Rotary Club of Downtown Boca Raton celebrated a sold-out event that delivered a memorable evening to more than 200 guests while benefiting a new grant program for the health and wellness needs of local nonprofits. The affair culminated with the presentation of the inaugural George Long Awards named after the city’s first appointed mayor.  LEFT: Patti Carpenter and Jerry Calfaro. Photo provided

The Boys & Girls Club of Boca Raton enjoyed success with its sixth-annual fundraiser, attended by more than 150 guests who tested their luck at numerous gaming tables. There were opportunities to win prizes, bid in a silent auction and enjoy cocktails, dinner and gourmet sweets. ABOVE: Co-Chairs Kathryn Gillespie  and Zakir Odhwani. Photo provided by Laura Kokus

Cheered on by friends adorned in pink, Lisa Quillian donated 17 inches of hair that will be made into wigs for cancer patients. ‘It wasn’t enough to just give away the hair,’ Quillian said. ‘I mean, I had been carrying it around for five years.’  So she made an event out of it, with auction items up for bid and champagne poured at the salon, which donated special discounts for all. LEFT: Anita Dickerson cuts Quillian’s long, braided lock in front of supporters.
Photo provided

More than 120 members and guests attended the Boynton Woman’s Club’s event and helped raise more than $3,000 for the Scholarship Fund, which awards grants to high-school students who live in the city and plan to attend a Florida college. ABOVE: Commentators and models of the fashion show pose (far left) with Co-Chairwomen Donna Artes and Lillian Ostiguy and (in back) club President Michele Walter. Photo provided

Highland Beach Town Commissioner Lou Stern and wife Carol (above) received the the Ruby Lee Piester Adoption Award, a lifetime-achievement recognition, from the National Council for Adoption. The award was presented  during the council’s annual affair and acknowledges passionate and innovative contributions to the field of adoption. Presented two times previously in the organization’s 35-year history, the award is named for the council’s co-founder. The Sterns were recognized for the integral role they have played in shaping its mission and vision. ‘It’s been extremely rewarding to see the changes in the field of adoption over the last 35 years,’ Lou Stern said. ‘There are still many challenges remaining, and the National Council for Adoption will continue to lead the way.’  He is a founding member of the organization’s board of directors, has served as board chairman five times for a total of 13 years and continues to serve on the board. The Sterns have lived in Highland Beach since 1997 and are adoptive parents. Photo provided

Actor and comic Martin Short served as keynote speaker at Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation’s annual gathering supporting women’s health. Nearly $1 million was raised for the fight against breast cancer. Proceeds will benefit the hospital’s Schmidt Family Center for Breast Care in the Christine E. Lynn Women’s Health & Wellness Institute. LEFT: (l-r) Joan Wargo, Becky Davis, Anne Green and Barbara Schmidt. Photo provided

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County welcomed its annual tournament and raised $58,000 for the Neil S. Hirsch Family Boys & Girls Club. A total of 140 attendees participated in the festivities, which included breakfast, a raffle, putting contests and a luncheon and awards ceremony. ABOVE: (l-r) Cliff Carroll, Nick Chillemi, Vince Chillemi and Elliot Bonner.
Photo provided

The school entertained families from nearby neighborhoods with contests for most creative and scariest costumes, as well as tastes of the hot-and-spicy southwest concoction. ABOVE: (l-r) The Elliott family — David, James, Avery and Kristin — in their winning costumes. Photo provided

A crowd topping 100 attended the season’s first ‘conversation,’ titled ‘Hey, Mr. Producer,’ which featured a talk between Andrew Kato, who is celebrating 10 years at the helm of the Maltz Jupiter Theatre, and Rob Steele, the new president and CEO of the Delray Beach Center for the Arts at Old School Square. ABOVE: (l-r) Diane Berk, Mindy Levine and Charlotte Smith. Photo provided by Corby Kaye’s Studio Palm Beach

The Junior League of Boca Raton had its 28th-annual fundraiser – one of the largest to date, with 900 guests in attendance and $180,000 raised. Linda Coffin, nominated by Children’s Home Society of Florida, was named the 2015 Woman Volunteer of the Year out of 35 nominees. ABOVE: Mark Larkin, president of the Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation, congratulates Coffin.
Photo provided

The 21st-annual Buddy Walk attracted 2,000-plus participants and raised $175,000 for Gold Coast Down Syndrome Organization and its advocacy, education and support programs for children and adults in Palm Beach County. LEFT: Gail Marino, with daughter and grand marshal Kim Marino. Photo provided

3rd Annual Delray Beach Surf Festival: Delray Beach – Nov. 14

Under rainy skies and gusty winds, Tom Pacheco, Laura Melum, Lydia Ripper, Elissa Masler and Laura Simon cheer for contestant Raef Melum, 10, during the Delray Beach Surf Festival. Competitions included surfing, paddleboarding and a tug-of-war. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Thom Smith

