This was the busiest out of all of the holiday decorated houses I have visited so far. Traffic was…read moreclogged on the narrow street so pack your patience. I recommend driving past the display to where the road curves. There is a swale separating the neighborhood from the outside street and there was plenty of parking here. From there it is a short walk back to the display. The Gary and Penny Grazianis display is massive. It covers the front of their house and reaches down the street into their backyard which is open. Even the neighbors are into the fun with the house next door having an Encanto theme. The main focus of the display is custom made Disney characters. The have all the princesses along with Micky, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Donald Duck. They even had Ariel set up in her own mermaid grotto. Joining the Disney gang are the Grinch, Precious Moments, Thomas the Tank, Teenage Ninja Turtles, Smurfs, Minions, and Sponge Bob Square Bobs along with lights, other display pieces, and animatronics. A highlight of the display was a Frozen themed photo opportunity that everyone loved. It has the new white LED holographic holiday decorations that recently caught my eye at the Fuccile home in Dania Beach. This display is not as high tech as the ones that have synchronize lights to music but it definitely has its charm if you don't mind the crowd. If you are a Disney fan, this a must stop on the holiday house tour.

Visiting the Grazianis has been a Christmas tradition for our family for over 20 years. The amount…read moreof work that goes into their Disney Christmas themes is remarkable. There's a beautiful story behind all of it. Thank you for bringing my family and so many other families such happiness visiting your beautiful Christmas house.

I love checking out all of the elaborate Christmas light displays this time of year. When I saw the…read moreApplegate Extreme Christmas on Instagram I had to stop by for a visit when I was in the area. This is a corner house with two sides filled with lights and decorations. Every part is lit up from the lawn to all over the house and roof. One area has more traditional Christmas themed decorations and another has a Disney tribute with figures and the outline of Cinderella's castle in lights. The most moving part of the display is the 17 angels that symbolize the 17 lives lost in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting on Valentines Day, 2018. This might not be the most high tech display I have ever seen but it just might be the most heartfelt. The Display will be up until December 31st from 6 PM to 10 PM nightly. You can park on the swale and walk around to appreciate their holiday spirit and hard work.

Great display again this year! They always go all out for Christmas and this year was no exception.read more

So one Saturday afternoon I was flipping through yelp looking for something different to do and I…read morestumbled on a post from fellow yelpers and the cutest couple I know Glenn and Marisol's check in at the Beat Cup and they just so happened to be having their Annual Folk fest. It looked like a lot of fun so I grabbed a friend and headed on down. As we pulled up they had live music, food trucks, tons of vendors selling art work, jewelry, soaps, well everything you can imagine it was great! We walked around a little before going into the beat cup, which by the way they sell panther coffee that Glen told me the owner drives down to Miami weekly to purchase for the shop. The first thing I thought walking into the beat cup was this place is so cool, reminded me of the old 90's coffee shop days of hanging out and listening to live music. Lots of couches and chairs to hang out on, plenty of space for large groups of people and funky artwork all over the walls and hanging from the ceiling. Now don't be fooled they don't just serve coffee. They also have a menu and the food is awesome. My friend and I tried the curried beef tart and the ham and cheese empanada. Both were really good and they also serve wine and beer. Now that I am living back in Boca I will be visiting the Beat Cup a lot more often to try more items on the menu and get my panther coffee fix!

My Doggy beagle had a great time! Everything went well! People was super friendly and gave us…read moretreats!

It is time to deck the paws! Dogs love Christmas too and that is why this is one of my favorite…read moreholiday events, Paws with Claus is a party hosted by the City of Tamarac Parks and Recreation. Every year I take my boys, Santa's little yelpers to see Santa Claus at the Gary B Jones Park for People and Pups. This year the parking was very limited because the back area of the park where there is more parking is under construction. I can't wait to see what park improvements they put in. The event kicks off at 10:15 with everyone lining up for photos with Santa. I love Santa because he loves all the pups! No matter how much they slobber or kiss him, he always takes the time to give each dog attention and love and they love him back. It is really heart warming to see watch all of the doggies interact with Santa as they let him know they have been good boys and girls. Usually Parks and Rec gives you a framed printed out photo but this year the printer was broken. Instead could take as many pictures as you wanted with your cell phone. To replace the gift photos they set up a craft station. The pawty also has vendors, Humane Society adoptions, free treats for the pups, and a raffle with some prizes for the doggies. The finale is a costume contest/parade with three gift baskets as prizes. All of the dogs were having a ball and looked quite fetching! The whole event is completely free. It was so fun to see all the pups in their holiday best. A big round of a-paws to Tamarac for always putting on an awesome holiday event for the pooches! Fleas Navidad and Happy Paw-lidays!

