SNOWBIRD NEWS: Snowbirds fill calendars with events

On Nov. 8, the Destin Snowbird board of directors held their first meeting of the 2017-2018 season. However, since the members had been active for many weeks before then, the forum was more of a report on the progress of the many planned activities and events. Nearly all event dates have been set and places have been secured. For those of you who like to plan ahead, here are some dates that you can reserve in your calendars. More information and event tickets will be available at upcoming meetings.

The Christmas street parade is set for Saturday, Dec. 9, at 10 a.m.

The Christmas Boat Parade will be Sunday, Dec. 10, 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Crab Island Cantina.

There are three confirmed dates for the very popular Harbor Party Cruises — Jan. 29, Feb. 5, and Feb. 12.

A seven-night Caribbean cruise will commence Jan. 28, 2018. Departure will be from New Orleans.

The New Orleans Mardi Gras trip will not only include parades and people watching, but will also take in some Biloxi casino stops complete with free slot play and food vouchers. The bus will leave from Destin early on Sunday, Feb. 4, and return early evening on Monday, Feb. 5.

A full weekend in February will include the Valentine Dinner Dance on Saturday, Feb. 17, the Soundsations Benefit Concert on Sunday, Feb. 18 and the annual Fashion Luncheon on Monday, Feb. 19.

All that plus the weekly activities should make for an active fun-filled winter.

The prize committee is another dynamic group of snowbirds. The new committee coordinator, Roxznne Boverhuis, originally from Iowa, hosted a meeting of volunteers on Tuesday, Nov. 7 to reaffirm the duties and responsibilities of each member. For prize gathering purposes, Destin and the surrounding communities are divided into eight areas and volunteers are recruited and assigned to each area. They are responsible for contacting the vendors who donate prizes for the weekly drawings and, in many cases, personally picking up those donations. The list of vendors who would like to be involved is continuously expanding and additional volunteers are always welcomed and appreciated.

Besides needing volunteers to collect the prizes, there is also a need for more prize distributers. These are the snowbirds who help categorize and hand out the prizes at the weekly meetings. Anyone interested in a becoming involved with the prize committee is encouraged to contact Roxanne at destinsbprizecommittee@gmail.com.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Mary Pierce, publicity director, is from Toledo, Ohio, and can be reached at 419-250-9377or destinsbclub.publicity@gmail.com. She will be writing the weekly column for the papers, so if you have something to share contact her.