The FAU Owls may have been plucked by Hurricanes and Gators, but football does not — despite what some misguided folks in this nation believe — make a great university or make a university great. FAU President John Kelly knows how it feels for a football team to win: Before FAU he was a vice president at Clemson University, which boasts one of the nation’s best football teams. But he also knows that institutions ultimately are measured by academics and research, and his State of the University address Nov. 20 set some bold goals.
    He used a little streaming and beaming to make his case that FAU should be one of the best educational institutions in the nation.
    Examples came from New York via a video conversation with alumnus Jeremy Murphy, a vice president for communications at CBS, and a live in-person performance from Emil Liakhovetski, 18, a junior pre-med student, and his brother Dariel. As Emil & Dariel Rock Cellos they were finalists on America’s Got Talent. Also present was 1988 grad Marc Kudisch. He stars as the Senate majority leader on House of Cards. Grad students Charles Weinthal and Chad Coursey discussed the prosthetic hand they built with a 3-D printer.
    Kelly acknowledged that FAU had many problems when he arrived and it still needs considerable work to meet not only board of regents’ standards but also those that he has set. Though he’s been president for less than two years, the graduation rate already has risen from 40 percent to 45 percent. The current freshman class of 3,500 is the school’s largest ever, but admission will become tougher with minimum admission standards rising to a  grade point average of 3.6 (from 3.3).
    “My plan for Florida Atlantic University is to proceed and lead with unbridled ambition,” he said.
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Another FAU grad was recognized twice recently for her community work. In October the Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce honored Virginia Snyder with its 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award. More recently, FAU’s Alumni Association inducted the “private eye” into the inaugural class of its Majestic Owls Society that will recognize top graduates from classes 50 years earlier.
    In 1965, FAU was so undeveloped that it had no building capable of accommodating a commencement. So the 30 graduates received degrees at First Presbyterian Church of Boca Raton. Snyder majored in government and politics. She spent 10 years as a newspaper reporter and then opened a private investigation agency. For 32 years she worked tenaciously, tackling 100 homicide cases, helping to free six men from death row and, using DNA evidence, secure freedom for a convicted rapist after 26 years.
    Snyder also was a thorn in the side of the Delray Beach Police Department and inspired the hit TV show Murder, She Wrote. As a community activist, she founded Boca Raton’s South County Neighborhood Center, later renamed the Mae Volen Senior Center, which spawned the Florence Fuller Day Care Center. She helped George Morikami, a resident of Boca Raton, obtain his U.S. citizenship and then was instrumental in convincing the county commission to reverse itself and accept the farm worker’s donation of land that became Morikami Park.  
     In 1975, Gov. Reubin Askew named her an Outstanding Woman of Florida and two decades later Gov. Lawton Chiles proclaimed her one of “Florida’s Finest.”
    Now 94, she retired in 2008. If she was working against you, watch out. If she was on your side, you couldn’t ask for a better ally.
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In its four decades, the Palm Beach Sports Hall of Fame has recognized dozens of remarkable figures who have played, coached, contributed to and covered sports in Palm Beach County — from football (Boca Raton’s Mark Richt and Boynton Beach’s Howard Schnellenberger) and baseball  (Lake Worth’s Herb Score) to golf (Delray Beach’s Beth Daniel) and tennis (Boca’s Chris Evert), even hydroplane racer Andy Coker and polo legend Memo Gracida.
    Two sports, however, despite their growing popularity locally and internationally, have never been represented. That will change next spring when the first hockey and soccer legends are inducted. The ice man is Noah Babin of Palm Beach Gardens, the first native Floridian to sign a professional contract. He now coaches in California.
    As cool as ice on the field, Boca’s Kristy Whelchel Hartofilis grew up in a soccer family with two older brothers who also were standout players. She first distinguished herself while leading Team Boca youth squads to state and national prominence in the mid-90s, then earning All-America recognition at Duke University. After playing in the inaugural women’s professional league WUSA, she returned to Boca, first to coach at Spanish River High and then join her brother Jay in the real estate business.
    Hartofilis is another example of the great sport opportunities that exist in Palm Beach County.
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Mix a large dose of glamour and a large dose of fun and you get the perfect prescription for a winning Boca Raton Regional Hospital Ball, thanks to guest emcee Goldie Hawn. The 54th annual gala is set for Jan. 23 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. The gala will honor Elaine J. Wold and raise money for the new Gloria Drummond Physical Rehabilitation Institute. Tickets range from $400 to $100,000 for a Hope Diamond sponsorship.
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    “The Event” at B’nai Torah Congregation in Boca Raton is still three months away, but seats should go quickly because the guest speaker is Henry Winkler, best known as the Fonz. The benefit for the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County aims to “Celebrate All the Good in Our Community.” (jewishboca.org/theevent or 852-5031)
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    We usually stick to what’s happening between Lake Worth and Boca Raton, but when Clay Conley and his gang to the north try something, it’s usually worth a mention. First came Buccan in Palm Beach nearly five years ago, then Imoto and The Sandwich Shop. Now they’re heading across the bridge to liven up South Dixie in West Palm with an Italian place, Grato. That’s Italian for grateful, which Conley is . . . for the culinary opportunities he’s been given and for what he hopes his customers will be after they dine at “the kind of place I would bring my family and friends — a true neighborhood restaurant.”
    Indeed, the building, at 1901 S. Dixie, has been in the neighborhood for nearly a century, most recently as Reward Lighting. Conley hopes to be serving a few days before Christmas.
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    Back across the bridge, it’s nearly a century for Testa’s. The oldest family-owned and continuously operated restaurant in Palm Beach County, and the third oldest of that sort in Florida, turns 95 next year. So why not start celebrating now?
    “We wanted to make it fun,” says Judy Testa, one of three third-generation siblings who now run the restaurant. In addition to Eggplant Testa, Uncle Joe’s Chicken Cacciatore and Testa’s Stone Crab Claw, the family is offering a special “Paradise in Pink” cocktail — coconut rum, amaretto and fresh fruit juices garnished with fruit and topped with a drink umbrella. For a chaser, try that newcomer dish, Testa’s strawberry pie. It’s only been on the menu for 70 years.
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    The Miami Dolphins may not have the greatest record — certainly no 17-0 this year — but at least the fans now can drown their sorrow in something better than Bud or Miller Lite. Renovated Sun Life Stadium now sports two taprooms that serve craft beers, 31 from Florida including four with Palm Beach County connections: Due South’s Caramel Cream Ale (Boynton Beach), Saltwater’s Screamin’ Reels IPA (great name for a beer, especially in Florida) from Delray Beach. Also represented are Tequesta Brewing Co. and Funky Buddha, started in Boca Raton and now also in Oakland Park.
    Back up in Boynton Beach, Matt Cox has Copperpoint up and foaming with seven brews on tap such as Summer Session IPA, B.Rabbit Espresso Cream Stout and Trula Saison.
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    Heart surgeon and TV star Mehmet Oz and wife, Lisa, also a TV host and author, recently plunked down $18 million for Louwana, one of the first Palm Beach oceanfront estates built by Addison Mizner. Taking a cue from Let’s Make a Deal, the good doctor saved a little cash — taxable value this year for the 13,539-square-foot home plus swimming pool and tennis court was $20.1 million.
                              ***       
    The hotter, the better for Alex Callegari, whether driving a ladder truck to a four-alarm in Boca Raton or cooking over a grill. After taking second a few months back at Bud and Burgers in St. Louis, he continued his run on the competitive chef circuit by winning the Southeast Semi-final for Chevron’s Game Day Chef Challenge in Atlanta with Steak Balls of Fire with Chipotle Cheese Dip. The finals will be held Jan. 1 in Pasadena before the Rose Bowl game.
     After outdoing several teams of professional chefs to take a top 10 finish in the pasta division at the World Food Championships in Kissimmee on Nov. 10, he was asked to be a last-minute substitute in the event’s Kansas City Steak Co. Challenge. The 10 chefs were asked to cook and plate six bone-in strips and six filets mignon in 70 minutes.
    The fill-in finished second.
    Next day it was lunch at McDonald’s: “Love that double cheeseburger!”
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    Lake Worth’s Bamboo Room has taken another step in its re-emergence as a magnet for top regional and small-venue performers. On Nov. 20, New Orleans’ legendary Dirty Dozen Brass Band crammed Bamboo’s stage as its first big act.
Coming up, bookings will include blues acts Ana Popovic, a 2014 nominee for a Blues Music Award (Jan. 29), Albert Castiglia (Jan. 30) and Samantha Fish (March 31).   
    Handling the booking will be Jupiter-based Morgan Renee Live headed by Randy Carrillo, a longtime resident of Palm Beach County who’s been in the music business for more than three decades. With ties to country, rock, Latin, bluegrass, and traditional music, Carrillo hopes to bring Bamboo a wide range of entertainment to supplement its growing stable of local talent.  
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    A little farther south, Funky Biscuit is heating up Boca Raton. Proof that the road does go on forever, but sometimes with different locomotion, Freight Train Band returns the day after Christmas, steered by Allman Brothers co-founder Butch Trucks, with his son Vaylor, Berry Oakley Jr. and Bruce Katz.  
    Also at the Biscuit: Pat Travers Band (Dec. 5), The Hackensaw Boys (Dec. 9), Drum Wars with Carmine and Vinny Appice (Dec. 12), Edwin McCain (Dec. 18), Donna the Buffalo, which is promoting The Stampede, a campaign to protest the growth of corporate money in politics (Jan. 2), Tab Benoit (Jan. 16) and the Devon Allman Band (Jan. 17).
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    Danielle Rosse is breathing a little easier and South County residents will be breathing in dramatic new aromas now that Oceans 234 is back in business. A dramatic three-month, $1.8 million renovation is complete with the popular Deerfield Beach-front restaurant offering a new entrance, new ocean views, new décor, a 400-bottle wine wall and a menu from Chef Victor Franco that is 75 percent new but retains longtime favorites.  
    Also new is a paver walkway that leads from the entrance to the boardwalk. Rosse’s 234 One Step program aims to raise $50,000 from the sale of personalized pavers (4x8, 8x8 or 16x16 from $199 to $800) for Deerfield Beach Chamber of Commerce’s community projects, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County and Broward Health KIDS Programs. It needs only $10,000 more.
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    Where will Donald Trump be on Dec. 5? His campaign office doesn’t know. Managers at his Mar-a-Lago Club don’t know. Lois Pope doesn’t know.
    But Pope, who will host the Lady in Red Gala at Mar-a-Lago on Dec. 5, hopes the flamboyant mogul-turned-politician shows. After all, her Leaders in Furthering Education (LIFE) charity is raising money for veterans.
    “I don’t know if he’ll be there or not,” Pope said, “but it was our gala that first exposed him to disabled veterans.”
    The Manalapan resident was the force behind the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial in Washington and Ric Burns’ documentary Debt of Honor, a chronicle of the history of disabled American veterans being broadcast on PBS. Comedian Howie Mandel heads up the entertainment and each ticket buyer will be entered in a drawing for a Mini Cooper convertible featuring the unmistakable touch of world-renowned artist Romero Britto.  
    “We want to take care of people, and it takes a team,” Pope said, but she promised the gala would have its lighter moments. If Mandel doesn’t have something to say about Trump, Pope is prepared: “I have a few jokes to tell about him.”    
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    Despite a messy weekend before Thanksgiving, the 2015 Chris Evert/Raymond James Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic offered entertaining tennis and the Saturday night gala at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. The event raised $600,000 for drug abuse treatment programs funded through Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida and the Drug Abuse Foundation of Palm Beach County. A healthy portion of the proceeds came from bidders at the gala’s silent and live auctions.  
Two VIP tickets to a speech plus a photo with former President Bill Clinton went for $11,000 and a Wimbledon package — four nights accommodations and tickets  to the semis and finals — took in $9,000.
Among those taking to the court with Evert were such tennis legends as Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver and entertainers Jason Biggs, Dennis Miller, Gavin Rossdale, Chelsea Handler and Jon Lovitz. Gala entertainment was provided by The Fifth Dimension. In its 26 years, the event has raised more than $22 million for South Florida charities.
Well done, Chris.
 
 Reach Thom Smith at tomsmith@ymail.com.

Palm Beach ArtsPaper staff

One minute it’s Thanksgiving, and the next, you’re stocking up on champagne to welcome the new year.
The holidays go by in an instant, but we all try to steal a little time for the ceremony of the season, for its sounds, sights, aromas and traditions. Finding that time is difficult, especially with the growth in the past few years of South Florida’s arts season — which has become more compact but much more crowded.
In the spirit of preparing a to-do list for that hard-to-schedule task, we offer this holiday music-and-dance calendar to show you just how much is out there, and what you might want to see. You’ll notice that on some weekends, there are multiple things that are well worth your time.
You’ll also notice that this is the time of year that two holiday presentations that have become de rigueur in English-speaking countries are represented here several times: George Frideric Handel’s oratorio Messiah, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker. Handel’s oratorio premiered in April 1742 as an Easter piece, and has been a sellout hit since then, primarily in an abridged format that deals with the nativity of Jesus, or what choral directors call “the Christmas portion” of Messiah.
Two of the local ballet companies have already presented their Nutcracker performances, but there are others coming in December, including the George Balanchine version, courtesy of Miami City Ballet, at the end of the month.  
In between are many vocal and instrumental programs featuring the music of the holidays, mostly Christmas, but with some songs of the season for Hanukkah (Dec. 6-14).
So clip this calendar, mark it up, or just leave it handy: But do take in at least one of these programs. It could be just the thing that puts the holiday spring back in your step.

Friday, Dec. 4
Alleluias, Magnificats and Carols: The Delray Beach Chorale, now under the direction of Florida Atlantic University’s Patricia Fleitas, offers a holiday program featuring music by J.S. Bach, Halsey Stevens, and Handel, along with alleluias by Jewish composers. DeSantis Family Chapel at Palm Beach Atlantic University, 300 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach. 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $30 at door. 800-984-7282 or www.delraybeachchorale.org.
Saturday, Dec. 5
Alleluias, Magnificats and Carols: The Delray Beach Chorale program, this time at First Presbyterian Church, 33 Gleason St., Delray Beach. 3 p.m. Tickets: $25 in advance, $30 at door; 800-984-7282 or www.delraybeachchorale.org.  
Winter Tapestry: The Young Singers of the Palm Beaches, 350 children from grades 2 to 12, perform a holiday program at the Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach. 7 p.m. Tickets start at $15. 832-7469 or www.kravis.org.

Sunday, Dec. 6
Celebrate the Holidays … With a Twist: The Robert Sharon Chorale presents the first of three holiday concerts with this performance of seasonal music by composers from Handel to Rollo Dilworth. 2 p.m., DeSantis Chapel, Palm Beach Atlantic University, 300 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach. Tickets: $15; visit rschorale.com/tickets.
Cocoa and Carols: The Master Chorale of South Florida, joined by the Girl Choir of South Florida, presents a concert of holiday music, followed by cocoa and cookies. 4 p.m., St. Mark’s Greek Orthodox Church, 2100 NW 51 St., Boca Raton. Tickets: $30. 954-641-2653 or www.masterchoraleofsouthflorida.org.
Holiday Choral Prelude: The Nova Singers, a Broward County-based 125-person community choir now in its 40th year, presents music by Z. Randall Stroope, Morten Lauridsen and familiar Christmas and Hanukkah selections. Director Chuck Stanley and the singers also will be accompanied by a brass and percussion ensemble. 4 p.m., St. Paul Lutheran Church, 701 W. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton. Tickets: $15 in advance, $20 at door, $5 for students.  
Messiah: Florida Atlantic University’s choral students, along with faculty members, under the direction of Patricia Fleitas, does its annual rendition of the Handel classic. 7 p.m., University Theatre, FAU, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton. Tickets: $15; 800-564-9539 or www.fauevents.com.

