BOO AT THE ZOO!

 

WEEKENDS OCTOBER 11-27!

This year's Boo at the Zoo, guests will enjoy an evening of mystical wonderment throughout the Zoo. Enjoy a variety of fun Halloween activities, including trick or treating in a safe environment at treat stations sponsored by local businesses and organizations.  Experiences include:

• Zoola! Mystical performances each evening.

• Nightly Costume Contest

• Pirates, princesses and monsters alike - enjoy activities and a Ball in the Mystical Mansion.

• Ride the Mystical Boo Choo Train.

• See the Mystical Fright Lights.

• Explore Professor Wormwood's Mystical Garden.

  • Enter Professor Wormwood’s Mystical Garden, where you’ll be enchanted by the mystical plants within.  Often frequented by fairies and gnomes, the Mystical Garden allows guests to explore the florae known for their magical properties. Learn about the magical plants that can help you cultivate your own fantasyland and if you’re lucky, you might even see a fairy or two!
    

• For those who dare, enjoy a scare on the Mystical Haunted Trail (recommended for persons at least 10 years of age).

Friday through Sunday evening, Oct. 11*, 12, 13*

EXTRA, EXTRA: Treat yourself to some extra dough by coming to Boo at the Zoo the first Friday or Sunday and only pay $8 admission!

• Saturday tickets are $12 per person.
• Friday and Sunday tickets are $8 per person.
• Special member only pricing of $5 for this Friday and Sunday.
• Children under two are free all nights.

Friday and Saturday hours are 5:30 to 9 p.m. Last admission is 8 p.m. Mystical Haunted Trail is open from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday hours are 5:30 to 8 p.m. Last admission is 7 p.m. Mystical Haunted Trail is open from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
NOTE: If you are visting the Zoo during the day, the Zoo will close at 3:30 p.m. to prepare for Boo at the Zoo. Last daily Zoo admission is 2:30 p.m.

Friday through Sunday evening, Oct. 18*, 19, 20*

• Saturday tickets are $12 per person.
• Friday and Sunday tickets are $10 per person. 
• Special member only pricing of $5 for this Friday and Sunday.
• Children under two are free all nights.

Friday and Saturday hours are 5:30 to 9 p.m. Last admission is 8 p.m. Mystical Haunted Trail is open from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday hours are 5:30 to 8 p.m. Last admission is 7 p.m. Mystical Haunted Trail is open from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
NOTE: If you are visting the Zoo during the day, the Zoo will close at 3:30 p.m. to prepare for Boo at the Zoo. Last daily Zoo admission is 2:30 p.m.

Friday through Sunday evening, Oct. 25, 26, 27

• Saturday tickets are $12 per person.
• Friday and Sunday tickets are $10 per person. 
• NO special member pricing for this Friday and Sunday.
• Children under two are free all nights.

Friday and Saturday hours are 5:30 to 9 p.m. Last admission is 8 p.m. Mystical Haunted Trail is open from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday hours are 5:30 to 8 p.m. Last admission is 7 p.m. Mystical Haunted Trail is open from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
NOTE: If you are visting the Zoo during the day, the Zoo will close at 3:30 p.m. to prepare for Boo at the Zoo. Last daily Zoo admission is 2:30 p.m.

BEAT the lines and purchase your tickets in advance online! 

 

$2.9 Million Minuteman Causeway Face-lift!

A big new project could change how drivers get to Cocoa Beach in Brevard County.

Renderings show new changes on the $2.9 million Minuteman Causeway face-lift.

Officials said it would mean new drainage, sidewalks and landscaping and residents may only have to pay for half of it.

Owners whose businesses sit along the beachfront tourist hot spot said they couldn't be happier.

"I'm a long-time Cocoa Beacher and we've all been waiting for something like this to happen to Minuteman," Fat Kahuna's restaurant owner Dewey Siljestrom said.

The street acts as the downtown main street for Cocoa Beach and ends at the access to the Atlantic Coast.

It's a popular spot for travelers and locals, lined with party spots and restaurants that have long hoped for a new look along the short corridor.

"We're very excited," Cocoa Beach City Manager Bob Mijka said.

Some of the cost will be deferred because the new drainage system will help clean up the Indian River Lagoon by limiting storm runoff.

That means federal money is available to cover about half the cost.

"There's about 40 acres of storm water that flows through this system right here, and part of this is to improve the storm water, basically a capture and treatment system," Mijka said.

Business owners hope it all adds up to more beach-goers spending more money in downtown Cocoa Beach.

"It's been a long time coming and we're all super stoked and it's just gonna give us a little identity here in Cocoa Beach," Siljestrom said.

City officials said the current drainage system along the street meets all state and federal environmental standards.

But the new system could be a model, for an even cleaner, better drainage process.

80'S IN THE PARK THIS WEEKEND!

80's in the Park is a two day celebration of everything 80"s.

