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THURSDAY NOVEMBER 26, 2015 H
Advocate staff photos by CHARLES CHAMPAGNE
Cupcake Junkie owner Robyn Selders, left, and Cassandra Singletary, right, give out cupcake samples to guests Friday during the Mid City Merchants’ White Light Night Art Hop.
Mid City comes out at night
Autumn Mack, 6, admires the artwork of Lily Betancourt on Friday during the annual White Light Night event.
Artist Fred Parker, also known as Painter Piv, paints original artwork Friday evening in Mid City.
Darlene Denstorff
INLEAGUE
BR soccer league scores high with players 40 and older
AROUND MID CITY
BY AARON E. LOONEY
DDENSTORFF@ THEADVOCATE.COM
Special to The Advocate
BREC serves up tennis tourney Registration is underway for the BREC Open House Junior Singles Round Robin Tournament, scheduled for 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 4 at Capital One Tennis Center at City-Brooks Community Park. The tournament is for ages 11 to 18 and will include free snacks and beverages for players. Cost is $12 per person and registration is required. Call (225) 343-3767 or visit brec.org/tennis.
ZooLights 2015
From Friday through Dec. 30, visitors to Baton Rouge Zoo will enjoy the lights and displays of all your favorite zoo animals and holiday traditions. Hot cocoa and other treats will be available to purchase. Special activities include: FRIDAY: Coca-Cola truck, äSee MID CITY, page 5G
Advocate staff photo by BRIANNA PACIORKA
Playing in the Baton Rouge Soccer’s Over-40 division, from left, are Mirza Rustemovic and Lynne Mayes.
Niomi Krzystowczyk eagerly cheered on the Bravehearts while looking on at BREC’s Burbank Soccer Complex on a recent Sunday afternoon. “Good job out there,” she yelled as players passed the ball and attempted a shot on goal against the opposing Global40. “Keep going.” The 51-year-old was not cheering for her child playing, but for her husband, Doug. And she did so while waiting on the sideline to enter the game herself on a substitution. Krzystowczyk is one of the 127 members of Baton Rouge Soccer’s Over-40 division, a recreational league which plays 90-minute games on Sunday afternoons. “It’s a lot of fun,” she said of playing in the league. “You get the joy you had as a kid running full out, because you don’t get that just by exercising at the gym on the treadmill.”
“As you get older, your time to go out and be active may be limited because of work or family responsibilities. This league offers a chance to get outside and be active, keep in shape and socialize with people they may not be around normally.” PATRICK BUENO, who serves as Baton Rouge Soccer’s adult leagues director
The league is open to both men and women age 40 years or older. However, a player may be 39 years old if they turn 40 during the season. “As you get older, your time to go out and be active may be limited because of work or family responsibilities,” said Patrick Bueno, who serves as Baton Rouge SocäSee LEAGUE, page 2G
BR Magnet celebrates Blue Ribbon designation Advocate staff report Baton Rouge Magnet High School students and staff celebrated the school’s Blue Ribbon school of excellence designation Nov. 19 with music, food and activities. The school was one of nine Louisiana schools receiving the designation in September. It’s the third time the school earned the honor. The Blue Ribbon award is given by the U.S. Department
of Education, which began bestowing the honor in 1982. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at 10 a.m. announced the 335 schools named this year — 285 public and 50 private schools nationwide. Schools can earn Blue Ribbon awards in two ways: They are among the top performing schools in their respective states, or they have shown substantial progress in closing the achievement gap between all students and his-
torically low-performing subsets of students such as racial minorities and those living in poverty. Last week’s celebration included performances by ballet and band students The U.S. Department of Education honored the 335 schools at a recognition ceremony Nov. 9-10 in Washington, D.C. In its 33-year history, the Advocate staff photo by PATRICK DENNIS National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has bestowed this Baton Rouge Magnet School students enjoy hot meals on the award on some 8,000 schools. front lawn to celebrate the National Blue Ribbon School award.