Tuesday, Dec. 8
A Seraphic Fire Christmas: The First Noël: The Grammy-nominated Miami choral group Seraphic Fire presents its annual Christmas music program in its only Palm Beach County performance this season at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Palm Beach Gardens. The group always stages this a cappella concert of music with candlelight and a canny use of the church acoustics. 7:30 p.m., 3395 Burns Road, Palm Beach Gardens. Tickets: $45. 305-285-9060 or www.seraphic fire.org.
Symphony of the Americas: James Brooks-Bruzzese leads his orchestra in its annual holiday program, which will include selections from The Nutcracker plus an audience sing-along of favorite carols. Tickets start at $62. 8:15 p.m., Amaturo Theater, Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale. 954-335-7002 or www.sota.org.

Wednesday, Dec. 9
Live at Lynn Christmas: The 175-member Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida, led by Harold Dioquino, is accompanied by instrumentalists for its program of holiday music, and promises a special celebrity guest. 7:30 p.m., Wold Performing Arts Center, Lynn University, 3601 N. Military Trail, Boca Raton. Tickets: $35-$55. 237-9000 or www.lynn.edu/events.

Friday, Dec. 11
Messiah Sing-In: The Master Chorale of South Florida revives the older tradition of the singalong Messiah, in which audience members join in for the choruses. Bring your own score, or borrow one at the door. 8 p.m., First Presbyterian Church of Pompano Beach, 2331 NE 26th Ave. Tickets: $25. 954-641-2653 or www.masterchoraleofsouthflorida.org.
A Christmas Spectacular: The Orchid City Brass Band, a local British-style brass band, joins the Robert Sharon Chorale for a concert that will include the Hallelujah chorus and Christmas music from the Austrian Alps. 7:30 p.m., Duncan Theatre, Palm Beach State College, 4200 S. Congress Ave., Lake Worth. Tickets: $20, $10 for students. 247-4078 or www.orchidcitybrass.org.

Saturday, Dec. 12
Nutcracker with the Duke: Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn created a jazz rewrite of some of the pieces from Tchaikovsky’s ballet score in 1960, and the Florida Wind Symphony Jazz Orchestra will play it along other holiday selections in a concert led by Kyle Prescott. 7 p.m., University Theatre, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton. Tickets: $20; 800-564-9539 or fauevents.com.
The Nutcracker: The aspiring professionals of the Harid Conservatory present Act II from Tchaikovsky’s ballet as well as other dances. 3 p.m., Countess de Hoernle Theater, Spanish River High School, 5100 Jog Road, Boca Raton. Tickets: $25-$30. 997-2677 or www.harid.edu.

Sunday, Dec. 13
Symphony of the Americas: Repeat matinee performance of annual holiday program. Tickets start at $62. 2 p.m., Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale. 954-335-7002 or www.sota.org.
Gingerbread Holiday Concert: This is the 13th year of Lynn University’s holiday concert at the Great Hall of the Boca Raton Resort and Club. The Lynn Philharmonia performs holiday music in a family-friendly event that doubles as a fundraiser for music scholarships. 3 p.m., 501 E. Camino Real, Boca Raton. For tickets, call 237-9000.   
The Nutcracker: The Harid Conservatory does Act II from Tchaikovsky’s ballet and other dances. 3 p.m., Countess de Hoernle Theater, Spanish River High School, 5100 Jog Road, Boca Raton. Tickets: $25-$30. 997-2677 or www.harid.edu.
Messiah: The Masterworks Chorus of the Palm Beaches performs its version of the oratorio for the 35th year running at the Royal Poinciana Chapel, 60 Cocoanut Row, Palm Beach. 5 p.m. Tickets: $25. 845-9696 or www.masterworkspb.org.
FAU Madrigal Dinner: Florida Atlantic University began its own version of this popular dinner-theater tradition five years ago. Students dress in Renaissance-era costumes and sing period music while guests enjoy a sumptuous meal (and can dress in period garb if they wish). The dinner is a benefit for the Choral and Vocal Studies Program at the university. Tickets are $100 or $1,000 for a table of 8. 5:30 p.m., Vintage Gymnasium at Old School Square, 51 N Swinton Ave., Delray Beach  297-2337 or fauf.fau.edu/madrigal.
Tuba Christmas: In 1974, the great tuba player Harvey Phillips brought a large ensemble of tubas to Rockefeller Center to play Christmas carols on the ice rink, and a quirky holiday tradition was born. Florida Atlantic University picked up this idea five years ago, and presents it for free; the concert will be led by Sean Murray. 5 p.m., Mizner Park Amphitheatre, 590 Plaza Real, Boca Raton.
Holiday With the Pops: The Indian River Pops Orchestra, led by Dwight Robert Roadman, is joined by the Robert Sharon Chorale for a concert of seasonal music dedicated to the memory of Owen Seward, longtime director of the Indian River Pops and the New Gardens Band, who died in August. Tickets: $25. 7 p.m., Eissey Campus Theatre, 11051 Campus Drive, Palm Beach Gardens. 207-5900 or www.palmbeachstate.edu.

Monday, Dec. 14
Christmas Concert and Community Carol Sing: Bethesda-by-the-Sea music director Hal Pysher leads the Bethesda Choir and an instrumental ensemble in this annual holiday concert and sing-along. 7:30 p.m. Suggested donation: $15. Bethesda-by-the-Sea, 141 S. County Road, Palm Beach. 655-4554 or www.bbts.org.
Wednesday, Dec. 16
Ann Hampton Callaway: The Great American Songbook chanteuse is accompanied by a trio in an evening of holiday music. 8 p.m., Society of the Four Arts, 2 Four Arts Plaza, Palm Beach. Tickets: $40-$45. 655-7226 or www.fourarts.org.

Thursday, Dec. 17
The Midtown Men: Four members of the original cast of Jersey Boys add holiday music to their usual 1960s-era Four Seasons repertoire. 8 p.m., Kravis Center. 832-7469 or www.kravis.org.
Friday, Dec. 18
Messiah: Three performances of Handel’s oratorio by Seraphic Fire in Fort Lauderdale, Miami Shores and Cutler Bay from Dec. 18-20. On Dec. 18, the choir is at one of its favorite venues, All Saints Episcopal Church in Fort Lauderdale (333 Tarpon Dr.). 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $65. 305-285-9060 or www.seraphicfire.org.  
Celtic Woman: Three female Irish singers and a fiddler, in a spotlessly produced selection of Christmas music, accompanied by an orchestra. 8 p.m., Kravis Center. 832-7469 or www.kravis.org.

Saturday, Dec. 19
Messiah: The Masterworks Chorus’s second performance of the Handel oratorio. 5 p.m. United Methodist Church of the Palm Beaches, 900 Brandywine Road, West Palm Beach. Tickets: $25. 845-9696 or www.masterworkspb.org.
A Well-Strung Christmas: Well-Strung, the New York-based all-male singing string quartet offers a concert of holiday music. 8 p.m., Kravis Center. Tickets start at $39. 832-7469 or www.kravis.org.

Sunday, Dec. 20
Lessons and Carols: A Victorian Christmas: The St. Paul’s Episcopal Church choir, led by Keith Paulson-Thorp, presents its annual King’s College-style service-plus-concert. Free admission. 3 p.m., 188 S. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. 276-4541 or www.stpaulsdelray.org.

Tuesday, Dec. 22
Palm Beach Gardens Concert Band: The community concert band’s annual holiday show, featuring music of Christmas and Hanukkah. 7:30 p.m. Maltz Jupiter Theare, 1001 E. Indiantown Road, Jupiter. Tickets: $15. Call 575-2223.

Tuesday, Dec. 22-Wednesday., Dec. 23
Broadway on Ice: Ice skating champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White are featured in a program of ice dances set to holiday music and songs from the Great White Way. 8 p.m. Tuesday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Wednesday, Kravis Center. Tickets start at $30. 832-7469 or www.kravis.org.

Sunday, Dec. 27-Tuesday, Dec. 29
The Nutcracker: Miami City Ballet gives five performances of Tchaikovsky’s ballet. 7 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Kravis Center. Tickets start at $25. 832-7469 or www.kravis.org.

Friday, Jan. 1
Salute to Vienna: The annual Viennese tradition of a concert to welcome the new year has been a staple at the Kravis Center. The Strauss Symphony of America is joined by ballroom and ballet dancers in a concert of waltzes and other dances. Prosit Neujahr! 8 p.m. Tickets start at $29. 832-7469 or www.kravis.org.

Note: Events are current as of 11/27. Please check with organizers for any changes.

