Barry’s Buzz – Sept. 28, 2016
Gold Coast Tiger Bay Club will feature Former CNN reporter Susan Candiotti will be the guest speaker, 11:30 a.m. Oct. 13 at City Fish Market, Glades Road and the Turnpike, speaking on how the media manipulates the presidential election. RSVP at http://www.goldcoasttigerbayclub.com/event-calendar/. As an extra added attraction, TV’s Nancy Grace will speak on Oct. 14, and have her new book signing too. Former Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski will speak for the first time since his incarceration on November 9 and California political comedian Eric Golub will speak on Dec.14.
Penn Florida companies has named Harlan Goldberg as director of sales for the residences at Mandarin Oriental Boca Raton the area’s first five star hotel brand of development featuring the limited collection of just 85 luxury residences highly anticipated project is slated for completion in late 2018.
Floridian Community Bank has officially opened the doors to its fifth South Florida branch located in the heart of Boca Raton. The branch is conveniently located just across from Mizner Park on a high-traffic section of US1. The bank interior is the plush Caribbean-style atmosphere that bank patrons have come to love. Hours are 9-5 (Mon-Thurs) and 9-6 (Friday).
Florida Atlantic University’s incoming freshman class boasts the highest GPA in the university’s history. For the fall semester, the average high school GPA for first-time-in-college (FTIC) students is a 3.96, up from a 3.82 last fall. FAU received more than 20,500 freshman applications and more than 8,300 transfer applications for fall. The total number of new freshmen enrolled at the Boca Raton campus is 3,243. FAU’s Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College at the John D. MacArthur Campus in Jupiter will welcome 143 new students for this semester.
Palm Beach County ocean lifeguards could be getting a pay raise. County commissioners instructed staff to begin talks with the union that represents lifeguards on boosting pay and rewriting their job description to potentially make them eligible for better retirement benefits.
New pet stores in Palm Beach County will no longer be able to sell dogs or cats as part of an effort to crack down on substandard breeders known as puppy mills. Commissioners approved the measure despite concerns from animal advocates.
Deepwater Horizon, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Queen of Katwe, The Dressmaker and Masterminds opens at the Boca and Boynton Cinemark theatres. Come What May and Nieronymus Bosch opens at the FAU Living Room Theatres. The Dressmaker and Deep Water Horizon opens at the Classic Gateway theatre. Snowden, Bridget Jones’ Baby and Sausage Party opens at the Last Picture show in Tamarac. See http://www.publicrelations.nu/movie-capsules-barry-epstein-sep. 23, 2016.
Boca Raton’s iconic carousel at Sugar Sand Park will reopen at 10 a.m. Friday after a 17-day closure for safety repairs. The popular attraction at 300 S. Military Trail will sport fresh paint and more secure support beams, among other improvements. Park officials closed the carousel Sept. 6 after an inspection showed a dozen issues with it, including corrosion, deterioration, wood rot and loose trims. Crews from Valrico-based Custom Painting & Designs took apart the carousel to fix its inner workings. It cost about $24,800. The carousel has been at the park for a decade, with an average of 160,000 visitors each year. This was its first major repair.
“Gutenberg! The Musical!” runs through Oct. 2 at Sol Theatre, 3333 N. Federal Hwy., Boca Raton. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. matinees Sundays. Tickets are $25 ($10 for students). To order, call 561-447-8829 or go to EveningStarProductions.org.
Andrea O’Rourke will have her campaign kickoff party at The Wick Theatre on September 30th at 5:30pm
FAU School of the Arts Department of Theatre and Dance present Ominium Gatherum Sept 30-Oct. 9, Studio One Theatre, FAU Boca Campus, 777 Glades Rd. Tickets: $12-$20. Call1.800.563.9539 or visit https://www.fauevents.com/. Tickets also on sale at the Box Office in FAU’s Student Union.
