The gingerbread pirate ship created by the wonderful staff at the Ritz Carlton Amelia Island, Florida beats the most unusual gingerbread houses I have seen. I had an opportunity to speak to the creators and get some insight into how it is made.
3rd Annual Holiday Home Tour in Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island, FL
3rd Annual Holiday Home Tour in Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island, FL takes place on December 4th and 5th, 2009.
The Amelia Island Museum of History showcases the 3rd annual Holiday Home Tour in historic Fernandina Beach this weekend. Five unique homes, never before open to the public, has been chosen for the tour.
The Holiday Home Tour will take place on December 4th and 5th, 2009, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tour tickets are $25 in advance and $30 on the day of the tour.
You can also enjoy a Victorian-style tea at the historical Bailey House after the tour. Tickets are $15.
For more tickets and more information visit www.ameliamuseum.org or call (904) 261-7378 ext. 100.
For more information, visit our events calendar listing for the Holiday Tour of Homes in Fernandina
French Flair in Fernandina РFlorida P̩tanque America Open
Amelia Island is the only community in the United States to have experienced life under eight different flags, and the first flag was the French. This month Fernandina turns French again when 2009 Pétanque America Open comes to town.
Close to 200 players will be playing pétanque, (pron. „pay-tonk’) the French cousin of horseshoes and “bocce†ball on On November 14 – 15, 2009. Downtown Fernandina Beach will look and sound like the Promenade des Anglais in Nice or the Croisette in Cannes.
Teams are flying in from 20 states, Canada and Europe, to compete in the 2009 Pétanque America Open, only the second-ever open international pétanque tournament in the USA.
Preliminary rounds start on Saturday morning, below the Fernandina Marina along the downtown waterfront, with finals scheduled for Sunday afternoon. Competition for the $5,000 purse will be stiff
and guarantee spectacular performances by players of all ages, including famous chefs who embraced the game many years ago as a welcome distraction from their busy schedules.
And members of the USA, Canadian, and Belgian national teams, like Claudy Weibel, World Champion in 2000 and European Champion in 2009.
The public is welcome to watch and try out the game around the tournament area. Equipment will be made available – free of charge – by Petanque America.
Celebrity TV chef Jacques Pépin will be available for book signing on Sunday, Nov 15 from 1 to 3 pm.
To complement the Riviera experience, the Palace Saloon has stocked up on Ricard pastis, the anise flavored drink so typical of the South of France. One can even play petanque in the Palace‟s backyard,
which boasts a genuine play ground, a.k.a. a „boulodrome’.
“People who know the game are thrilled to see it played so close to home. Those who just discovered it, love its simplicity and are wondering why it took so long to reach NE Florida.” said
Philippe Boets, president & founder of Pétanque America, who also organized the first International Open in Miami Beach in 2005.
Click here for 2009 Pétanque America Open calendar listing and information.
Amelia Island Jazz Festival 2009
Les DeMerle Amelia Island Jazz Festival is scheduled from October 2 – 11, 2009 in Fernandina Beach, Florida. This is one of the most popular festivals in Fernandina Beach, and this year’s festival promises to be one of the best ever.
The festival kicks off early this year with a free concert outdoors. Les deMerle All-Star Band will perform at the Sound of Centre already on Friday October 2nd. This is the last and final Sound on Centre for the season, so let’s hope for beautiful weather.
Then on Saturday, October 3rd, “Street.Runnin’ Wild,” with Amelia Island Jazz Festival Scholarship winner Jawren Walton performs at the Palace Saloon.
The second free concert will feature the U.S. Navy Big Band Southeast at Amelia Park on Sunday, October 4.
Grammy Award-winning saxophonist, David Sanborn is scheduled to appear as the headliner in the festival. Sanborn will perform October 9th and 10th with Les DeMerle’s All-Star band and vocalist Bonnie Eisele. This concert takes place at the brand new 1,000-seat auditorium at First Baptist Church on Eighth Street.
One of last year’s most popular evenings, Latin Night with Impacto Latino, will return on Thursday, October 8, and then on Sunday, October 11, there is a New Orleans Jazz Brunch at the Beech Street Grill.
For ticket information and the complete schedule, visit the website.
Here is a video from last year’s festival:
Is Fernadina Farmers Market the third in the US?
Forget voting for your favorite “American Idol”, or Americas most popular dancer in “So You Think You Can Dance”, now there’s a more important question on the world wide web — where is the most popular Farmers Market in the country?
This popularity contest is sponsored by Care2.com and Local Harvest. Over the weekend, Fernandina Farmers Market climbed the list and is now Number Three with 3,744 votes, which even made the local news in Knoxville TN, run out and do a special report from Market Square, Knoxville, their favorite local farmers market, currently in fourth place with 3,070 votes.
(Here is the link to the complete Tennessee story)
Are we going to let Tennessee win?Let get our people in and vote.
Go Fernandina!
Make sure to visit this website right now and place your vote
and help them win $5,000.
Also, Riverside Arts Market from Jacksonville is in spot 33.
You can also add your favorite market to the contest. There are lots of markets in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina who are not yet on the list.
