Branford Marsalis will help the symphony launch a new season

The Jacksonville Symphony will kick off its 2018-19 season Saturday with a concert featuring saxophonist Branford Marsalis, a three time Grammy winner. “Fanfare! Opening Night” will begin with a red carpet reception at 7 p.m. followed by a concert at 8 p.m. in the Jacoby Symphony Hall in The Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts, 300 Water St. Tickets, which range from $51 to $129 and include a post-concert champagne toast, can be purchased at jaxsymphony.org or by calling (904) 354-5547.

BROADWAY IN JACKSONVILLE KICKOFF

The FSCJ Artist Series will launch its 2018-19 Broadway in Jacksonville season with its 20th annual open house at 5 p.m. Wednesday in The Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts, 300 Water St. Local food trucks will be on-site. There will be door prizes, a complimentary wine tasting, a cash bar and live music from the Chris Thomas Band. There will also be a taste of the coming season with a performance from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “The King & I,” scheduled for Nov. 13-18. Also on the schedule are “Les Miserables” (Jan. 22-27), “Waitress” (March 12-17) and “School of Rock” (April 16-20).

The Moran Theater will be open to allow people to view seats available to season subscribers. Four show season subscriptions began at $159. New subscriptions can be purchased at fscjartistseries.org or by calling (904) 632-5000.

BOAT BUILDING LECTURE

Brendan Burke will give a talk, “Florida’s Fleet: A Boatbuilding and Fishing Legacy,” at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Lightner Museum, 75 King St., St. Augustine. The talk is part of the programming for the new exhibit “Thinking Small: The Amazing Miniature World of Thomas Rahner,” which is a retrospective of St. Augustine resident Rahner’s small boat building skills. Both the lecture and the exhibition are free to the public. Because seating is limited, people should register for the lecture at bit.ly/2M3ekUu.

STATE OF THE ARTS

The Cultural Council’s annual day-long State of Arts event, sponsored by PNC Bank, will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the St. Johns Cathedral, 256 E. Church St. During lunch from noon to 1:30 p.m., PNC’s arts awards will be announced and there will be a keynote address by Barbara Goldstein, who for more than 30 years has specialized in the field of public art planning and creative placemaking. Tickets to the event, which include lunch, are $30. Tickets can be purchased and a full schedule found at www.culturalcouncil.org/sota.html.

DANCING WITH THE STARS

The Beaches Fine Arts Series will present its fifth annual First Coast Dancing with the Stars beginning with a 5:30 p.m. VIP reception, a 6:30 p.m. dinner and a 7:30 p.m. show at WJCT Studios, 100 Festival Park Ave. Admission to the show is $50. Tickets for the VIP reception, the dinner and VIP front row tickets to the show are $250. To purchase tickets and to cast votes at $1 a vote, go to www.firstcoastdwts.org.

CONCERT TO BENEFIT DIABETES RESEARCH

The San Marco Chamber Music Society will open its 11th season with a concert at 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16, at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 3976 Hendricks Ave. The concert is free but as it does each year, the society asks those attending to make donations to support diabetes research. To date it has raised more than $20,000 for research.