12300 FOREST HILL BLVD.Chris Degler, Neighborhood Advocate
WELLINGTON, FL 33414 Phone: 561-753-2587
Date: February 27, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March Story Time at Scott’s Place
There’s no pot of gold, but you can find a wealth of reading at the Scott’s Place barrier-free playground in Wellington! Beginning at 10:00 am on Saturday, March 3rd, children of all ages will be delighted with stories about St. Patrick’s Day as well as free giveaways sponsored by Cambridge School of Wellington. Cambridge School Assistant Director Sara Purvis will serve as the guest reader.
Story Time takes place at Scott’s Place barrier free playground located at 12190 Forest Hill Boulevard on the first Saturday of every month through May 2012. Participants are encouraged to enjoy the playground before and after the event. The park is designed with large play structures and ramps ensuring children and parents of all physical abilities can play together.
The following Story Time dates and themes are scheduled:
Date Theme
March 3rd St. Patrick’s Day
April 7th Earth Day
May 5th Animal Mommies and Babies
After Story Time, families can also visit Wellington’s Green Market just a short walk away at the Wellington Amphitheater. The Green Market takes place every Saturday from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm and features fresh local produce, baked goods, flowers, housewares and collectibles.
About Cambridge School: Cambridge School is located at 1920 Royal Fern Drive and offers children ages two years through prekindergarten the opportunity to learn developmental skills in a modern, safe and secure facility. For more information, call (561) 791-0013 or visit www.cambridgepreschools.com.
For information about other Wellington programs, events, activities, and updates, please visit www.wellingtonfl.gov or watch Channel 18 for the latest happenings.
West Palm Beach, FL – The Palm Beach Zoo has announced a celebration of Leap Day to be held on Wednesday, February 29th.The event will feature all of the zoo animals that leap or hop including red kangaroos, wallabies, and frogs.
The zoo’s yellow-footed rock wallabies have recently produced “joeys” (baby wallabies) that can often be seen popping out of their mother’s pouch.
Children can take part in a special scavenger hunt throughout the zoo for the chance to be entered to win a Palm Beach Zoo Annual Membership good for the whole family for a full year.
For more information about this event call (561) 547-WILD (9453) ext. 223 or visit www.palmbeachzoo.org – Events.
About the Palm Beach Zoo
The Palm Beach Zoo is located at 1301 Summit Boulevard, just east of I-95 between Southern and Forest Hill Boulevard. There is ample free parking. The zoo is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. every day except Christmas and Thanksgiving Day. For more information regarding the Palm Beach Zoo please visitwww.palmbeachzoo.org.
Palm Beach Zoo Invites Families to Sleep at the Zoo
West Palm Beach, FL – February 26, 2012 – The Palm Beach Zoo has announced an opportunity for families to plan overnight adventures at the zoo. The “Night Owls Overnight Adventure” is available to family groups on Friday and Saturday nights by reservation. Dates are March 23, March 24, April 21, and April 28. Participants enjoy animal encounters, a night tour of the zoo, pizza snack, Continental breakfast and some wild nocturnal activities. This program is designed for participants ages 6 and over, and is limited to a maximum of 30 persons per night. At least one parent must accompany children.
Guests should arrive by 6:30 p.m. The overnight program begins at 7:00 p.m. and ends at 8:30 a.m. the following morning. Activities include up-close animal encounters, night tours of the zoo, crafts, games, evening pizza snack, and a Continental breakfast. The cost for Zoo Members is $35 per person.Cost for Non-Members is $45 per person.
Discover the zoo after hours and meet our creatures of night! Participants enjoy animal encounters, a night tour of the zoo, pizza snack, Continental breakfast and wild activities!
Announcing the annual Royal Palm Art & Music Festival!
