Atlantis
Contributions of Italians to society topic of lecture
Il Circolo, the Italian Cultural Society of the Palm Beaches, will conduct a lecture at noon Sunday at the Atlantis Golf Club, 301 Orange Tree Drive.
Kenneth Ciongoli, chairman of the National Italian American Foundation, will discuss “The Media’s Amnesia About Italian Contributions to American Society.”
The lecture is free, but donations will be accepted. Call 561-736-6780.
Boca Raton
FAU career fair is open to students, non-students
A career day for students and non-students is scheduled at the Florida Atlantic University Arena from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today.
At least 110 companies are scheduled to participate in the fair sponsored by FAU’s Career Development Center. They include Florida Power & Light, Bank Atlantic, City Furniture and The Scripps Research Institute.
Representatives from area businesses will answer career-related questions and provide information about current and future job openings. Business attire is required for the Make the Connection event and admission is free.
FAU is at 777 Glades Road. Call 561-297-3533.
Boca Raton
Sampling, chef competition planned at chocolate event
Local chocolatiers, restaurant and pastry chefs will compete during the seventh “Chocolate Decadence, The Sweetest Party in Town” tonight. The annual festival, organized by the Junior League of Boca Raton, will include food, wine and chocolate sampling from local and national vendors. It will also feature a VIP area where guests will have the chance to win a one-carat diamond.
Proceeds will benefit charities and educational programs such as Kids in Distress, Hometown Histories and the Milagro Center.
The festival will be from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at The Shops of Boca Center, 5050 Town Center Circle.
Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door and $75 for VIP tickets, which include admission to a private tent party. Tickets are available online at www.bocachocolate.com or call 561-620-2553.
Boynton Beach
Council honors city’s workforce housing efforts
The Housing Leadership Council of Palm Beach County has honored the city and its Community Redevelopment Agency for its low-cost housing programs and initiatives.
The city received the honor at the council’s “State of Workforce Housing” address at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach on Jan. 30.
Key accomplishments highlighted include the city’s creation of a workforce housing program last year, which offers developers incentives to build housing in the city, and the CRA’s acquisition of 15 acres in its district designated for low-cost homes.
The CRA also offers low- and moderate-income home buyers up to $50,000 in down payment assistance to buy a home in the CRA district.
West Boynton
Tai chi demonstration scheduled at library
Howard Varsov, a certified tai chi chuan instructor, will lead a demonstration of the martial art at the library.
Tai Chi for All will start at 2 p.m. Feb. 14 at the branch, 9451 Jog Road.
Tickets are free and can be picked up at the West Boynton Branch Library starting today. Call 561-734-5556.
Delray Beach
Garlic Fest starts Friday at Old School Square
The ninth annual Delray Beach Garlic Fest is Friday to Sunday. The three-day event in downtown’s Old School Square on Swinton Avenue features music, arts and crafts and children’s activities, in addition to the aromatic food offered by more than 150 vendors. There will be cooking demonstrations and competitions featuring the star ingredient.
The hours are from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $10 each day, except for Saturday, which is $20 after 5 p.m. Blues Traveler will be the headlining performer that night.
Proceeds from the festival benefit more than 16 nonprofit organizations, said Nancy Stewart, executive director of the Garlic Fest.
To buy advanced tickets or find out more information, go to www.dbgarlicfest.com or call 561-279-0907.
Delray Beach
Spady Museum begins Black History lecture series
Delray Beach’s Spady Cultural Heritage Museum has launched its annual Connecting Community and Culture lecture series during Black History Month. The free lectures, designed to provide stimulating conversation on issues relating to people of African descent, will run through March 15. The lectures will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the museum, 170 NW Fifth Ave.
Upcoming presenters include Florida Atlantic University professors Sika Dagbovie and Derrick White, as well as Al Ashley, private collector of the “Ashley Collection of African Americans on U.S. Stamps and Coins” exhibit, on display through Feb. 29 at the museum.
For information, call 561-279-8883 or visit www.spadymuseum.com.
Highland Beach
Officials to hear results of study on Milani Park
Town officials finally will get to view plans for Milani Park next week.
The Planning Board will review plans Wednesday that Palm Beach County submitted in October for the $4 million waterfront park.
A traffic expert and an archaeological expert hired to study whether the plans are feasible will present their findings.
The county owns the 5.39 acres on opposite sides of State Road A1A near Highland Beach.
The board will meet at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in Town Hall at 3614 S. Ocean Blvd. The meeting is open to the public. Call 561-278-4548 for more information.
Ocean Ridge
Town’s dredging project extended to 24 hours a day
The town’s dredging project will operate 24 hours a day starting Feb. 15.
