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Palms West Monthly • January 2018 • Page 1
Palms West
Monthly
THE ACREAGE • LOXAHATCHEE GROVES • ROYAL PALM BEACH • WELLINGTON • WEST PALM BEACH Volume 8, Number 1
Sculpture Gardens celebrates works of Boaz Vaadia The carved and stacked stone works by the late artist Boaz Vaadia will be on exhibit at Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens in West Palm Beach from Jan. 11 through April 29.
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Wellington’s father-daughter dance returns
Tickets are now on sale for Wellington’s annual fatherdaughter dance, to be held Saturday, Feb. 3 at the Village Park Gymnasium.
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$50,000 donation highlights JWF annual luncheon
More than 250 guests of the Jewish Women’s Foundation of the Greater Palm Beaches’ annual luncheon were inspired to envision a world where women and girls can be safe, economically secure, and able to reach their fullest potential.
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2017: West Palm’s year in review Columnist and West Palm Beach blogger Aaron Wormus runs down the good, bad and the ugly – the biggest events that shaped our area in 2017.
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PalmsWestMonthly.com
South Florida Fair marches back into town Jan. 12-28 This year’s theme, “Magical Parades,” promises to feature a famous parade from around the world every day. By MARY THURWACHTER Palms West Monthly
WEST PALM BEACH — The drum beat has already begun for the 2018 South Florida Fair, a 17-day extravaganza with all the goodies fairgoers have come to expect – corn dogs, carnival rides, games, agriculture, entertainment and, yes, racing pigs. This year’s theme, “Magical Parades,” will have visitors tapping toes and stretching out arms to catch beaded necklaces tossed from floats in true Mardi Gras style. A famous parade from around the globe will be featured each day of the fair, which runs Jan. 12-28, says fair spokeswoman Doreen Poreba. Patrons of last year’s fair were asked via Facebook to suggest their most loved parades. The theme is a spin-off of sorts from last year’s New Orleans theme and its popular Mardi Gras parade. Vicki Chouris, vice president and COO of the South Florida Fair, said she and her team collaborated on a theme for months after last year’s fair and wondered how they could top its popularity. “We decided to take the parade and do one every day of the fair, each with a different theme,” she said. Upbeat music, colorful costumes and decorated floats – which will also be on display in a Magical Parades exhibition – will all be part of the show. Among the parades will be two Bike Nite
(Jan. 17 & 24) processions, which typically attract hundreds of bikers sporting two and three-wheeled motorcycles. “We’ve got a lot of help putting on the parades,” Chouris said. “For example, for the Oktoberfest Parade (Jan. 20), the American German Club will help us. Our Thanksgiving Parade (Jan. 27) is being supported by the sugar industry and will be a ‘Thank a Farmer Parade.’” Florida Atlantic University will assist in putting on the Football Hall of Fame Parade (Jan. 28) and the Rose Society will be helping with the Rose Petal Parade (Jan. 22). “And I don’t want to fail to mention that we’ve got a lot of pirates coming (Jan. 18) for the Pirate Parade,” Chouris added. “Believe it or not, there are pirates everywhere.” The parades are scheduled for weekends at 1 p.m. and weekdays at 6:30 p.m., except for Thursday, Jan. 25, when it will begin at 7:30 p.m. As always, the fair will host an awardwinning livestock and agriculture program with more than 1,000 exhibitors from 30 Florida counties and more than 200 rides, games and attractions. This year, world-class ice skating performances will be on the daily calendar, in addition to four stages of music and entertainment and the historic Yesteryear Village. “The best in fried foods and other tasty, exotic treats also will continue to be a main draw for many fairgoers,” Poreba said. Of course, the
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FREE • January 2018 1 p.m. on v LOVES A PARADE: EVERYBODY WHAT: Visitors will be tapping their toes and
stretching out arms to catch beaded necklaces tossed from floats in true Mardi Gras style. Parades take place 1 p.m. on weekends, 6:30 p.m. weekdays, except Thursday, Jan. 25, which will be at 7:30 p.m. Here’s the daily lineup: Friday, Jan. 12: Chinese New Year Parade Saturday, Jan. 13: St. Patrick’s Parade Sunday, Jan. 14: Mayors’ Parade Monday, Jan. 15: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade Tuesday, Jan. 16: Mardi Gras Parade Wednesday, Jan. 17: Bike Nite Parade Thursday, Jan. 18: Pirate Parade Friday, Jan. 19: Junkanoo Parade Saturday, Jan. 20: Oktoberfest Parade Sunday, Jan. 21: Carnival Parade Monday, Jan. 22: Rose Petal Parade Tuesday, Jan. 23: Mardi Gras Parade Wednesday, Jan. 24: Bike Nite Parade Thursday, Jan. 25: Veterans Parade Friday, Jan. 26: Boat Parade Saturday, Jan. 27: Thanksgiving “Thank A Farmer” Parade Sunday, Jan. 28: Football Hall of Fame Parade
WHERE: The fair will be held at the South
Florida Fairgrounds, 9067 Southern Blvd., West Palm Beach.
FOR MORE INFO: For more information and
ticket prices, call (561) 793-0333 or go online to southfloridafair.com.
fair has a larger purpose than entertainment, carnival rides, games and food. “The main purpose of the fair is to showcase agriculture,” said Rick Vymlatil, South Florida Fair president and CEO. “As South Florida becomes more urban, we’re very conscious that we need to tell the story of agriculture in Florida history,” said Vymlatil. “In the Sundy Feed Store, we have a variety of commodities on display – the sugars, of course, and vegetables. After all, South Florida is the winter vegetable capital of the world.” Vymlatil has been in the fair business since 1982 and was recently elected 2018 chairman of the International Association of Fairs and Expositions. Like every aspect of the fair, entertainment has evolved, Vymlatil said. “Traditionally, there has been a focus SEE FAIR / PAGE 10