Florida/Georgia baseball game is coming

The University of Florida and the University of Georgia in partnership with the City of Jacksonville, ASM-Global Jacksonville and 121 Financial Ball Park announced that they will be playing their annual Florida vs. Georgia fall baseball game on Friday, October 29 at 121 Financial Ball Park with the first pitch happening at 6:30 PM. This game will be played ahead of the annual Florida vs. Georgia rivalry football game on Saturday, October 30 at TIAA Bank Field.

Tickets for this year’s baseball game will be priced at $15 and will go on sale this Friday, September 10 at 10 A.M. on Ticketmaster.com.

Additional information and details about activities taking place in Jacksonville during Florida vs. Georgia weekend will be announced in the coming weeks.

About Florida–Georgia: The Florida-Georgia football rivalry is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the University of Florida Gators and the University of Georgia Bulldogs. The game was first played in 1915, and has been played every season since 1926, except for a war-time interruption in 1943. This match-up between Southeastern Conference opponents is one of the most prominent rivalry games in college football, and has been held in Jacksonville, Florida since 1933, with only two exceptions, making it one of the few remaining neutral-site rivalries in college football.

‘DISNEY’S The Lion King’ performs at St. John’s Town Center!

Celebrate the joy and magic of the holiday season at the 12th annual St. Johns Town Center Holiday Spectacular on Saturday, November 11 from 2-8 p.m.  Holiday shoppers, families and visitors are invited to attend the action-packed day of free, family-fun and musical performances.

The annual holiday celebration, sponsored by Toyota, OneBlood, PRI Productions, and Disney’s The Lion King kicks off at 2 p.m.  Throughout the day, guests will enjoy festivities including: oversized games, an interactive hot chocolate station, jugglers, caricature artists, letters to Santa, ornament decorating, a festive photo booth and a silent DJ experience.  That’s not all!  The holiday fun will continue with great giveaways, costume characters, holiday entertainment and more.

Main stage entertainment begins at 2 p.m. with dynamic holiday performances, including a Broadway star from Disney’s The Lion King on The Main Stage at 4 p.m., located in the Town Green in front of Maggiano’s Little Italy on Midtown Parkway.

Disney’s The Lion King returns to Jacksonville January 31-February 11 for 16 performances. For tickets and more information, visit fscjartistseries.org.  Stay tuned for complete article on “Around Town With Ms. “V”.

'River and Post' hires executive chef Elizabeth Arana for newest JAX restaurant

Having trained under Wolfgang Puck, Eric Ripert, David Burke and Alain Ducasse and educated at the Culinary Institute of America and University of Florida, Elizabeth Arana’s resume impressed the owners of River & Post.  Once they tasted her cooking they were convinced she was the right fit.  Arana will start in July 2017 as the Executive Chef of the soon-to-open Riverside restaurant, which will open in the Fall.

Arana will lead the culinary process for River & Post, initially managing the kitchen design and service processes.  In addition to being responsible for the menu and its preparation, Arana will oversee the entire kitchen staff.  No stranger to executive culinary management, Arana has lead teams at the Alexandria, Provence and Alphabet Kitchen restaurants in New York City as well as working directly under Executive Chef Alain Ducasse at Louis XV in Monaco, France.  Arana has extensive experience in various cooking styles cuisines.  She was featured on the Food Network’s Door Knock Dinners with Gordon Elliot as well as Latina Magazine, The New York Daily News, New York Magazine, Time Out New York and listed in Zagats.

Said General Manager and owner Jeff McCusker of Arana, “Her qualifications spoke for themselves, but what sold us was simply her ability to cook.”  To make a final decision on their Executive Chef selection, McCusker and co-owner Robert Fleckenstein, along with their advisory board, hosted several candidates for a menu tasting.  McCusker stated, “The words that kept repeating themselves among our panel of tasters were ‘captivating,’ ‘thoughtful’ and “inspiring,’ not words typically assigned to food.  When we think of the brand we are trying to create at River & Post, with an incredible rooftop view and a modern vibe, there wasn’t even a second pick.  Elizabeth wowed us all.”

