Festivals on the horizon

 January is just the beginning of Florida's Festival Season...Start with a frog leg buffet in Fellsmere...

 Then grab your pirate costume, stuffed parrot, and eye patch - and come to Pirates at the Pier! Arrgg!

Cocoa Village's Riverfront Park will be the setting for the Space Coast's very first Key Lime Festival. Come taste some pie, learn to make the perfect Key Lime Margarita, or just sit back and watch tiki carving.

Whatever your taste - frog legs, rum, or key lime pie - there is something for every taste! Read more here.

Let the Oktoberfests begin!

This Sat. - Oct 6, Merritt Island will hold it's first Oktoberfest  Street Party, which will replace the one that used to take place in Cocoa Village. Read more here. Then there is the 4-day event Oct 18-21 at Wickham Park - info on that at same location! Cheers!!

Happy Repeal Day

In 1920, the 18th Amendment did something that had never been done before, in the history of the United States - instead of granting citizens a right, it took one away: the right to consume alcohol. Thirteen years later, Amendment 21 repealed the Amendment, voting on Dec 5, 1933.

Good news for some, not for all. Bottom line: drink responsibly.

July - something to celebrate

July 2011 has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays, and 5 Sundays - which happens only once every 823 years. Now THAT'S something worth celebrating!

June is National Adopt a Shelter Cat month

Space Coast shelters are completely overrun with cats, and there is no excuse for it. Spaying/Neutering is dirt cheap at the clinic in Eau Gallie that offers low-cost 'fixing'. For every dog that is "put to sleep" in the shelter, 3 cats are killed. Completely inexcusable. Please give one of these cats a home. You'll sleep better!

Farmers Markets

JUNE is National Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Month - great reason to support local farmers at their markets. For a complete list of locations and times - chick here.

National Potato Chip Day

Grimaldi's Chocolate Covered Potato Chips - a Space Coast tradition, and the ONLY way to celebrate today, National Potato Chip Day. Thank you George Crum - inventor of the potato chip (Saratoga Chip) in 1853.

Escape

Sunday, Jan 30 is National Escape Day. Drag yourself out of bed early enough and you can escape to the beach and see a miracle take place: the dawning of a new day in a place where others pay to come see. How lucky are we! And since you are going to witness such an awesome sight, why not do it at Coconut Point Park in Melbourne Beach? That way you can help clean up the beach from 8 a.m. to noon, with Keep Brevard Beautiful. A miracle AND a chance to prevent sea life from ingesting trash that gets swept out into the water with the tide - what better way to spend a Sunday morning than that!

Tastes like chicken?

Looking for something completely out there to do this week-end? Fellsmere Frog Leg Festival is happening and you are invited. For directions, menu, live entertainment schedule, etc - Space Coast Events Examiner.

National Pet Adoption Week-end

 Ghandi said it best: "The true character of a nation can best be described by how it treats it's animals."

This may be National Pet Adoption Week-end but every day should be the same. Brevard Animal Shelters are sponsoring a low-cost spay-neuter program for just $20 per cat for those earning less than $15K/year. For every dog that is euthanized, three cats are. 3-4 million dogs are euthanized yearly, so that means 9 million unwanted cats are euthanized - a fate much preferable than that which they are dealt in China. Do your part- adopt a rescued animal and have your pets fixed. If Ghandi is correct, we are a nation of character, aren't we?

Today is National Man Watcher's Day

Another little-known holiday...another reason to love our beaches...

The eyes have it

January is National Eye Health Month. Having experienced multiple eye surgeries in 2010, this writer can safely say - they stink. Those who spend a lot of time by the water should look up "Pterygiums" and get an eye exam. Ask an experienced surfer. Ask a pro. Polarized sunglasses can prevent many eye problems.
Don't give up the water, just control the power of the sun reflected off it.

