Coastal Companion

Your ultimate guide to the coast

Winter Wonderland 2009 – St Augustine, Florida

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This holiday season head over to the St. Augustine Amphitheatre to enjoy a Winter Wonderland! Admission to Winter Wonderland is free and the event is open Monday through Friday from 6 to 10 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

This is the third year for the popular Winter Wonderland festival at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre starting November 20th and running through January 3rd. More than 80,000 people have spent the holiday season with Winter Wonderland and made it part of their holiday tradition.

New additions to this year’s festival include the Blizzard Bounce House & the Elf Express Train as well as a New Theatre original production of “A Time for Everything”, thousands of additional lights, more decorations, more holiday scenes painted by local artists, and the most holiday cheer in Florida!

Other Winter Wonderland favorites include St. Augustine’s ONLY Ice Skating Rink with Nightly Snow Fall! America’s ONLY Refrigerated Ice Slide, Sleigh Rides, Elf Village, Reindeer Games, Elf Village, Lighted Nature Trails, Candy Cane Forest, S’Mores Pit, and of course the man himself Santa Clause!

Website : www.winterwonderlandflorida.com
The St. Augustine Amphitheatre is located at 1340 A1A South in St. Augustine. For more information, call 904.471.1965
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The Big Trunk Show – Fashion and Design in St Augustine – Florida

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Love fashion? This event is designed to put the spotlight on designers and the art of fashion. Come take a look at the fashion designers in our area at this year’s big trunk show. The event also includes music from live DJs, beer and wine specials, Fashion Films, custom t-shirt printing booth and shopping featuring a range of jewelry, accessories and apparel from North Florida’s hottest designers.
The trunk show is always booked to capacity and the designers are busy readying their lines for the public. There is a wonderful mix of styles and tastes being represented. Some of the favorites from last year are returning; Tara Ferreira, Rosa Loves, Paper Root, and Indi Loves Harlie will be showing new collections as well as hard to find items from their past releases.

The 4th Annual Big Trunk Show is sure to have something for everyone this year. One of the fun addition is a custom t-shirt printing booth. It will be set up for live screen printing. Bring in a t-shirt, choose a custom design and get it printed for only $5. You can also use one of the supplied tees instead and get it printed for $10. The designs are courtesy of a few of the designers participating in this year’s show. This sounds like great fun, and who knows, maybe even a unique Christmas gift.

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Uptown Saturday Night in St Augustine, Sept 26th

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The monthly event — Uptown Saturday Night — takes place from 5 to 9 p.m. every month in the Uptown San Marco Shopping District, St. Augustine. Visit the many galleries, quaint antique stores and unique shops between Ripley’s Museum and the Mission of Nombre de Dios this evening. You get an opportunity to meet many of the artists, listen to live music, enjoy refreshments and much more. Uptown is one of the most popular recurring events in the city, and no wonder. It’s a party like no other. The Mission of Nombre de Dios provides FREE PARKING for Uptown Saturday Night. For more information, call 904.824.3152.

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Jazz Fest at St. Augustine Beach, Florida

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Why not take a trip to the beach for the weekend?
In the summer we are used to enjoying free concerts at the Plaza in St. Augustine, or Music By the Sea. But on Saturday September 26th, and Sunday, September 27th, you can visit the beach to enjoy live jazz music. This year St. Augustine Beach is celebrating it’s birthday with many different events, and this is one of them.

There will be lots of food, music and most of all fun for the whole family. Local and regional jazz musicians will perform at the Pavilion. This is a free concert.

Saturday from 1 pm to 9 pm, Sunday from 2 pm to 6 pm. At St. Augustine Beach Pier Park, A1A Beach Boulevard, St. Augustine Beach, FL

For more information call 904-501-1253 or visit www.50thbeachbirthday.com

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2nd Annual Florida Heritage Book Festival Will Celebrate Florida’s Literary Heritage

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Florida’s rich and colorful literary heritage will be celebrated September 11-12 when the Florida Heritage Book Festival returns to St. Augustine. Featuring presentations by outstanding Florida authors, writing workshops and a keynote presentation by U.S. Senator Mel Martinez, the festival is sure to delight book lovers and inspire aspiring authors.

The Florida Heritage Book Festival kicks off on Friday, September 11, with a full day of writers workshops held in the Flagler Ballroom of St. Augustine’s Casa Monica Hotel. Presented by best-selling authors and publishing professionals, the workshops cover a wide range of topics related to the craft of writing and how to get published. Registration for the workshops is $60. In addition, festival writers will be making presentation throughout the day at all of St. Johns County’s public schools.

Throughout Saturday, September 12, the festival will feature presentations by more than 20 outstanding authors – including Stetson Kennedy and Dr. Michael Gannon. Topics will cover all facets of writing, as well as how to get published. Admission to these presentations, which take place on the campus of Flagler College, is free of charge. The keynote luncheon speaker will be U.S. Senator Mel Martinez who will speak about his assimilation into American society and living the American dream. Reservations for the 11:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. luncheon are $45 each.

All proceeds from the Florida Heritage Book Festival benefit the St. Johns County Friends of the Library organizations and the Newspaper in Education program sponsored by The St. Augustine Record. The Florida Heritage Book Festival is supported in part by a grant from the St. Johns County Tourist Development Council.

Full details on the 2009 Florida Heritage Book Festival, including reservations and ticket purchases, may be found at the festival’s official website www.fhbookfest.com .
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