Scheduled to take place on March 9, 10 & 11, this newest addition to regional festivals will be set on Royal Palm Beach Boulevard (from Southern Boulevard to Seminole Palms Drive ) and at Lake Challenger. The three-day festival made history in 2010 as it was the first to close down one of the Palm Beach County’s western communities major traffic intersections for more than the typical few hours. The Chamber is very excited about this partnership with the Village of Royal Palm Beach. We invite you to join us for the 2012 festivities as over 100 Artists transform Royal Palm Beach Boulevard into a temporary outdoor museum of original art and masterpiece reproductions.
Jess Santamaria will be chairing the committee for this event that will be free to the public and that will focus on the talents of our area artists – both visual and performance artists.
Street Painting
Festival activities are planned and will feature street painting. Yes, art beneath your feet. A tradition that dates back to the 16th century, street painting will transform Royal Palm Beach Boulevard to the largest artist canvas in the Western Communities. Crowds are expected to gather and watch as fine works of art emerge over the two days of the event. We are in the process of recruiting our artists who will be asked to create works of art of no less than four feet by six feet. The artists are provided colorful pastel chalks and their section of the street for painting, but the inspiration and creativity is all theirs. The artwork is guaranteed to be spectacular!
Stage performances will also be a major component of the event. The Chamber is working with local volunteers to recruit both amateur and professional bands. Musicians will present jazz, blues, classic rock, and country to set the mood for the festival. A little something for everyone. The Chamber is most proud to present bands from our area schools. Showcasing young talent is a critical component of this festival.
Other festival activities include a kayak races, bounce houses, carnival rides, food vendors, business expo, street performers, and beer garden. A “must see” will be the fireworks show that will be presented at night fall on Saturday night March 10th. Set to music, the spectacular fireworks show will be presented over Lake Challenger allowing festival guests an opportunity to wind down after the fun filled day. Guests are encouraged to bring their portable chairs or blankets and enjoy the sights and sounds.More info…
We look forward to seeing you at the 2012 Royal Palm Art & Music Festival!
Just a few highlights of happeningsAroundWellington. For many more photos, visit the link “Photo Galleries” on this site! For recent videos, click on our “Videos” link.
The Fab Four at the Lake Worth Street Painting Festival, Feb. 25-26, 2012.
Randy Orwig, the Living Statue - at the Lake Worth Street Painting Festival.Obama visits Miami in February of 2012. Photo by Carol Porter.
At the Wellington Chamber February Luncheon on 2-22-12. Photo by Carol Porter.
Mayor Darell Bowen at the Pinewood Derby with Wellington Cub Scout Pack 125 . Photo by Lois Spatz.
Marjorie Weiss, Pastor of St Michael Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wellington, Florida, has been honored to be the recipient of a Lily Endowment National clergy Renewal grant of $49,800.Pastor Weiss is one of 158 religious leaders to be chosen from congregations across the nation to take part in this program that allows pastors to take an extended sabbatical so they can take a step back from their busy lives and gain the fresh perspective and renewed energy.Weiss has been ordained for 32 years, one of the first women pastors in the Lutheran Church.
She plans a trip to Europe along with her husband to visit cultural sites along the Danube River.She also will travel on a pilgrimage to Ireland, finally ending her four month sabbatical with a month at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific.The congregation during the sabbatical, will work on the sabbatical theme of “Thirty years of Ministry, What’s Next?” as they continue to assess how best to follow their mission as “The Hands and Feet of Christ.” At St. Michael, the goal is to participate in several local outreach programs that help families that are in need…right here in our area.
Pastor Weiss strives to lead St Michael with open minded, Christ-centered objectivity. It is a congregation where science and faith do not conflict.Pastor Weiss and the congregation welcome the community to worship at St. Michael at services on Sundays at 8:30 or 10:45 am. The congregation will celebrate the completion of a brand new sanctuary for worship in May 2012.St. Michael is located on the corner of Forest Hill Boulevard and Birkdale Drive.
BEST-SELLING AUTHOR JEANNETTE WALLS TO SPEAK AT “WOMEN IN POWER” LUNCHEON
WEST PALM BEACH, FL (February 2, 2012) – PNC Bank, a division of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC) announces the season’s final “Women in Power” Luncheon to benefit the YWCA of Palm Beach County. Headlining the luncheon on Tuesday, March 6, 2012 will be best-selling author Jeannette Walls.
