The traffic circle

The Herald has a story on the Virginia Street traffic circle today here.

Trina Collins' work at Heart of the Grove

As a former dancer from Philadelphia, Trina Collins' first love and inspiration has always been the human figure. See Trina's work this month at the Heart of The Grove Gallery & Gift Shop (3439 Main Highway).

Tues. to Thurs. 12 to 6
Fri. & Sat. 12 to 9
Sunday 11 to 5

The Heart of The Grove Gallery & Gift Shop is the home of the GroveHouse Artists, a local artists' cooperative.

The next opening will be on Friday, May 9, from 6 to 9 pm. Membership shows are juried by an independent judge and a rotating committee of members. In addition, an artist from their membership is featured every month.

They are now accepting new members. You can pick up a membership application at the gallery

If you would like more information about GroveHouse Artists, please visit thei website here: http://www.grovehouseartists.net or call 305-445-1743.

Dinner Key, circa 1961

Love this photo -- it's on page 191 of "Historic Photos of Greater Miami," a new book by Seth Bramson. I think they sell it in The Bookstore in the Grove.

If you click on the image, it will open larger. It's a photo of Dinner Key in 1961. You can see City Hall and the land where Scotty's Landing is now and I find it so cool to see that the Coconut Grove Bank was there, too. See it to the upper left? And to the left below that is the Dinner Key Auditorium, current site of the movie studio.

There are older Dinner Key photos in the book, along with all the other old Miami photos.

Meet author Sue Kenney

Author Sue Kenney will be signing her new book, "My Camino," at The Bookstore in
the Grove (3399 Virginia Street), tomorrow, April 1 from 7 to
8:30 pm.

Sue left the familiar world of her family, rowing and career to walk 780 kilometers across the north of Spain on a Medieval pilgrimage route known as the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. Suddenly downsized from her corporate career, she decided to embark on this journey to find her passion in life. Sue completed this incredible quest in 29 days. She walked alone in the winter. This is her story.

Helping Shake-A-Leg

Shake-A-Leg will be putting on an event for the Star World Regatta sailors that will be here in April 7-17. The Event will help raise money for Shake-A-Leg, a non-profit that provides traditional and complimentary therapeutic services to help children, adolescents, and adults who have been disabled by a spinal cord injury or other related neurological disorders attain the highest levels of independence and community integration possible.

Several local businesses have already stepped up to donate: Doubletree Hotel, Milam’s Market, Senor Frogs, Fresh Market, and Monty’s who have donated beer, wine, and food for the event.

But they still need more. Please help Shake-A-Leg by way of donations of food or refreshments so they continue their community enrichment programs on the water with kids. If you would like to donate, please contact the Coconut Grove Chamber at 305-444-7270 or email info@coconutgrove.com.

Alicia Manning celebrates during Earth Hour

It's not Saturday night in the Grove if you don't hear the Krishnas. Alicia Manning, with flowers, was out for her birthday, that's Church Barnard behind Alicia.

Also celebrating Alicia's birthday was Trina Collins, David Collins, behind Trina; and Patrick Manning with Alicia.

Photos by AnnaMaria Windisch-Hunt

Vintage art and clothing are going fast

The Coconut Grove Woman's Club's Vintage Arts and Clothing Sale is in full swing this weekend. The place was very crowded yesterday and the sale continues today.

Veronica had lots of nice vintage baubles at her table.

There was one small area for men's vintage clothing. Dolly MacIntyre told me there isn't much of a market for men's vintage items, but she would love to start spreading the news that lots of men's items like ties and jackets are available.

Dolly also told me she was misquoted in the Herald, about the "carrying in of disabled people" if the handicap ramp was not ready.
I believe her, that didn't make sense.

There's one booth up front that seemed to be the most popular, you can see all the ladies gathering around for some good deals.

If it's Sunday, it must be Waffles

Every Sunday is "Waffle Sunday" at The Bookstore in the Grove (3399 Virginia Street). Stop by and enjoy your waffle topped with strawberries and banana or maybe plain old syrup. Get the Sunday Herald or New York Times and enjoy a quiet Sunday morning in the Village.

"Earth Hour" is tonight

Tonight at 8 pm, join the community by switching off the lights during Earth Hour and help make a statement for the good of the earth. Most Grove businesses will be participating.

AnnaMaria, had a little dress rehearsal today at the Windisch-Hunt Gallery (2911 Grand Avenue). Above, Community College art students, Samantha McNabb and Sofia Moreno view a Freda Tschumy bronze.