Lucie Arnaz brings her father’s Desi Arnaz’s Cuban pedigree, and the Capitol Steps their election satire to Libby Dodson’s Live at Lynn Theatre Series starting Oct. 1. The series has seven shows performed twice through March 26, 2017 at the Keith C. and Elaine Johnson Wold Performing Arts Center on the Lynn University campus, 3601 N. Military Trail. The Steps do 30 songs and skits with five people and a pianist. The Live at Lynn series will also include shows about Michael Jackson and French chanteuse Edith Piaf; Tenors Unlimited – The Rack Pack of Opera, The New Shanghai Circus and top 40 and Broadway hits by The Company of Men. Also on sale are tickets for Mabel Mercer Foundation’s Cabaret at Lincoln Center comes to Live at Lynn series starting in January with five shows in the university’s Amarnick-Goldstein Concert Hall through May 17. Season subscriptions, available now at 25 percent discount, and individual show tickets for Libby Dodson Live at Lynn Theatre Series are at events/lynn.edu or the box office at 561-237-9000.
West Boca Leaders is the best networking group in the area. One of a kind networking group. First and Third Thursdays. Next meeting is Oct. 6, 2016, 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Tulipe Café, Boca Grove Shopping Center on Powerline Road between Glades and Palmetto Park Roads. $60 per quarter. Fill out form on site if you qualify and bring $60 for fourth quarter. For more information or questions, call 561.702.0000.
The second annual Boca Raton Mayor’s Ball is Oct. 8 at Broken Sound Country Club, honoring Christine E. Lynn, Boca Raton Resort & Club and Boca Helping Hands with coveted George E. Long Awards. The event is co-chaired by Rotary Club of Downtown Boca Raton members Jon A. Kaye, immediate Club past president who served as the founding chair of the inaugural 2015 Mayors Ball and Club member Constance J. Scott. The 2016 Mayors Ball Honorary Chair is Former Mayor Bill T. Smith. Honorary Advisors include Mayor Susan Haynie, Former Mayors Susan Whelchel and Steven Abrams who currently serves as a Palm Beach County Commissioner; Boca Raton Deputy Mayor Michael Mullaugh and Council Members Robert Weinroth, Jeremy Rodgers and Scott Singer. Co-chairman Jon Kaye only had 48 seats left out at the start of the kickoff for the second annual Boca Raton Mayors Ball, But by the end of the evening, sponsors had gobbled up most of the 400 tickets. The inaugural event was a sellout, too. For sponsorship and underwriting opportunities, visit www.rotarydowntownbocaraton.org or contact Jon A. Kaye at 561-392-5166 or Deborah Freudenberg at 561-299-1429, email info@rotarydowntownbocaraton.org.
Park Place, the new shopping center being built on Military Trail just south of Office depot world headquarters, will have plenty of lunch places, including Rappys Deli, Fresh Kitchen, Raw juice, Phenonenom, Habit Burger, Burton’s Grill and Fresh Market. Bolay is opening at the Polo Shoppes too.
Getting to and from Interstate 95 via Yamato Road in Boca Raton will be a little more time consuming for six days next month because of scheduled repairs to a railroad crossing. The Florida Department of Transportation and the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority will close Yamato Road at the crossing, just west of I-95, from 5 a.m. Oct. 14 until 5 a.m. Oct. 19, weather permitting. During the closure, workers will remove existing tracks, install new tracks, replace crossing surface and install new traffic control devices. All traffic will be detoured away from the tracks.
Palm Beach County homeowners will see higher property tax bills under a $4.3 billion budget given final approval. On top of that, they might also soon be paying more in sales tax if a referendum passes in the Nov. 8 election. Most of the additional property tax dollars will go to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, along with filling county positions cut during the economic downturn, replenishing reserves and funding road repairs,
EmilyRosen424.com has a series of writing workshops since 2000 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 pm on Fridays, Oct. 14, 21, 28, Nov. 4, 11, 18 at the Faulk Center for counseling 22455 Boca Rio Road (561.483.5300) for directions. $30 per session – $150 if you sign up for all six on the first day. Call her at 561.445.4614.
