| November, 2021

Operation Santa Returns

Posted on 30 November 2021 by JLusk

The City of Deerfield Beach in partnership with the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) Fire Rescue and Law Enforcement presents Operation Santa, Saturday, Dec. 11.  
 
Santa and Mrs. Claus will visit Deerfield Beach on this one day for a drive-thru parade. They will arrive from the North Pole and drive through the locations listed below, starting at 9:30 a.m.  Santa and Mrs. Claus will be practicing social distancing due to COVID-19, which means they will remain on their sleigh and will not be stopping at these locations. Santa wants to make sure that all DFB little ones, moms, and dads remain safe and healthy this holiday season. 
 

Santa’s Fire Truck Sleigh will be escorted by BSO. The times listed below are approximate timelines, which may vary within a 30-minute window to include early or late arrivals.Times will also depend on traffic, weather, and other potential unforeseen events.

Drive-thru parade locations and times.

  • 9:30 AM Highlands Park
  • 10:00 AM South Crystal Heights Park
  • 10:30 AM IndependenceBay Club House
  • 11:00 AM Water Ways Club House
  • 11:30 AM Ada Graham-Johnson Park
  • 12:00 PM Riverglen Park
  • 12:15 PM Villages of Hillsboro Park
  • 12:30 PM Constitution Park
  • 1:00 PM Oveta McKeithen Recreational Complex
  • 1:30 PM PioneerPark
  • 2:00 PM Sullivan Park
  • 2:30 PM Ocean Way Drive
  • 3:00 PM Mayo Howard Park

 Should you have any questions, please email the Public Affairs and Marketing office at .

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Pompano Beach Holiday Boat Parade–Dec. 10

Posted on 19 November 2021 by JLusk

Magic and excitement will be in the air…and on the water when the 59th Annual Pompano Beach Holiday Boat Parade, the longest running boat parade in the nation, sets sail on Friday, December 10 at 7 p.m. Presented by the Greater Pompano Beach Chamber of Commerce, this year’s parade kicks off at Lake Santa Barbara in Pompano Beach and proceeds north through the Hillsboro Bridge and ends at Sullivan Park located at 1633 Riverview Road in Deerfield Beach. Over 50 boats, glowing with colorful lights, Holiday decorations, music and merriment, will be thrilling thousands of spectators that line the Intracoastal Waterway. Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus will of course be in the parade.

Spectator viewing bleachers will be located at Alsdorf Park on 14th Street Causeway located at 2974 NE 14 Street. Entrance into the Holiday Boat Parade is free and boats small and large are encouraged to participate. Both the NE 14th Street Causeway and Atlantic Boulevard Intracoastal Waterway Bridges will be locked into the open position from 6:30 p.m. until the parade passes. Please seek alternate routes to and from the beach during this time.

For more information, call 954-941-2941.

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Ocean Way Holiday–Dec. 4

Posted on 16 November 2021 by JLusk

The annual Ocean Way Holiday event will be held on Saturday, December 4 at the Main Beach Parking Lot in Deerfield Beach. They will be bringing back the lighting ceremony, live entertainment, holiday character show, photos with Santa, giant interactive snow globe, stilt walkers and more!  Be sure to check back at a later date for details. 

The City of Deerfield Beach Parks and Recreation Department is following and monitoring the current COVID-19 situation and will be following the recommended CDC & Broward County guidelines.

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Miami Book Fair

Posted on 12 November 2021 by JLusk

Miami Dade College’s (MDC) 38th Miami Book Fair (MBF) will return Nov. 14 – 21, 2021, with both in-person and virtual events, including the popular Street Fair in downtown Miami, Nov. 19 – 21, featuring book vendors, author presentations and entertainment for all ages.  

“This year’s Fair will offer the best of both worlds,” said Delia Lopez, MBF director of operations. “We are very excited to once again open our doors to the public for the Miami Book Fair, this year a hybrid event that returns stronger than ever and with even more opportunities for engagement, whether you physically attend our activities or join us online.”

With a mission to engage the community through inclusive, accessible, year-round programs that promote and support writers South Florida, the Miami Book Fair will once again present hundreds of renowned authors, as well as the weekend’s Children’s Alley, live music on The Porch stage, and books, artisanal goods and a farmers’ market. Miami Book Fair Online, its virtual component, will offer author conversations not found elsewhere and some livestreams from events on campus.  As in years past, the Fair will feature programs in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole.

“Our lineup of authors this year will reflect our commitment to diverse voices and topics. Whether online or on campus, Miami Book Fair will present fiction, nonfiction and poetry by authors and thought leaders animating the national conversation and inviting us all to take deeper dives into other worlds and experiences,” said Lissette Mendez, MBF director of programs.

For Miami Book Fair information, visit www.miamibookfair.com, or call 305-237-3528 or email wbookfair@mdc.edu.

Follow the Miami Book Fair on social media @miamibookfair.  

