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Taste of the Tropics
How much do you know about Jamaica? The culture of this tiny Caribbean
island is a rich stew of influences, including elements from Spain and
Britain, China and India, and of course West Africa. For the eighth year in
a row, you can find out more about the diverse heritage of the country when
Markham Park hosts the popular Jamaican
Jerk Festival. The event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday,
November 8, features musical performances, a domino competition, a fashion
show, and much more.
Several stages will play host to oral presentations, limbo
dancers, and steel-band music. The Jerk Cook-off will offer cash prizes and
cooking demonstrations. This year’s event also includes cricket, netball,
and soccer competitions, as well as a Kidz Fun Zone with bounce house,
slides, rock climbing, rides, and games.
Then, of course, there’s authentic jerk cuisine. “Jerk,” for
the uninitiated, refers to a fiery mix of spices and other ingredients that
can include allspice, Scotch bonnet peppers, cloves, cinnamon, scallions,
nutmeg, thyme, garlic, lime juice, and more. The marinade/rub is best known
for its use on such familiar items as chicken, pork, fish, shrimp, and
lobster but can also extend to such exotica as jerk yams and even jerk ice
cream.
New this year to the festival is the Grace Kitchen, where
cooking expert Mazie Miller will create jerk recipes. Chef Nigel Spence,
winner of the Food Network’s Throwdown with Bobby Flay, will also
conduct demonstrations on jerk cuisine.
?: Markham, 954-389-2000; www.jerkfestival.com.
$: Tickets: $10/person in advance, $20 the day of the event;
children under 10 admitted free.
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BCT: Route #23.
Holiday
Fantasy of Lights Is Back!
Holiday Fantasy of Lights returns to Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek under
the management of Brandano Displays Inc. for the second year in a row. The drive-through
light show runs from Wednesday, November 25 through Saturday, January 2 and
is open nightly from 6 to 10 p.m.
?: Brandano, 954-634-6558, or visit www.holidaylightsdrivethru.com.
$: $9/vehicle Mondays-Wednesdays; $12/vehicle Thursdays-Sundays.
(Cost is for 20 or fewer passengers.)
Run
or Walk Through the Lights
In conjunction with Holiday Fantasy of Lights, Tradewinds Park will also
host the 14th Fantasy of Lights 5K Run and 2.5-Mile Fitness
Walk on Saturday, November 21. The 5K Run is at 6 p.m., followed by the
Kids’ Fun Run at 6:50 p.m. and the 2.5-Mile Fitness Walk at 7 p.m.
Registration is required and is available only at www.active.com. Participants will use the ChronoTrack
Timing System, which is chipless, meaning runners and walkers no longer
have to pick up a chip before the race.
This event sells out quickly, so early registration is
recommended. No pets, skateboards, in-line skates, or bicycles are allowed,
although strollers are permitted. This is a Commit 2B Fit!® – It Starts
in Parks event.
?: Tradewinds,
954-968-3880, or e-mail fantasyoflights5Krun@gmail.com
or visit www.holidaylightsdrivethru.com.
$: $20/person (5K Run), $17/person (Fitness Walk); Kids’ Fun Run
is free.
BCT: Route #34.
Bicycle
Through the Lights
For those who want to get up close and personal and take a more leisurely
approach to the 16th Holiday Fantasy of Lights at Tradewinds Park, consider
biking through the lights. The seventh Bicycle Through the Lights
will be held from 5:30 to 9 p.m. on Sunday, November 22. Registration is
from 5:30 to 6 p.m., followed by the ride.
Helmets are required for all bicyclists, and bike lights are
recommended. Participants must provide their own bikes. And bicycles only –
no pets, walkers, or skaters are allowed on the course. Food and beverages
will be available for purchase, and there will also be such activities as a
bounce house, a rock-climbing wall, and deejay music. This is a Commit
2B Fit!® – It Starts in Parks event.
?: Tradewinds,
954-968-3880.
$: $5/person.
BCT: Route #34.
Blast
to the Past
Relive the magic of the past at Camelot Days Medieval Festival, from
10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, November 14 and 15, at T.Y.