Her stunning memoir, The Glass Castle, has been a New York Times best-seller for over four years, has sold 3.5 million copies in the U.S. alone, has been translated into 22 languages, and is being made into a movie by Paramount.Named one of the “Top Books of the Decade” by Amazon, it has won numerous awards including the Christopher Award, American Library Association’s Alex Award, and Books for Better Living Award.
In The Glass Castle, Walls describes growing up in the desert southwest and a West Virginia mining town with her three siblings and brilliant, unconventional and often irresponsible parents.Overcoming her hardships, Walls moved alone to New York City at age 16, enrolled in Barnard College and eventually became a columnist for New York Magazine and MSNBC.com.
In October 2009 Walls released Half Broke Horses, a true-life novel based on her resilient maternal grandmother; it became an immediate New York Times best-seller.She lives in Virginia with her writer husband, John Taylor.
“We are so pleased to end this season’s “Women in Power” Luncheon Series with such an acclaimed author,” said Craig Grant, Regional President, PNC Bank.“Jeannette Walls’ ability to overcome hardship and turn adversity to her advantage certainly reflects the YWCA’s goal of empowering women and girls.”
The luncheon will be held in Ballrooms A and B at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, located at 650 Okeechobee Boulevard, West Palm Beach.Registration begins at 11:30 a.m., and the luncheon commences at noon. Free valet parking is provided at the Okeechobee entrance.
Reservations for the luncheon are $50 and can be made by calling YWCA of Palm Beach County at 561-640-0050, extension 134.
MDC’s Miami International Film Festival Presents Star Studded Opening Night Gala With The World Premiere of Tom Gustafson’s Mariachi Gringo
Actor Shawn Ashmore, Actress Martha Higareda & Singer/Actress Lila Downs Expected to Attend
MIAMI, FL – The Miami International Film Festival (MIFF), produced and presented by Miami Dade College (MDC), commences next Friday, March 2nd, with its Opening Night Gala, the World Premiere of Tom Gustafson’smusical tour-de-forceMariachi Gringo. The drama stars Shawn Ashmore (“Iceman” in X-Men) as a young man from Kansas who falls in love with the mariachi lifestyle, and travels to Guadalajara to prove that anything is possible. Ashmore and co-stars Mexican star Martha Higareda and recording artist singer Lila Downs, who will perform a song prior to the premiere,are expected to attend.
WHO: Actor Shawn Ashmore
Actress Martha Higareda
Singer & Actress Lila Downs
Director Tom Gustafson
MDC President Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón
MIFF Executive Director Jaie Laplante
WHAT: Opening Night Gala/World Premiere of Mariachi Gringo
WHEN: Red carpet for Mariachi Gringo Friday, March 2nd at 6:00 p.m.
Olympia Theater at The Gusman Center For the Performing Arts
174 East Flagler Street
(Only accredited and approved media will be allowed to cover the Red Carpet and opening remarks.)
To RSVP for the Red Carpet, please notify MIFF or Falco Ink media contacts.
Miami International Film Festival (MIFF), celebrating its 29th edition on March 2-11, 2012, is considered the preeminent Ibero-American film festival in the U.S. The annual Festival, produced and presented by Miami Dade College, attracts more than 70,000 audience members and more than 400 filmmakers, producers, talent and industry professionals. It is the only major festival housed within a college or university. In the last five years, the Festival has screened films from more than 60 countries, including 300 World, International, North American, U.S. and East Coast Premieres. MIFF’s special focus on Ibero-American cinema have made the Miami International Film Festival a natural gateway for the discovery of Ibero-American talent. Additionally, the Festival offers unparalleled educational opportunities to filmmakers and the community at large. For more, visit miamifilmfestival.com or call 305-237-MIFF (3456). Major sponsors of the 2012 Miami International Film Festival include: Lexus, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Miami Beach Visitors & Convention Authority, FPL, EGEDA, Downtown Development Authority of the City of Miami, Comcast, Miami New Times, The Historic Alfred I. Dupont Building, ABC Management Services, Screen International and the City of Miami Beach. The official headquarter hotel of MIFF 2012 is The Standard Spa, Miami; and the Festival is produced with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.
