Introducing the holiday section

Palm Coast Observer
Neighbors

Welcome to the 2013 holiday section, the first one we have published and distributed in both the Palm Coast and Ormond Beach Observers. We think you’ll enjoy the short feature stories and event previews, as well as the recipes and do-it-yourself gift ideas.

Also, you’ll find a calendar of holiday-related events on pages 10-11. Our thought is that the holidays are so full of great events that readers of both papers could be interested in visiting some of the best events in both Flagler County and Ormond Beach.

The story on the right of this page is a preview of the annual Christmas celebration at The Casements, in Ormond Beach, and the box in this column introduces the culmination of a year of events marking the 100th year of the city of Bunnell.

Happy holidays to all!

BOX: Christmas in Bunnell

Many residents in the Flagler County-Ormond Beach area are transplants. Having grown up in — or at least visited — places like New Jersey or New York, they know all about snow.

But every now and then, you meet people who have only ever dreamed of a white Christmas. Soon, all their dreams will come true, thanks to Christmas in Bunnell, the culmination of the city’s celebration of 100 years of history.

At that event, Bunnell City Manager Larry Williams said, 8 tons of snow will be delivered to the downtown area of the city.

“It’s not suds,” William says. “It’s truly — you can pick it up and make a snowball.”

He is confident about the event because he has done it before. When he was the city manager of Bell Isle, a town of about 6,000 residents and 5 square miles in Orange County, he hired the same Melbourne-based company to deliver snow there. A husband and wife they thanked Williams for bringing the snow. They told him their children had never seen snow before. Then the husband nudged the wife, and she said, sheepishly, “We haven’t, either.”

The event will be 5-9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13, at the Coquina City Hall. There will be carolers, Matt the Sax Man, the Flagler Youth Orchestra, a tree-lighting and Santa on a fire engine. The snow should arrive around 7 p.m., Williams said. And, to mix the northern feel with a southern tradition, there will also be a barbecue.

Originally, Williams, said, the event was going to be a black tie formal dinner. But a lack of ticket sales forced a change of plans. And, in the end, Williams thinks it’s for the best.

“Who wouldn’t rather go to a barbecue?” he said. “I was looking forward to the black tie affair, but I like the barbecue.”