Things We Loved In April

True Food Kitchen at the Town Center Mall is a welcome addition.

Things We Loved In April…
The Bombay Café—there’s a reward for trying new cuisine. And I received one when I tagged along for dinner with friends and discovered Indian cuisine. I didn’t go spicy, but I did try a whole bunch of new things, and greatly enjoyed the new flavors. Bombay Café in Boca is terrific.

Grand Luxe blood orange soda. –Grand Luxe is a Town Center staple, but I had never tried their craft soda until recently. Highly recommended.

Springsteen on Broadway—see past blogs— but if you can– don’t miss this show. It would play well at the Crest Theatre, just saying.

Delray Affair, great weather, great times.

The double clucker at Caffe Luna Rosa. Simply the best chicken sandwich imaginable.

White chocolate samples at the Godiva store At Town Center.  Yes, Godiva chocolate makes ice cream and it’s really good.

The top sixty Beatles rock songs on Sirius XM. Hosted by Beatles fan extraordinaire Robin Zander of Cheap Trick the list was welcome background music as we cruised Delray and Boca. The number one song: Helter Skelter.

Honor Bar veggie sandwich. The Honor Bar is in Palm Beach, a nice ride up the coast.

Rediscovering “Feelin Satisfied” by 70s rockers Boston. Great great great song.

Reading Aaron Renn’s views on cities and regions. Always smart, always interesting. If you love cities subscribe to his “Urbanophile” blog.

Eating at the bar at the Gazebo. Great service, wonderful food and a great place for conversation.

Seeing my stepson’s best friend land a dream job with the Boca Police Department.

True Food Kitchen, a welcome addition to the Town Center Mall.  Healthy offerings—don’t miss the charred cauliflower and the Havana Lager.

Seeing the Animal Rescue Force at Pet Supplies Plus on Linton Boulevard. We got Randy, our feisty chihuahua, 13 years ago from ARF at the Delray Affair. They really do rescue us.
It was fun to introduce Randy to his “alma mater” and the volunteers were happy to see a “graduate”.
We hope you consider a rescue.

Wishing you a safe and great May.

Random Thoughts…

Dare 2 Be Great Scholars Believe in 'paying it forward'

Dare 2 Be Great Scholars Believe in ‘paying it forward’

This is the time of year that the Dare 2 Be Great board pours over applications for scholarships.
It’s a humbling experience to read through the resumes and essays of these incredible young men and women.
Many of the essays are inspirational and more than a few are heartbreaking.
The common thread seems to be resilience. It just seems that some people are built by adversity. They succeed regardless of life’s circumstances and overcome hurdles. It’s almost as if they succeed because they are determined to live better lives.
These kids inspire me. I wish we could help them all. It breaks my heart that we can’t. We’ll keep you posted on the Class of ’16.

It’s a Miracle
Congratulations to the Miracle League of Palm Beach County which pulled off its first successful dinner on the diamond last week.
Julia and Jeff Kadel and their team of volunteers have done a remarkable job bringing the great game of baseball to kids who might not otherwise have an ability to play.
So good to see this wonderful non-profit grow and thrive. And I’m pleased to see Celsius, a company I’m involved with, step up and sponsor.

An Affair to Remember

We hope you’ll visit the Delray Affair this weekend.
The 54th annual event is a great chance to see friends and to adopt a rescue pet.
That’s right.
We’ve adopted two pets at the Affair over the years: Randy and Sophie.
Both little dogs enriched our families beyond words. We also hope the city doesn’t “fee” this event to death.

It’s Delray’s signature event, a tradition and helps our Chamber of Commerce stay healthy and more than ever this city needs a healthy chamber.

Hello Rhys, Goodbye Kim
We wish Tech Runway’s founding director Kim Gramm well on her new job in Texas.
Kim did a lot to put FAU’s ambitious project on the map.
She will be missed.

We are excited to see our Leadership Florida friend Rhys Williams step into the role of leading Tech Runway.

Thanks, Alyona

We’ll also miss Alyona Ushe well as she departs Delray’s innovative Arts Garage.
Alyona won’t be far away as she will continue to work her magic in Pompano Beach.
It’s not easy to start something and make it relevant. Alyona put the Arts Garage on the cultural map in South Florida creating buzz and staging lots of memorable shows and performances.
She made an impact.

