Wow - taking a week off for the Thanksgiving holiday break felt great... but wow look at all the stuff going on here in Fort Lauderdale for the holidays. You will have a full plate to pick from, so hope this will help you find your favorites!
- Lights and dancing, on the street, on the water, on the beach... even a Silent Disco?!? 😱 🕺
- Last Friday Night Waves this week. Wait till you see what's coming next.
- Let the children do their own holiday shopping, buy (and eat Vegan) PLUS lot's of shows to pick from 👇
Stuff You Won't Want To Miss This Week:
- If you've been tracking the City "Light Up" events, you know that we Friday night it is Light Up Sistrunk! There will be dancing in the streets. This one-of-a-kind celebration features the lighting of a giant holiday tree, live bands, outstanding entertainment, a free toy giveaway, a health fair, food trucks, a kids zone complete with Santa, a reptile exhibit, bounce houses, slides, and arts and crafts plus a teen area with a DJ, activities, and more. (Free)
- Or you can dance down at The Loop where The Collektives will be performing on stage for Friday Night Sound Waves. Note this will be the LAST of the Friday Night Sound Waves performances, as we turn the page into a whole new set of programming at Las Olas Oceanside Park. (Free)
- Also starting on Friday, is a full week of Holiday Magic at the Bonnet House Museum & Gardens. There will be live entertainment, scavenger hunts, floral arrangement classes, and more. This list for the full schedule and tickets. (Paid)
- Want to help your children do their holiday shopping AND help a good cause at the same time? On Saturday from 11am to 3pm will be Ralphie's Holiday Shop to benefit the Broward County Humane Society. With gift ideas priced as low as $1, this is a shopping experience specifically designed for the young (older but young at heart also welcome too). (Free)
- Saturday December 3rd, the Vegan Block Party is back. This time they will be at Esplanade Park with their Winter Festival from Noon to 6pm. Great food, music, entertainment, a Kids Zone, activism and art - all at one fun location! (Tickets)
- Right next to the Park (Saturday Night), you can also walk up to The Amaturo Theater at Broward Center, for the season kick-off of The New Cannon Chamber Collective. Featuring internationally acclaimed opera vocalists Angela Brown, soprano, and Stephen Salters, baritone. This concert presents three distinct voices in American classical music. (Tickets)
- Sunday is the December edition of the Jazz Brunch on the Riverwalk. Of course that comes with the New River Open Air Market, lot's of food options, and fellowship. Bring your lawn chair or blankets to enjoy. (Free)
- This weekend begins the start of the Winter Wonderlab Science at MODS. Snow, sleet, and ice! Experience the weather elements that make crazy winter storms. Understand the different states of matter of water and how it changes from ice to gas! Find out why the Florida climate is drastically different than many other places around the world. Next week we will share more about the North Pole Pajama Party. (Free with Admission)
- This weekend is also the start of the Holiday Market at The Flamingo Gardens. Come back on December 18th for the only night of their Garden of Lights. (Free with Admission)
- If you love your classical music, Tuesday the 6th, the Symphony of the Americas will be doing their holiday show. Celebrate the Holidays with a musical world tour, celebrating the sounds of the season. (Tickets)
- And looking ahead into next week - here are two big events that you want to start planning for! On Friday the 9th, you can dance your heart out at the Silent Disco down at the Beach. Such a cool concept. You have to read more to see how it works! And on Saturday the 10th, it is the 51st Annual Winterfest Boat Parade that will serve up holiday lights to over a million people along the New River and Intercoastal waterway.
FEATURED - FORT LAUDERDALE (From The Podcast)
WOW - What a week (2 weeks actually because of the holiday) of Features to share!! We talked to:
- Brewster Knott of YSI who joined us from the New River to talk about the upcoming Winterfest Boat Parade.
- Earlier this week we talked to Ari Glassman about ALL the cool holiday happenings down at The Loop and Las Olas Oceanside Park (make sure you check out the Silent Disco event)!
- We had a fun conversation with Shiren Rattigan at Colossal Academy, to talk about what a cool school can look like, right here in Fort Lauderdale.
- We met with Elspeth Walker of MODS to talk about the holiday events, including the Polar Express Pajama Party coming up in December.
- We visited with Chloe Cannon of the Water Taxi to talk about their Holiday Lights Cruise.
- And lastly, just in case you were thinking... "there is just nothing to do in this town" 😜... we chatted with Christiana Lilly, author "100 Things To Do In Fort Lauderdale Before You Die."
Do you have a favorite event, place, business, or organization you would like to see featured on the podcast? HIT REPLY and let us know!
So... You Think You Know Fort Lauderdale?
You probably know... you won't find a lot of snow in South Florida, but we do have our snow-inspired sandman Olas ready and famous for pictures down on Fort Lauderdale Beach.
But do you know that... Olas gets a new look each year? Sometimes he appears with his family, his surfboard, or even doing his touristy thing. Check out this series (thanks to Ari Glassman for sharing) of how Olas has changed up his look over the years.
Classifieds
- Are you a Fort Lauderdale organization or business with jobs positions to fill. We are gearing up a Family Friendly Fort Lauderdale job board. Hit reply and let us know what you would like to promote.
- Are you still looking for something RADICAL for your child? Here at AAFTL we have new families shaping up to join us in Dec (Film Maker Quest - Session 3) and January (Detective Science - Session 4). We are thinking it might be cool to gear up with a special onboarding "bootcamp" specifically to help them with "how we do things differently at Acton." If you've been thinking it is time for a change, we should chat 🙂
- Want a holiday treat that the family will rave about? This past weekend we ordered a tray of Tres Leches cake from Vegan Junkie in Dania Beach. Oh what decadence! It was a big hit and adding the raspberries on top (thanks Martha for the idea)... YUM!
- Thanks to Brewster Knott and the team at Yacht Sales International for hosting one of our podcast features aboard the "Rubber Duck" on the New River to talk about the upcoming Winterfest Boat Parade. If you don't know about YSI - they just opened new offices in Palm Beach and Chicago (to go along with Annapolis, their HQ here on the New River, and 2 Gulf locations).
Flotsam & Jetsam
We've been nerding out on AI tools lately. It is AMAZING what some of the new tools can do. But everyday it seems like there is a new website or app... so how do you keep track of them all?
Enter Futurepedia Directory - a great way to keep up with all the AI tools as they’re released and currently available in categories like Image, Text, Writing, Video, Design, etc. New tools are added daily and you can sort by New, Popular and Verified. There’s almost 1,000 tools listed as of now.
Tell Us How We Are Doing
We are working to improve #FFFTL every week, both for your reading experience and to provide a cutting-edge media apprenticeship opportunity for our learners. We want to hear from you. What do you love? How could we do better?
And most importantly, what FTL businesses and experiences should we be highlighting?
HIT REPLY and let us know 🙂