A few visitors thought it was part of the art. She also dimmed lights in the gallery so they reflected how the paintings would look at home. It came off well. Some people expressed that the dimmer lights drew them in closer to the art work for better viewing. So tonight again the lights will be out in the same places for "Earth Hour" and maybe now on a continuing basis since people like the atmosphere so much.

This is one way in which "Earth Hour" made a lasting difference -- AnnaMaria is using less electricity now. Maybe the trend will continue -- more restaurants might use more candlelight in the future rather than burn every light in the place.

Oscar and Ashley Thompson came prepared with flashlights for Earth Hour later at night.

Ice Cucumber soda

We were going on a couple of weeks ago about Dave Collins' famous Cucumber Punch at the Art Stroll.

Well, turns out Pepsi has introduced "Ice Cucumber" soda in Japan this past week.

Hopefully it will arrive in the US soon, if it's anything like Dave's punch, it would be delicious on a warm summer's day.

PJs in the park at Kennedy Park today

As you drive by Kennedy Park, you can see the tents going up and here is Victor Leong, getting his sand castle ready for today's "PJs in the Park" which is from 4 to 8 pm.

Wear your PJs and come on out -- some of the activities include the milk moustache competition, diaper the daddies (don't ask), three legged relay, magic show, free rickshaw rides, arts and craft and toddler friendly games. Oh yea, and Victor here, will teach you how to build sand castles, too.

All this afternoon at Kennedy Park.

Top photo by Harry Emilio Gottlieb, bottom photo by Tom Falco

Grove Scenes



If you click on the icon at bottom left, music will play

Grove Chamber seeks interns

The Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce is seeking talented and driven young interns to be a part of the organization.

Young professionals who are interested in the position would aid in the operations of tourist information, continuing the services to Chamber members, helping in day-to-day operations of the office as well as being a part of the planning of events such as the Great Taste of the Grove, Members’ Luncheons, and Coconut Grove Networkers.

Interns must be Word and Excel proficient, have a flexible schedule accommodating hours between 10 am-6 pm, as well as a positive personality and determined work ethic. Anyone who wishes to apply should contact the Administrative Coordinator, Richard Issa, at 305-444-7270 or email at info@coconutgrove.com.

Bookstore's new MySpace page

The Bookstore in the Grove now has a new MySpace page here: http://www.myspace.com/Thebookstoreinthegrove

Making the rounds

I made my rounds this morning and as someone had stated in an earlier comment, Kinko's is moving in next to Qdoba. I was told this long ago, but for some reason, people like to keep things quiet, so I didn't say anything until the sign went up. They asked me not to.

I stopped at Focaccia for breakfast. Loved this colorful scene out front.

By the way, this storefront next to the new Kinko's is being used to store wardrobe for the movies being shot over at the Expo Center. Each day you can see the staff entering and exiting with costumes and things for movie shoots around the area, like Marley and Me.

I popped by the Woman's Club to see if they would have the handicap ramp ready for this weekend's Vintage Art and Clothing Sale, which starts tonight. They said they should have it ready at the side of the building. There have been work crews doing their thing all week, I have seen them.

One of the ladies at the club told me the same old story -- the city, zoning and permitting people are holding things up. I swear these people want bribes, she agreed, they hold up most business openings for no apparent reason. She said that you call the city, they tell you one thing, you call zoning, they tell you another, then an inspector tells you to do something else. It really describes Miami in a nutshell. Three steps forward, one step back.

Charrette starts today

Just a remind that the Charrette for the Playhouse starts this morning.

Take a walk, no seriously

There is a "Tropical Coconut Grove" walking group that meets periodically. The seem to do a lot of walking, they start at the Guess store on Grand Avenue and end up all the way by Merrie Christmas park and even Fairchild Tropical Garden. According to their website, it's an eight mile walk.

If you are so inclined, you may get more info and sign up here: http://walkers.meetup.com/366/

There is also a "Miami Filmmakers & Actors Who Make Documentary Films Meetup" group. They usually meet at the Sailing Club. Info on them here: http://docfilm.meetup.com/91/

New Freda Coffing Tschumy exhibition

Freda Coffing Tschumy will be the featured artist in a new exhibition at Windisch-Hunt Fine Art Gallery (2911 Grand Avenue) opening Sunday, March 30. The exhibition will continue through April.

