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Up until six years ago, Kerry Bartlett stayed as far away from the dance floor as possible. No foxtrot, waltz or tango for her, thank you very much. Then she agreed to be one of the “stars” in Dancing With Vero’s Stars, the glamorous and highly successful fundraiser for the Indian River County Healthy Start Coalition. Kerry has been moving to the music ever since.

“You cannot live with people without loving them.” This simple-sounding philosophy inspired Harriet Bedell, born in 1875, to spend more than a half century living among and serving as a missionary to the Cheyenne in Oklahoma, the Koyukon in remote Alaska and the Seminoles in South Florida.

“Hi, how are you?” she asks as I settle into the seat beside her. “My name is Emily.” She points to the smiling woman next to her. “This is Grandma.” It’s a little after 9 p.m. on the first Saturday in June, and Emily and I and about 15 others are at the Sebastian Fishing Museum waiting and hoping to see a loggerhead sea turtle lay her eggs.

True story. A man buys a 90-year-old, broken-down wood sailboat because he likes its lines. He marries the female dock master to win a bet, and together they spend the next 30 years living on board, restoring the recalcitrant money pit with no help from their rambunctious crew of eight Chihuahuas.

After living and working in cities here and abroad, artist Enrique Maza has found the setting and inspiration he has been looking for in a house in Palm Bay that he bought the first day a “for sale” sign was posted. Even though that was six months ago, many of his personal belongings remain packed in boxes since painting in his sun-splashed studio is Maza’s top priority.

The Museum Art School at the Vero Beach Museum of Art is one of the largest, museum-based, continuing education programs in the state. Serving some 1,800 students each year, the program invites a growing number of residents to discover the depth and breadth of its curriculum and have fun doing it.

In an effort to improve their health and fitness and to fight the debilitating effect of an autoimmune disease, a couple from the Northeast created an elaborate water spa and sauna at the house they renovated here in Vero Beach.

After high school, Martel enrolled in a local junior college then transferred to the University of Miami to study biology. And a little art ... I was two weeks late getting into the class and the teacher wasn’t too happy about it, but I showed him a few pieces of my artwork. He said, ‘You’re a realist. Why don’t you think about medical illustration?’”

According to Luis Burrios, NASA’s Senior Design Specialist, “The NASA art collection represents an important source of inspiration for the general public that embraces and celebrates the glorious achievements of the U.S. space program. Through the talents, skills and graceful strokes of a brush, we share in the passion and pride that is an important step toward reaching the stars and bringing together the worlds of art and science.”

You can fly a small one around in your living room, send one off for a spin around the local park, or even dispatch a camera-equipped one on a pre-mapped autonomous flight to bring back breathtaking aerial photos. And what are “they?” Drones. And they’re taking off in Vero Beach.

Putting wheels on jet engines and women in the driver’s seat have been Elaine’s goals ever since she and her high school sweetheart and eventual husband Chris combined his engineering skills and knowledge of aircraft engines with her passion for dragster racing, forming Larsen Motorsports 20 years ago. For the daughter of Midwest Mennonite parents, it was a major entrepreneurial leap of faith.

Aside from the perfect weather, champagne and fruit, imported and domestic cheeses, and a red wine and chocolate bar, the cars were the stars of the show. “Cars take you back in time to ones you grew up with, ones your parents and grandparents drove. They give the younger generation an opportunity to learn about ‘the olden days,’” says Redner, who still owns a 1966 Mustang convertible and is already planning next year’s event.

With graceful precision, Isabel Power leaps, glides and twirls, making the quick, intricate steps look oh, so easy. They’re not. The Vero Beach native has trained for years to get to where she is today – a professional dancer, choreographer and teacher who performs in shows across the country and on the high seas.

Along with 41 docents, there are 287 other volunteers who fulfill various roles at the museum, both out front and behind closed doors.

Gus knows firsthand how addictive training and boxing can be. At age 18, he had no real boxing experience other than a little kickboxing that his uncle had introduced him to when he was just nine or ten. But Gus wanted to get in shape, so he joined Claymore Boxing, a Vero Beach gym owned by Frank Lassaso.

That Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, now retired after 25 years, is Joe Del Campo of Vero Beach. He lives a relatively quiet life; and instead of rescuing hostages, he rescues Yorkshire terriers along with his life partner Linda Worsham.

Spring Fashions and Home Furnishings are as colorful as the flowers blooming in our gardens.

The museum Summer Art Camp encourages fun and creativity for all ages and all levels of ability and interest, and this year runs from June 13 to July 29. It has built-in flexibility to allow families to take part in the entire seven-week event or just a week or two, so parents can plan vacation getaways and grandparents can accommodate their young visitors’ schedules. Further, optional early drop-off and late pick-up and lunch breaks are available to accommodate working parents.

Foster Lampert is about to do some projects around the house, but he stops at the dining room table when he sees my voice recorder set in front of his wife, Judi. “She kind of downplays herself, but she’s extremely talented,” he says, slowly and clearly, looking at me and then the recorder. “In everything she’s an extreme overachiever, and she’s always been the best at everything she’s done.”

In 2013, Hugh Aaron moved to Vero Beach from Richmond where he had been president of a more than 1,100-member bike club. Eager to connect with other area cyclists and begin enjoying group rides, Aaron soon met Giorgio Res who was already working on organizing Vero Cycling Inc., a club for cyclists of all levels. The two joined forces to get the group incorporated, and they began organizing more and more group rides as the club’s membership steadily grew.