Park in Hollywood.
The weekend features live music, hearty food and drink,
entertainment by knights and jesters, challenging games, exciting rides,
and more. Cheer for your favorite side in the Living Chess Game, and shop
for handcrafted treasures in the Artists’ Market.
?: T.Y.,
954-985-1980; www.camelotdays.com.
$: $12/ages 13+; $3/ages 6-12; ages 5 and under free.
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BCT: Routes #3, #12, and #17.
Learn
by Listening
Two nature centers offer lecture programs this month. On Friday, November
13, from noon to 2 p.m., the Anne Kolb Nature Center at West Lake Park in
Hollywood launches its Lunch-and-Learn Nature Series with “Okavango:
Wild Swamps of Africa,” a presentation by Ron Magill of Miami Metrozoo. Future lectures will be on
December 4 (“Burmese Pythons and Other Invasive Wildlife Threatening the
Florida Everglades”) and January 22 (“Great Landscaping: Pearls of
Wisdom”). A $5 donation to the Friends of the Anne Kolb Nature Center gets
you in and gets you lunch.
Meanwhile Fern Forest Nature Center in Coconut Creek offers
its Nature Lecture Series from 2 to 3 p.m. on three consecutive
Sundays: November 15 (topic: “Snakes and Spiders”), November 22
(“Amphibians and Reptiles”), and November 29 (“Dangerous Plants, Animals,
and Insects”). The lectures run approximately an hour each and are followed
by question-and-answer sessions. Live animals will be used to emphasize
each lecture topic, although there will be no handling of the animals by
the public. Admission is a $3 donation.
?: Anne Kolb,
954-926-2480; Fern Forest,
954-970-0150.
$: $5 (Anne Kolb), $3 (Fern Forest).
R: Preregistration required by November 6 (Anne Kolb).
BCT: Routes #12 (Anne Kolb) and #31 and #42 (Fern Forest).
Waste
Not, Want Not
Celebrate Broward Recycles Month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday,
November 21 at the Anne Kolb Nature Center at West Lake Park in Hollywood.
The county’s Waste and Recycling Services Division will have an information
booth at the event to spread the word about “All in One” recycling, which
no longer requires that recyclables be separated. Children will be able to
create recycled crafts, participate in a relay race, and win prizes made
from recycled materials, and there will be a kids-oriented presentation on
recycling at 11 a.m.
The next day, Sunday, November 22, from noon to 5 p.m., visit
the Eco-Craft Fair at Secret Woods Nature Center in Dania Beach,
where recyclables and other “green” goods abound. Visit with artists as
they demonstrate their crafts and sell their wares.
?: Anne Kolb,
954-926-2480; Recycling Services,
954 765-4999; Secret Woods,
954-791-1030.
BCT: Routes #12 (Anne Kolb) and #6 (Secret Woods).
Vintage
Values
Dealers from Maine to Florida will display an assortment of antiques and
collectibles – including furniture, estate jewelry, glass, porcelain, objets
d’art, and country items – at the Antique Festival at Quiet
Waters Park in Deerfield Beach. The event runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on
Saturday and Sunday, November 14 and 15.
?: Quiet Waters,
954-360-1315.
$: $3/person.
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BCT: Route #14.
The
Little Railroad That Could
Mark your calendars: The Florida Live Steamers
group, which offers Model Steam Train Rides at Tradewinds Park in
Coconut Creek, is extending its fall schedule to include November and
December of this year. The rides, which run on a half-mile track around a
lake, will be held between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. the third Saturday and Sunday
of the month (November 21 and 22 and December 19 and 20). Riders under 10
years of age must be accompanied by an adult.
?: Tradewinds,
954-968-3880.
$: $1/ride (children 3 and under free).
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BCT: Route #34.
Advisory
Board Notice
The public is invited to the next meeting of the Parks and Recreation
Advisory Board, which is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November
4. The meeting will take place at the Anne Kolb Nature Center at West Lake Park,
751 Sheridan St., Hollywood. For more information, follow this link.
BCT: Route #12.
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