December 5

Saturday - 12/5 - Golf Cart Decorating Contest & Parade at The Pavilion at Old School Square, 51 N Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. Decorate your golf cart. Public voting. Proceeds benefit Old School Square community programs. 9 am-1:30 pm. $1/vote. 243-7922; oldschoolsquare.org
12/5 - Southern Handcraft Society Southern Christmas 2015 at Patch Reef Park Community Center, 7000 Yamato Rd, Boca Raton. Juried arts and crafts. 9 am-1 pm. Free. shsboca.com
12/5 - Annual Holiday Studio Sale at Armory Art Center, 1700 Parker Ave, West Palm Beach. One of a kind, handmade items created by Armory faculty and students. 10am-6pm. 832-1776; armoryart.org
12/5  - Cookie Cruise with Santa at 801 E Atlantic Ave, Delray Beach.  Intracoastal cruise with Santa on board the Lady Atlantic. Visit with Santa, cookies and milk or hot chocolate, coffee and tea, craft activity.  Family fare. 10 am-noon. Held again 12/12, 12/19 & 12/20. $18/person; free/children under 2. Photo w/Santa add $10. Reservations required, tickets must be purchased in advance: 243-0686; delraybeachcruises.com
12/5 - Holiday Fashion Show at Boynton Beach Mall Food Court, 801 N Congress Ave. Noon. Free. 736-7902; boyntonbeachmall.com
12/5 - Ornaments Naturally at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, 1801 N Ocean Blvd, Boca Raton. Create nature ornaments/decorations with holiday themes using shells, sea beans, pine cones, other materials (provided). Ages 7 & up, children under 18 must participate with an adult. 2-3:30 pm. $7/member, $10/non-member. Reservations recommended: 544-8615; gumbolimbo.org
12/5 - Boynton Beach Holiday Parade starts at SE 12th Avenue & Federal Highway, ends at Ocean Avenue & Federal Highway. 3 pm. Free. 742+6243; boynton-beach.org
12/5 - Delray Beach Chorale: Magnificats, Alleluias and Carols at First Presbyterian Church, 33 Gleason St, Delray Beach. 3 pm. $25/advance; $30/day of concert; $25/student under 25 w/ID.  800-984-7282; delraybeachchorale.org
12/5 - Special Holiday Dance Performance at Boynton Beach Mall Food Court, 801 N Congress Ave. 4 pm. Held again 12/18 at 7:30 pm & 12/19 at 3 pm. Free. 736-7902; boyntonbeachmall.com
12/5 - A Christmas Carol: The Musical at The King’s Academy Sports & Fine Arts Center, 8401 Belvedere Rd, West Palm Beach. Family fare. 7 pm. $5-15. 888-718-4253; tka.net
12/5 - Winter Tapestry 2015 at Kravis Center Dreyfoos Concert Hall, 701 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach. Young Singers of the Palm Beaches annual holiday concert. 7 pm. Tickets start at $15. 832-7469; kravis.org
12/5-6 - Cristkindlmarkt at American German Club of the Palm Beaches, 5111 Lantana Rd, Lake Worth. Traditional food and drink, unique vendor shopping, outdoor ice skating rink, family friendly activities, live entertainment.  Bring new unwrapped toy for the club’s Toy Run and admission cost is waived. 11 am-8:30 pm. $8/adults; free/children under 12 years. 966-7865; americangermanclub.org
12/5-12 - 9th Annual Festival of Trees Community Days at Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens, 2051 S Flagler Dr, West Palm Beach. Dazzling light and music show illuminates monumental sculptures, reflects into one of several ponds. 6-8:30 pm. Held again 12/14-16. $15/members & seniors; $20/non-member adults; $7/non-member child. 832-5328; ansg.org
12/5-15 - 25th Annual Holiday Toy Drive sponsored by Delray Citizens for Delray Police/Kids and Cops Program. New, unwrapped toys (please, no toy guns) and store gift cards for boys and girls ages 5-17 old will be collected at various locations throughout Delray Beach and Boca Raton through 12/15. Gifts can be dropped off in specially marked boxes at various locations, including the police department and all fire stations. 243-6234; mydelraybeach.com
12/5-17 - Food Drive and Toy Collection at Boynton Beach City Library, 208 S Seacrest Blvd. Benefits Boynton Beach Community Caring Center. Regular library hours: M-Th 9 am-8:30 pm; Sat 9 am-5 pm. Free. 742-6390; boyntonlibrary.org
12/5-18 - Food for Fines Holiday Project at Delray Beach Public Library, 100 W Atlantic Ave. Return overdue library items and donate canned or packaged food and the fine is forgiven. Benefits Food Bank Caring Kitchen. Library hours. Free. 266-0798; delraylibrary.org
12/5-23 - Christmas at Cason Cottage at 3 NE 1st St, Delray Beach. Open house, docent-guided tour. Proceeds benefit Delray Beach Historical Society programming. Th/F/Sat 11 am-3 pm & 5:30-8 pm. $5. 274-9578; delraybeachhistory.org
12/5-29 - Delray Art League Holiday Showcase Exhibit at Delray Beach City Hall Gallery, 100 NW 1st Ave. City Hall hours: M-F 8 am-5 pm. Free. delrayartleague.com

December 6-12

Sunday - 12/6 - Chanukah begins
12/6 - Special Christmas Lecture: Visions of Santa Claus: Iconic Christmas Illustrations by Thomas Nast at Flagler Museum, 1 Whitehall Way, Palm Beach. 2 pm. $28/non-members; $10/individual, family & Life members. Includes museum admission and tree lighting. 655-2833; flaglermuseum.us
12/6 - The Robert Sharon Chorale Holiday Concert at Palm Beach Atlantic University DeSantis Family Chapel, 901 S Flagler Dr, West Palm Beach. 2 pm. $15/adult; $5/children 12 and under. rschorale.com
12/6 - Christmas Tree Lighting at Flagler Museum, One Whitehall Way, Palm Beach. Seasonal refreshments, Santa Claus, organ and piano performances, caroling, tree lighting. All ages. 3-5 pm. Free w/museum admission. 655-2833; flaglermuseum.us
12/6 - Holiday Choral Prelude: Nova Singers 40th Anniversary Concert Season at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 701 W Palmetto Park Rd, Boca Raton. 4pm. $20/adults, $10/seniors, $5/students. 395-0433; nova.edu/novasingers
12/6 - Master Chorale of South Florida: Cocoa & Carols at Saint Mark’s Greek Orthodox Church, 2100 NW 51st St, Boca Raton. 4pm. $30/advance, $35/at the door. 954-641-2653; masterchoraleofsouthflorida.org
12/6 - Lighting of the Menorah at Front Lawn at Old School Square, Atlantic & Swinton Avenues, Delray Beach. Family fare. Sundown. Free. 243-7000; mydelraybeach.com
12/6 - Annual Hanukkah Celebration at Boynton Beach Mall Food Court, 801 N Congress Ave. 5 pm. Free 736-7902; boyntonbeachmall.com
12/6 - Handel’s Messiah at Florida Atlantic University Theatre, 777 Glades Rd, Boca Raton. 7 pm. $15. 297-6124; fauevents.com
Monday - 12/7 - Holiday Open House at Boynton Beach City Library, 208 S Seacrest Blvd. Celebrate the wonder of winter and the beginning of the holidays. Entertainment, crafts, light refreshments. Sponsored by Friends of the Library. All ages. 6-7:30 pm. Free. 742-6380; boyntonlibrary.org
Tuesday - 12/8 - Holiday Crafts & Coloring at Boynton Beach Senior Center, 1021 S Federal Hwy. 9:30-11am. Free. 742-6570; boynton-beach.org
12/8 - Opportunity Inc.’s Opportunity Luncheon & Holiday Boutique at The Beach Club, 755 N County Rd, Palm Beach. Silent auction, holiday boutique, local school choir, luncheon. 10:30 am-2 pm. $150. 712-9221; opportunitypbc.org
12/8 - City Christmas presented by The King’s Academy Fine Arts Department at Harriet Himmel Theater, 600 S Rosemary Ave, West Palm Beach. 7 pm. $10/adults, $5/students. 866-449-2489; kretzerpiano.com
12/8 - Dickens Carolers at Cornell Art Museum at Old School Square, 51 N Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. A cappella by professional vocalists. 7 pm. Free. 243-7922; oldschoolsquare.org
12/8 - Lake Worth Playhouse Outreach: Holiday Extravaganza at 713 Lake Ave. 7 pm. Free. 586-6169; lakeworthplayhouse.org
Wednesday - 12/9 - Live at Lynn Christmas at Lynn University Wold Performing Arts Center, 3601 N Military Tr, Boca Raton. Special holiday show starring the Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida and a guest celebrity star along with soloists and instrumentals. 7:30 pm. $35-$55. 237-9000; lynn.edu/events
12/9 - Sarge: The Chanukah Chutzpah Tour at The Palm Beaches Theatre, 262 S Ocean Blvd, Manalapan. 8 pm. $39/adult; $32 senior & student w/ID. 362-0003; pbifilmfest.org
Thursday - 12/10 - Chanukah Celebration to Thank Golden Givers at Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County Zinman Hall, 9901 Donna Klein Blvd, Boca Raton. Holiday celebration (dietary laws observed), musician entertainment. 9:30 am. $18. RSVP: 852-3170; jewishboca.org
12/10 - Hanukkah with Miss Helen at Schoolhouse Children’s Museum & Learning Center, 129 E Ocean Ave, Boynton Beach. All ages. 11:30 am-12:15 pm. Free w/paid museum admission: $5/adults & children; $4.50/seniors. Registration: 742-6780; schoolhousemuseum.org
12/10-11 - Sarge Kiss My Mezuzah Holiday Show at Crest Theatre at Old School Square, 51 N Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. 8 pm. $44. 243-7922 x1; oldschoolsquare.org
12/10-13 - Ballroom With A Twist-Mas! Holiday Spectacular at The Wick Theatre and Costume Museum, 7901 N Federal Hwy, Boca Raton. Show runs through 12/27. W/Th/Sat/Sun 2 pm; Th-Sat 7:30 pm. $85-$95. 995-2333; thewick.org
Friday - 12/11 - Polar Express Celebration: Visit with Santa at Schoolhouse Children’s Museum & Learning Center, 129 E Ocean Ave, Boynton Beach. All ages. 10:30 am-noon. $3/member child, $4/non-member child plus museum admission: $5/adults & children; $4.50/seniors. Registration: 742-6780; schoolhousemuseum.org
12/11 - Karaoke Holiday Caroling at Boynton Beach Senior Center, 1021 S Federal Hwy. 12:30-2 pm. Free. 742-6570; boynton-beach.org
12/11 – Boynton Beach Boat Parade Dinner Cruise boards at 801 E Atlantic Ave, Delray Beach. Holiday dinner buffet, live entertainment, cash beverage service. 5 pm boarding; 5:30 pm cruise. $85. Reservations required: 243-0686; delrayyachtcruises.com
12/11 - Milagro Center’s 3rd Annual Haircuts for the Holidays at 695 Auburn Ave, Delray Beach. Complimentary haircuts, dental, hearing and vision screenings, family portraits, holiday performances, more. 5-8 pm. Free. 279-2970; milagrocenter.org
12/11 - Christmas Storytelling Hour at Cason Cottage, 3 NE 1st St, Delray Beach. Special guests read The Night Before Christmas, old-fashioned sing-a-long, cookies, apple cider. Proceeds benefit Delray Beach Historical Society programming. 5:30 & 7 pm. $15/child; free/adults. Reservations required: 274-9578; delraybeachhistory.org
12/11 - The Robert Sharon Chorale Holiday Concert with Orchid City Brass Band at Palm Beach State College Duncan Theatre, 4200 Congress Ave, Lake Worth. 7:30 pm. $20/adult; $10/student w/ID. rschorale.com
12/11 - Divas Holiday Party at Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave. Join your favorite divas to celebrate the holidays as only divas can. Songs, skits, a comically good time. 8 pm. $15. 586-6169; lakeworthplayhouse.org
Saturday - 12/12 - Holiday Extravaganza at Boca Raton Children’s Museum, 498 Crawford Blvd. Games, crafts, face-painting, pictures with Santa, holiday food & drinks, Hannukah surprises. All ages. 8:30am-noon. $10/person, free/children under age 2. 368-6875; cmboca.org
12/12 - Santa Paws Pet Parade & Costume Contest at Old School Square, 51 N Swinton Ave. Put your pet’s best paw forward, show off their finest (or funniest) holiday attire. Best costume prizes for little dogs, big dogs, owner/dog look-alike, best costume. Take your furry friend to see Merry Old St. Nick in the Santa House, get a specialty photo ($10). 10:30 am Pawrade begins; 10:45 am costume judging. $5/pet. 243-9722; oldschoolsquare.org
12/12 - WRMF Annual No Snow Ball at Mizner Park Amphitheatre, 590 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. Chart-topping artists: Third Eye Blind, Adam Lambert, Chemradery, Snack Pack & The Value Killahs, Meresha, and the Dirty Voice winner. Free park and walk from City Hall and downtown Boca Raton library. No outside food/beverages/chairs allowed. 5 pm doors open; 6 pm  show. $25-$100/advance; $45-$100/at the door; $10-$20/limited VIP parking. 888-929-7849; myboca.us/pages/mizneramphi/
12/12 – Delray Beach Holiday Parade on Atlantic Avenue from Intracoastal Waterway to NW 5th Avenue. Family fare. 5:30-8:30 pm. Free. 243-7277; mydelraybeach.com
12/12 - 50th Anniversary Santa’s Workshop & “Light Up the Night” Lake Worth Holiday Parade at Lake & Lucerne Avenues. Workshop at Cultural Plaza sponsored by Kiwanis. Bring lawn chair for the parade. All ages. Noon workshop begins; 6 pm parade. Free. 398-8340; lakeworth.org
12/12 - Spady Museum Holiday Party at 170 NW 5th Ave, Delray Beach. Funk-Sway mini-music fest. Food available for purchase. 6:30-8 pm. 279-8883; spadymuseum.com
12/12 - An Ellington Nutcracker with Florida Wind Symphony Jazz Orchestra at Florida Atlantic University Theatre, 777 Glades Rd, Boca Raton. 7 pm. $20. 800-564-9539; fauevents.com
12/12 - Holiday Snow Ball at Mar-a-Lago Club, 1100 S Ocean Blvd, West Palm Beach. Benefits Salvation Army. Cocktails, dinner, live entertainment. 7 pm cocktails; 8 pm dinner. Call for ticket price. 201-3868.
12/12 - The Muppet Christmas Carol at Kravis Center Gosman Amphitheatre, 701 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach. 7 pm. $5. 832-7469; kravis.org
12/12 - The Unconventional Nutcracker at Kravis Center Persson Hall, 701 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach. Students of Florida Dance Conservatory perform. 7 pm. $25. 832-7469; kravis.org
12/12-13 - Holiday Business Expo at Boynton Beach Mall, 801 N Congress Ave. Center Court & JC Penney Court. Sponsored by Greater South Florida Chamber of Commerce. 3 pm. 736-7902; boyntonbeachmall.com

