This was another great experience with my Coconut Creek community at the annual cultural festival…read moreArtsfest. It is held indoors and out at the community center on Lyons Road. Thankfully the rain held off until late afternoon. This years theme was Mexico. The festival opened at 10 AM with a parade of nations. Entertainment was held at the outdoor bandshell and included a mariachi band performance and the Folklorico Dancers. Both the musicians and dancers were very talented. Kids could make sugar skull masks, glitter maracas, and a cactus paper craft. There was also a scavenger hunt, storytelling, and a magic show for them. Many kids were also playing on the playground and at the splash pad behind the community center. Adults enjoyed the art show and hand made items for sale in the auditorium. There were a couple of food trucks and a tent selling Mexican food, drinks, and desserts. Inside the lobby was a Mexico history display. This was the 9th year of the festival and it has a free admission. This is just one of the many nice free events Coconut Creek puts on for residents throughout the year. Parks and Recreation does a great job with their family friendly events making it just one of the many reasons I love living here.

This year the city decided to do a tribute to America for its 250th birthday. They touched on NASA…read moreand the proclamation of emancipation. They had art and vendors inside the court. The band played some oldies, a kids section of arts and crafts,air brush and temp face painting. A few food trucks out back, a table of multicultural with a other table to raffle items for a win. A section in the back allowed a person or paint on a huge portrait. Different areas for a learning, buying and having fun for the whole family experience.

This year was the fourth annual Riverwalk Fall Festival. The event is held during the afternoon at…read moreEsplande Park along the New River. The street is shut down in front of the Museum of Discovery and Science. Parking can be found at the arts garage or the city lot next to Revolution Live. At the festival they have carnival games, competitions, face painting, train rides, live music, food trucks, photo opportunities, and shopping. The Museum of Discovery and Science puts on science demonstrations and community businesses handed out information and free swag. The event is free and well behaved dogs on a leash are welcome. This a great family event to welcome fall to South Florida. The weather even cooperated by dropping into the 80's. It may not feel like fall but we are experts at faking it.

I have heard of this not to be missed Christmas experience for years. Someone I work with told me I…read morehad to go so I headed over s soon as I got out on a Monday night. I arrived at 7 when they were supposed to be starting and the crowds were already in the hundreds. Since I hadn't attended this event I thought I could just park at the church. I wasted a lot of time driving through the church parking lot before being directed through a neighborhood to Forest Hills Elementary. When I finally arrived the lot was full and they told me to go back to the church! I decided to just give it a try at the school and a Christmas miracle occurred because there was a spot. The moral of the story is arrive early and go straight to the school. After securing a parking spot it was a hike back to the church to wait in a line over an hour long. I overheard many people say it was like being at Disney. After the divine intervention with the parking I decided I was meant to go so I waited. When you finally got close to the church they had some kids singing and snacks and drinks for sale for $1. Further down Roman soldiers harassed us admonishing to stay in line! The event started with encountering the wise men. They looked fantastic in their costumes and happily posed with everyone for pictures. Next up were some shepherds who told us they heard something was going down in Bethlehem tonight. We finally arrived at the gates to the city guarded by the Roman soldiers. All males were asked to write their names for the census and then we were let into the city. I was amazed, They had two areas of highly detailed stalls selling all of the things you would have found at that time period. It wasn't just a religious pageant, it was a history lesson too. Leather, baskets, food, medicine, papyrus, and many other goods were being created and sold. All of the merchants interacted with the guests teaching and conversing. You could try different things too like the bread and olive oil. The final portion of the event was the inn where of course there was no room and finally a beautiful manager with a real baby and animals. The church has been putting on this event for 25 years and it obviously takes an army of dedicated volunteers. They offer this event completely free. Visiting was one of the best things I did this Christmas. I can easily see why it's so popular. I will definitely be back next year with a better parking plan.

Since 1992, First Church of Coral Springs has given a glimpse of the Christmas season through a…read morere-enactment of the time of Jesus' birth. The tour of the city begins in the census room and continues to the temple area where a rabbi explains how the Old Testament foretold of the arrival of the Messiah. Next, enter the town to find the sights, sounds, and smells of a city busy with travelers, shopkeepers, Roman soldiers, beggars, and live animals. The innkeeper will direct you to the stable where baby Jesus lays in a manger. More than 400 volunteers create Bethlehem Revisited each year.

