COMMUNITY HAPPENINGS Aug. 20
All area codes are 850 unless noted.
Cooking classes
Kitchenique Cooking School class Local Fish Basics III focuses on prepping and cooking whole and stuffed fish from 6-8 p.m. Aug. 23 at The Cuvee Catering Center, 12590 Emerald Coast Parkway, Suite #C, in Miramar Beach. Cost is $58. Call 837-0432. Register at www.kitchenique.com.
• Aug. 27: In Hands on Basic Knife Skills learn all there is to know about the most important tool in your kitchen from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Cost is $65.
• Aug. 30: Summer Dinner Salads Plus Dessert features the whole meal deal salads. Cost is $48.
No Kid Hungry
IHOP restaurants will offer a short stack of their buttermilk pancakes for just $1 with 100% of the proceeds benefiting No Kid Hungry from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 23.
ACT/SAT workshop
A workshop to assist students in Okaloosa County High Schools who will take the Sept. 10 ACT and Oct. 1 SAT will be held from 2:15-4:15 p.m. Sept. 6-8 and 12-14 in the Media Center at Fort Walton Beach High School. All materials, snacks and drinks are furnished. Students need to bring calculators. Registration deadline is Aug. 23. For information or taking just ACT, contact Alice Hart at 615-585-2401, email Amhart1966@aol.com or contact your high school guidance department.
Seminar
Margaret R. McDowell, firm founder of Arbor Wealth Management, LLC, a fee-only registered investment advisory firm, will present “Annuity Rescue Workshop” at 10 a.m. Aug. 24 in the Arbor Wealth Conference Room. Call 608-6121 to reserve seating. Refreshments will be served.
Irish celebration
Meeting at the Crossroads, an Irish celebration of music, song and dance, will be held at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 25 at Village Baptist Church. Performers will present musical styles encompassing Irish, Folk, Traditional and Celtic music, plus step dancing. Event is being filmed for DVD and TV. Call 1-800-595-4849 or visit http://healingsunproductions.tix.com/Event.aspx?EventCode=857499 for tickets.
Personal Care Items Drive
As part of National Be An Angel Day Aug. 2, Fort Walton Beach Sharing & Caring Food Bank is having a Personal Care Items Drive for the month of August to support our client families with toiletries. Most needed items are soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, razors, shaving cream, toilet tissue, and feminine hygiene products. Family size and travel size products are needed. Hygiene items cannot be purchased with SNAP (Food Stamps), so these necessities will greatly benefit our clients. tems may be dropped off at Sharing & Caring, 126 Beal Parkway, SW, in Fort Walton Beach between 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Call 244-0778.
Kids Eat Free
IHOP offers a Kids Eat Free program for ages 12 and under from 4-10 p.m. through Sept. 25 to celebrate back to school.
Embroiderers' Guild
The Sand Dunes Chapter of Embroiderers' Guild of America will have a stitch-in from 1:30-4:30 p.m. Aug. 28 in the Religious Education building, Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church on Valparaiso Boulevard in Nice-ville. Visitors are welcome. Call 496-3466.
Make-and-Take classes
The Destin Library has announced a new series of free how-to workshops for ages 18 and up that focus on prac-tical projects and skills you might not have learned in school. Workshops will be held the last Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m., beginning Aug. 30. This month’s workshop, is Greener Cleaners. Participants will learn to make two cleaning products: an all-purpose cleaner and a glass cleaner. Light refreshments will be provided. No reg-istration. Call 837-8572 or email mfontaine@cityofdesitn.com.
Fall Flair
The Destin United Methodist Women will host their eighth annual Fall Flair Arts and Crafts Show from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 9 and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 10 in the Destin Life Center at Destin United Methodist Church, 200 Beach Drive. There will be more than 60 vendor booths, a bake sale, silent auction and lunch served in the Soul Cafe. Walgreens will be giving free flu shots. Vendor booths still available at fallflair2016@aol.com. All pro-ceeds go to support the DUMC Missions. For additional information call 850-543-0304.