Featuring: Quiet Riot, Slaughter, Warrant, Molly Hatchet, LA Guns, Georgia Satellites, The Motels, Tommy Tutone, Gene Loves Jezebel,Thor, Bertie Higgins With a special appearance by
Robbie Dupree
AND Gallagher as the weekends MC!!!

From popular bands of the decade to iconic movie & TV cars, TV and film stars and sports figures, the event will offer something for everyone.

The top 40 hits of your decade will fill the air while you play vintage arcade games like Ms. Pacman and Space invaders.

Watch impersonators perform hits from the king and queen of 80"s pop " Madonna and Michael Jackson, while you wait in line to get your picture taken with TV & Movie celebrities.

Great tribute bands of The Blues Brothers, Billy Joel, Motley Crue, Dio and Poison will rock the afternoon away and the Sledge-o-Matic comedian himself Gallagher will keep the show rolling as the weekends Master of Ceremonies

Dance with 80"s look a likes, shop for t-shirts, hats, handmade jewelry and memorabilia at one of over 60 vendors at the event and maybe even enter the classic Nintendo game contest and help Mario in his quest.

Then when the sun goes down sit under the stars enjoying food from some of
Brevard"s finest restaurants and relive those hair metal fantasies as iconic 80"s rock bands Slaughter, Warrant, La Guns And the Georgia Satellites take the stage and rock the night!

It will be a weekend of memories both old and new!
September 28 &29 at Wickham Park Pavilion, Melbourne Fl
For more information and tickets locations go to
www.80sinthepark.com

BREVARD COUNTY SALES ARE UP!

August was a good month for the local real estate market.

Sales rose 11.5 percent over the year to match the second-highest volume of 2013.

Also increasing was the median sale price — the point at which half the homes sell for less, half for more. That figure was $130,000, matching the yearly high so far.


Brevard County figures for single-family homes and condos were released Thursday by FloridaRealtors, an Orlando-based organization that compiles sales data throughout the Sunshine State.


August data show the rebound in real estate is solidifying, fueled by tight inventories, but also a federal monetary policy that is keeping mortgage rates at historically low levels.



“We’ve already had double-digit increases in sales this year, so I think our inventories are going to go low, and interest rates may go up slightly,” said Rebecca Sparks, owner of the 25-year-old Apollo Realty in Cocoa Beach. “But I think we’re going to finish 2013 with a bang and start 2014 off just as strong as we finish 2013.”


Key points of the Brevard market from the FloridaRealtor report are:


• Pending sales — when the buyers and sellers reach an agreement and are close to finalizing a housing transaction— were up 27 percent in August over the year.
• Average days on the market remained at 37 days.
• The months supply of inventory fell 13.3 percent to 4.1 from 4.8.
• People paying in cash rose 14.1 percent to 348 from 305 a year earlier.

Nationwide, the housing news also was positive.

Existing-home sales increased in August and reached the highest level in 6½years, while the median price shows nine consecutive months of double-digit year-over-year increases, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Total existing-home sales— which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops — rose 1.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.48 million in August from 5.39 million in July, and are 13.2 percent higher than the 4.84 million-unit level in August 2012.
Sales are at the highest pace since February 2007, when they hit 5.79 million, and have remained above year-ago levels for the past 26 months.

11TH ANNUAL PAWS AT THE PIER!

This event is everyone’s favorite interactive pet friendly fundraiser that includes the whole family and their “furry” friends. Some of this year’s activities will include live entertainment, pet contests, door prizes, silent auction and a vendor village. Paws at the Pier is one of the Central Brevard Humane Society’s signature events that helps raise awareness and financial support for the thousands of unwanted and abandoned pets that visit the shelter each year, who need a safe and loving “forever” home.

Location:

Cocoa Beach Pier

401 Meade Avenue

Cocoa Beach, FL

32931

Additional Features:

Gate Admission

Hours:

10am-3pm

Admission:

Admission Charge

Phone Number:

(321) 636-3343

Alt. Phone Number:

(321) 459-2200 

 