Christmas on Las Olas is a great holiday event! They block off a good chunk of Las Olas and set up…read moreseveral main stages with performances from choirs, schools, bands, dance groups and more. Great way to see some of the community entertainers who are local! There are multiple vendors who set up tents and have a variety of their own personal displays (whether games, give aways, or entertainment) there is something for everyone! There are food vendors and pop up bars too. They have photos with Santa, along with several other pop up photo ops (that are free). Great time to be out with family and friends and enjoy the holiday season! :)

Las Olas is Spanish for the waves which is appropriate since this road begins at Andrews Ave and…read moreends at A1A at the beach. Prior to the 1900's, Las Olas was a dirt road that crossed over the swamp to a barrier island on Ft. Lauderdale Beach. In 1917 S.P. Snyder & Son Co. built the boulevard we know and love today. The modern commercial section was constructed after WWII. In the 1970's the boulevard went under further redevelopment. Today close to downtown Ft Lauderdale is a cute little area of 4 blocks filled with boutiques, restaurants with sidewalk seating, art galleries, clubs and ice cream shops. Tonight was the 61st annual Christmas on Las Olas, a festival presented by the Las Olas Association. It kicks off the holiday season and brings a lot of business to the boulevard. In past years I have resisted going because parking is difficult at best On Las Olas. On a festival day it is a cluster. Also they always have this event on a week night and I work over 10 hours a day. This year my school was performing and it was a perfect 65 degree evening so I a caffeinated up, packed my patience, and headed downtown. Traffic near the festival slowed to a crawl but I know my way around so I was able to secure a spot without too much difficulty. From there it was off the boulevard. Once I actually got onto Las Olas it was really crowded and difficult to move but there is so much to see and it quickly puts you in a festive mood. Everyone was dressed up in their holiday best. Between Southeast Eight and Eleventh Streets the restaurants and many of the shops and galleries are open late for the event. In addition there are three stages of entertainment with dance, chorus, and singers, snow tubing, ice skating, local non profits, businesses, food, drinks, shopping, a silent auction, and Santa Claus. It is a great event that brings the community together to launch holiday fun. Christmas on Lad Olas runs from 5 to 10 PM and admission is free.

I always wanted to go to a Holocaust Museum, so when the opportunity came up to go with the Jewish…read moreFederation of Lee and Charlotte Counties, Dave and I decided to go. I have always had a heavy heart being the granddaughter of grandparents who had lost most of their family in the Holocaust. My grandparents came to the US in the 1920's when they were already fleeing from the horrid conditions in Poland. My Papa and his two brothers left and went to Belgium, then he and one brother came to New York, while the third went to Argentina. Papa, never spoke about this except to say that seven brothers and sisters and their families perished in concentration camps. My grandparents would never leave the US, not even to visit their brother in Argentina. So when this chance to visit the HDEC arose, I wanted to go even though my heart was crying before I got there. The museum is very secure and we went on a 1:00 tour. First we saw a short movie, where Anne Frank herself was describing what was happening. I guess hearing her words, seeing what the family went through was more real, then even reading her diary. Her father, the only survivor was given the diary when a co-worker accidentally found it. Then we proceeded into different areas of the museum, which included a Cattle car where the Jews were transported to the camps, and an Army tank that liberated Dachau. I could hardly look at the train car after we heard one survivor tell us what it was like. It was brutal. There was an interactive room where you can interact, and see artifacts from the war. The most amazing part was the interactive survivor who passed away a few years ago. He could answer over 5000 questions that people asked him when he was alive and was at the HDEC. This was only the tip of the iceberg. There were pictures of Anne Frank and her family, models of where they hid and much more. Pictures and stories of survivors and beautiful and heart wrenching art work. We hope to go back and spend more time there. We thank the knowledgeable tour guides, staff and survivor that spoke to us.

