Community Centers are the heart of their community. They offer classes, exercise, can be rented out…read morefor events, and they can even give a helping hand through their many programs staffed by city employees. A good community center offers varied opportunities for its residents of all ages. A shining example of a great community center is the Village Multipurpose Center adjacent to Sunrise's City Park and Village Elementary School. Constructed 2008 at a cost of 5.5 million dollars, the building was designed by SRS, a Zyscovich company. The Village Multipurpose Center was a result of a partnership between the City of Sunrise and the School Board of Broward County. This master planned multipurpose complex was created in a response to a community need for recreation, education, and extracurricular activities. The Village Multipurpose Center is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The center has a multipurpose gymnasium, five instructional classrooms, administrative spaces, restroom facilities, and a Little Free Library. Membership is free to all city residents and memberships for non city residents are available for a fee. Some of the programs offered here include adult Indoor walking, open play basketball, youth basketball, youth nights, story time, sidewalk chalk, Tunes N Trucks a music and food truck event, SOCA a step, dance ,and aerobics class, and fit kids and teens. The Village Multipurpose Center is a wonderful recreational resource that offers a diverse array of programs and amenities for residents of all ages. Now it is even better with the opening of the Village Art Plaza right outside its doors. The Village Art Plaza is a new event space and sculpture garden. This gorgeous outdoor space has a stage, sculptures, murals, and plenty of seating. The Village Art Plaza was designed to be a place where the community can gather for cultural events like a farmers market and food truck nights. With the opening of the art plaza, the City of Sunrise can easily stage community events inside and outdoors. Whether you're looking to engage in physical activities, enroll your children in educational programs, or simply connect with your community, the Village Multipurpose Center and adjacent Village Art Plaza offers a welcoming environment for all.

Awesome Sunrise complex center for sports: pickleball and racquetball. Friendly check-in customer…read moreservice. Cleanliness. $5 entrance fee each time or you can join annually for $75. Make sure to bring your ID or driver license since it's needed at check-in.

I have rented this facility for a client the last two consecutive years. It is a solid facility…read morethat has clean grounds and bathrooms and is affordable to rent. About 65 people attended the event tonight and there was sufficient parking, although, if anymore people would have attended I'm not sure there would have been more spots. The Village Civic Center is located in the City of Sunrise's police substation. I'd recommend holding an evening event for more parking spot options. The fellow who sets up the room is always friendly and helpful. I'm docking a star due to the facility not notifying us that it didn't have a microphone. It has in the years past but apparently it went missing. If we had known prior, we would have improvised and brought our own mics. When it's an important part of a business program, it hinders the guests' experience. It was preventable for our program had we known and renters of the facility should be informed.

If you want to learn about the history of Pompano Beach this park is a great place to start. The…read morePompano Beach Historical Society maintains a building here but this park contains several historical buildings too. There is the two restored Kester Cottages that were moved to the park in the 1980's, a 1926 firehouse that contains the cities first fire truck, a 1926 American LaFrance and a 1948 American LaFrance, and Pump House No. 1, also from 1926. Other park amenities include tennis courts, a playground, and a shuffleboard court. On September 11, 2019, a 9/11 memorial was dedicated at the park. Founders Park was chosen for the memorial because it contains the cities first fire house and the memorial pays tribute to the 343 first responders killed on 9/11. The Pompano Beach Historical Society launches a lot of events from this park. They hold dinners in their building, operate historical trolley tours that leave from the park, and give tours of the Kester cottages. Besides the historical value, this is a great park to play tennis. It is nice to see Pompano working so hard to embrace their past.

Kiwanis multi-generational Community Center is a former fire station and a sight to behold!…read more Pristine and clean. Walking in I was captivated by its professional Chef's teaching kitchen. Looks like a good place to hold a function though it is brand new and I am unsure what the city has planned for that kitchen. Can you say gorgeous. The room past the kitchen can be used for exercise classes or for board games. All the way in is it's multi-sport game Court for basketball or Pickleball, for example, I think. I am sure the community will embrace what is being billed as the best Community Center in SE Coral Springs.

The historic Sailboat Bend District is located in the southwestern section of the Ft. Lauderdale…read moreand is the city's only historic district. Long before the pioneers came to South Florida, in 1450 B.C., this was the home of the Native Tequesta Indian Tribe. Seminole later settled in the area in 1793 but were forced out by Major Lauderdale who built the first Fort Lauderdale here. By 1835 there were approximately 60 settlers on homesteads here. In 1899 one of the homesteaders was William H. Marshall who became the first mayor of Ft. Lauderdale. Sailboat Bend is the oldest neighborhood in the city, dating from the early 1900s until the 1950s with the majority of the homes having been built in the 1920's. The neighborhood is located on a sharp curve of the north bank of the New River and it runs north to SW 2nd St. and from SW 7 Ave. west to SW 11 Ave.. It was Ft. Lauderdale's first working class neighborhood. The houses are mainly are small, one-story, vernacular residences with Bungalow, Mission, or Mediterranean Revival style details. There are also larger homes located along the New River. The older homes were crafted from Dade County Pine which is impervious to termites. 75 of the homes in the neighborhood qualify as historic buildings. By the 1970's Sailboat Bend was in a rapid decline with drugs and prostitution common in the area. Concerned citizens decided to take back their neighborhood from crime and in the 1980's they formed the The Sailboat Bend Civic Association. They were able to get the illegal activity out of the neighborhood. In 1988 they hosted their first House and Garden Tour. In 1992 The Civic Association was able to obtain historic designation for Sailboat Bend and it is the only residential historic community in Fort Lauderdale to have one. Today the historic designation has been both a blessing and a curse to the neighborhood. The thing that saved it frustrates people who are looking to do work on their homes and have to jump through extra hoops to do so. It also annoys those who didn't have a historic building. While the historic designation drives up home values it also makes it more difficult for the working class people who have lived here for generations. As a fan of both history and architecture I love exploring Sailboat Bend when visiting family and friends. This is a wonderful neighborhood to drive through and it contains many historic elements like a 1920's Fire house, a swing bridge, and the Northside School that is now a cultural center.