Three New Plays This Season at FAU’s Theatre Lab: The Three Sisters of Weehawken by Deborah Zoe Laufer, October 20 – November 6, Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 3 pm, Special closing weekend matinee: Saturday, November 5, 3pm, Special Preview Performance, Thursday, Oct 20: $25; This Random World by Steven Dietz, December 2 – December 18, Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 3pm, Special closing weekend matinee: Saturday, December 17, 3pm, Special Preview Performance, Thursday, Dec. 1: $25; Motherland by Allison Gregory, January 27 – February 12, Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 3 pm, Special closing weekend matinee: Saturday, February 11, 3pm, Special Preview Performance, Thursday, Jan 26: $25. Theatre Lab, Parliament Hall, FAU Boca Raton campus, 777 Glades Road, Come early to enjoy fine wine and snacks in the Theatre Lab Cafe. All Sunday matinees are followed by a post-performance “Talkback.” Admission: $35, *Preview Performance on first Thursday night of each show: $25, Subscription (3 shows): $85 Student, faculty, staff admission: $10 (cash only) with ID at the door, Group rates: 10 tickets or more $25 each; 20 tickets or more $20 each, For tickets, call 561-297-6124, or visit the FAU Box Office in the Student Union. Tickets available at the door.
Good Morning America news anchor Amy Robach and her husband Andrew Shue will be the keynote speakers at the 13th Annual Go Pink luncheon to benefit Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation in the fight against breast cancer. Save the date: October 21, 2016.
Boca Ballet Theatre and the A Princely Affair Chairperson, Natalie Parker and Co-Chair, Gail Baker are thrilled to announce the fabulous guest artists for the luncheon and performance will be Brittany Pollack and Daniel Ulbricht, both from New York City Ballet, performing Balanchine’s festive and exciting Tarantella. At noon Sunday, October 23rd, Boca Ballet Theatre’s 25th annual A Princely Affair social event and fundraising luncheon kicks off the 2016-2017 Season of Dance in a festive and fashionable way, beginning with a mimosa social hour. New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Daniel Ulbricht has been a favorite guest artist at Boca Ballet Theatre and danced Golden Idol from La Bayadere at the 25th Anniversary Performance. New York City Ballet Soloist, Brittany Pollack will make her Boca Ballet Theatre debut. Sharing the stage will be the beautiful dancers from Boca Ballet Theatre’s Countess de Hoernle Center for Dance, and they will perform excerpts from The Nutcracker, presented by Marleen Forkas, in loving memory of Harold Forkas.
The Fourth Annual Hope Bash Boca is 6:30 p.m. Oct. 28 at Boca West Country Club. For sponsorship opportunities and additional event information, visit placeofhoperinker.org. Tickets at $250 each will be available for purchase online late summer.
Woman of the Year Luncheon is Nov. 18 at the Boca Resort & Club with fashion show by Saks Fifth Ave. Tickets and info at wvoy@jlbr.org or 620.2553.
The 2016/2017 Broadway series at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts include Cinderella, Cabaret, The Little Mermaid, Something Rotten!, Matilda and Finding Neverland. More info at browardcenter.org.
The Marmot Boca Raton Bowl game will take place at 7 p.m. on Dec. 20 at the Florida Atlantic University Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN. It will be the third annual bowl game for FAU.
Sun-Sentinel, South Florida Business Journal, Palm Beach Post contributed to this column.
Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year to all my members of the tribe. May you be inscribed in the book for another year.
Barry Epstein, APR, is a noted public relations, marketing and political consultant based in Boca Raton, president of the goldcoasttigerbayclub.com, the luxurychamber.com, the westbocaleaders.com and the founder and former president of the West Boca Chamber of Commerce; His motto is: Public Relations is the enemy of anonymity. Email: pr@publicrelations.nu, or fax column items to 561.451.0000. Read his blog on www.barry’s.buzz. His blog is also on bocatribune.com, facebook.com/BarryEpstein and on his website: publicrelations.nu.