December 13-19

Sunday - 12/13 - Breakfast with Santa at Palm Beach Zoo, 1301 Summit Blvd, West Palm Beach. Hot breakfast buffet, meet ‘n greet with Santa and Mrs. Claus, up-close animal encounters and photo ops, holiday music, more. Family fare. 8:30-10:30 am. $7.95-$26.95. Pre-registration required: 547-9453; palmbeachzoo.org
12/13 – 13th Annual Gingerbread Holiday Concert presented by Lynn University Friends of the Conservatory of Music at Boca Raton Resort & Club Great Hall, 501 E Camino Real. Family fare. 3 pm. $35 (includes valet). 237-9000; lynn.edu
12/13 - Lazer Lloyd at Chanukah Festival at Sanborn Square, 72 N Federal Hwy, Boca Raton. Rides, food, Menorah Lighting, Concert. 4:30 pm. $10/adults, $5/children. 394-9770; chabadbocabeaches.com
12/13 - Third Annual Children’s Gala at Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens, 2051 S Flagler Dr, West Palm Beach. Part of Festival of Trees. Scavenger hunt, pop-up shop, refreshments, treats. All ages; children must be accompanied by an adult. 5-7 pm. $40. 832-5328; ansg.org
12/13 - Masterworks Chorus of the Palm Beaches: Handel’s Messiah at Royal Poinciana Chapel, 60 Cocoanut Row, Palm Beach. 5 pm. $25/adults, $10/students. 845-9696; masterworkspb.org
12/13 - Tuba Christmas Concert presented by FAU at Mizner Park Amphitheater, 590 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. Bring chairs/blankets. Free. 5 pm. ci.boca-raton.fl.us
12/13 - FAU Madrigal Dinner at The Fieldhouse at Old School Square, 51 N Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. Presented by FAU choral groups. Pageantry, entertainment, a savory feast, extraordinary music. 5:30 pm. $100 (includes dinner and a $55 tax-deductible gift to FAU’s Choral and Vocal Studies Program). 297-2337; fauf.fau.edu/madrigal
Wednesday - 12/16 - Holiday Party at Boynton Beach Senior Center, 1021 S Federal Hwy. Entertainment by Ian Cooney. 1-3 pm. $3/advance, $5/at the door. 742-6570; boynton-beach.org
12/16 - A Christmas Carol at Crest Theatre at Old School Square, 51 N Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. 2 & 7 pm. $45. 243-7922 x1; oldschoolsquare.org
12/16 - Lake Worth Playhouse Musical Theatre Class Holiday Performance at Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave. 6:30 pm. Free. 586-6169; lakeworthplayhouse.org
12/16 - Concert: Ann Hampton Callaway and Trio: Making Spirits Bright at Society of The Four Arts Gubelmann Auditorium, 2 Four Arts Plaza, Palm Beach. 8-10 pm. $40-$45. 805-8562; fourarts.org
12/16-17 - Miracle on 34th Street at Arts Garage, 180 NE 1st St, Delray Beach. An Arts Radio Network Theatre Project. 7:30 pm. $15/general; $20/reserved; $25/premium. 450-6357; artsgarage.org
Thursday - 12/17 - Art After Dark: Happy Holidays at Norton Museum of Art, 1451 S Olive Ave, West Palm Beach. Music, film, tour, cash bar, menu options. All ages welcome. 5-9 pm. Free/Florida residents, age 12 & younger, museum members; non-residents: $12/adults, $5/ages 13-21. 832-5196; norton.org
12/17 - Carols & Cocktails in the Garden at Sandoway House Nature Center, 142 S Ocean Blvd, Delray Beach. Cocktails, lite bites, live musical entertainment. 6-9 pm. $40. 274-7263; sandowayhouse.org
12/17 - Holiday City Festival of Lights Ride starts at the 100-foot Christmas Tree at Old School Square in Delray Beach and then goes north on 2nd ave to the Lake Ida area. Family bicycle ride and social gathering with Santa as a special escot. Riders must have bike lights and wear a helmet. Rest stop at Veterans Park before returning to tree. 6:30-8:30 pm. Free. driver8@post.com
12/17 The Midtown Men: Holiday & Hits at Kravis Center Dreyfoos Concert Hall, 701 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach. 8 pm. Tickets start at $25. 832-7469; kravis.org
Friday - 12/18 - Story Time with Santa at Boynton Beach Mall, 801 N Congress Ave. Treats, arts & crafts. 3 pm. Free. 736-7902; boyntonbeachmall.com
12/18 - Polar Express at Mizner Park Amphitheater, 590 Plaza Real, Boca Raton. Movie and activities. Come in your pajamas for free train rides before the movie. Free. 5 pm activities; 6:30 pm movie. ci.boca-raton.fl.us
12/18 - Celtic Woman Home for Christmas: The Symphony Tour at Kravis Center Dreyfoos Concert Hall, 701 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach. 8 pm. Tickets start at $29. 832-7469; kravis.org
12/18-19 - Holiday Evening Tours at Flagler Museum, One Whitehall Way, Palm Beach. See Whitehall by the glow of original 1902 fixtures, receive a traditional Christmas cracker, carols, holiday refreshments.  All ages. Tours begin at 7:05, 7:15, 7:25 pm. Held again 12/20-23 at 6:50, 7:05, 7:15, 7:25 pm. $25/adults; $15/children age 17 & under. Advance purchase required: 655-2833; flaglermuseum.us
12/18-20 - Atlantic City Boys: Holidays at Crest Theatre at Old School Square, 51 N Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. Part of the Main Stage Series. F&Sat: 8 pm; Sat&Sun: 2pm. $45. 243-7922 x1; oldschoolsquare.org
Saturday - 12/19 - Delray Beach Jingle Bell Jog 5K starts at Anchor Park, 340 S Ocean Blvd. Open to both runners and walkers; guaranteed Santa Suit and medal when you cross the Finish Line! After the 5K, little elves take a shortened course. Children ages 3-10 participate in age-appropriate groups. All ages. 5K start 7:30 am; Little Elf Dashes start 8:30 am. $25-$40. jinglebelljog.net
12/19 Breakfast with Santa at Intracoastal Park Clubhouse, 2240 N Federal Hwy, Boynton Beach. Kids visit with Santa and leave with a holiday craft. All ages. 9-11 am. $7. Reservations: 742-6240; boynton-beach.org
12/19 - San Francisco Ballet presents Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker at Society of The Four Arts Gubelmann Auditorium, 2 Four Arts Plaza, Palm Beach. 1-3:15 pm. Free w/reserved tickets. 805-8562; fourarts.org
12/19 - Downtown Dance Presents The Nutcracker at Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave. 2 & 7 pm. $15/advance, $20/at the door. 586-6169; lakeworthplayhouse.org
12/19 - Masterworks Chorus of the Palm Beaches: Handel’s Messiah at United Methodist Church of the Palm Beaches, 900 Brandywine Rd, West Palm Beach. 5 pm. $25/adults, $10/students. 845-9696; masterworkspb.org
12/19 – Boca Raton Boat Parade Dinner Cruise boards at 801 E Atlantic Ave, Delray Beach. Holiday dinner buffet, live entertainment, cash beverage service. 5:30 pm boarding; 6 pm cruise. $85. Reservations required: 243-0686; delrayyachtcruises.com
12/19 - A Well-Strung Christmas at Kravis Dreyfoos Concert Hall, 701 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach. Tu 8 pm; W 2 & 8 pm. Tickets start at $30. 832-7469; kravis.org