Miami Dade College has a long and rich history of involvement in the cultural arts, providing South Florida with a vast array of artistic and literary offerings including The Miami Book Fair International, the Florida Center for the Literary Arts, the MDC Live! Performing Arts Series, The MDC Tower Theater Cinema Series, nine visual arts galleries including The Freedom Tower at Miami Dade College and the School of Entertainment and Design Technology, in addition to the renowned Miami International Film Festival. MDC is the largest institution of higher education in the country and is nationally recognized for many of its academic and cultural programs. With an enrollment of more than 174,000 students, MDC is the nation’s top producer of degrees. The college’s eight campuses and outreach centers offer nearly 300 distinct degree programs including several baccalaureate degrees. It has admitted nearly 2 million students since it opened its doors in 1960. More at mdc.edu.
MEDIA ALERT
Festival Contact:
Danny Diaz
Tel: +1 305-389-8986 miffpress@mdc.edu
MDC Contact:
Juan Mendieta
Tel: +1 305-237-7611 jmendiet@mdc.edu
City Hall – the Restaurant is the newest down-home, succulent dining establishment to enter Miami’s foodie scene. And just as the role of a governmental city hall is to organize a town, owner Steve Haas and Executive ChefTom Azar have judiciously created their own distinctive province where your taste-buds will be satisfied with everything from turkey burgers, fresh seafood, steak and ribs to meat loaf and fried chicken.
Haas actually has governmental experience as the first board chairman of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau where he created the highly successful Miami Spice. He was also a co-owner and operating partner for Soyka Restaurant/News Café Corp, General Manager for China Grill, Tuscan Steak, Red Square and Social Miami the featured restaurant at the Sagamore Hotel. He’s a native Miamian who attended Miami Beach Senior High, Miami-Dade College and graduated Florida International University. The Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce has named him to the Travel and Tourism Hall of Fame and honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Azar, a Chicago native, is the man who received a job offer from Master Chef
Executive Chef Tom Azar at City Hall, the restaurant. Photo by Andres Aravena.
Emeril Lagasse right after he graduated from culinary school. Together, they worked in the kitchen of NOLA in New Orleans’ French Quarter. He eventually moved to Orlando where Lagasse appointed him as a Sous Chef then Executive Sous Chef at Emeril’s Orlando at Universal Studios City Walk. And luckily for us, he was brought to Miami to oversee Emeril’s Miami Beach. He now gratifies patrons at City Hall. He took a few moments to answer some questions for us.
AW: You and City Hall have been creating a huge buzz. How were approached to become its Executive Chef?
TA: Steve and I met through a mutual acquaintance. We met in person and I agreed to do a food tasting for Steve at my home. For the tasting, Steve asked that I make a Timpano, which I had heard of but never actually made. To Steve’s surprise, my first time making a Timpano was a success and the next day he offered me the position of Executive Chef of City Hall.
AW: It’s my understanding that the Timpano is becoming your signature dish.
TA: I guess you can say this dish is a signature due to the uniqueness of it and how people relate it to our restaurant. It’s a big baked pasta dish with Italian sausage, meatballs, three different types of pasta, three different types of cheese and marinara sauce, all baked in a pasta shell.
AW: Can you tell me about the House Blend Meatloaf? I’ve heard it’s a menu favorite, is this particular a dish one that you created specifically for City Hall, or is it something you brought along with you, maybe even tweaked, along the way.
TA: This is a dish that was designed for City Hall we made a couple of dishes and then found the perfect recipe through trial and error. I must say we ate a lot of meatloaf throughout the process. One of the major components that makes ours special is the combination of beef, pork and veal and also the chorizo macaroni and cheese.