The project helps prevent erosion by moving sand from the north end of town near the Boynton Inlet to the south end.
The Department of Environmental Resources Management requested extending the project’s hours beyond dusk, because it wants to move as much as possible before the turtle nesting season begins in March, when they will have to stop dredging.
The Town Commission allowed the department to continue with the project at Monday’s meeting, on the condition that the bulldozing will stop if it disturbs residents.
Residents can contact Town Hall at 561-732-2635 if the bulldozing work becomes bothersome.
Palm Beach County
County’s top 10 taxpayers paid 2 percent of tax burden
The top 10 taxpayers in the county paid 2 percent of the county’s $3.3 billion property tax burden, according to the tax collector’s office. The following are the county’s top 10 tax bills:
1. $25.7 million, Florida Power & Light
2. $8.6 million, Bellsouth Telecommunications
3. $5.7 million, Town Center of Boca Raton
4. $5.4 million, US Sugar Corp.
5. $4.4 million, The Breakers of Palm Beach
6. $4.4 million, Boca Raton Beach Club
7. $4.1 million, Lawrence Landry, Palm Beach Gardens construction magnate
8. $3.4 million, TJ Palm Beach Association, Wellington landowner
9. $3.4 million, James Batmasian, Boca Raton developer
10. $3.3 million, Florida Crystals
Palm Beach County
Send in your information for our summer camps list
To help parents prepare for summer vacation, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel will run a list of local summer camps in the March 16 editions of Community News.
Camp operators and day care centers offering summer programs should submit the following information for free: camp name; address; specialty; ages; hours; availability of extended care; length of sessions; registration deadlines; cost; activities; lunch provided; special needs; contact name, phone number and Web site.
Information also can be dropped off at our customer service window on the first floor at 3333 S. Congress in Delray Beach, e-mailed to camico@sun-sentinel.com, or mailed to Cheryl Amico, Sun-Sentinel Summer Camps, 333 SW 12th Ave., Deerfield Beach, FL 33442. To submit online, go to www.sun-sentinel.com/submitcamp. Deadline is Feb. 18.
Wellington
Two-day WestFest chooses ‘green’ theme this year
This year’s WestFest, the annual family festival sponsored by the Palms West Chamber of Commerce, will have a new twist. It’s focusing on “green” issues.
WestFest will feature companies and products that help support the environment and the green movement, according to a memo sent out by Jaene Miranda, the chamber’s executive director. The chamber says its goal is to give attendees the information they need to make small changes in their lives to help the environment.
The two-day festival will be March 1 and 2 at Okeeheelee Park on West Forest Hill Boulevard.
The event will include the festival standards of music acts, food, arts and crafts, business and nonprofit exhibits and children’s activities. There will also be green vendors, a “save the world” poster contest for children and a green treasure map to allow people to determine their carbon footprint.
The event will start at 10 a.m. both days. Admission is $10 a day, and children 7 and younger are free. Daily family packs for four people are available for $30.
Wellington
Teen Council conducting auditions for concert
The Wellington Teen Council is conducting auditions for its third annual “The Mix” concert Friday. The concert, which is for high school teens in Wellington, will be at 5 p.m. April 5.
Teen bands and musical performers are welcome to audition. Six acts will be chosen to perform. Auditions will be from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Room 2B of the Village Park Gymnasium at 11700 Pierson Road. Applications will be available on site.
If bands are unable to audition, they can submit a demo tape or CD with an application by Friday. Tapes and applications should be directed to Julie Strow and can be dropped off at the Village Park Gymnasium or the Wellington Community Center, at 12165 W. Forest Hill Blvd.
For more information, call Strow at 561-753-5262.
West Palm Beach
Kravis Center adds 3 shows to lineup this season
The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts has added three shows to its lineup this season.
“Jewish Princesses of Comedy” will run from May 20 through June 1, The Great American Trailer Park Musical show dates are to be determined, and Girls Night: The Musical is set for July 8-27.
Jewish Princesses features contemporary comediennes paying tribute to early comedic queens while they carp about husbands, family, sex and weight issues. Set in a fictitious Florida mobile home community of Armadillo Acres, The Great American Trailer Park Musical is the story of a group of hot pants-wearing housewives and their adventures in their unique community. Girls Night: The Musical follows five female friends as they relive their past, celebrate the present and look to the future during a night out at a karaoke bar.
Tickets for the shows are $32 and $38 and go on sale 10 a.m. Feb. 15 at the Kravis Center box office, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. For show times, tickets or more information, log on to www.kravis.org or call 561-832-7469.
