WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2009

Season’s Greetings From The City Of Coral Gables

May the beauty of the season in our City Beautiful brighten up your life and fill your days with love, smiles and happiness. The City of Coral Gables wishes you much joy and good cheer during this holiday season. To view a special e-card message, click here. 

Catch The Junior Orange Bowl Parade
Saturday, January 2

The thunderous sounds of the marching bands, the cheering for the caravan of floats and vehicles that go by, and the laughter of family and friends getting together to watch the parade. Expect this and much more at the Junior Orange Bowl Parade which takes place on Saturday, January 2, 2010, beginning at 6 p.m. through the streets of downtown Coral Gables. Clifford, the Big Red Dog and Miami’s own Jeanine Mason, who was crowned as the winner of the popular show “So You Think You Can Dance,” are the evening’s Grand Marshal and Honorary Grand Marshal. The parade has been a Coral Gables tradition since 1948 and it’s the culmination of the largest youth arts and sports festival in the world. The event is free to the public. The parade begins at Biltmore Way and ends in Alhambra Circle. There will be no on-street parking enforcement in Downtown Coral Gables one hour before until one hour after the parade. For best viewing, grandstand seats are available at $12 each and can be purchased online at www.jrorangebowl.com or by phone by calling 866-999-9735. The Junior Orange Bowl Parade will be televised live on Coral Gables TV, Channel 77. On January 10 (8 p.m.), January 16 (9 p.m.) and January 17 (8 p.m.), WLRN will also air an hour-long version of the parade.  

Getting To Know More Of The Staff

Starting next week, the City Manager will be hosting “Lunch with the City Manager,” a luncheon with employees to take place once a month at City Hall. One employee from every department will be invited to participate and treated to lunch, compliments of the City Manager. Department Directors will select the employee for the first luncheon. Those employees who would like to attend will select a co-worker for the following month and so on. The goal of the program is to create meaningful dialogue with front-line employees (entry level to first-line supervisors) representing all City departments. It is also an opportunity to brainstorm ideas over lunch, for employees to learn about future City plans, and to get to know each other. These informal conversations will help the City Manager understand what’s important to employees and serve as a means to meet with them on a more personal level. In turn, employees can learn more about the City’s direction and provide input directly to the administrative decision-making process.  

City Offers Courtesy Extension
On Expired Parking Meters

Time flies when you’re having fun - especially if you’re shopping or dining in Downtown Coral Gables. If you lose track of time and forget to feed the on-street parking meter, don’t worry. What you see on your windshield is probably a Holiday Courtesy Ticket, compliments of the City of Coral Gables wishing you a happy holiday season and giving you a one-hour extension from the expiration time on the meter. These courtesy notices are in effect through December 31, 2009. For additional information, contact the City of Coral Gables Parking Department at 305-460-5541. 

Holiday Camps Available At Youth Center

Children are off from school and happy to stay at home for the holidays, but not all day long. That’s why the Coral Gables Youth Center has organized Holiday Camps from now until December 31, providing activities that will prevent children from getting bored at home during the holiday break. The following camps are now available: Art Camp for children 7-14 years old (9 a.m. to 1 p.m.); Gymnastics Camps for 3-15 years old (half-days and full-days); Club Play Camp for pre-kinder to 6th grade (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.); My First Art & Music Camp for 3-6 years old (9 a.m. to 1 p.m.); Holiday Lights, Camera, Action! For 7-12 years old; High Performance Tennis Camp for 10-18 years old (9 a.m. to noon); and Tennis Camps for 6-14 years old (9 a.m. to noon). Registration is now open and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, contact the Parks and Recreation Department at 305-460-5600.  

Venetian Pool Is Among World’s Coolest Pools

Travel + Leisure Magazine, the national publication about emerging travel trends which boasts about 250,000 readers, has listed the Venetian Pool as one of the “World’s Coolest Pools.” Our own Coral Gables man-made lagoon, carved from a coral rock quarry in 1924, made the list among 17 pools around the world for having a personality of their own, and impressing thousands of visitors as a major tourist attraction. Other pools from Chile, Hong Kong, Brussels, Hawaii, New York and Las Vegas, were among the selected few. To read about the Venetian Pool’s cool factor, click here.  

There’s No Trash Pickup On Christmas Day

Save your discarded gift wrappings for one more day, as there will be no garbage, trash or recycling pickup on Christmas Day, Friday, December 25. Collection will resume on Saturday, December 26. And if you’re having a New Year’s Eve Party, get your garbage, trash or recycling container ready as there will be regular pickup the day after on Friday, January 1, 2010.