Hiring an Executive Chef was the next big step for River & Post, which began construction in April and plans to open in the fall of 2017. “The vision for River & Post is incredible,” said Arana.  “I cannot wait to come to work and have the view of Jacksonville’s colorful skyline as my office.  We will create something special in Riverside, a true destination restaurant that I am confident will draw from other parts of town as well as other parts of the southeast.  Jacksonville is a growing culinary city, and I want to be on that must-visit list for foodies and people just looking to relax and enjoy a great meal with a great view.”

River & Post will soon be hosting interviews for servers, managers, kitchen and bar staff and interested parties can contact the restaurant HERE.

About River & Post: River & Post is a restaurant and rooftop lounge opening in the fall of 2017.  This upscale casual restaurant will bring a trendy environment, great food and breathtaking river city views to Riverside.  It will be located in the newly renovated Summit building, located at 1000 Riverside, on the corner of Post St.  Jeff McCusker is the managing partner and Bob Fleckenstein is the investing partner.  The menu will be seafood- and steak-focused Southern American cuisine.  The floor plan calls for pet-friendly patio dining space downstairs, as well as being a premier location for meetings and private events.  River and Post will also feature ample parking, a rare commodity in Riverside.

Free Romanza concert in St Augustine May 5 to 12

There is so much going on this month at the Romanza Festival and May is the time to get your party started.  A variety of regional bands will be on stage May 5–12 during “A Little Night Music” - concerts held on the gazebo stage in the Plaza de la Constitucion and on the Colonial Oak Stage in the Colonial Quarter, both venues located in downtown St. Augustine.  These FREE live music celebrations are held during the Romanza Festivale of the Arts, a celebration of art and music in America's Most Romantic City, features 100 events and exhibits by dozens of organizations from May 5 (Cinco de Mayo) through May 14.  Concert-goers are invited to bring lawn chairs and blankets for seating for the Plaza events.  See the Schedule HERE for “A Little Night Music.”

Festivale Opening Cinco de Mayo Concerts: Luis Mario Peral and The Rumba Kings: Friday, May 5 from 5:30 – 7 p.m. at Plaza de La Constitucion Gazebo, 1 King Street. Luis Mario Peral & his Rumba Kings will bring their Latin-flavored music to the Plaza as Festivale opens on the night of Cinco de Mayo Luis Mario, who is a singer and composer from Cuba, and his 5 band members have been playing in St. Augustine for the past 20 years, covering many city events and area restaurants.  Peral's Latin Jazz Band consists of very talented musicians who perform Rumba, Flamenco, Salsa, and Mambo.  Luis Mario will have you dancing to his music which also includes a twist of English/Spanish rhythms.

Take another look at the schedule and photos from May 5–12 during “A Little Night Music”.  Don’t miss any of this FREE entertainment in the Oldest, historic city in the state of Florida or anywhere around.
A Little Night Music: “The CRS Band in the Gazebo”: Friday, May 12 from 5:30 – 7 p.m. at The Gazebo, Plaza de la Constitucion, King Street.  Enjoy an incredible evening of music which begins with the CRS Band in the Gazebo at 5:30 pm!  Bill Sabo, Elizabeth Roth and Jim Carpenter have been making music together as part of the faculty of the Florida School of the Deaf and Blind" and are well known for their brand of sing-able and danceable music in St. Augustine and surrounding venues.

A Little Night Music: Mama Blue and Friends: Friday, May 12 from 7 – 9 p.m. at The Gazebo, Plaza de la Constitucion, King Street.  Mama Blue, the Sultry Sister of Soul, will be performing tonight with her incredible band and backup singers.  With her signature flower in her hair, Mama Blue (Sarah Sanders) exudes personal warmth and a classy style.  Her performances at the St. Cyprian's Jazz Services have brought down the packed house and people have been standing in the aisles.  Mama Blue is a graduate of the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts and is widely known along the First Coast for her song stylings.

Don’t miss any of the FREE festivities this and next week!

'River and Post' restaurant coming to JAX in summer of 2017

After receiving zoning approval from Jacksonville’s City Council last week to be designated a Planned Unit Development, the way is cleared for River & Post Restaurant and rooftop bar to join Jacksonville’s thriving culinary scene.  River & Post will be located in the newly renovated Summit Building at 1000 Riverside Avenue, on the corner of Post Street.  The focal point of the restaurant will be the sweeping views of Jacksonville’s skyline.