Freda has exhibited widely in the US and Canada. She received the first Metrorail sculpture commission, for the University of Miami station, and her sculpture of Marjory Stoneman Douglas is on view at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. She taught bronze casting and ran the foundry at the University of Miami for 13 years and cast all of the pieces in this exhibition. 39 of her pieces are on exhibition.

Rezoning to accommodate large grocery stores

The City of Miami has plans on changing zoning to allow for larger grocery stores in the Grove. This will allow Milam's to expand into the Walgreens space if they wish to. Walgreens is planning on moving to a free standing building on US 1 and Bird Avenue where the old oil change place used to be.

Also, rumor has it that Publix is interested in building on Grand Avenue, in the Village West area and zoning needs to be changed to accommodate a large store.

Another suggestion is Trader Joe's. Many people are hoping they will open a store in the Grove. I think the old Borders books location may be perfect for that. Most are in urban areas, the Grove is perfect. They actually have a form on their website, where you can suggest a location, maybe if a lot of us suggest it, we can get one.
Here is the store suggestion form.

Let's hope zoning is limited to these grocery stores and not large box retailers and huge condos. We need grocery stores, we don't need the other monstrosities.

They have been pretty busy at Berries

They have been busy at Berries (2884 SW 27 Avenue). Happy hour is still everyday from 4-7pm with 50% off the entire bar.

They have a new Chef, Frank Ferreiro, who is tightening up the menu, changing a few things. The new menu should start in about a week.

Grove Designer Rebecca Kyrouac is still hard at work -- the men's and woman's restrooms just had a complete renovation. And they have a newly decorated wall with old black and white photos of the owners, the staff, their families and some locals.

The parking lot is being paved right now. And they are putting up a retractable awning for the patio in the next few months, hopefully before the rainy season. They are even working on a new website.

Wow, next time I'll be careful to ask them "what's new?" Apparently EVERYTHING is new at Berries. :)

Special delivery

Here is Francoise, whose parents own Focaccia Rustica, making a special delivery of curry chicken soup. She's on spring break this week. When she pops into a gallery, she likes to make some art before she heads back to the restaurant.

Photo by AnnaMaria Windisch-Hunt

Weekend Charrette set for Playhouse

The Charrette for the Coconut Grove Playhouse is this coming weekend. The Playhouse theater's board of directors and the University of Miami's Center for Urban and Community Design will be meeting all weekend and the public is invited.

Three days of workshops are designed to come up with a solution for the failing institution. I say first step is to remove the board and not even let them participate. They are the ones that caused this failure in the first place, aren't they?

The workshops will be Friday, March 28 through Sunday, March 30 at Ransom Everglades (3575 Main Highway) just down the block.

The schedule looks like this:

Friday
9: 30 am - Welcome and introduction
10:00 am - Presentation
11:00 am - Open Forum (Q&A)
1:00 pm - Design Team Work Session
10:00 pm - End of Day

Saturday
8:30 am - Design Team Work Session
12:30 - Public Meeting Pin Up
3:00 pm - Design Team Work Session
10:00 pm - End of Day

Sunday
8:30 am - Design Team Work Session
5:00 pm - Final Presentation

The general public is invited to visit the Design Team Work Sessions.

College Night at CocoWalk

It's College Night at CocoWalk tomorrow, March 27. From 8 pm to midnight, tennis celebs in town for the Sony Ericsson Open will be signing autographs. There will be live music, interactive games and give-aways.

Another good spot to see the tennis players is at Le Bouchon du Grove (3430 Main Highway), many hang out there after the games. They have for years, thanks to Jorge Farge, my neighbor, who started by drawing in the French players, now most of the top players show up at least once during tournament times.

Don Feldstein's response to Woman's Club fix

Regarding the post below about the Woman's Club event, Don Feldstein, wanted to make some things clear. According to Don:

"I have been misquoted and the description of events leading up to the legal issues is not factual. I never said I don't want money, I said I get no money from this. ADA cases do not provide for financial remuneration to the plaintiff (unless perhaps I was injured as a result of negligence). They are strictly for the purpose of preventing discrimination on the basis of disability.

"The Woman's Club was made aware of this problem some 2 years prior to the legal action that I took when I saw that they were doing nothing to remedy the problem and I was being excluded from Culture in the City events as a result.

"Also, please inform Dolly MacIntyre that having assistants helping people into the building is not acceptable, not to mention potentially dangerous. It may be possible to rent some type of external lift as a possible temporary alternative. Please don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to compound their problems. In fact, I have personally contributed money to their cause. It's just too bad that they waited until the last minute to move on this and are now looking to make a quick fix."