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Holiday Book & Toy Drive

Posted on 10 November 2021 by JLusk

 
 
The City of Deerfield Beach is holding its annual Book and Toy drive for children less fortunate in our community. A book and a toy will be handed out at the Ice Cream Social with Santa on Saturday, Dec. 18, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Oveta McKeithen Recreational Center, located at 445 SW 2 St. in Deerfield Beach.
 
Book and Toy Drop off locations are:
 
·     City Hall located – 150 NE 2 Ave.
·     Center for Active Aging – 227 NW 2 St.
·     Hillsboro Community Center – 50 Hillsboro Technology Dr.
·     Constitution Park – 2841 W Hillsboro Blvd.
 
All residents and local organizations are encouraged to help in this effort by donating new, unwrapped toys and books for kids ages 4 – 16 years of age, boys and girls. The City will be collecting the items until Wednesday, Dec. 15 at 5 p.m.
 
Should you have any questions, please contact the Community Services Department at 954-480-6420.
 
For additional information, contact the Community Services Department at 954-480-6420 or VWyatt@deerfield-beach.com.

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Haunted Arboretum

Posted on 06 November 2021 by JLusk

Photos by Brian Castillo

Did you see the Haunted Arboretum in Deerfield Beach? It was filled with spooky ghosts and scary goblins. The Deerfield Beach Parks & Recreation Department and volunteers made the landscape filled with fright, perfect for kids of all ages, and their parents, looking for a little Halloween fun.

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Daylight Savings Time

Posted on 06 November 2021 by JLusk

Don’t forget to turn your clocks back (Sunday at 2 a.m) for Daylight Savings Time!

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Veiled In Mystery, “Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru” Shines Through

Posted on 01 November 2021 by JLusk

By Rachel Galvin

The terraced landscape of Machu Picchu seems worlds away, touching the heavens and steeped in mystery, but the magic of its land and the traditions of its peoples have been brought right here to the Boca Raton Museum of Art. A very special exhibit opened October 16 and runs through March 6, featuring the most impressive collection of Andean gold to ever travel the world and 192 artifacts from royal tombs. Guests are immersed in the culture of the Andean peoples through music and narration, pictures and artifacts.

The self-guided tour begins with an introductory video then a door slide upward and guests enter an ancient world. Everything from the way the artifacts are spaced out to the music brings you further into their ancient culture. Guests learn about daily life, beliefs and their gods. The life and death of these ancient peoples is told in vivid detail in a unique way.

This is the first stop of many on a world-wide tour. The exhibit is presented by City Neon with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Peru in partnership with Inkaterra Association. The artifacts are from the Museo Larco in Lima, Peru and the Museo de Sitio Manuel Chavez Ballon in Aguas Calientes, Peru.

To enhance the experience of this exhibit, they provide an audio component to the tour, which is sold separately. Viewing the exhibit with the audio adds another layer of explanation for a richer experience.

Something unique about this particular exhibit is their Virtual Reality experience. This is a great add-on that is highly recommended. People can sit up in an egg shaped chair that has 360 degree rotation and is equipped with VR headsets so the guest looks like they are flying led by an animated guide over the terraced landscape of Machu Picchu. It is a full sensory experience.

Before the exhibit even begins, a staff member takes photos of guests in front of a green screen, which can be purchased at the end of the tour with Peruvian backdrops. Also they have a gift shop where people can buy Peruvian gifts or a commemorative catalogue, or magazine, about the exhibition.

This exhibit is packed with information presented in an interesting way that will keep everyone engaged and wanting to learn more about the rich culture of the Andean peoples and their land.

For more information about the exhibit, the museum and how to get tickets, visit https://bocamuseum.org/

See more pics on the Observer’s Facebook page.

 

 




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Brightline + offers door to door transportation

Posted on 01 November 2021 by JLusk

Brightline, the only provider of modern, eco-friendly, intercity rail in America, unveiled its new fully integrated, door-to-door booking service Brightline+ which will include a Brightline-branded mobility fleet. The fully electric mobility fleet is Brightline’s investment to provide travelers in South Florida a door-to-door solution to travel by train, powered by Brightline’s new app and supported by the fleet. The service will enable customers to book seamless transportation across multiple modes of private and public transportation for the first and last miles of their journeys — which will make Brightline the most integrated multimodal planning and ticketing app in North America.

During the Brightline+ unveiling event that took place on Oct. 26, Brightline President Patrick Goddard was joined by Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and Miami-Dade County’s Assistant Director for the Department of Transportation and Public Works Carlos Cruz-Casas to provide media with a preview of this innovative new service.

As the most significant enhancement made to Brightline since its inception, the service enables passengers to leverage an upgraded Brightline mobile app to plan, book and pay for their entire journey across a variety of eco-friendly transport modes, leading to a lower environmental impact. These vehicles currently include Brightline+’s fleet of Tesla cars, shared electric vans, and Circuit neighborhood electric vehicles (fully electric shared shuttles) which will complete trips within a five mile radius of the Brightline stations. All Brightline+ vehicles will be operated by private chauffeurs vetted and trained by Brightline and its mobility partner, Via, the global leader in TransitTech. Customers who choose to use their own vehicle to arrive at the station can pre-book and pay for their parking through the app, and will use the QR code on their boarding pass to enter and exit the parking garage.