Just north of the performing arts district and edges the New River. Our family is still a part of…read morethe community and we come here bi-weekly for the parks, beer pubs and pizza joints. Extremely difficult renovation codes in the historic district through the city of Ft Lauderdale. One hundred year old home are renovated beautifully keeping that historic charm. This area is low lying and does flood heavy, especially during 2024.

Per the marker, this tree was the "site of meetings that led to the creation of the Seminole Tribe…read moreof Florida's Constitution and Bylaws." Thus the tribe was recognized by the United States federal government as an entity. The site was place on the National Historic Registry in 2012. We knew that the site was location at the intersection of 441 and Stirling Rd. We just weren't sure which corner. It took us 3 tries to find it. We discovered the location, finally, by driving through the parking lot of the old (original) casino on the southwest corner of the intersection. A black metal fence surrounds it. A seal of the Seminole Tribe is on the fence entrance gate. There are some small benches beneath the tree for seating. The marker is not far from the tree, but is almost buried beneath foliage and ground cover. The tree, itself, is majestic. It seems magical when you pause for a moment to stand beneath it. Considering the plethora of cars, the traffic, the noise, etc. on busy 441, it stands as a breath of fresh air and greenery amongst all the concrete. It is a stark contrast between it and the guitar shaped Seminole Hard Rock Casino building.

The Council Oak Tree is a historic Live Oak tree located on the Seminole reservation in Hollywood…read moreon the intersection of State Rd 7 and Stirling Road. It is next to the old casino and is surrounded by a black fence. There are benches and a historic sign. It was a bit comical trying to locate it. I should have just listened to my friend. The Council Oak Tree is important to the Seminole people because during the 1950's a group of Seminoles met under the tree to discuss the tribes future. They were the children of the generation of Seminole's that were forced to hide in the Everglades in the mid 1880's. It is believed that the Council Oak Tree was standing in 1828 when the Seminoles first settled in the area and it was known as Big City Island. In 1957 a meeting between Florida Seminole Indians Bill Osceola, Billy Osceola, Betty Mae Jumper and Laura Mae Osceola met with Sioux Indian Reginald "Rex" Quinn, from the Tribal government branch of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He was sent to help them set up their own government. With his assistance they were able to set up their constitution and by laws which prevented the U.S. government from abolishing the tribe. The meeting under the Council Oak Tree was instrumental on setting the tribe on their current path of government where there is a governing body called the Tribal Council, pursuant to the Constitution and bylaws, and a Board of Directors pursuant to a corporate charter. From a smoke shop in the 1970's the tribe has grown their business to a Hard Rock empire with more than 500 million dollars a year in gambling profits from their casinos. The documents that purchased the hotel and casino were signed under the Council Tree. The Council Oak tree was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 4, 2012. The tree is so important to the Seminole Tribe that it serves as one of their logos. They also named two of their restaurants, one in Hollywood and one in Tampa after the tree.

Anything that supports animals, wildlife and environmental issues will always get a 5 star from me…read more I have been wanting to go here for ever and a day. Each time I am there it has been shut. However this time it was not. They currently had two turtles in the tank. We enjoyed watching and interacting with them. They have signs up to explain what you are looking at which offered some interesting facts. Definitely worthy of a visit should you be in the area. It is located right on the shoreline. It was also free to visit.

The historic Carpenter House is part of the Marine Environmental Education Center. The MEEC was…read morecreated from a partnership between Broward County Parks and Recreation and Nova Southeastern University. The beachfront Carpenter home on .54 acres was built in 1941 by Henry Godfrey Carpenter Jr. and his first wife Rachel Clews Carpenter. Mr. Carpenter was a Navy Lieutennant Commander and his wife was an A&P grocery heiress. The house was their summer home from 1946 until 1956. After that the couple moved into the home permanently. Mr. Carpenter then lived in the house until his death in 1981 and his second wife lived there until her death in 2002. In 2004 the property was bought by Broward County using funds from 2000 Safe Parks and Land Preservation Bond Referendum and the Florida Communities Trust. Broward County spent 3.7 million dollars for the property and put in another 1.6 million dollars to renovate the site. The Marine Environmental Education Center is now home to environmental education exhibits and Captain a sea turtle injured by a boat who resides in a 18x38 foot backyard saltwater pool on the property. Captain had two weights added to her shell to help her be able to dive. Captain was released into the wild once but she washed back up on shore in bad shape. It became clear that she would have to live her life in captivity in order to survive. This center does not rescue and rehabilitate sea turtles like Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton and Loggerhead Marine Life Center in Juno Beach. MEEC provides a permanent home to Captain who cannot be returned to the wild and they offer marine education about how important it is to keep our oceans clean. On the day I visited I had a lovely chat with volunteer Kevin who was scrubbing Captains pool. The center is small but admission is free. They do request a $3 donation to maintain care of Captain. Parking is available at meters along the street. If you are visiting the beach it is well worth the time to stop by and visit Captain and learn what we all can do to protect her fellow sea turtles in the wild.

I came here for an art and jazz event. Lovely environment to host and the parking was nearby…read morewithout a charge. That's always a plus. I would definitely consider retiring to this Community Center for future aligned events.