AW: Tell me about your participation in the 2012 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival.
TA: City Hall – the Restaurant will be participating in Thrillist’s BBQ & The Blues.
AW: Emeril will be attending this year. Do you have any plans to reconnect?
TA: It sure would be nice to spend some time with Emeril during the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. Emeril is a very busy man and hopefully I’ll run into him and we will be able to reconnect.
AW: What is the most essential component of the food industry that you learned from Emeril?
TA: Chef Emeril is a very detail-oriented individual. If there was one thing I took from him in the sixteen years I spent with him in the kitchen, it’s the importance of details and tasting and the seasoning the food, among a whole lot of other lessons.
City Hall. Photo by Andres Aravena.
AW
: I know you’re busy, but when you go out to eat at a restaurant, what is the most important thing or a few very important things that you look for when dining out?
TA: I would have to say I look for how the staff interacts with the table and other tables and of course, the quality and presentation of the food.
AW: If you’re allowed to tell – what is your favorite dish, whether or not it’s available at City Hall?
TA: My all-time favorite dish I would have to say is a big pile of boiled crawfish with corn on the cob, new potatoes, and Andouille sausage with a pitcher of Abita Amber. I’m also Lebanese so I enjoy authentic Lebanese food as well. My favorite dish at City Hall is both the House Blend Meatloaf and the fried chicken.
AW: Do you have any advice for young people just starting out in the business?
TA: Don’t be in such a hurry to become a chef. Take the time to really learn the craft. Eat out a lot, and read a lot of magazines and cookbooks.
AW: What do you like the most about living and working in Miami?
Maryel Epps serenades City Hall owner Steve Haas. Photo by Charlotte Libov.
TA: Miami is so culturally diverse, especially with food, that I love being able to go out and eat pretty much whatever I have a taste for, oh and being so close to the ocean doesn’t hurt either.
AW: Please feel free to add anything at all.
TA: City Hall is a great restaurant to visit before or after performances and concerts in the area. Also, during Art Walk, we are a perfect dining option, since we are located just blocks away from the hustle and bustle of that monthly event.
If you want a chance to met this culinary phenom in person he’ll be at the Eden Roc Renaissance, Miami Beach, February 25th, from 7 – 10 PM go to sobefest.com or call 877.762.3933. The festival runs from February 23-26, 2012. And for information and reservations for the restaurant you can call 305.764-3130 or go to cityhalltherestaurant.com.
Here is more detailed information about the festival:
Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by FOOD & WINE Unveils New Schedule of Events for its 11th Year!
Miami Beach, Florida (September 2011) – Festival Founder and Director Lee Brian Schrager is pleased to unveil the program for the 2012 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by FOOD & WINE.
Taking place February 23 – 26, 2012 the 11th annual edition of America’s favorite wine and culinary extravaganza will feature new events and programming guaranteed to please. All proceeds from the Festival benefit the Florida International University (FIU) Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and the Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center; monies raised to date total approximately $14 million.
“Celebrating the milestone of our 10th year at the 2011 Festival was truly extraordinary,” says Schrager, who also serves as Vice President of Corporate Communications & National Events at Southern Wine & Spirits of America, which hosts the Festival. “I believe the 2012 program features a number of fresh and exciting changes as well as those events that have become fan-favorites over the years.”
Transformations to the Festival program are most evident on Thursday, February 23 with a new event that takes the place of the beloved BubbleQ®. Promising even more fun, the Festival will kick-off with Moët Hennessy’s The Q presented by Allen Brothers, sponsored by Miami magazine, hosted by Emeril Lagasse and Guy Fieri. For those who wish to partake in a late-night experience, the best part of this change is that The Q will also feature its own after-party, The Q After Dark! The Amstel Light Burger Bash presented by Allen Brothers hosted by Rachael Ray moves to Friday, February 24; a night which is also home to the eighth annual Fontainebleau Miami Beach presents Wine Spectator’s Best of the Best sponsored by Bank of America.