I visited the Coral Springs Museum of History for a monthly 'Conversation with the City…read moreHistorian'. The topic March 2026 was Electra Lab homes. A partnership between Coral Ridge properties and Westinghouse Electric created three homes of the future to entice future residents to move to Coral Springs. The museum itself is a small building that was originally built in 1964 as a sales office. The building along with the covered bridge also in Coral Springs, are Florida Heritage sites. The small museum located in Mullins Park houses a collection of historic Coral Springs, papers and photos as well as original mailboxes. It was clear to me that the museum is curated and maintained with love. The Coral Springs Museum of History is truly a hidden jam

This is the structure where much of Coral Springs history, going back to Coral Ridge Properties,…read moreall began. This building now rests in Mullins park where it houses a small collection of Coral Springs artifacts. Original city hall post office boxes, Indian relics, newspaper clippings, high school uniforms and an interactive history challenge known as "Sunny" are here. The City celebrates its birthday each year on July 10th. On July 10, 2025 (today) the city turns 62-years-old so there are tours led by members of the Coral Springs Historic Advisory Committee. Located in Mullins Park next to the community pool.

I always wanted to go to a Holocaust Museum, so when the opportunity came up to go with the Jewish…read moreFederation of Lee and Charlotte Counties, Dave and I decided to go. I have always had a heavy heart being the granddaughter of grandparents who had lost most of their family in the Holocaust. My grandparents came to the US in the 1920's when they were already fleeing from the horrid conditions in Poland. My Papa and his two brothers left and went to Belgium, then he and one brother came to New York, while the third went to Argentina. Papa, never spoke about this except to say that seven brothers and sisters and their families perished in concentration camps. My grandparents would never leave the US, not even to visit their brother in Argentina. So when this chance to visit the HDEC arose, I wanted to go even though my heart was crying before I got there. The museum is very secure and we went on a 1:00 tour. First we saw a short movie, where Anne Frank herself was describing what was happening. I guess hearing her words, seeing what the family went through was more real, then even reading her diary. Her father, the only survivor was given the diary when a co-worker accidentally found it. Then we proceeded into different areas of the museum, which included a Cattle car where the Jews were transported to the camps, and an Army tank that liberated Dachau. I could hardly look at the train car after we heard one survivor tell us what it was like. It was brutal. There was an interactive room where you can interact, and see artifacts from the war. The most amazing part was the interactive survivor who passed away a few years ago. He could answer over 5000 questions that people asked him when he was alive and was at the HDEC. This was only the tip of the iceberg. There were pictures of Anne Frank and her family, models of where they hid and much more. Pictures and stories of survivors and beautiful and heart wrenching art work. We hope to go back and spend more time there. We thank the knowledgeable tour guides, staff and survivor that spoke to us.

The Holocaust Documentation & Education Center (HDEC - https://hdec.org/ ) is amazing. You really…read morecan't just drop in and need to sign up for the twice-daily docent tours. Our guide was digital archivist Deborah and she was great. There were eight people total in our museum group and we had the place to ourselves. Security was very tight and there's no big front glass doors to go into a lobby to buy tickets. Instead, you have to drive your car through a gate in the back and an armed former IDF military guy wearing ceramic armor will escort you through a locked steel back door: It is sad that this is necessary, America, and shame on Florida. Just sayin'. Jason was young, sweet, and funny and had good recommendations for where to get the best Israeli shawarma in the area. The HDEC has a very positive vibe for being such a tough subject, with all sorts of beautiful art. The interactive area is AMAZEBALLS! So beautifully curated. A highlight was two rooms you could go in and ask questions to interactive videos of two Holocaust survivors. It's really well done and fun and will probably make you cry a bit. It's pre-AI, so not super technically fancy, but it's effective and authentic. The big centerpieces anchoring the HDEC are an M4 Sherman tank used in the liberation of Dachau and a (restored) railcar used to transport Jewish people, one of only 11 in existence. The railcar still had its serial number, so researchers are tracking where it went and who might have been on it. It had a guard "tower" on back for security, which they said was rare.