December 20-26

Sunday - 12/20 - Concert: Lessons and Carols - A Victorian Christmas - Part of Music At St. Paul’s series at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 188 S Swinton Ave, Delray Beach. 3 pm. $20/preferred seating, $15/regular seating, $5/students. 278-6003; stpaulsdelray.org
12/20 - Akademia Dance Presents Baby It’s Cold Outside at Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave. 5 pm. $15-$20. 762-2991; lakeworthplayhouse.org
Monday - 12/21 - Gingerbread House Decorating Contest at Gingerbread Gift House at Old School Square, 51 N Swinton Ave. Bring a team or create on your own. Fee includes complete Gingerbread House kit, but bring your own embellishments, too. 6-8 pm. $15/advance, $20/day of event. 243-9722; oldschoolsquare.org
Tuesday - 12/22-23 - Broadway on Ice: A Special Holiday Celebration at Kravis Center Dreyfoos Concert Hall, 701 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach. 8 pm. Tickets start at $29. 832-7469; kravis.org
Wednesday - 12/23 - Make Your Own Gingerbread House at Sugar Sand Park, 300 S Military Tr, Boca Raton. Uses graham crackers and lots of chewy, gooey, colorful candy to decorate. Ages 4+. 11 am & 2 pm. $10/resident, $12.50/non-resident. 347-3900; sugarsandpark.org
12/23 - Santa’s Workshop at Schoolhouse Children’s Museum & Learning Center, 129 E Ocean Ave, Boynton Beach. All ages. 11:30 am-12:15 pm. $3/member child, $4/non-member child plus museum admission: $5/adults & children; $4.50/seniors. Registration: 742-6780; schoolhousemuseum.org
Thursday - 12/24 - Christmas Eve Dinner at Atlantis Country Club, 190 Atlantis Blvd. 5-7 pm. $29.95/person + tax & gratuity. 965-5788; AtlantisDine.com
12/24 - Stradivarius Chamber Ensemble at First United Methodist Church of Boynton Beach, 101 N Seacrest Blvd. 6:30 pm. Free. 954-947-1951
Friday - 12/25 – Christmas Day
Saturday - 12/26-27 - 9th Annual New Year’s Weekend Craft Festival at Atlantic & 4th Avenues, Delray Beach. 150 leading crafters. 10 am-5 pm. Free. 746-6615; artfestival.com

Dec. 27 - Jan. 2

Sunday - 12/27 - Kwanzaa Celebration at Spady Museum, 170 NW 5th Ave, Delray Beach. Reaffirmation of the individual, community, culture, family, environment. 4-7 pm. Free. 279-8883; spady.org spadymuseum.com
12/27-29 - George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker at Kravis Center Dreyfoos Concert Hall, 701 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach. Presented by Miami City Ballet. Sun 7 pm; M & Tu 2 & 7:30 pm. Tickets start at $25. 832-7469; kravis.org
Thursday – 12/31 - Happy Noon Year Celebration at Schoolhouse Children’s Museum & Learning Center, 129 E. Ocean Ave., Boynton Beach. 10:30 am-12:01 pm. $3/members, $4/non-members + paid museum admission: $5/adults & children; $4.50/seniors. 742-6782; schoolhousemuseum.org
12/31 - Noon Year’s Eve at Palm Beach Zoo Conservation Depot, 1301 Summit Blvd, West Palm Beach. Dance party, face paint, eco-craft stations. apple juice toast. 11 am-1 pm. Free w/admission. 547-9453; palmbeachzoo.org
12/31 - Noon Year’s Eve at South Florida Science Center and Aquarium, 4801 Dreher Tr N, West Palm Beach. Ring in 2016 with a dance party, science crafts, Dino-themed activities, popcorn, snow cones, a Dry Ice apple cider toast at noon. Decorate your own party hats and horns; enjoy Dino crafts and activities. Ages 4-12. 11 am-1 pm. Free w/paid admission: $30/child; $15/each additional child. 832-2026; sfsciencecenter.org
12/31 - Delray Beach First Night 2016 on Atlantic Avenue. Family fare. 5 pm-12 am. $10/advance; $15/day of event; free/children under 3. visitdelraybeach.org/firstnight
12/31 - New Year’s Eve Gala Dinner and Dance at Atlantis Country Club, 190 Atlantis Blvd. Entertainment by Valerie White and Stan Woodgett. 7-10 pm. $75/person + tax & gratuity. 965-5788; AtlantisDine.com
12/31 - Those Were the Days New Year’s Eve Spectacular at Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave. Jimmy Mazz (from Las Vegas Legends) and Barbara Van Eycken (from Patsy Cline tribute). Celebration, music, hors d’oeuvres, champagne. 8 pm. $40. 586-6169; lakeworthplayhouse.org
12/31 – New Year’s Eve Dinner Cruise boards at 801 E Atlantic Ave, Delray Beach. Holiday dinner buffet, disc jockey & dancing, premium open beverage service, fireworks. 8:15 pm boarding; 8:30 pm cruise. $200/person; $175/person for tables of 8. Reservations required: 243-0686; delrayyeachtcruises.co
12/31-1/2 - The Lennon Sisters Ring in the New Year at The Wick Theatre and Costume Museum, 7901 N Federal Hwy, Boca Raton. Th 5:30 & 10:30 pm; F 3pm; Sat 2 & 7:30 pm. $85/regular shows, $225/New Years Eve show. 995-2333; thewick.org
1/1 - New Year’s Concert 2016! Salute to Vienna: Strauss Symphony of America at Kravis Center Dreyfoos Concert Hall, 701 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach. 8 pm. Tickets start at $27. 832-7469; kravis.org

FAU urban planning student Adam Chapman measures 8 to 10 inches of water on Southeast First Street in Delray Beach.

Lake Boca Raton crested over the sea wall and breached the Por La Mar neighborhood in Boca Raton.

Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Willie Howard

    Late October’s extreme tides flooded parking lots and neighborhood roads from Boca Raton to Lantana, reinforcing the need for higher sea walls and other improvements that could hold back rising water in the future.
    Pushed higher by an Oct. 27 full moon that was close to the Earth in its orbit, tidewater covered roads around marinas in Delray Beach and Boynton Beach, flooded a Boca Raton neighborhood, inundated the parking lot at Lantana’s Sportsman’s Park and came bubbling up through storm drains along Ocean Avenue in Ocean Ridge.
    “It’s not something we can deny any longer,” Delray Beach Vice Mayor Shelly Petrolia said. “In the next 20 to 50 years, we’re going to really see some rising tides.”

Carol and Dick Simmons wade along the dock in Delray Beach, where their boat was moored.

    Petrolia said a regional approach is needed to deal with sea level rise. Remedies worth considering, she said, include opening natural areas along the Intracoastal Waterway that could hold water and blocking off inlets during extreme tide events.
    The vice mayor said Delray Beach should begin work now to prevent future flooding problems. She favors a ban on underground parking lots, increasing the minimum floor height for new buildings and studying the cost of higher sea walls.
    Extreme tides in late September and October forced the Sea Mist III drift boat to delay or cancel offshore fishing trips. Strong tides made the 72-foot drift sit too high in the water to fit under the A1A bridge at Boynton Inlet, so the captain had to wait for the outgoing tide before heading out. Some trips were canceled.

King tides last month broke away the stairs at Lantana Beach.

    At Lantana Beach, waves pushed up the beach by a stout easterly wind combined with the Oct. 27 high tide pounded the sea wall and gnawed off the wooden steps to the lifeguard stand.
     “I’ve found it fascinating,” said Silvia Adelman, who watched water come up through storm drains and puddle on yards near her home in Boynton Isles. “It’s all good until it goes in my house.”

Multiple factors in play
    The late September and late October tides were extreme because of special alignment of celestial bodies called perigean spring tide — when the new or full moon coincides with the perigee of the moon, or the point at which the moon is closest to Earth in its orbit.
    Extreme tides are predictable, but the tides of Sept. 28 and Oct. 27 were above predicted levels in South Florida. The morning high tide at the Lake Worth Pier on Oct. 27 was 5 feet above the mean low water level, about a foot higher than forecast.
    Stephen Gill, chief scientist with NOAA’s Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services in Silver Spring, Md., said the fall perigean spring tide tends to be exceptionally high in South Florida because sea levels are already relatively high during the fall.
    A slowing of the Gulf Stream current flow, warm ocean water temperatures and easterly winds push water levels even higher.
    Sea level rise contributes, too. But so far, that’s been a slow increase — about 10 inches every 100 years in Miami Beach and 13 inches per century at the Lake Worth pier, NOAA tide records show.
    Palm Beach County Commissioner Steven Abrams, whose district covers coastal sections of southern Palm Beach County, waded through water on Lake Drive, a neighborhood street south of Palmetto Park Road in Boca Raton, to call attention to the problem.
    “Wading in it, you realize the depth of the problem,” said Abrams, who recently returned from a conference on sea level rise.

Cities take varied approaches
    Some cities and towns are already taking steps to hold back the water, while others are living with “nuisance” flooding or documenting the extent of the tidal floods to prepare for future work.
    In Delray Beach, water covered roads near the city marina. In the hours around high tide, waves from passing boats washed over Marine Way. Schools of small mullet moved through the shallow water on the road at times to the delight of neighborhood dogs.
    High water is nothing new for Marine Way resident David Frohman. He said water sometimes flows into the crawl space under his historic house and soaks his floor, forcing him to put his best furniture on blocks. Frohman stacked sand bags beside his house in late October to hold back the water.
    Delray Beach officials posted a tidal flood warning on the city’s website and barricaded flood-prone areas, including roads in the Marina Historic District.
    John Morgan, the city’s sustainability officer, said Delray Beach has installed one-way valves to keep salt water from flooding streets in some low areas, but he said much more work is needed.
    “A number of spots near the Intracoastal Waterway have been problematic for years,” Morgan said. “It’s getting worse as climate is changing.”
    The installation of more “flex valves” around the city marina to reduce flooding should be complete in the next few months, Morgan said.
    “Raising sea walls and docks is a policy issue that we will have to bring to the commission at a later date,” Morgan said.
    Lantana has installed pumps and water-holding structures on Hypoluxo Island and recently elevated the parking lot at the town beach to minimize flooding.
    But the flooding of the parking lot near the boat ramps at Sportsman’s Park is a nuisance town officials say they can live with, at least for now.
     “For something that happens every so often, it’s not a concern at this time,” Mayor David Stewart said.
    Stewart, who has lived on the water in Hypoluxo Island since the late 1970s, said this fall’s king tides are the highest he’s seen since 1984.
    The occasional “tidal wash” in the parking lot at Ocean Inlet Park during extreme tide events is not significant enough to warrant improvements, Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Director Eric Call said.
    The town of Gulf Stream is amending its code so sea walls can be built a foot higher than in the past, an effort to hold back sea water during storms and extreme tide events.
    The town is sealing drainage pipes to reduce leakage and checking backflow prevention valves, Town Manager William Thrasher said.
    Briny Breezes is building a new sea wall around its marina that’s designed to hold back high water, but the work is not yet complete — partly because contractors have not had the low-water conditions they need to finish the work this fall, said Michael Gallacher, president of Briny Breezes Inc.
    “The high tides are not topping the new sea wall,” Gallacher said.