Weekend Best Bets: Delray Affair Edition

The official 2014 Poster by Ora Sorensen.

The official 2014 Poster by Ora Sorensen.

The Delray Affair is Here

The Delray Affair is the city’s signature event and with 250,000 people expected this weekend in Delray, it’s hard to argue.

Here are the facts:

DATES/TIMES:

 Friday, April 25, 2014 (10:00 am to 6:00 pm)

 Saturday, April 26, 2014 (10:00 am to 6:00 pm)

 Sunday, April 27, 2014 (10:00 am to 5:00 pm)

 

PARKING:           

 $5 County Parking Garage – West Atlantic Avenue; next to Courthouse/behind library

 $5 Parking Garage – Old School Square

 $5 at City Hall – City Attorney’s office & grass lot

 

STREET CLOSURES:

 4:00 am Friday, April 25th through 10:00 pm Sunday, April 27th

 (NW 2nd Avenue from Tennis Center east to Intracoastal)

 

FESTIVAL FEATURES:           

 – Over 700+ vendors featuring hand-crafted arts and crafts, fine arts, great food!

– Live music at two beer gardens all week-end long (4th & Atlantic and front lawn of Delray Beach Center for the Arts)

 – Commemorative Poster design by Ora Sorenson

 – Commemorative T-Shirt design by Chamber Staff Member, Teri Brant

 – NEW Enhanced mobile application, with year-long functionality, that integrates the community with vendors, sponsors, and advertisers

•iPhone & Android compatible

•Capability to search by category, exhibitor name or category

•View event schedule and add to personal schedule

•Color coded maps with GPS directional from your location

•Survey

•Launched April 18th – download AFTER 18th or you’ll get old one (delrayaffair)

 

-NEW Mobile “Art of the Automobile at Delray Affair”

•Featuring a different collection each day, located under the big tent at OSS park

•Dream Ride

•American Classics

•European Classics

•Future Classics

•Featured Attraction Using Special Olympics as their cause, Dream Ride raises the awareness and much-needed funds for people living with intellectual disabilities while inspiring our communities to overcome diversity, with all the achievements and accomplishments of Special Olympics athletes’ serving as an example.

•Founded in 2001, “Dream Ride” started as just that––a dream from Michael A. Bozzuto, CEO of Bozzuto’s Inc. It began as an optimistic vision to help people with intellectual disabilities living in our communities. Thirteen years later––thanks to the passion, hope and dedication of his entire company and the community––“The Dream Ride Experience” has evolved into the largest philanthropic endeavor sponsored by Bozzuto’s Inc. and The Hometown Foundation, Inc.

•The Dream Ride Experience is a culmination of years’ worth of fundraising events, activities and outreach. It is an event to celebrate the achievements of Special Olympics athletes and to honor these outstanding men, women and children living with intellectual disabilities in our communities.

•Spanning thirteen states along the Eastern Seaboard and three countries, “The Dream Ride Experience” has become one of the most exciting and highly anticipated events for engine enthusiasts, Special Olympians and passionate participants. Currently, over $2,245,000 has been raised for Special Olympics programs in multiple states, with over 100% of the proceeds directly benefiting the charity.

 

NEW “Rendezvous at the Affair Media – Entertainment Lounge & Broadcast Center Sponsored by PeterMark Salon Foundation, an exclusive VIP area featuring food tastings by local restaurants, hair & fashion show, chair massages, tanning salon, give-a-ways, music dancing and an after party at Delux Nightclub

•Located at PeterMark VIP Block on NE 4th Avenue and Atlantic

•$20 Friday & Saturday, $10 Sunday

Enjoy! If you need more information visit https://delrayaffair.com/

  

 

Arts Garage Hosts Jazz Professors

If you’re looking for something to do Saturday night after wandering the Delray Affair, consider some jazz at The Arts Garage.

Grammy winning Jeff Rupert is a Yamaha performing artist, a record producer, recording artist, freelance tenor saxophonist, full time professor, and Director of Jazz Studies at UCF.

The Jazz Professors, a sextet had top JazzWeek charting hit albums in 2012 and 2013. “The Jazz Professors: Live at the UCF-Orlando Jazz Festival” (Flying Horse, 2011) peaked at #19 during its 17 weeks on the JazzWeek charts.

The Professors will be at the Arts Garage, Saturday, April 26 at 8 a.m.

For tickets visit www.artsgarage.org