NEW BOAT RAMP CONSIDERED FOR JETTY PARK

PORT CANAVERAL — A site in Jetty Park is the top choice among recreational boaters for new boat ramps to replace ones at Freddie Patrick Park that could be displaced by a proposed cruise terminal in the port’s Cove district.
Wherever Port Canaveral’s new boat ramps end up, though, they will be free to use, port officials said.
A survey of more than 250 people who attended two workshops last week on the issue showed that the largest number of them favored the Jetty Park site, which is closest to the ocean of the six options presented. Many of the people at the meeting were recreational fishermen and other boaters.
But their views were diverse, and port commissioners agreed Wednesday to keep the top three options in the running for further study.
In order, the top three choices at the workshops were Jetty Park (36 percent); the existing boat ramps at Freddie Patrick Park (24 percent); and a site in the Avocet Lagoon area, east of the Canaveral Locks, on the west end of the port (18 percent).
David Perley, director of port construction and infrastructure, said port staff will study potential costs of building boat ramps at each of the three sites and how long it would take to build the ramp complexes. He plans to bring the issue back to port commissioners, either in September or November, for a final decision.
Port Chief Executive Officer John Walsh said port officials have decided against instituting a fee for boaters using the new boat ramps, opting instead to keep it free.
Port commissioners in November also will be asked to green-light a proposed $75 million cruise terminal and parking garage complex just east of the Cove’s restaurants. The new terminal would be able to handle the largest cruise ships of the future.
If port commissioners choose the Jetty Park site for the recreational boat ramps, Walsh said, it would have to be designed with future cruise expansion in mind. Port Canaveral’s next new cruise terminal, after the proposed Cove site, likely will be just west of Jetty Park, at the site of the port’s current smaller Cruise Terminals 3 and 4, which would be torn down.
If commissioners pick the Cove area for the boat ramps, the new 158,000-square-foot cruise terminal and the boat ramps would have to be designed so they can coexist there.
Port officials also are studying the feedback they received from boaters about potential amenities at the new boat ramps, such as restrooms, pavilions, boat-washing areas and fish-cleaning stations.
Port commissioners said they were pleased that port management gave boaters the opportunity to weigh in on the boat ramp locations, although Port Authority Chairman Tom Weinberg noted that “it’s not going to be easy” to please everyone.

COCOA BEACH LABOR DAY SURF FESTIVAL!

Cocoa Beach, FL – Surf’s up at the 23rd Annual Cocoa Beach Surf Company NKF PRO-AM Surfing Festival taking place Labor Day Weekend, August 29 through September 1, at Shepard Park, located at the end of S.R. 520, Cocoa Beach Surfers and beach-goers alike will enjoy the festivities while helping to raise funds to fight kidney disease.
Professional and amateur surfers will hit the waves beginning Saturday, August 30. Competitions include the $5000 Steve Casanova Esq.Men’s Pro presented by longtime surfer and Melboune attorney Steve Casanova, Esq, the Women’s Pro sponsored by Angel Eyewear, Junior Men’s Pro, Men’s Pro Longboard, and the Male and Female Tandem Pro. Surfing continues throughout the weekend with amateur and professional finals taking place on Labor Day.
Stop by and see some Dialysis patients and transplant recipients in action as they hit the surf and ride the waves! These miracles of life prove the successes of organ transplantation and the importance of becoming an organ donor. Transplant recipients attending include the Repasky family from Pittsburgh, a multiple donor/recipient family, Jay Smith from Savannah, Georgia, and Katie Castonguay from the west coast of Florida.
Festival goers can enjoy food, bands, bikini contest, massages on the beach, poster signings, BMX and skate demonstrations, register for a chance to win a 1954 Chevy Show Truck, a surf movie in the park Saturday evening, free surf lessons from Cocoa Beach Surf Company Surf School, and much more.
For more information on the NKF Pro-Am Surfing Festival call (407) 894-7325 or visit us online at www.nkfsurf.com. The National Kidney Foundation is dedicated to preventing kidney and urinary tract diseases, improving the health and well being of individuals and families affected by these diseases and increasing the availability of all organs for transplantation.

Surf Festival Highlights

• Contest location: Alan Shepard Park at the end of S.R. 520, Cocoa Beach
• Featuring the Steve Casanova Men’s $5,000 Pro, Angel Eyewear Women’s Pro, Space Coast Credit Union Luke Mackin Junior Pro, Coconuts Women’s Longboard pro, and the Anarchy Eyewear/Barry Weisner Men’s Pro Longboard
• 29 Amateur Divisions covering an age range of 4 to 80
• Win a show quality 1954 Chevy Surf Truck equipped with a Chevy Turbo engine
• The Surf Festival highlights the success of all transplant recipients and will feature six transplant recipients participating and available for media interviews
• For the first time there will be an ITSA 6 star Tandem Competition Featuring Tandem champions from around the world competing for the $6,000 prize
• Cocoa Beach’s Party of the Year, the Taste of Brevard & Silent Auction presented by the Halifax Hospital Transplant Center and Regions Bank will be at the Radisson at the Port August 31
• Free poster signings each day in the demo tent
• Register to win one of many surfboards given away on site and at the auction
• Mar Chiquita Bikini Contests 4 pm daily at the host restaurant the World Famous “Sandbar”
• Capri Sun will feature the 12ft vertical half pipe with pro skateboarders, inline skaters, and BMX riders all weekend
• Live music each day at the “SandBar” with Drink specials
• Professional and Amateur Surfing Divisions starting Saturday morning at 8 am
• Registration, Press and Sponsor Party Friday evening, 6PM to 10PM at the Cocoa Beach Surfing Company
• Cocoa Beach Surf Company Surf School demonstrations and lessons on the beach
• All Pro and Amateur and Division Finals Monday
• All proceeds benefit the National Kidney Foundation of Florida, Inc.