Food For Thought Thursdays
Travinia Italian Kitchen and Wine Bar, 435 Grand Blvd. Suite Q104 in Grand Boulevard, will give 20 percent of food and drink sales to Food For Thought Outreach during Happy Hour from 3-7 p.m. the first Thursday of each month.
Basic Life Support Initial Classes
Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast will offer community education American Heart Association Basic Life Support Healthcare Provider Initial courses in September and October in Suite 1, Education Building. Cost is $50 per person. First class if from 4-9 p.m. Sept. 8. Enrollment closes Sept. 5. Enroll at 278-3019 or email timfeld@shhpens.org.
• Sept. 24: 4-9 p.m. Enroll by Sept. 21
• Oct. 11: 4-9 p.m. Enroll by Oct. 19
The Disciplined Dance of Dressage
The Friends Guild of the Destin Library will host The Disciplined Dance of Dressage at 2 p.m. Sept. 9 at The Destin Library. on Friday, September 9th, (2:00 PM) at the Destin Library. The program is free and open to the public. Josie Kelly, local Dressage trainer and a 2011 Grand Prix level Champion, will take us behind the scenes of Dressage, the oldest and highest level of Equestrian training. Jodie is the great-granddaughter of Mattie Kelly and continues to compete and train both riders and horses at her stables in Kelly Plantation.
Family history workshops
The Destin Library will host a series of hands-on Family History workshops, Who Is in Your Family Tree?, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Sept. 13, Oct. 18 and Nov. 15 in the library’s computer lab. The programs are free and open to the public. New and repeat registrants are welcome.
Registrants must have a valid library card from any Okaloosa County Public Library. Registrations will be limited to 18 participants on a first-come registration basis.
Workshop instructors will provide training and support in the use of the FamilySearch website. They will offer par-ticipants an avenue from which to pursue the answers to these and other genealogical questions.
To register, call the Destin Library at 850-837-8572.
MBCA Car Show
The Mercedes-Benz Club of America (MBCA) Alabama/NW Florida Panhandle Section hosts a car show from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 17 in the Events Plaza at The Village of Baytowne Wharf. All Mercedes-Benz owners and vehicles are invited to participate including Mercedes-Benz vehicles owned by non-MBCA members. Attendance is free and bal-lots will be provided for general public to vote for top three vehicles in the show. Vehicles on display will be subject to a registration fee of $10 donation each. At registration, participants will be provided a MBCA logo card to display on their dash board showing their number (for voting), year, model, and owner plus a car show dash plaque for the first 30 vehicles registered.
Read to Sophie
Children ages 6 to 12 years are invited to stop by the Destin Library between 10 a.m. to noon Sept. 17 and Oct. 15 to "Meet and Read to Sophie." Sophie is a therapy dog trained by local resident Debbie Linton and certi-fied by Therapy Dog International. The program provides an opportunity through Tail Waggin' Tutors for children to practice their reading skills by reading aloud to a dog. This is a drop-in program, with 20 minute shifts. No pre-registration and selected books will be made available. Call 837-8572.
Master Gardeners Lecture
Okaloosa County Master Gardeners presents Karen Kirk-Williams' program "Fall and Winter Gardening for Butter-flies and Hummingbirds” Sept. 21 at Extension Annex in Fort Walton Beach. There is no cost to attend this pro-gram, but space is limited so registration is required at 689-5850.
• Oct. 19: Dave Gordon presents "Rhododendrons-Native Azaleas" at Crestview Extension office.
Steak & Stake Dinner
Evander Holyfield will be the special guest speaker for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast’s third annual Steak & Stake fundraising dinner Sept. 22 at the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Walton in Santa Rosa Beach. For information on sponsorships or tickets, contact Rob Engel, director of development, at rengel@bgcec.com or call 862-1616.
Meet the first tourists
The Friends Guild of the Destin Library will host a program, Meet Our First Tourist, at 2 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Library with Michael Weech from the Indian Temple Mound Museum in Fort Walton Beach. The program, free and open to the public, will highlight exhibits from the museum of the area's Native American occupation. Email friend-softhedestinlibrary@gmail.com.
Bereavement Support Group
Share and learn more about the grief journey you are enduring with an Emerald Coast Hospice bereavement group at 1:30 p.m. Wednesdays at the Destin Library. Groups are free and ongoing.