December 16 is Chocolate-Covered Anything Day

And while that may be appealing when one thinks of Grimaldi's Chocolate-Covered Potato Chips or perhaps a ripe strawberry.......it is NOT appealing when applied to squid or ants. My research found chocolate-covered ants, crickets, and grasshoppers, chili, jalapenos, pickles, bacon, matzo, breadsticks, coffee beans, grapes, and more. And then there is chocolate body paint, but let's not go there.

As the lover of all living things and the hater of all cruelty on all living things - these were just infant squid!!!!!!!
What a way to die - yuk! I'll take Grimaldi's, thanks.

Universal Children's Day

Today is Universal Children's Day. Hoping that all parents everywhere are taking a little time out of their busy lives to spend it with their children. As grown-ups, I'm sure most of us agree that the toys we'd been given are now a blur, but the times spent with a parent are memories that last forever.

Happy Kelly Slater Day

It's official.....November 17th is now Kelly Slater Day in Cocoa Beach! Check out the bronze statue on A1A!! It's about time! Read about Kelly's acomplishments at Space Coast Events Examiner. (Thank you,
Florida Today, for the use of your photo!)

America Recycles Day!

Today is America Recycles Day, likely invented by someone seeking to draw attention to recycling efforts - and that's a good thing. Whatever, it is the perfect time to elaborate on the newest recycling contract the County has just implemented. Space Coast residents may now put the following items out for collection in their recycling bins (in addition to the usual plastic, glass & aluminum):
**cardboard & boxes, junk mail (discard your name and address!), newspapers
**aerosol cans, telephone books, fluorescent bulbs, aluminum foil, and steel cans.
**Electronic items including computers, laptops, monitors, scanners, fax machines, stereos, VCRs and TVs can now also be picked up curbside. Printer cartridges can now be placed in a clear plastic bag and put on top of items in the bin, too!

Young Readers Day

November 14 is National Young Readers Day. Books transport children to places they haven't been yet, place them in situations they might not otherwise encounter, and introduce them to people they've yet to meet. Books teach. Providing a child with books is to be commended. Teaching them what books can bring them is the gift of a lifetime. Some of my favorite quotes about books:

"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body."~ Joseph Addison
"The person who deserves most pity...doesn't know how to read."
      ~ Ben Franklin
"Today a reader, tomorrow a leader." ~ W. Fusselman
"The more that you read, the more things you will know." ~ Dr. Seuss
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend." ~ Groucho Marx
"Some people will lie, cheat, steal, and back-stab to get ahead....
      and to think, all they have to do is read." ~ Fortune Magazine
"Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers."~Harry S.
      Truman
"A book is the most effective weapon against intolerance and ignorance."
     ~Lyndon B. Johnson
"We shouldn't teach great books, we should teach a love of reading."
      ~ B.F. Skinner
Anyone have a favorite of their own?

Semper Fi! Happy Birthday

On November 10, 1775, a resolution of the Continental Congrss created a Corps of Marines. Thus began a tradition; a tradition that continues today. Thank you to retired Marines living on the Space Coast and to all Marines everywhere. You have guts that few others possess. Stay safe, Gentlemen.

National Book Lovers Day

Today is National Book Lovers Day. As the proud owner of hundreds of books, and a budding author, this writer highly recommends Wade Arnold's History of America: Florida's Space Coast. More photos than words, the book gives readers a chance to see the area as it was over a hundred years ago up until recently. Research was done here and photos all came from local residents' archives. Absolutely fascinating! Great gift idea, too. Available online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, & Books A Million but why not support local and get it in Historic Cocoa Village. Mine came from The Village Gingerbread House on Oleander Street! Enjoy!

Happy National Sandwich Day

The Earl of Sandwich deserves the upmost respect for coming up with the idea for shoving everything but the kitchen sink between two slices of bread and calling it a meal. He also gave birth to a new vocabulary word: sandwich, a verb. But my heartfelt thanks go out to those who have embellished on the idea- see above photo.