“As an innovator at the intersection of transportation and technology, Brightline is leading the future of high-speed rail in America and  transforming the end-to-end mobility experience for riders with a service that will be unlike anything offered in North America,” said Patrick Goddard, President of Brightline. “Through Brightline+, we are solving the long-standing gaps of the first and last mile and, in the process, proudly supporting Miami’s growing tech sector.”

Riders can book Brightline+ fleet transportation at least two hours in advance of a scheduled departure through the website and mobile Brightline app, with a real-time arrival estimate provided at time of purchase and journey tracking throughout. The app will also allow riders to order food prior to their journey, at the station, or onboard during the ride.

Brightline+ will be rolled out in phases: During the month of November, riders can book transportation from the end of their train journey to their final destination; and beginning December 1, 2021, riders can get the full experience for both first and last miles, providing a full door-to-door service from their point of origin to their final destination. For the duration of 2021, shared vehicles will be complimentary while private rides will have a flat fee of $10 for each segment used. Passengers can now purchase tickets and book Brightline+ transportation through Brightline’s new website and mobile app, available for download in Google Play and the Apple Store.

“The return of Brightline’s service and the debut of Brightline+ is a key component to transforming Miami into a major technology hub in the U.S.,” said Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. “With this new innovation in transportation, we are connecting Miami like never before, providing endless business opportunities for the entire region of South Florida.”

Brightline is working with Miami-Dade Transit, Broward County Transit, and Palm Tran to produce the first multimodal transit payments integration with high-speed rail in the nation. Over the coming months Brightline will integrate CitiBikes, scooters and other modes of travel into the Brightline+ service. To make each of our stations a first-class mobility hub, Brightline is also improving rider transportation information by providing real-time updates via TransitScreen. The Brightline+ fleet will also be fully electric by 2022.

“Miami is a young city that had been overshadowed by cities like New York, Chicago, and San Francisco, said Carlos Cruz-Casas, assistant director at the Department of Transportation and Public Works. “Over the last 10 years we have made significant strides in thoughtfully building our city, and over the last 5 years we have created the first high-speed train of its kind in the country with an integration that will surpass all others in North America.”

Brightline is partnering with multiple vendors to power the Brightline+ service, including:

Iomob

The future of rail meets the internet of mobility with Brightline and Iomob’s partnership, providing the platform to power Brightline’s new mobility-on-demand service offered on its app. In collaboration with Iomob, Brightline will power one of the world’s best digital mobility infrastructures.

Via

Brightline is partnering with Via to introduce pre-booked rides for trips to-and-from Brightline rail stations. The goal of this partnership is to minimize the use of single-occupancy vehicles, and in turn reduce traffic congestion, carbon emissions, and gas consumption in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach.

Circuit

Circuit, the national leader in last-mile EV services, will be working with Brightline to provide all-electric,  first/last-mile shuttle services around the BL stations and nearby downtown areas in West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami. The 6 seater GEM electric shuttles will be available from 6AM-11AM and will be offering rides in geo-fenced areas between 0-3 miles of the station. 

Kaptyn

Kaptyn is an electric vehicle platform that is changing mobility for good. The company operates one of the largest all-electric ride-share services in the U.S. As a fully-integrated Brightline partner, Kaptyn is serving Brightline+ customers as a premium first-and-last-mile mobility option.

 

For more information, visit www.gobrightline.com 

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Halloween Treats Sidewalk Party

Posted on 01 November 2021 by JLusk

By Rachel Galvin

Photos courtesy of Terry Scott

On Halloween, the local Delta Lodge #519 was involved in a Halloween Treats Sidewalk Party, at 180 SW 3 Ave. in Deerfield Beach. It was put on by York Rite PHA Masonic Bodies and others. Over 100 kids and some adults showed up to get treats. They gave out over 200 pounds of candy!

The Delta Lodge’s Terry Scott thanked a few people who supported the event, saying, “I want to say thank Hram Pompano Beach No.164 – Calvin D. Lane RoseBud Court No.248 – Samantha Jones Shorty Pink JAM Tasha Harper and Lula McKay, Palm City Council #14 – Thrice Master Kendall Covin, Elisha Court #6 – Roberta Early and RM Evelyn Price, Knight Templar – Keenan Z Johnson, Willis Gil Commanderous – PC LiNett Miller Tika BahamianEmpress Russell Deputy Grand Stacy Chestnut and also to the Community table Chyna Black Vera Clemoms, Velinda Burney Tigner and my Uncle Steve Strowbridge, who has decorated the yard for 19 years.

He added, “Next year, it will be bigger and better, so let’s get ready.”

 

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