Mattie Kelly Arts Center prepares for Broadway season

Fresh off the huge success of “Grease,” the Mattie Kelly Arts Center at Northwest Florida State College is getting ready for its 2010-11 season of Broadway touring shows.

More on that in a sec. First, permit me to say one more time that “Grease,” a production of the college’s Fine and Performing Arts Department, was incredible.

Dr. Cliff Herron, who helmed his 21st summer show with “Grease,” reported that last Friday and Saturday nights’ shows sold out. In fact, “Grease” is now the college’s most successful summer musical ever in terms of tickets, with 6,277 people seeing it.

Hopefully, you were one of those fortunate people.

Now, back to Broadway.

Season package ticket sales begin Aug. 23 with single ticket sales starting Aug. 28 online (mattiekellyartscenter.org) and Aug. 30 by phone (729-6000).

I’m planning a more detailed story closer to that time, but for informational purposes, here’s the basic lineup:

The Broadway Series is Momix on Oct. 10, “Legally Blonde” on Jan. 5, “The Color Purple” on Jan. 16 and Puccini’s opera “Turandot” on Feb. 19.

The Artist Series is “All Shook Up” on Jan. 27, Dance Theatre of Harlem on Feb. 7 and Rhythm of the Dance on March 11.

The season’s Family Show is “The Diary of Anne Frank” on Nov. 11.

Pending final approval, a Broadway Series package will be $175; Broadway/Artist package will be $265 and individual tickets will range from $25 to $50. There is a $5 per ticket discount for groups of 10 or more.

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If you’re wondering what the 58 contestants in the online 2010 Hotness Search might look like in person, you have a chance to find out on July 29.

A meet-and-greet event is scheduled for 6-8 p.m. at Helen Back Again in Crestview. The address is 5206 S. Ferdon Blvd. Helen Back is one of the contest sponsors along with radio station Z96.

There will be happy-hour pricing on drinks (two for one crwn and down, $1.50 draft domestic and $2 domestic bottles).

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We have many talented visual artists in the area. Take a look at the healthy collection of Art briefs in Showcase on any given week for confirmation.

One of them, Linda King of Valparaiso, will be featured in the 19th annual Loveland, Colo., Sculpture Invitational Show and Sale on Aug. 7 and 8. Loveland is situated at the foot of the Rocky Mountains north of Denver.

King was excited about the upcoming event when she called me a few weeks ago.

“It’s the largest outdoor sculpture show in the country,” she said. More than 250 national and international artists will participate with sculpture ranging in size from miniature to monumental, a press release says.

King works mostly in bronze.

You can find out more about the show online at LovelandSculptureInvitational.org. To see examples of her work and to find out more about King, visit lindakingsculptures.com online.

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If you missed out on tickets for BamaJam in Enterprise, Ala., tickets for next year’s three-day music festival are already on sale.

Discount early bird tickets are $99 for a three-day pass until July 31. Get them at bamajammusicfestival.com and at TicketMaster.com. To charge by phone, call 800-745-3000.