Editor's Note: I have to agree, Dolly was quoted in the Herald as saying that if they don't have proper access by Friday's event, they would carry disabled persons into the building. The whole scene seems quite disturbing to me -- very undignified and a liability.

Vintage art and clothing sale at Woman's Club

The Woman's Club of Coconut Grove (2985 S. Bayshore Drive) is having it's popular Vintage Art and Clothing Sale this weekend. Starting Friday, the club will raise money to complete their renovations.

The actual building has been closed for close to a year to be retrofitted to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. Seems a guy named Donald Feldstein threw a stink when he could not enter using his wheelcheer and all hell broke loose, he threatened to sue.

But it seems to be a good thing because the building was run down, it smelled musky inside and the bathrooms needed to be redone. And it really should allow access to everyone, for legal reasons or not. They should be ready by Friday, if not, they are going to use portable bathrooms set up outside.

The weekend schedule is:
Friday, 7 pm - opening night party
Saturday and Sunday 10 am to 6 pm

The party on Friday is $25.00 at the door, which includes food, drinks and a fashion show. The weekend art show and sale is free.

There's more than just art at Café Tu Tu Tango

Yvonne teaches flamenco dancing and works at Café Tu Tu Tango at CocoWalk on Wednesday nights. Café Tu Tu Tango supports the artists with space to paint and perform. They get "funny money" and that translates into food. Daily from noon to 4 pm you'll see artists working on easels and from 6 to 10 pm and Wednesdays you'll see extra performers like Yvonne here. You may remember the post I did on artist Jeffrey Passage. working at the restaurant.

Photos by AnnaMaria Windisch-Hunt

Fashion happy hour at Miami Science Museum

Please click on the image for larger version.

Another incredible Grove event

The concert at The Barnacle was a huge success last Friday. The weather was beautiful and there were over 1,020 people in the park (including visitors, children, orchestra members and volunteers).

Artists on the streets? Why not?

I was talking with an artist/gallery owner the other day about the Art Stroll and we both agreed that the Grove needs to go back to some of its roots.

We would like to see working artists on the streets. Now she thinks they should sell their wares. I think they should paint only. No selling and they should only be local artists.

So as not to turn the place into a flea market or carnival, maybe three artists a day will work -- all through permit basis and they will rotate daily or weekly -- there would be a different set of artists each day. The artists will paint on canvas, and I think, add a little charm to the streets. The artists would hand out business cards and direct interested buyers to galleries or their homes for sales, but they would not be selling right there on the street. They would be only working and that would be the objective -- an artist at work, just part of the scenery.

This would only be for artists painting on canvas, no jewelery makers, no t-shirt designers, ceramics, etc. This would serve to add an artistic air to the area and give a working artist some outdoor scenery to paint before the public.They could move around and not be confined to one area, they could paint whatever strikes them.

I think this would add a lot of charm to the area and let the Grove stand out a bit. They do this in New Orleans and it really is quite charming to see an artist at work, oblivious to the people around, just enjoying being in their element.

Emotions, Love and Magical Sound of Music

Culture in the City presents Damira Feldman in a World class piano concert, Wednesday, March 26, at
7:30 pm

The program "Emotions, Love, and Magical Sound of Music" represents a wide range of significant composers from the Romantic era, with selections from the early Romanticism by Franz Schubert to the last great champion of Romantic style European music, Sergei Rachmaninov.

Famous composers, such as those, weren't only passionate about their music, they were also passionate about their love affairs. Learn about the women who captured the hearts of composers during the Romantic period.

Russian born pianist Damira Feldman, who had her debut as a soloist in Russia at the age of 14, has captured audiences around the world - and since 2001 in Florida - with her vivacious and intense rendition of the great classic and contemporary composers.

The concert is at the Arts and Minds Center, 3138 Commodore Plaza. For info, please email triise@bellsouth.net

Talk real estate with Riley Smith

Riley Smith a native of Coconut Grove and a longtime realtor at EWM's Grove Office will be holding an informative talk at Greenstreet (3468 Main Highway) tonight (6:00-7:30 pm). Riley will discuss the state of our real estate market here in the Grove.