Grand Boulevard Farmers’ Market
The market will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday in Grand Park in Miramar Beach between Cantina Laredo and Tommy Bahama’s. Vendors will offer locally sourced food-based items including produce, eggs, milk, butter, grass-fed beef, chicken, lamb and pork, honey, pickled vegetables and gourmet jams.
Farmers Market
The WaterColor Coastal Farmers Market will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Sunday at Cerulean Park. Tradi-tional Farmers Market items such as local farm fresh produce, eggs and dairy products will be available. There will also be a large variety of organic and homemade items such as Greek gourmet foods, hot and jerk sauces and grass fed beef, chicken and pork. Market is held from March through Labor Day.
30A Farmers’ Market
This community event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays in Town Center in Rosemary Beach features fresh vegetables, fruits, eggs, honey, cheese and more. Market is held on Sundays from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Seaside Farmers Market
Get your pick of fresh produce, baked goods, dairy products, native plants and other unique offerings Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Amphitheatre behind Raw & Juicy. Enjoy special cooking demos and activities.
Bridge
Emerald Coast Bridge Club will be held at 10 a.m. Monday and Thursday at St. Andrews Episcopal Church, 307 Harbor Blvd. in Destin, in the old Parlor. Cost is $7. No partner necessary. For more information, call 380-1558 or email nzdet@aol.com.
Destin Life Center
Recreation and fitness activities at Destin Life Center at Destin United Methodist Church, 200 Beach Drive, are from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sunday. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday visit the Soul Café for lunch. Call ahead for dine in or pick up. For information, call the DLC at 837-2021.
• Adult Open Soccer: From 7-9 p.m. Wednesdays. Fee is $2/player.
• Adult Open Volleyball: From 6-9 p.m. Tuesdays. Fee is $2/player.
• Pickleball: From 2-5 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday.
• DLC Fitness Cardio/Weight Room: Nautilus equipment, three treadmills, two ellipticals and one recumbent bike. Memberships are $40/calendar quarter; $30/month; $20/week; and $10/day.
• Community Fitness Classes: Indoor cycling, Zumba, Rise and Stretch, PIYO, Cardio Dance, Forever Young (sen-ior aerobics) and more. Costs are $40/month; $7/class; $20/month Forever Young, fitness for seniors; and $3/individual Forever Young.
Destin Community Center
All activities are at the Destin Community Center, unless noted. Call 654-5184 or email recrea-tion@cityofdestin.com for information and to register. Persons with disabilities who require assistance are asked to notify the center 48 hours in advance.
• Aerobics: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 9 a.m. Bring water and towel. Cost is $3/session.
• Capoeria: Class in the Brazilian martial art that combines the elements of dance, acrobatics and music will be held on Wednesdays from 7-9 p.m. for adults 18 and over.
• Chair Yoga: Monday and Thursday from 10-11 a.m. Cost is $4/class.
• Dodgeball: Ages 13-16 play from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesdays; ages 17 and up from 7:30-9 p.m. Tuesdays; and ages 8-12 from 6-8 p.m. Thursdays. Fee is $2/resident and $3/non-resident.
• Game Room: Open to children age 10 and older from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday. Basket-ball/volleyball court, ping pong/foosball/air hockey/pool tables
• Pickleball: Play from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Mondays. Fee: $3/nonresidents or $2/residents. Racquets and balls are available¬¬. Just bring gym shoes.
• Senior Chair Exercise 50+ years: Monday and Wednesday mornings from 10-10:45 a.m. consists of performing light exercises to help improve balance, flexibility, strength, and circulation. Free/residents and $2/non-residents.
• Senior Ping Pong Lessons: Free for Destin Seniors from 1-2 p.m. every Tuesday. Call to sign up.
• Table Tennis: From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon. Paddles and balls provided.
• Youth Dodgeball: From 6-8 p.m. Tuesdays for ages 13-15 and for ages 8-12 Thursdays. Fee is $3/session for nonresidents and $2/session for residents.
• Zumba Gold: From 10:30-11:30 a.m. on Mondays and Thursdays. Fee is $6/session.