March’s Altha Market Day was canceled due to rain. They have rescheduled it for March 23rd, 9am-2pm. Held with the support of Altha Town Hall, this is the first year they’ll be hosting a monthly market on Main Street. Typically, Altha Market Days will take place on the first Saturday of each month. They have a selection of vendors including local artists and food trucks. Stay up-to-date with Altha Market Days by following their Facebook event page. 

Merry Christmas to all of you from me! Please enjoy this lovely holiday poem, ‘Little Trees’ by E.E. Cummings, in celebration of the season. 

Christmas Eve is upon us! Did you know that kids used to leave brandy and mince pies for Santa? Now we leave out cookies and milk; make sure to put out some carrots for the reindeer too! 

Have a lovely holiday!

For 30 years, St. Augustine has helped families celebrate the Christmas season with one of the most highly-acclaimed, citywide light displays in Florida. In fact, it has been listed among the top ten holiday light displays in the world by National Geographic!

Twinkling lights fill the trees, highlight storefronts, and line the downtown buildings. Light Up the Night runs nightly from November 18th to January 28th, so you have plenty of time to make a visit down south. While it’s a bit of a drive down to St. Augustine for those in the Panhandle, it’s still close enough for a day trip or a weekend visit. Locals and tourists can view the magnificent lights by taking a tour on foot, by trolley, boat, golf cart, or a horse-drawn carriage ride. 

The top two spots to visit for the best views and photos are: 1. The Plaza de la Constitución and 2. The Bridge of Lions. Visit the official Night of Lights website for more information including their free park & ride shuttle, special events, and more. 

Fall Back this weekend!

On Sunday, November 5th at 2am, time is going to fall back an hour. This gives you an extra hour of sleep and gives you more sunlight in the morning. Be sure to change your clocks either before bed on November 4th or once you wake up on November 5th. Most digital clocks such as cell phones and laptops will automatically update. 

Faye Dunaway, a renowned stage and film actress, was born in Two Egg, Florida. Many accounts list the nearby town of Bascom as her hometown. However, this is because Two Egg was too small to have a post office so mail was delivered out of Bascom. Dunaway spent most of her younger years in the now-crumbling Two Egg farmhouse that she called home. When speaking about her first big Hollywood hit, Dunaway had this to say:

“That movie touched the core of my being. Never have I felt so close to a character as I felt to Bonnie. She was a yearning, edgy, ambitious southern girl who wanted to get out of wherever she was. I knew everything about wanting to get out, and the getting out doesn’t come easy.” 

Dunaway’s works include the infamously controversial Mommie Dearest (1981), the blockbuster film Bonnie and Clyde (1967), The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), The Arrangement (1969), the neo-noir mystery Chinatown (1974), The Towering Inferno (1974), the political thriller Three Days of the Condor (1975), and the Network (1976) – amongst many other films and Broadway performances. 

Panama City Beach will be hosting a three-night beachfront firework display to celebrate the Fourth of July this weekend. The event starts with the Light Up the Bay Fireworks display on July 2nd. On July 3rd, there will be two firework events: Light Up the Gulf at the Boardwalk Beach Resort and Freedom Rocks at the Grand Lagoon Coalition. The highlight of the three-day festivities will be the Star-Spangled Spectacular on July 4th. There will be fireworks shot into the sky from Russell-Fields City Pier AND the M.B. Miller County Pier. Additionally, local radio stations will be offering choreographed music to match the two fireworks displays. Learn more by visiting Panama City Beach’s event website. 

Earth Day 2023 is approaching rapidly! This year’s theme is “Invest in Our Planet.” Find an event to participate in by visiting the Earth Day 2023 event search page here. Don’t have the day off to partake in an event but want to make some changes to help invest in the Earth? Consider one of the ideas below:

• Take pictures of pollinators. Pollinators include more than just the standard honeybees and butterflies; Florida native pollinators include solitary bees, wasps, bats, birds, moths, and many other insects.
• Buy local produce. Get it from a farmers market, from trades with your rural neighbors, or grow your own food. This helps cut down on food waste as your produce will last longer AND cuts down on the enviromental transport costs from shipping food around the world. 
• Turn off lights when they’re not in use. Leaving lights on increase the heat in your home, increasing your cooling costs. Light pollution, especially outdoor lights, have been linked to interference in wildlife habits. Additionally, leaving indoor lights on has been linked to diabetes, mood disorders and an increased risk of breast, prostate, and other cancers.
• Visit this list of 52 ideas to Invest in Our Planet here for more options. 

The SportsAbility Alliance works to enrich the lifestyle of individuals with disabilities; it strives to help those in the community enjoy the leisure and recreational activities. The Sportsability Expo, the organization’s free annual event, promotes resources, equipment, trends, and activities for all ages and abilities. There will be multiple activities including adaptive golf, tennis, basketball, martial arts, laser target shooting, disc golf, and an interactive fishing simulator. There will also be a day of outdoor activities at Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park; events will include water skiing, scuba diving, horseback riding, adaptive biking, jet skiing, parabadminton, and rock wall climbing. The Sportsability Expo will be held March 23rd through 25th. Learn more by visiting the event website HERE. 

While a bit of a drive, the upcoming Ocala Strawberry Festival is worth the trip. The 8th annual one-day event features over 230 unique vendors, a kids zone with a petting zoo, a pie eating contest, a petting zoo, live entertainment, photo booths, a car show, a BMX show, and bushels of Plant City strawberries to enjoy. Not only is the festival a fun, tasty time for all ages but all proceeds go to a great cause – proceeds go towards the building of a new, affordable home for low-income families. The house will be called Strawberry House and it will offer low-income families an affordable mortgage and a safe, secure environment to raise their children.

The festival will take place at the McPherson complex on Saturday, March 4th from 9am to 5pm. Festival entry is FREE but please note that on-site parking will be $5/vehicle and vendors will be taking cash/card. Learn more by visiting the festival website HERE for more information or to pre-order your strawberry flat for pickup at the festival.