Topics include:
- 33133 Current Real Estate Facts and Trends (graphs and charts will be handed out)
- An explanation of the types of properties that ARE selling and ARE NOT selling in the Grove
- Summary of the single family home, condo and townhouse market in Coconut Grove
- The impact of short sales and foreclosures on the Grove's real estate market
- An explanation of the new property tax law and how it will affect the Grove's real estate market

Bob Simms Collection at UM

Robert H. Simms is a longtime teacher and activist who helped foster dynamic change for blacks in some of South Florida’s most historic neighborhoods. The Richter Library at UM has an archival photo collection that chronicles his life and legacy this week. Simms recently donated hundreds of his pictures to the University of Miami Libraries, which has made them a part of its Special Collections division.

The Bob Simms Collection includes scores of images taken by Simms of his activities in the black communities of Coconut Grove and Miami. It also features documents, letters, awards, and publications of his personal and civic accomplishments.

An emeritus member of the UM Board of Trustees, Simms was a teacher at the George Washington Carver schools in Coconut Grove and served for 15 years as executive director of the Metro Dade Community Relations Board. He developed the Miami Inner-City Minority Experience for the U.S. Department of Defense and led efforts to create and implement the Inner City Marine Project now known as the Mast Academy.

A special exhibit featuring samples from the Bob Simms Collection is currently on display at the Richter through the end of the month, and a website features samples from the collection. To see it, click here.

Meetings this week

Monday, March 24, 7-9 pm - Village West Homeowners and Tenants Assn. mtg (HOATA) - 3750 S. Dixie Hwy, Rolle Center, For info, please email Pierre Sands at alittletreeservice@yahoo.com

Thursday, March 27, 9 am - City Commission hearing at City Hall (3500 Pan American Drive). Televised Ch 77 - or stream at http://videos.miamigov.com

Thursday, March 27, 7 pm - Friends of Peacock Park's Spring Meeting. The Sasaki group will reveal its master plan for the Grove waterfront. The meeting is at Plymouth Church's Pilgrim House (3400 Devon Road, right off Main Highway). For info: 305-448-3775.

Rainy day

I was out of town most of the day with family and we didn't see much rain, but I hear the Grove got torrential rain around 4 pm. Seen here huddling are Debbie Starbuck and Charles Corda of the Grove.

Photo by AnnaMaria Windisch-Hunt

I get it now

I actually owe an apology to the Kent security guards. It just dawned on me that these guys are trained security guards, not information booth people. Their job is security. They were thrown into a weird situation where they are sitting in booths that say "Information" in huge letters on them.

The solution may be to take the word "Information" off the booths and come up with another word and then the guards can actually be guards and if people do have questions, they can try to help, but not be expected to help since they are guards and not info people.

That's why the poor guy was saying, "I don't live around here, how do you expect me to know where things are?" He was totally right. Imagine you are a security guard, you get an assignment and are put in an info booth. He was probably expecting to be guarding something and providing security, and he now has to inform people of where the closest bathroom is. Very frustrating for him. I see that now.

Maybe he should have punched me in the nose. I won't harass them anymore. I may start harassing City Hall and the people responsible for the whole stupid program.

Shake-A-Leg on "Oprah's Big Give" tonight

Looks like the Grove's Shake-A-Leg is one of the beneficiaries on Oprah's Big Give tonight, when the show takes place in Miami. It's on at 9 pm on ABC.

Words of Peace just in time for Easter

Yesterday's rain did not dampen the spirit of all involved in the Words of Peace project. Here are Donato 2-1/2, with his mother, Cassandra, owners of the Bird Bath laundromat.

Children and adults both participated in the artistic event.

Pia age 7, was brought by her Dad, spending time in the Grove while he competes for Olympic status sailing.

Robert age 5, enjoyed the project, his father worked close by in Kiosk. And Alex visiting, from London enjoyed it, too. That's volunteer artist Bettyann Pober with the boys.

He called me a "F-ing Idiot

One of the Kent Security guard supervisors in the information booths just challenged me to a fist fight on the street and he called me a
"F-ing idiot." He actually yelled it on the street at the top of his voice as I was walking away. Nice.

He may have had a gun and he was in uniform so I backed down and we just had a yelling match and he called me the name.

What happened was I saw a couple of guys goofing with the two guards in the booth, you can see one here in the blue shirt, the other was on the other side. Because I am a buttinski, and I like to play "stump the info booth person," I walked over.

The guys outside the booth were cracking up. They could not get over that the info booth guys didn't have a clue. They said to me, "Every time I ask these dudes something, they don't know the answer." A Kent supervisor and an employee were manning the booth at the post office location. One more clueless than the other. He said, "I have lived in the Grove eight years, I know every square inch, these guys don't know anything."