The 2012 Tribute Dinner presented by Bank of America keeps its long-standing tradition of honoring the world’s greatest wine and culinary talent by paying tribute to esteemed chef Charlie Trotter and celebrated winemaker Piero Antinori. Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, Trotter’s namesake restaurant in Chicago is regarded as one of the finest restaurants in the world. The Antinori reputation as innovators has grown throughout the centuries, woven through 625 years and 26 generations of winemaking, making it one of the leading Italian producers of fine wines. Author and host of the popular Travel Channel series No Reservations, Anthony Bourdain will serve as the evening’s master of ceremonies.
Capitalizing on the excitement surrounding last year’s 10th anniversary party, the Festival will again take over the stunning 1111 Lincoln Road space for Party: Impossible featuring Epicure Gourmet Market hosted by Robert Irvine. Also reinventing itself for 2012 is Food Network presents The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Late Night Bites, an event based of the hit primetime series. Dedicated foodies will get an exclusive opportunity to savor all of famed chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author Bobby Flay’s restaurant concepts in one evening at the casual dinner The Flavors of Flay. The program is rounded out by highlighting the hottest trend in food at Trucks on the Beach presented by Diet Pepsi hosted by Andrew Zimmern, which doubles as the official Festival closing party.
A fresh set of Wine Spectator Wine Seminars and Bank of America Lifestyle Seminars will delight everyone from the novice to the aficionado throughout the weekend. Additionally, in line with previous years, the 2012 Festival will also host an array of unique brunches and dinners to appease even the most discerning of taste buds. They include:
• Dining in the Dark hosted by David Burke with Market 17
• Conscious Bite Out with Geoffrey Zakarian
• Dolce Lunch hosted by Charles Phan at The Setai
• Farm to Table Brunch hosted by Michael Schwartz & Friends
• Interactive Lunch hosted by Anne Burrell
• Napa Style at the Mandarin: hosted by Michael Chiarello and Joel Huff at Azul
• Interactive Dinner hosted by The Neelys
• Salsa @ Sea hosted by Douglas Rodriguez & Aarón Sanchez
• Sunday Supper by Meatball Shop Tickets for the 2012 Festival went on sale at midnight on Monday, October 24, 2011 and can be purchased at www.sobefest.com and via phone at 877.762.3933.
Fans can follow Festival Founder and Director Lee Brian Schrager on Twitter atwww.twitter.com/Lee_Schrageror at the Festival’s official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SOBEWFF.
For more information about Florida International University visitwww.fiu.edu, for the School of Hospitality and Tourism Managementvisit www.hospitality.fiu.eduand for more information about Southern Wine & Spirits visitwww.southernwine.com.
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A Toledo, OH native, a graduate of Kent State, Marla E. Schwartz is a Senior Writer for Miami Living Magazine, afreelance writer forLighthouse Point Magazine and the a cultural arts columnist for AroundWellington.com. Her photographs have appeared in these publications, in many Ohio periodicals, as well as in The Miami Herald, The Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and The Palm Beach Post. She has had numerous plays published and produced around the country. Her short play, America’s Working? was produced in Los Angeles at both the First Stage and the Lone Star Ensemble theater companies, in Florida at Lynn University and at an Off-Broadway playhouse in NYC. Her piece, The Lunch Time Café, was a finalist for the Heideman Award,Actors Theatre of Louisville. Please check out the re-prints of her interviews with authors Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson and Dexter novelist Jeff Lindsay in the October 2010 issue #2 and Chris Bohjalian in the April 2011 issue #3 of Duff Brenna’sServingHouse: A Journal of Literary Arts at www.servinghousejournal.com. You can contact her at marlaschwartz@att.net.
The three-day festival made history in 2010 as it was the first to close down one of the Palm Beach County’s western communities major traffic intersections for more than the typical few hours. The Chamber is very excited about this partnership with the Village of Royal Palm Beach. We invite you to join us for the 2012 festivities as over 100 Artists transform Royal Palm Beach Boulevard into a temporary outdoor museum of original art and masterpiece reproductions. 
