E A ST COUNTY
WINTER 2016
SEASON
Observer
THE OBSERVER’S GUIDE TO THE ARTS AND SOCIETY
MUSIC DANCE THEATER ART BLACK TIE
Winter 2016 edition of Season INSIDE
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
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VOLUME 18, NO. 6
FREE THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2015
YOUR TOWN Edible arrangements
A year to remember Browse the best photos of the year to review some of 2015’s most memorable moments.
Lakewood Ranch Medical Center departments competed for the ultimate bragging rights. Who could make the best gingerbread house? Twelve teams spent two weeks designing and building their edible homes. CEO Richard Fletcher, COO Christ Loftus and Chief Nursing Officer Judy Young judged the homes Dec. 17, and declared the first-place winners. Robin Weaver and Lisa Wilkes from Patient Access won for their “Elf on a Shelf” beach cottage theme.
The gift of giving
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THE YEAR IN SPORTS 14-16A
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As the Escobar family located the cardboard box with their family’s assigned number on it, 3-year-old Jose smiled and hugged his new friend, a teddy bear he had just received. The Escobars were among the 600 Manatee County families that received toys and clothing Dec. 18 from the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program. More than 1,500 county children received five items from their wish and need lists. Participants of the program, which dates back to 1979, chose tags off a tree at a local grocery store, restaurant or other facility, that feature children’s names, ages and items they wanted for Christmas. People also donated money to the bell ringers stationed at grocery stores.
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The best of Black Tie. INSIDE
ABOUT THE PHOTOS: 1. Lucy Briggs and Devin Pontow get wet kisses from a new friend at the Manatee County Fair. 2. Hundreds of students gathered Oct. 11 for a candlelight vigil at the scene where Lakewood Ranch High School students Brendan Shreve and Jared Duran died in an auto accident. 3. Brayden Bishop is all ears for the Easter Bunny at the Lakewood Ranch Community Activities’ EGGstravaganza. 4.To honor her 100th birthday, Edna Strode’s family members gathered. 5. Florida West Coast Air Dogs teaches dogs to soar in the sport of dock diving.