Friday, March 27, 2020

“Alhambra Takeout”: Food without the Drama


Well, last week was such a success for everyone that the Alhambra Theater & Dining is helping themselves through this pandemic crisis, by helping you to some delicious meals this weekend and next week.  Below is a personal invite to partake in their curbside dinner service and a personal note from the Managing Partner – Mr. Craig Smith.  Feel free to ORDER HERE from March 28 — April 2, 2020; and place your order the day before desired pick up.  Bon Appétit!

“Dear Alhambra Family,

I trust this email finds everyone happy, healthy, and settling in to a new routine this week. I never learned to cook, so you can imagine the last week has been interesting for me without Chef.  We have taken this time to work with our landscaper to freshen up the Harry Frisch Garden in front of the theater.  Take a peek when you are picking up your delicious take-home meals.

For 11 years, we have worked to make the Alhambra a place we all love to visit and where we can create memories that will last a lifetime.  Many of us have spent 20, 30, 40, even 50 years coming here.  One of the most important parts of the Alhambra is the 80+ people who greet you every time you visit, and these people are my responsibility.  This staff is made up of young people just starting out, single moms, and servers that have made a 40-year career here.  They are men and women from all walks of life.  As a business and as a family, we have to look out for them.

In an effort to protect and look out for our guests and our Alhambra family, we came up with the idea of serving our wonderful Alhambra food curbside at the theater.  With this in mind, our staff can continue to serve you the top-quality meals you have come to love, while still having the ability to support themselves and their families.  I am proud to tell you we sold almost 400 take-home meals last weekend and, more importantly, had 17 people back at work.  All the feedback from the meals were excellent.  With that success, we have decided to expand our program and add a few extra days.  I know we are all getting a little stir crazy, so now you have a reason to hop in the car and take a nice trip to the theater.  You have a great meal from Chef and his team to look forward to and you will get to see the smiling faces of the folks you have come to know as friends!  We will even have a nice surprise for you when you get here.  Rest assured, we are continuing to follow every precaution possible in terms of cleanliness and protecting everyone's health.

Thanks for reading on...

With prayers and best wishes for everyone's health and safety,

Craig”


Click HERE to order online.

LOCATION: Alhambra Theater & Dining
       12000 Beach Blvd.
       Jacksonville, Florida 32246
       (904) 641-1212


Wednesday, March 25, 2020

‘Romanza Festivale 2020’ cancelled


The following information comes from St. Augustine, Florida:

Due to the COVID-19 emergency the 2020 St. Augustine’s Romanza Festivale of Music & The Arts is cancelled.  The Festivale has been scheduled 17 days from May 1 to May 17, 2020 with daily events all around St. Augustine, including 80+ concerts, shows, exhibits, and more.

Romanza regrets disappointing our many friends, fans and neighbors who delight in this annual showcase of St. Augustine’s abundant and diverse cultural scene.  Most Festivale Partner organizations have notified us that they as well are forced to cancel their own productions within the Festivale.  Not only are the crowd restrictions prohibitive, but several key performers may not be able to even get here from places like Australia, the UK, California, etc...

This complex festival, with so many Partners and productions, is difficult to schedule in the first place, so we do not expect to reschedule it in 2020.  Romanza believes in supporting the arts and our local artists. Romanza Festivale has been able to operate at a level of increasing support to our community artists and musicians through paid performances, stipends, sponsorships, Awards, scholarships, and significant promotion.

Now
Romanza has suffered a severe financial blow with the late cancellation of the Celtic Festival by our City.  Francis Field was completely set up by the time we were given the order to cancel. Romanza incurred huge expenses for rented equipment already delivered, contracted personnel already on duty, and supplies already purchased, etc.  Funds from Romanza’s savings account that were supposed to fund Festivale are suddenly not available.

Romanza Festivale and the Celtic Festival, as well as the St. Patrick Parade are produced by Romanza-St. Augustine, Inc. a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.


Keeping ‘COVID - 19’ at bay

April 5, 2020 will be Palm Sunday.  Even churches of 20 or less should make use technology with the use of online congregating, corporate worship, and hearing God’s Word through the internet.  We need to safeguard ourselves, families, and others by following the suggestions of the CDC (a US government federal agency) and using common sense.  Even Jesus was subject to the government with taxation, nevertheless, Jesus was (and still is) part of the government (Isiah 9:6-7).

One of our churches Small Group Leaders has a relative (a beautiful young woman) who was recently removed from a respirator, due to the Corona virus.  It was through medicine and the prayers of the righteous that she is recovering.  This pandemic is REAL!  It is a fallacy to think that one race or another cannot be subject to the coronavirus, if we’re not careful.  Yes, anyone can get it, or be a carrier.  Take a look at Idris Elba & Tom Hanks.  This calamity is REALLY REAL!

No one suggests that you cannot go outside and get some direct sunlight (natural form of Vitamin D).  Take a walk & relieve your mind.  Be aware of the places where “Germs” can hide.  Safeguard yourself and those around you.  Wash you hands when touching other surfaces; disinfect those areas before you use them.  Keep your hands away from your face until you do sanitize.  Avoid large crowds and maintain a 6 - 10 ft. radius from other people.

Don’t ostracize people unless they’ve been tested positive for COVID-19, nonetheless, there are ways to still be in communications with them (video chat, telephone, text, email, and social media.  Just stay in touch without really touching.  For all the huggers out there - there’s an emoji for that too.

I recently celebrated a Birthday, and in my 70 years of experience, I thank God that He brought me through Hurricanes in Florida, Tornadoes in New Mexico, diseases in Philadelphia along with illnesses and other diseases overseas and in various parts of our United States.  God has brought me this far in life and He’s taught me that I must be wise and take care of myself so that I would be able to assist others when the need arose.

Unless there is a miracle or Jesus returns, there is no need to get new Easter outfits (save your money and cut down on online spending.  Churches should continue to keep their flocks safe.  Listen to the CDC and always use wisdom — not FEAR!  Let us not lay out a fleece for God (Judges 6: 36-40), this is not the time to test Him.

Those persons who still need to work outside of their homes, please be smart & use precautions.  We should keep our homes cleaner than ever before.
#CautiousButNotCrazy
#FaithOverFear
#WiseYetHarmless
#FactsAndFaith
#FactsNotFear
#PrayedUp
#TBR (Trust God, Believe in His Word & Receive every promise that He has given).

Ms. "V"s Website