River & Post will actually be two distinct spaces, a full-service restaurant with high-end amenities, a chef’s table and banquet space on the first floor, and a rooftop concept that will include both indoor and outdoor seating.  The total square footage will amount to approximately 10,300, with about 3,000 of that footage being the ninth-floor rooftop space.  River & Post will have about 450 seats total, including a pet friendly outdoor patio with 48 seats on the first floor.  The Summit Building has nearly 200 parking spaces, a significant commodity in the Riverside area.  Plans call for more than 50 employees, and the hiring process will begin this summer.  The first-floor restaurant will be open for both lunch and dinner, with the rooftop opening for happy hour and dinner.

Managing Partner Jeff McCusker and investing partner Bob Fleckenstein have been working closely with city officials to navigate the zoning process, and signed the official construction contract March 27, 2017.  Though he’s a restaurant industry veteran in operations and management, River & Post will be the first restaurant in which McCusker has an ownership stake.  McCusker attended UNF where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management.  Bob Fleckenstein, his investing partner, opened Summit Contractors in 1989 and retired in 2014.

McCusker and Fleckenstein are wasting no time on their goal of opening in summer of 2017.  Construction has already begun, with new floor to ceiling glass windows installed on the first floor.  The current menu concept features seafood- and steak-focused Southern American cuisine.  The bar will feature craft cocktails as well as wine selections.  They will soon be hosting interviews for servers, managers, kitchen and bar staff.  River & Post already has its social media presence and website running.  Stay tuned for future progress.

St Augustine 2017 St Patrick's Day Parade

The 7th annual St. Augustine St. Patrick's Day Parade is a celebration of the Emerald Isle's most revered saint.  Northeast Florida's ONLY St. Patrick's Day Parade will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 11, 2017, at Francis Field, 29 W. Castillo Drive, downtown St. Augustine.

The parade travels down Orange Street to Avenida Menendez (the bayfront), then to Cathedral Place, next on Cordova Street, then back to Orange Street.  Spectators are encouraged to arrive early to claim a spot along the parade route, then follow the parade to the Celtic Festival, which opens immediately after the parade.  There are 50 units in the parade this year.  The Grand Marshals are representatives from the various Hurricane Matthew recovery groups called "Stand Together St. Augustine".  The local Hurricane Matthew groups connected and came together as Stand Together St. Augustine.

There are many more people and recovery efforts than can possibly all be named.  Some of them include: StAStrong, Renegade Volunteers, Arendondo Drop Point, Coquina Drop Point, Vilano Drop Point, Laundry Angels, Bob's Bait & Tackle Drop Point, Treasure Beach Drop Point, Pelican Inlet Drop Point, Lincolnville Drop Point, Hastings Drop Point, Hurricane Recovery, Victims in Need, Furniture Donation for Hurricane Matthew's Victims, Litter Glitter, the In Lak'ech Project Inc., people running additional donation drives, individual Volunteers, multiple Facebook Group Administrators and Social Media Coordinators connecting people with support and assistance, and many others.  The groups also connected with existing support groups such as St. Francis House, the Solomon Center, the Calhoun Center, the EOC, SJCSD, the Matanzas Riverkeepers, the Hastings Fire Department, local firefighters, and our churches, as well as many restaurants and food trucks who helped feed the affected.

The Clans and athletes from the Highland Games, who are part of the festival, also will be marching and carrying their flags and banners, with the music, colors, language and stories of their ancestors.  Local officials also will be part of the parade including: Mayor Nancy Shaver, City Commissioners and the Royal Family.  Other units include: the 501st Legion (Storm troopers in kilts!), Ghostbusters, pirates and clowns, four pipe and drum corps, two schools of Irish dance, two horse units, and two honor guards.

Parade organizers, Matthew and Chris Fulmer, have been involved in the parade since its second year, and took over as organizers in 2016.  "We want to make this a community event that everyone can enjoy, and we have a really dedicated team working with us to make everything run smoothly," Chris said.  Entrants will be judged in one of three categories: Band, marching unit or float. Prizes will be given for the best in each category.  The reviewing stand is on the balcony of Ann O'Malley's Irish Pub on Orange Street.  Four local restaurants will be hosting the pipes and drums for lunch: Mojo's BBQ, Ann O'Malley's, Barley Republic Public House and Maple Street Biscuit Company.