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Gift Of The Magi-cal

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 30, 2007

Tonight

LIGHT UP YOUR LIFE: The Magical Night Christmas Parade steps off at 7 p.m. in downtown Dade City.

Hosted by the chamber of commerce, the event features bright lights, bands, floats, community groups and other revelers kicking off the winter holiday season.

For details, call at (352) 567-3769.

RHYME TIME: Pasco-Hernando Community College will host its second annual Fall Celebration of Poetry from 7 to 9 p.m. in room A139 on the Brooksville campus, 11415 Ponce de Leon Blvd.

For details, call language arts faculty members Richard Downing at (352) 797-5132 or Kay McKamy at (352) 797-5109.

If time permits, those who haven't signed up in advance may read their own or their favorite poet's works.

Saturday

WATERY WONDERLAND: Boats cruising down the Pithlachascotee River will twinkle with hundreds of lights that signal the arrival of Main Street Holidays in New Port Richey.

The eighth annual Riverlights Boat Parade casts off at 6:30 p.m. from Moonlight Bay in Port Richey. The launch time is earlier than last year to accommodate the increased number of entrants, said Judy DeBella Thomas, executive director of Greater New Port Richey Main Street, which is presenting the event.

Downtown disc jockeys will play holiday music from 6 to 9 p.m. in riverfront Sims Park, where spectators can see the festive flotilla pass by.

People also can be part of the parade aboard the Miss Daisy for a nominal fee. The tour boat will set off from the Crab Shack restaurant in Port Richey.

Parade contestants will be judged as they motor past the dock at Sims Park. Judging will be based on theme, lighting, colors and special effects, with separate categories for vessels up to 24 feet and for those 25 feet and longer.

First-place finishers in each category will be invited to appear in the downtown street parade hosted by the Holiday Rotary Club and the West Pasco Chamber of Commerce on Dec. 8.

Immediately after this Saturday's boat parade, the Gotta Dance youth troupe will perform at the Sims Park Amphitheatre.

This year's parade chairman is Craig Carmichael of Suburban Feed and Pet Supplies who has "some fantastic ideas to make it a great one," Thomas gushed.

For details, call Main Street at (727) 842-8066 or Tom O'Brien of Miss Daisy Boat Tours at (727) 819-1754.

JOY TO THE (ART) WORLD: Santa will arrive by boat at noon to spread "Holiday Joy," and young singers and artists will show off their talents during the annual Children's Art Festival from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

New Port Richey's Cultural Affairs Committee is coordinating the art festival in Sims Park, just north of Main Street downtown, in conjunction with the parks and recreation department's "Holiday Joy" activities.

Student choral groups will perform in the park's amphitheater, and 1,000 pieces of art representing nearly 30 Pasco public, home and charter schools will be displayed. The Mayor's Awards will go to elementary, middle and high school art winners, and the cultural committee's board will select its favorites.

Winning pieces will be exhibited later in city hall.

Art teacher Joy Reynolds of Paul R. Smith Middle School has been the show's volunteer organizer for seven years.

LET THERE BE LIGHT: The Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce will host a holiday tree lighting from 4 to 7 p.m. at Wesley Chapel District Park on Boyette Road.

The family event, which is expected to be an annual affair, features free snacks and drinks, choirs, bands, a children's parade and games.

For information, call (813) 994-8534 or send an e-mail to

office@wesleychapelchamber.com.

CRUISING INTO DECEMBER: Antique and vintage vehicles will decorate downtown from 3 to 8 p.m. for the Dade City Cruise-in.

Hosted by the Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce, the monthly event also features period music played by a disc jockey.

THERE'S NO MOVIE LIKE ...The New Port Richey Public Library and the Richey Suncoast Theatre continue their "Meighan Classics" series of some of the most notable and popular movies ever made.

Head somewhere over the rainbow with Dorothy and friends in "The Wizard of Oz" at 2 p.m. at the theater, 6237 Grand Blvd. just south of Main Street.

BROWSE AND BUY AT BECK: Local artists will show and sell their works at the "Square Foot Art Show a Go-Go" from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Beck Gallery, 1720 Land O' Lakes Blvd.

All artworks, done in various media, will be priced at $250 or less. The main gallery will feature more than 200 canvas pieces.

Admission is free. For information, call (813) 949-6557.

JACK OF ALL TALENTS: "The Godfather of Performance Comedy Show," starring Joe Beddia, will be staged at 7 p.m. at Grand Horizons, 7645 Green Slope Drive, behind the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Zephyrhills.

Beddia is a Boston native who has spent 30 years entertaining as a singer, comic, musician and impersonator throughout New England and elsewhere.

Reserve tickets at $6 by calling (813) 788-0637.

Sunday

A VERITABLE FOREST OF FESTIVITIES: Fifty trees, one representing each state, will cover the front lawn of Florida Hospital Zephyrhills, 7050 Gall Blvd., for the 23rd annual tree decorating and lighting program.

Also featured will be an international tree; one representing Canada's 10 provinces and three territories; and a "Support Our Troops" tree.

Groups from schools, civic associations, clubs and families have reserved the trees and will trim them throughout the afternoon starting at noon.

A 5 p.m. concert will feature Jennifer LaMountain, who performed her first solo at age 3 and now lends her voice to opera and to religious television and worldwide satellite programming. The Jacksonville resident, now a wife to Lynell and mother to baby Garrison, has been touring full time for nearly 10 years.

Some seats will be provided for the show but attendees are encouraged to bring their own. Cookies and light refreshments will be served in the afternoon and early evening.

Fireworks will follow the concert. For further details, call the hospital's public relations office at (813) 783-6192.

BAND COMMEMORATES BIG BATTLE: The Richey Concert Band, directed by Henry Fletcher, will perform holiday favorites at 2:30 p.m. at the River Ridge Center for the Arts, 11646 Town Center Road on the middle/high school campus in New Port Richey.

Special features will be the tuba section on "Forty Fathoms" and a march titled "Ardennes," written by band member Fred Faulkner to commemorate the Battle of the Bulge, which he experienced.

All veterans, especially those who fought in World War II, will be recognized.

Admission is $2. Call (727) 842-7502 or (727) 842-9177.

Tuesday

HARK THE LOCAL STUDENTS SING: A two-story string of lights shaped like a tree will be lit at 6:30 p.m. at the entrance to Morton Plant North Bay, 6600 Madison St., New Port Richey, during the annual "Holiday Lights" celebration.

Revelers also may take horse-drawn wagon rides around the medical center's campus starting at 5 p.m.; hear music by the Gulf High School Band Ensemble, Richey Elementary School students and a teenage hospital volunteer at 6 p.m.; and greet Santa at 6:30 p.m.

For a $5 donation, sponsor a light on the tree in honor of a loved one. For information, call the Morton Plant Mease Foundation at (727) 462-7036.

Reporter Jessica Bair contributed to this column. Send items to Annette Mardis, 6214 U.S. 19, New Port Richey FL 34652; fax, (727) 846-0711; or e-mail amardis@tampatrib.com.

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