Renowned portrait artist and published author, Ann Manry Kenyon, will be the Third Thursday Lecture's guest speaker on May 16, at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.).  A Jacksonville native, Ms. Kenyon has painted Chief Executive Officers, distinguished faculty, and private commissions throughout the United States.  A few years ago, she painted the portrait of Harriet Beecher Stowe, which is hung in the Mandarin Community Club building.

​Third Thursday Lectures are presented by the Mandarin Museum & Historical Society in partnership with and held at the Mandarin Community Club, located at 12447 Mandarin Rd. Refreshments begin at 6:30 pm with the lecture at 7 pm. It is free and all are invited and encouraged to attend.

The Club will host a Candidate Forum for qualified candidates who are running to represent Mandarin as part of the District 6 City Council race.
 

• Meet, Greet and Mingle begins at 6:30 pm
• Forum begins promptly at 7 pm and ends at 8:30 pm
• An Open Q&A will follow the Forum at the pleasure of the candidates

As guests arrive they will receive a Candidate Question Card to submit questions. Question Cards are then reviewed by a panel for clarity and to avoid duplication before being presented by an impartial moderator to the candidates.
 
This Forum is free and open to the public. 

CORRECTION TO TIME--IT IS AT 1 PM

​U.S. FLAGS COLLECTED WILL BE HONORABLY RETIRED - The Mandarin Community Club is again collecting worn, used or damaged flags for proper and honorable disposal. For several consecutive years, the Club has partnered with SAR (Sons of the American Revolution) to hold a flag retirement ceremony at the Club. This valuable service to our members and the community will be held on the afternoon of Sunday, February 10.
 
If you have a flag you would like retired and properly handled for disposal, a collection box will be located outside the Club at 12447 Mandarin Road from 7 AM until 1 PM on Feb 10th when the ceremony begins. Steeped in years of patriotism and tradition, during the ceremony one flag will be retired in sections as the history and symbolism of each star and stripe is remembered. Members and guests are invited and encouraged to attend this moving and highly symbolic ceremony.

​For more information, please call the Club at 268-1622.

​Did you know that a very important piece of African-American history is located a mere 20 miles south of Mandarin, just east of U.S. 1? Now there is a Florida State Park which offers picnic areas, a boardwalk, a visitor center and museum - all in the area of the site of Fort Mose, which was at one time the northern defense of St. Augustine.
 
"More than a century before the Emancipation Proclamation, slaves from the British colonies were able to follow the original Underground Railroad which headed not to the north, but rather south, to the Spanish colony of Florida. There they were given their freedom, if they declared their allegiance to the King of Spain and joined the Catholic Church."  
 
At this lecture, four members of the Fort Mose Historical Society will present a program that tells  the whole story. They will present themselves in period dress and enlighten us to this very important history. For more information about Fort Mose, click these links: 

• https://fortmose.org/about-fort-mose 
• https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/fort-mose-historic-state-park

 
Third Thursday Lectures are presented by the Mandarin Museum & Historical Society in partnership with and held at the Mandarin Community Club, located at 12447 Mandarin Rd. Refreshments begin at 6:30 pm with the lecture at 7 pm. It is free and all are invited and encouraged to attend.