So of course, I had to chime in. I asked some questions and of course they grabbed for their ubiquitous map, like a security blanket. They said they were only on the job two days, how were they to know everything. I said, "But you don't know anything!" He replied, "Well I don't live around here -- how do you expect me to know anything?"

Good question. Are we seriously paying people to sit in these booths (two of them now) with their thumbs up their noses? I would like a refund on my City taxes please. I won't pay for this.

Now here comes the funny part. I just got a call from Sylvia. She said, "Tom were you just arguing with one of the new info booth people?" I said, "Yes, how do you know?" She said, "I was just at the booth at CocoWalk and some guy says he got into a yelling match with someone who took his picture and was going on about waste of taxpayer dollars." I just had to laugh. She knows me so well. :)

New outdoor grilling at Gardner's Market

New at Gardner's Market: Outdoor grilling of hamburgers, all beef hotdogs & chicken shish-kebabs. Saturdays 10 am to 2 pm. Check back next week, today's goodies are all gone. They are located at Bird and Matilda.

Photos by Harry Emilio Gottlieb

If it's good enough for sports facilities . . .

News item: City of Miami selling naming rights to parks, etc.
Harry Emilio Gottileb's graphic suggets that this can't be far off . . .

A Revitalizing Chamber Happy Hour

THE COCONUT GROVE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
and Premiere Center for Cosmetic Surgery & Spa
Invite you to a different kind of Happy Hour:
A RELAXING, REJUVENATING NETWORKING COCKTAIL
TUESDAY MARCH 25, 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Premiere Center for Cosmetic Surgery
3370 Mary St., (Next to the Mayfair) Coconut Grove
$5 admission includes cocktails and hors d'oeuvres
Refresh, renew and revitalize with cocktails, hors d'oeuvres
and a sampling of relaxing and rejuvenating treatments
You will be inspired to look your absolute best, so that you can
concentrate on your business and the rest!

All guests will receive 20% off Botox, fillers and any future
Spa treatments as well as a $500 discount card towards
any surgical procedure.

MEN -- THIS IS FOR YOU, TOO.

Premiere will be raffling their classic Glycolic Peels to smooth
fine lines and wrinkles, creating a fresh new you!

RSVP at 305 444 7270 or email info@coconutgrove.com

Dino Eggstravaganza at Museum of Science

The Science Museum (3280 S. Miami Avenue) is having a two-day Dino Eggstravaganza this Saturday and Sunday. There will be lots of interactive activities including Dino Egg Hunts, interesting Paleo tours of the Dinosaurs of China exhibit, colorful face painting, amazing science experiments and spectacular wildlife animal encounters, including alligators, bald eagles, snakes, spiders and owls.

There will be music, cool prizes and giveaways for the entire family. For all the details, check out: www.miamisci.org

Playing hooky

Lots of people in the Grove today -- tourists, school kids, their parents, lots of college spring breakers. Seems like everyone is starting their weekend early. The restaurants were crowded -- long waits at Cheesecake Factory and Jaguar and the stores were full of shoppers. Nice to see.

Tall mocha with 2% milk, please

We are lucky to have so many great coffee places in the Grove. I had stopped drinking coffee for awhile, not sure why, but now I seem to have to have it daily.

My favorite spots are Foccoccia, Pommes & Pané Café and The Bookstore. I'll pop into Starbucks every now and again, but I don't think Starbucks even grinds the coffee there anymore, so it doesn't seem as fresh and the place doesn't even have a coffee smell anymore.

If I had my druthers, I'd be sitting outside one of these little cafés all day blogging and drinking coffee.

Words of Peace project at Mayfair

"Words of Peace" is the brainchild of Thomas Ingmire, a nationally known calligrapher. More than 700 calligraphers from 29 countries responded to the peace project -- pros and amateurs, children and adults.

The South Florida Calligraphy Guild will be on hand this Saturday afternoon at the Streets of Mayfair's "Family Days," to assist youngsters in creating visual statements about "peace".

These personal works of art will then join the exhibition in the window adjacent to the Bookstore.

Artwork is done on 20" x 5" strips of paper The choice of paper, ink and colors are up to the artists.
The schedule for Saturday is:
2 to 3 pm - kids 5 and under with parent
3 - 4 pm - kids 6 to 9 years of age
4 - 5 pm - 10 to teens
Adults may start at noon learn and then assist if they choose.

Erics only