent teaching and raising a family, she returned to painting full-time in the early 2000s and has worked professionally since 2010, exhibiting in juried art festivals across the United States. She is currently based in Orlando, where she maintains a studio at McRae Art Studios.
Maryland International Film Festival to Honor Two Nonprofits on Opening Night
The Maryland International Film Festival-Hagerstown will open its 14th edition with a red-carpet ceremony recognizing two nonprofits for their impact on local and national communities. Children In Need, Inc. and America’s VetDogs will receive donations on stage during opening night on March 26 at the Maryland Theatre.
Founded in 1998, Children In Need supports economically disadvantaged students in Washington County, Maryland. The organization serves more than 3,000 children annually, providing clothing, hygiene products and school supplies to help ensure students can remain in school through graduation and feel a sense of belonging.
America’s VetDogs, established in 2003, provides highly trained service animals to U.S. veterans, active-duty service members and first responders living with disabilities. The organization is widely known for training many of its service dogs within Maryland state correctional facilities and gained national attention when it provided former U.S. president George H. W. Bush with his service dog, Sully. The program places mobility assistance dogs, guide dogs for individuals with vision loss and service dogs trained to help mitigate post-traumatic stress disorder.
The festival itself continues to grow as a regional cultural event. Organizers reported receiving more than 250 film submissions this year, with judges selecting over 115 films for screening.
Following opening night at the Maryland Theatre, screenings and events will take place across several venues in Hagerstown, including the Washington County Free Library, the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts Black Box Theater, the ACT Black Box Theatre and the Grand Piano Ballroom.
Organized as a nonprofit cultural initiative, the festival partners with a range of local and regional sponsors, including the City of Hagerstown, the Washington County Arts Council and the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown, helping position the event as a growing hub for independent film and community engagement in Western Maryland. To purchase tickets: https://filmfreeway.com/MarylandInternationalFilmFestival
San Diego Zoo Safari Park Opens New Elephant Valley Experience
The San Diego Zoo Safari Park has proudly introduced its latest attraction, the Denny Sanford Elephant Valley, a vast habitat aimed at enhancing visitors’ knowledge of elephant behavior and conservation.
The inauguration ceremony, organized by the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, included speeches from Todd Gloria, the mayor of San Diego, along with other city and community leaders such as Dane White, the mayor of Escondido.
Elephant Valley is designed to fully immerse visitors in the realm of African savanna elephants, allowing guests to be right next to the herd through pathways, observation areas, and an elevated bridge that traverses an elephant corridor akin to those found in their natural habitat. The Safari Park is home to a herd of eight elephants, led by the matriarch Swazi, with several of these animals having been rescued back in 2003.
At the heart of this new attraction is Mkutano House, a two-story dining establishment that overlooks a spacious watering hole where elephants can wade and interact. The restaurant’s design is inspired by African culinary traditions and showcases handcrafted decorations made by artisans from BeadWORKS Kenya, a social enterprise that supports women in pastoralist communities.
Churchill Downs Reveals Official Menu for the 152nd Kentucky Derby
Food will once again be at the forefront alongside horse racing during the upcoming Kentucky Derby, as Churchill Downs Racetrack has revealed its official race-day menu for the event on May 2.
Crafted by senior executive chef Robert Lopez in collaboration with the hospitality group Levy Restaurants, the 2026 menu combines regional Southern flavors with modern twists, showcasing the event’s blend of tradition and contemporary spectacle.
The menu features fresh, locally inspired dishes such as honey bourbon grilled chicken paired with roasted peach chutney, Kentucky BBQ shrimp served with fava bean relish, and char-grilled short ribs glazed with pomegranate and fennel. For lighter options, there are green goddess pasta salad, kale salad dressed with cider sorghum vinaigrette, and a caprese sandwich on focaccia.
Classic Derby cocktails will also make a comeback, including the signature mint julep crafted with Old Forester bourbon, along with the Oaks Lily and the Woodford Spire made with Woodford Reserve.
To enhance the culinary experience, several celebrity chefs—including Akhtar Nawab, Damaris Phillips, Fabio Viviani, Leah Cohen, Lorena Garcia, Rodney Scott, and Tristen Epps—will showcase special dishes in select hospitality areas throughout the racetrack.
Organizers anticipate serving over 100,000 guests across 25 dining venues during Derby weekend, with more than 100 chefs traveling from across the nation to support this extensive culinary endeavor. For more information, including recipes and images for the official menus, please visit https://www.kentuckyderby.com/recipes/cat/official-derby-menu/. To learn more about this year’s race or purchase tickets for the Kentucky Derby, please visit https://www.kentuckyderby.com/.
