Events calendar, week of May 15

Today

'Funny Girl': A musical based on the life of comedian and Broadway and film star Fanny Brice. Through May 15. 2 p.m. $15 adults; $8 students 17 and under. Stage West Community Playhouse, 8390 Forest Oaks Blvd., Spring Hill. (352) 683-5113. stagewest.net.

'Meet Me in St. Louis': Presented by the Weeki Wachee High School musical theater department, the romantic musical comedy is about an American family as it prepares for the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. The show features popular songs such as The Trolley Song, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Skip to My Lou and The Boy Next Door. 2 p.m. $10 adults; $8 students. Weeki Wachee High School, 12150 Vespa Way, north of Weeki Wachee. (352) 797-7029, ext. 221.

Wine Tasting on the Gulf benefit for Catholic Charities: Includes hors d'oeuvres, a silent auction and door prizes. It is a benefit for Catholic Charities' Arnold Andrews Northern Counties Service Center building fund. 2 to 4:30 p.m. $20. Hernando Beach Club, 3145 Flamingo Blvd., Hernando Beach. (352) 686-9897, ext. 25.

Tuesday

Play to Learn: This is an indoor toddler program for babies and their mothers. 10 to 11:30 a.m. $3 per class. Jerome Brown Community Center, 99 Jerome Brown Place, Brooksville. (352) 540-3835.

Temple Beth David's 'Cruisin' Fashion Show and Luncheon': Featuring cruise-wear fashions presented by Bealls on Cortez Boulevard. Music provided by Midlife Crisis, A Journey in Song, which will perform songs from the 1920s through the '70s. There will be drawings for door prizes throughout the event, a silent auction and a grand prize drawing. 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $25 and must be purchased by today. Silverthorn Country Club, 4550 Golf Club Lane, Spring Hill. (352) 688-5578. silverthornclub.net.

'Diabetes, Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, Obesity — Understand Your Opponent and Your Options' seminar: Presented by Dr. Ayman Osman of the Internal Medicine Clinic and Jane Elliott, certified personal trainer and wellness coach. The seminar will promote an awareness of the dangers and options people have to combat these ailments. Healthy refreshments will be served. 1 p.m. Free. Fun Fitness Factory, 2187 Kass Circle, Spring Hill. (352) 556-4807, (352) 556-8741.

Wednesday

Master Gardeners weekly plant sale: Plants for shade and sun are available, including flowering plants, ground covers, shrubs and trees. Funds raised benefit the Hernando County Master Gardener Program. 8:30-10:30 a.m. Prices vary. Master Gardener Nursery, 19490 Oliver St., Brooksville. (352) 754-4433.

10 Postcards from Weeki Wachee, Florida - What Makes The Pie Shops ...

In 1946, Newton Perry, a former U.S. Navy man who trained SEALS to swim underwater in World War II, scouted out Weeki Wachee as a good site for a new business. At the time, U.S. 19 was a small two-lane road. All the other roads were dirt; there were no gas stations, no groceries, and no movie theaters. More alligators and black bears lived in the area than humans. The spring was full of old rusted refrigerators and abandoned cars. The junk was cleared out and Newt experimented with underwater breathing hoses and invented a method of breathing underwater from a free-flowing air hose supplying oxygen from an air compressor, rather than from a tank strapped onto the back. With the air hose, humans could give the appearance of thriving twenty feet underwater with no breathing apparatus. The first show at the Weeki Wachee Springs underwater theater opened on October 13, 1947 -- the same day that Kukla, Fran and Ollie first aired on that newfangled invention called television, and one day before Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier. The mermaids performed synchronized ballet moves underwater while breathing through the air hoses hidden in the scenery. In the 1950s, Weeki Wachee was one of the nation’s most popular tourist stops. The attraction received worldwide acclaim. Movies were filmed at the spring, like “Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid.” Sights at the park included the mermaid shows, orchid gardens, jungle cruises, and Indian encampment and a new beach. The mermaids took etiquette and ballet lessons. Weeki Wachee’s heyday began in 1959, when the spring was purchased by the American Broadcasting Co. (ABC) and was heavily promoted. ABC built the current theater, which seats 500 and is embedded in the side of the spring 16 feet below the surface. ABC also developed themes for the underwater shows, with elaborate props, lifts, music, and story lines such as Underwater Circus, the Mermaids and the Pirates, and Underwater Follies. The mermaids performed Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, Snow White, and Peter Pan. In the 1960s, girls came from as far away as Tokyo to try out for the privilege of becoming a mermaid. The glamorous mermaids performed eight shows a day to sold out crowds -- as many as half a million people a year came to see the Weeki Wachee mermaids. Weeki Wachee Springs employed 35 mermaids, who took turns swimming in the shows and captivating the crowds by playing football and having picnics underwater.

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