Ashley Weber and Michelle Greenberg jump puddles while heading to the Banana Boat adjacent to Boynton Harbor Marina.

Photos by Tim Stepienand Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

    At Boynton Harbor Marina, occasional parking lot flooding is not considered serious enough at this point to warrant spending money for improvements — at least not for the parts of the marina owned by the city’s community redevelopment agency.
    The city of Boynton Beach is considering drainage improvements and installing one-way valves to reduce tidal flooding as part of its stormwater master plan, but problems such as inadequate sea walls on private property will have to be addressed by property owners, Assistant City Manager Carisse LeJeune said.
    LeJeune said the area of Boynton Beach east of Federal Highway from Northeast Seventh Avenue to Northeast 10th Avenue is prone to tidal flooding.
    During the full-moon high tide in late October, water covered the parking lot at the Harbour Hall Inlet Club condominiums on Northeast Seventh Street in Boynton Beach.
    “I dropped my wind insurance, but I kept my flood insurance,’’ said Barbara Shore, who lives near the condominiums on Northeast 10th Avenue.
    In Ocean Ridge, extreme tides push water into the natural areas on the east side of the Ocean Avenue Bridge, causing sections of Ocean Avenue to flood.
    “The state assured us they would put backflow preventers on the 16-inch pipes, but did not,” Mayor Geoff Pugh said. “Through a series of elevation changes, water backs up onto the roadway.”
    Boca Raton officials monitored low-lying areas such as Lake Wyman and Silver Palm parks during the late October high tides, but the city is not planning improvements to reduce tidal flooding, city spokeswoman Chrissy Biagiotti said.
    Water puddled on a section of Lake Drive, south of Palmetto Park Road, on the morning of Oct. 27, but it was less severe than the flooding around Delray Beach’s marina.
     “The impact to us compared to other areas of the county is minimal,” Biagiotti said.

By Mary Hladky

    After about two years of exploratory talks, Boynton Beach-based Bethesda Health and Coral Gables-based Baptist Health South Florida have agreed to merge.
    The agreement, announced on Oct. 2, calls for a two-year transition period. But even before the merger is completed on Sept. 30, 2017, Palm Beach County residents could see changes, including new outpatient and urgent care facilities.
    Both hospital systems stand to benefit by combining forces. The merger will allow highly regarded Baptist Health, the largest hospital system in Miami-Dade County with six hospitals there and one in Monroe County, to expand into Palm Beach County.
    Bethesda Health, which operates Bethesda Hospital East and Bethesda Hospital West, will gain by being able to tap into Baptist’s experience in establishing outpatient and urgent care facilities. Bethesda also will become part of a larger organization that has the heft to recruit high quality physicians and to negotiate better contracts for goods and services.
    Like Bethesda, Baptist is “not-for-profit and committed to quality. That is the model Bethesda has been built on. We felt they would be a good partner,” said Roger Kirk, president and CEO of Bethesda Health.
    “Baptist has been looking at expansion opportunities in northern Broward and southern Palm Beach (counties),” said Wayne Brackin, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Baptist Health. “Bethesda has strategies around outpatient expansion. We are talking about how to get those things in sync and accelerate everyone’s plans.”
    Both Kirk and Brackin said the two hospital systems are merging assets and no money is changing hands.
    Bethesda’s executive team and board will remain unchanged, as will the names of the two hospitals. The Bethesda Hospital Foundation also will stay in place, and money it raises through fundraising will continue to go to the two Bethesda hospitals, Kirk said.
    The merger comes at a time of huge changes in health care that, among many other things, are pushing hospitals to consolidation, greater efficiencies and an emphasis on coordination of care and reducing the cost of care. That, in turn, increases the need to expand into outpatient and urgent care centers where care is less costly than in hospitals.
    Most hospitals in Palm Beach County are part of the HCA Holdings Inc. or Tenet Healthcare Corp. hospital chain. Bethesda was one of the few that remained a stand-alone.
    “As the industry changes, it is moving health care to an outpatient basis and one based on ease of access,” Kirk said. “We know we have got to grow, expand our services and put our services in the backyard of our community. We have to make our services and programs easily accessible.”
    Baptist’s nearly 50 outpatient and urgent care facilities in Miami-Dade, Monroe and Broward provide a model for Bethesda, he said.
    Brackin said Baptist has opened three diagnostic centers and five urgent care centers in Broward. “People in northern Broward who we are taking care of as outpatients may choose Bethesda for in-patient needs,” he said.
    He said it is likely that Bethesda’s expansion into outpatient facilities could begin during the two-year transition period. Also underway already are efforts such as coordination of equipment purchases, merger of information technology systems and strategic planning for medical staff.
    Baptist is developing the $430 million Miami Cancer Institute scheduled to open next year at the Baptist Hospital campus. Brackin expects Bethesda’s cancer care physicians will become part of that institute and will take part in the clinical trials that will be made available to Palm Beach County residents.
    Linda Quick, president of the South Florida Hospital & Healthcare Association (a non-profit alliance of South Florida hospitals, medical centers and educational institutions), said it makes sense for Baptist and Bethesda to merge. “Baptist has already found that with its hospital system, it is able to be more efficient than any one (hospital) had been by itself,” she said. “For Bethesda, being part of a larger system … is a good reason to have come to this engagement party.”
    Bethesda Health has 670 physicians and more than 2,500 employees. It includes Bethesda Health Physician Group, Bethesda Heart Hospital, Bethesda Orthopaedics Institute, Cornell Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine, the Center for Women and Children, Bethesda College of Health Sciences and accredited centers for stroke, chest pain and heart failure.
    Among its recognitions, Bethesda Hospital East was listed by Becker’s Hospital Review as among the top 50 hospitals nationwide for the lowest proportion of serious medical complication rates for patients and received a “A” rating by the National Leapfrog Group for Safety and Quality in 2014.
    Baptist Health has 2,200 affiliated physicians and about 16,000 employees. It includes Baptist Health Medical Group and Baptist Outpatient Services. Its hospitals are Baptist Hospital, Baptist Children’s Hospital, Doctors Hospital, Homestead Hospital, South Miami Hospital and West Kendall Baptist Hospital in Miami-Dade and Mariners Hospital in Monroe.
    Baptist Health hospitals consistently do well in annual rankings by U.S. News & World Report. This year, Baptist Hospital ranked No. 1 in South Florida and Homestead Hospital ranked No. 7.

Cynthia Smilovsky gives a blanket to World War II veteran John Mazzucco of Boca Raton before he left on an Honor Flight to Washington. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Ron Hayes

At 3:45 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17, two SUVs pulled out of Briny Breezes onto a dark and deserted North Ocean Avenue, bound for Fort Lauderdale International Airport.
The Hyundai was driven by Marla Guzzardo, a former flight attendant who retired after 38 years with American Airlines.
The Toyota RAV4 was piloted by Cynthia Smilovsky of Key Largo, also a former flight attendant, also a veteran of 38 years with American Airlines.
Flight attendants are trained to react in an emergency, and this was the final act in a crisis that began a month before.
“I had just recently joined the Florida Keys Quilting Association,” Smilovsky explained, “and they put out a call for members to participate in an annual project.”
Smilovsky thought it would be nice if the association quilted blankets for every veteran on board the next Honor Flight South Florida trip to Washington, D.C., a daylong visit to the capital’s military memorials, a gesture of gratitude to the dwindling World War II generation.
But the Keys association had “already adopted the Wounded Warriors project,” she discovered. “I’d put the cart before the horse.”
She’d bit off more than she could quilt.
“So I called Marla.”
Guzzardo, former flight attendant, is now the vice president of the Briny Breezes Hobby Club.
“How many blankets do you need?” she asked Smilovsky.
“Seventy-six.”
“Well, we can’t possibly make 76 quilts by Oct. 17,” Guzzardo said. “How about fleece?”
And so the call went out.
At 9 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 27, nine women converged on the town’s hobby club.
Susan Cooley, another retired flight attendant, came up from Boca Raton and brought her friend Betty Sierra. Linda Guzzardo, Marla’s sister, and Linda Allen, a high school friend, drove over from Leisureville, and with hobby club members Sandy Dietzel, Brenda Dooley and Sunshine Miller, the Briny Blanket Brigade set to work.
“Rosie The Riveter had nothing on us,” Smilovsky crowed. “We got in there and did an assembly line.”
Marla Guzzardo scissored the sheets of blue fleece into blanket-sized squares. Cooley, Dietzel, Smilovsky and Linda Guzzardo cut out military insignia for the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines and pinned them to the fleece. Then Allen, Dooley, Miller and Sierra sewed them onto the blankets.
“We rotated jobs to keep it interesting,” Marla Guzzardo recalled, “and by 6 p.m. we’d made 76 blankets in one day.”

Left: Marla Guzzardo and Cynthia Smilovsky cut fabric for blankets to be completed by the Briny Blanket Brigade.

ABOVE: Sunshine Miller and Linda Allen press the military insignia that will be stitched to the blankets.