I just returned from the Wilton Manors Wine and Food Festival. I bought my tickets on the Internet…read morefrom Gotta Half It, a site similar to Groupon and Living Social. Apparently Living Social and Amazon were also selling half price tickets. I enjoyed this event, but it could have been better. So here's my list of what worked for me and what needed improvement. THE GOOD 1. The money raised by this event went to a charity that rescues dogs that are dumped in the Everglades. It's such a good cause and one that is close to my heart. 2. There were several sites on the Internet offering half price tickets, both VIP and regular. Compared to many other local wine and food festivals the prices were reasonable. 3. There was plenty of places to sit. At a lot of wine and food festivals there are very few seats and it's difficult to hold a plate of food and a glass of wine, while trying to eat. 4. The entertainment was good. I enjoyed the music and they even had a girl doing the hula. 5. They had lots of wine and a few other drinks. THE BAD 1. I had a VIP ticket, which allowed me to come in an hour early. When I went in at 5:00 pm a lot of the tables were not set up yet. 2. I didn't see many of the restaurants that were listed on the events web page. I don't know if I missed them or if they didn't come. I think they didn't come. 3. The VIP ticket was supposed to give access to a separate VIP area. I found that area, but it wasn't set up when I got there a 5 pm. Both Asia Bay and Solita were supposed to be serving food in the VIP area. I didn't see Solita, The only food in the VIP area was sushi. They were also supposed to have gourmet desserts. There were NO desserts, gourmet or otherwise. 4. The event was from 6 pm to 10 pm.. People with VIP tickets were allowed in an hour early, I noticed that a few food tables ran out of food by 7 pm and it was pretty much over by 8 pm. Not very good if you didn't buy a VIP ticket. It sucks to pay for a ticket only to find that they've run out of food. 5. This is a pet peeve of mine. When rain is predicted, have a plan for what to do to keep the event going. At about 8 pm the sky opened and the rain came down. There were a few places for people to huddle. Most of food and wine tables that had not already run out of food or drinks closed up. If it had rained earlier, the event probably would have been over before it started. This was not free. I paid for my ticket and I expect to get what I paid for. If rain is predicted and the event is outside have tents ready if you can't move it inside. If it's an all day rain schedule a rain date. I enjoyed going, but there really wasn't that much food. If I can find out what restaurants didn't show up I'll post it here.

I both worked and attended the Wilton Manors Wine and Food Festival event. Our team was brought in…read moreto rescue them (long story). Eucalyptus left us with everything to fix within 9 days. And I was that guy running all over the line to get everyone's email for future events. Addressing some complaints from Diane's review: The desserts DID arrive - but were set up late, about 9 pm outside the larger building. -- We had 47 vendors make it - (with 20 no shows, how could we control that?) -- I got to enjoy the event after 8 pm... had about 7 glasses of wine, 6 whiskey and 4 vodka shots.. and could have had more if I wanted. I enjoyed more food than I would get at any one price gourmet buffet - Yes, some vendors ran out of food too early. Considering the event was filled with nice people (no fights) and there were 2 bands, I would say that $ 75-two-for-one was a superb deal. Plus, our team did NOT make a penny on the takeover. We are doing our OWN event in 2015 on Valentine's Day (Sat the 14th) at Jaco Pastorious Park, which is 2 miles from Wilton Manors. Tickets will be two for one ( $ 75) on OUR web site... and $ 85 two for one at Living Social and other assisting ticket vendors. This event won't repeat the same mistakes.. and runs from 3 pm to 10: 30 pm (Parking is planned, admission gates are alphabetically split up to move everyone faster.) The band we arranged is the New Planets (one of the best cover bands in Florida) For more info, just Google it (adding links in a Yelp review is uncool) Jeff Miller and Robert Kaplan, Event Coordinators

Overall, this was a great experience. Definitely a safe way to go trick or treating with your…read morelittle one. Lots of strollers and super cute costumes. Plenty of parents dressed with their little ones. The only negative, which I think is a bug deal, is that most of the stores did not have candy. They had signs indicating "No" Candy" or they ran out of candy by 7 pm at an event that was planned for 6-8. I was also disappointed when one of the anchor stores refused to give us a plastic bag to collect candy, and I ended up having to purchase a reusable bag. A long time ago, when I worked in the mall, it was mandatory for every store to give out candy. Additionally, the person handing out candy had to be in some degree of costume. I would think that store managers would definitely be more in the Halloween spirit, but no. Luckily, the lines for candy distributed by the Westfield corporation went quickly. We all know small children are known for impatience and nothing good about waiting forever in line with a crying, whining, screaming kid embarrassing you and stressing you out. They also had free face painting. Again, the lines went quick. The ladies were very nice and talented. My son was really happy with the artwork on the side of his face.

Where's all the candy? The Westfield corporation had a great idea for a safe trick-or-treat event…read morefor kids. They even thought of kids that have food allergies and gave out non food treats and participated in the Teal Pumpkin Project. It would have been even better with higher store participation. This food allergen initiative is the brainchild of a mom from Tennessee. In it's third year, the Teal Pumpkin Project has been raising awareness around the country to children with food allergies. My own two kids don't have food allergies, but I can imagine for kids with allergies that trick-or-treating would be anticlimactic, as in they can collect the candy, but cannot eat any of it, and therefore not enjoy it. By handing out non food items, children with food allergies can be included in Halloween festivities. The parents at the mall were very responsive to this. I didn't see any one who got into both lines with the same child. I did think that there was a lack of participation from the vendors and stores in the mall. Many of the stores posted signs that they did not have candy. The fun would have been multiplied if the stores had given out candy or small gifts.