The Holocaust Documentation & Education Center (HDEC - https://hdec.org/ ) is amazing. You really…read morecan't just drop in and need to sign up for the twice-daily docent tours. Our guide was digital archivist Deborah and she was great. There were eight people total in our museum group and we had the place to ourselves. Security was very tight and there's no big front glass doors to go into a lobby to buy tickets. Instead, you have to drive your car through a gate in the back and an armed former IDF military guy wearing ceramic armor will escort you through a locked steel back door: It is sad that this is necessary, America, and shame on Florida. Just sayin'. Jason was young, sweet, and funny and had good recommendations for where to get the best Israeli shawarma in the area. The HDEC has a very positive vibe for being such a tough subject, with all sorts of beautiful art. The interactive area is AMAZEBALLS! So beautifully curated. A highlight was two rooms you could go in and ask questions to interactive videos of two Holocaust survivors. It's really well done and fun and will probably make you cry a bit. It's pre-AI, so not super technically fancy, but it's effective and authentic. The big centerpieces anchoring the HDEC are an M4 Sherman tank used in the liberation of Dachau and a (restored) railcar used to transport Jewish people, one of only 11 in existence. The railcar still had its serial number, so researchers are tracking where it went and who might have been on it. It had a guard "tower" on back for security, which they said was rare.

Stonewall Pride Wilton Manors was totally different for 2023. We had a cloud burst with a downpour…read moreof cold rain and wind. But did that deter any of the Pride revelers? No! They danced in the rain! And when I said it was a cold rain, I meant it. When I arrived for the parade, it was 94 degrees out. After the rain, it had dropped to 74. I was glad I had VIPpc tickets so I could go in the tent and have a drink during the major part of the rain downfall. But I have to say that those tickets at $236.00 a piece were not worth it. The tent had a free bar but no Scotch, and since Partner only drinks scotch, he had to run elsewhere for a drink. There was to be table or waiter service, but there was none and the food I was advised by one who tried it, not to eat it. And, upon visual observation, it didn't look like anything I should risk trying. So, the VIPpc part of Stonewall Pride only gets a lowly One Yelp Star. However, the parade itself, the effort that went into it and the party fun of the event makes it an overall 5-Star Yelp event; not to be missed.

Such a great event !!! So much fun !!! Words cant explain how happy this event is and fun!!!! Love…read morecoming here every year !!! Don't miss !!! WE SAY GAY!!!

This review is for the January 2024 Fort Lauderdale Orchid show which was held this year in…read morePembroke Pines at their City Hall/ Community Center building. I was not thrilled that they moved it from Fort Lauderdale however I will say there was plenty of free parking, which is nice. It was a great show as usual. The juried orchid exhibits were magnificent. A few other attendees pointed out to my mom and I that the orchids were fragrant which was not something I've experienced a lot. There were some new vendors this year selling plants that were not orchids. My mom bought a plant that was growing from a round ball covered in moss. Very cool!

This year (2023), the festival was held in Bonnet House Gardens. It was such a pleasure to the…read moreeyes. So many beautiful flowers from vendors all over. The vendors were patient answering our questions. Prices were very reasonable. There were even lectures from award winning biologists. For a low $15, I was able to spend a good afternoon walking around in Bonnet Gardens

It is time to paint the town green at Ft. Lauderdale's annual St. Patrick's Day Parade and…read moreFestival. The parade was held at 12 noon on Saturday and launched from Huizenga Plaza down Las Olas. Streets were closed off in the downtown leading to the area but I found parking without too much difficulty in a city garage for $3 an hour. The parade attracted thousands of people who lined Las Olas Boulevard to catch beads and candy that were thrown from cars and floats. Civic groups, politicians, and local high school bands also participated in the parade along with Storm Troopers and Darth Vader. After the parade everyone headed down to the new Tunnel Top Park near the Cheesecake Factory on Las Olas for even more festival fun. A petting zoo and face painting for kids was offered along with food and themed drinks for purchase. There was also Irish music and dance performances on stage. Everyone had green on to add to the festive atmosphere. I would have loved to stay longer but it was extremely crowded and hot. We are having another oppressive heat wave again this weekend. It is summer already here in South Florida. Happy St. Patrick's Day everybody!