Right: Susan Cooley displays a completed blanket. Photos provided

Vets greeted with gratitude
When the two cars pulled to a stop in front of the baggage claim area at Fort Lauderdale’s Terminal 2, those 76 blankets, neatly folded in large plastic bags, filled the back of Smilovsky’s car.
Inside, Honor Flight volunteers scurried about. Gift bags of sunblock, pads and pens were waiting to be distributed. Homemade posters emblazoned with “Thank You For Our Freedom” and the lyrics from the Marines’ Hymn (“From The Halls of Montezuma” and official song of the U.S. Air Force (“The Wild Blue Yonder”) waited to greet the vets. A photographer stood before a large banner that promised “One Last Mission,” waiting to photograph the vets and their guardians.
Guzzardo and Smilovsky stacked the blankets on a folding table by the check-in desk and waited, too.
At 5 a.m., they began arriving — 30 U.S. Army veterans, 19 Air Force, 12 Navy, nine Marines, four Coast Guard and two from the Merchant Marine. Seventy-six old Americans here to be thanked for what they had done as young Americans.
Smilovsky and Guzzardo moved among the wheelchairs, handing a warm blanket adorned with the appropriate insignia to each vet, followed by an even warmer thank-you for their courage all those years ago.
Herbert Chauser, 95, a retired dentist from Boca Raton, received a Navy blanket.
“Thank you, I’ll need it! It’s going to be cold up there,” he said. “This is unbelievable. The amount of work they’re doing, and all the smiles and happiness. I appreciate it very, very much.”
Grace Lesperance, 93, of West Park in Broward County, was 21 when she served as a nurse with the Army Air Corps, prepping hernia patients in Texas.
“We had 26 on the ward, and that’s where I met my husband,” she said. “I haven’t been to Washington in — oh, it must be 50 years ago! I’m just so excited about being here I’ll take whatever they give me.”

Jodi Cowart with Boca Raton resident Bernard ‘Bernie’ Gladstein, who holds the blanket given to him by the Briny Blanket Brigade. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Effort is volunteer-driven
Greeting the vets, George Ferguson knew what they would be given. A retired deputy with the Broward Sheriff’s Office, he founded the Honor Flight South Florida chapter in 2012.
“We just tell them we’re taking them to D.C.,” he said. “They don’t know it’s a big celebration.”
When the vets are wheeled upstairs to the jetway, they’ll be met by an honor guard and active members of today’s military, and when Honor Flight 1017 rolls onto the runway, fire trucks will spray the passing plane with a “Fireman’s Salute.”
In Washington, they’ll be bused to the World War II Memorial on the Mall, lunch with the Knights of Columbus, attend the changing of the guard at Arlington’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and pose for photos at the cemetery’s Iwo Jima Memorial.
Gratitude is not cheap. Chartering the plane costs about $90,000, Ferguson said, plus an additional $500 for each veteran and accompanying guardian.
“And we try to do that four times a year with no government money involved,” he added. “We have about 300 volunteers on flight day, and not one of us gets paid a penny.”
Like the Briny Blanket Brigade, rushing to finish 76 fleece blankets, all those Honor Flight volunteers are also pressed for time. According to the Veterans Administration, about 492 World War II veterans die each day. Of the 16 million Americans who served, only about 850,000 are still with us, and most are in their 90s.
Joseph Mazzucco of west Boca Raton was 19 when he flew with the Air Force on Guam and Saipan in 1943-45. Waiting to fly again this morning, he’s 92.
“And I take no medication,” he said. “I take two beers every afternoon and some wine at night and I bowl and golf.” He held the blue fleece blanket in his lap, grinning with excitement. “I’ve heard so much about these flights from my neighbors who went on one.”
Bernard Gladstein of Boca Raton was 24 when he served in the China-India-Burma theater. He’ll be 100 next March.
“It’s clean living,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve heard a lot about this, and my son Geoffrey wanted me to go.”
Geoffrey Gladstein, who would travel with him, pushed his father’s wheelchair over to the “One Last Mission” banner so they could be photographed together.
Guzzardo and Smilovsky stayed until the line of vets waiting for pictures was down to eight or 10.
“We gave away every blanket,” Smilovsky said.
Outside, the sky was starting to pale as they found their cars. On I-95, one former flight attendant drove south toward Key Largo, and the other headed north to Briny Breezes.
Before they were home, a chartered Eastern Air Lines 737 was climbing overhead, bound for Washington, D.C., with 76 American heroes and 76 blue fleece blankets on board.

A stack of blankets made by the Briny Blanket Brigade to warm World War II veterans on their Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. Photo provided

Bob Weisblut argues that the proposed U.S. restrictions

on the import and sale of ivory items are too onerous

and will make buying and selling antique pieces, such as this

18th-century Chinese vase, too difficult for legitimate collectors.

Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Ron Hayes

    Every piece of ivory in the world once belonged to a living creature. A whale, a walrus, most often an elephant.
    And every year, about 30,000 African elephants are slaughtered by poachers, who sell the tusks to illegal traders. More than 100,000 were killed between 2009 and 2012, according to an investigation by National Geographic.
    In the United States, regulation of ivory is controlled by the federal Fish and Wildlife Service, which is currently reviewing proposals to tighten the requirements for the import, export and sale of ivory items.
    Bob Weisblut, president of the International Ivory Society, agrees with the goal, but quarrels with some of the details, especially regarding the sale of antique ivory within the U.S.
    “I’m all for saving elephants,” says Weisblut, who lives in Ocean Ridge, “but I don’t think making the sale of antique ivory illegal is going to save any elephants or stop poaching.”
    For example, under the new proposals, sale of items across state lines would be permitted only if the elephant ivory was imported before 1990, is 100 years old or older, hasn’t been repaired or modified since 1973 or contains less than 200 grams of ivory, such as decorative pieces on a musical instrument.
    And the burden of proof would rest with the seller.
    “How do I know how much the ivory on a piano key weighs?” Weisblut asks. “Or the inlay on a silver chafing dish?”
    How can he prove conclusively that a piece he bought in an auction house hasn’t been repaired since 1973, or its actual age?
Ivory collectors, Weisblut says, are at the mercy of the information provided by the dealers from whom they
buy.
    “And remember,” he adds, “not all ivory comes from poachers. Elephants die natural deaths, too.”
    Gavin Shire, a spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Service, defended the proposed regulations.
    “As far as we’re concerned, this is not only common sense but also essential for the preservation of African elephants,” he said. “If poaching continues at current rates, we’ll witness their potential extinction, and the U.S. has a role to play here.”
    The department is reviewing comments on the proposal, the spokesman said, but no date for a decision has been set.
    If Fish and Wildlife accepts the changes, Congress would not have to approve them.
    As for Weisblut, he predicts legal challenges.
    “This will go on for years,” he said. “I’ll go to the Miami shows in January, but I’d hate to buy something I may never be allowed to sell.” 
For details about the proposed ivory restrictions, go to www.fws.gov/international/pdf/african-elephant-4d-proposed-changes.pdf.

If not, what next?

Related story: Workshop set to evaluate Palmetto Park, Northeast Fifth intersection

By Steve Plunkett

    City leaders are waiting to see whether Hillstone Restaurant Group will reopen negotiations on putting a restaurant on the Wildflower site or be replaced by a more eager rival.
    Hillstone, which already operates the Houston’s Restaurant west of Interstate 95 in the city, withdrew its proposal to develop a second one at the city-owned parcel on the Intracoastal on Oct. 22, citing a demand from Boca Raton for what it said amounted to “several millions more” in rent.
    “I’ve been in business,” Councilman Scott Singer said at a workshop the following Monday. “Sometimes when you get a letter saying we’re no longer negotiating, the next thing that happens is negotiations continue.”
    Councilman Michael Mullaugh agreed.
    “If there is no response (from us) and that was just a negotiating ploy, we’ll hear from them. If they’re serious, (then it’s) goodbye,” Mullaugh said. “If there is some other restaurateur around Boca who is interested, they can’t possibly not know how to get to City Hall. They can find us, they can make a proposal.”
    “It sounds like a soft RFP just went out,” Councilman Jeremy Rodgers added. “People know where to find us if they want to submit something. I think we’re always willing to listen.”
    In the meantime, the council asked its staff to determine how much it would cost to make the site, on the northwest side of the Palmetto Park Road bridge, more like a park.
    “I’m literally looking at minimal — just so it’s accessible and not gated off, I would say, the bare minimum to open it up so people can throw down a picnic blanket or sit there while we decide what we’re going to use it for long-term,” Rodgers said.
    City Manager Leif Ahnell suggested pricing the removal of a wall on the north side of the 2.3-acre parcel, which the city bought in 2009 for $7.5 million.
    Hillstone’s letter ending negotiations on the site stunned city officials.
    Deputy Mayor Robert Weinroth said Boca Raton bought the land so everyone could have access to the Intracoastal waterfront.
    “I think we were moving in that direction and I’m a little disheartened by what occurred,” he said.
    In his letter, Glenn Viers, vice president of Hillstone Restaurant Group, explained that the restaurant business “is one of very narrow margins.”
    The rent the city sought, combined with escalating property taxes, “would stretch Hillstone beyond reasonably acceptable financial limits,” Viers wrote.
    His company had proposed building a $10 million Houston’s restaurant on the site, once home to the raucous Wildflower bar and restaurant. Neighbors of the site fear a restaurant there will overload Northeast Fifth Avenue with traffic and illegally parked cars.
    Ahnell said Hillstone originally proposed paying $500,000 a year in base rent with a 5 percent increase every five years and 5 percent of any profits over $10 million going to offset property taxes. The city countered with a plan under which Hillstone would pay the same base rent but with a 2 percent increase every year, he said.
    Hillstone then suggested it pay $600,000 in annual rent but be given a $250,000 offset for property taxes, he said.
    “They effectively said to us, a reduction in the original proposal to $350,000,” Ahnell said. “We said to them, ‘Why don’t you come in and meet with us face to face and see what we can work out,’ and that was met with the letter we received.”
    Mullaugh said Hillstone’s withdrawal was no cause for alarm.
    “I don’t see that we actually need to do anything,” he said. “We just have to keep open to other people who are coming along.”
    Weinroth agreed. “The decision by Hillstone should not be setting the decision for us that OK, let’s just abandon the idea of this becoming a place where we see something better than either grass and food trucks or a condominium,” he said.
    The council also asked Ahnell to find a consultant to devise a comprehensive waterfront plan and to work up costs on moving the city’s barge from Silver Palm Park to make room for another boat launch.
    Members also want to know the price of putting floating docks at the Wildflower site.