Light it up!

With the click of a slow-speed camera shutter and the turn of the zoom lens, a colorful explosion of Christmas lights illuminate from the darkness during the recent Holiday Boat Parade at the Bradenton Yacht Club. 

From the glowing Menorah candles of Hanukkah, Judaism’s Festival of Lights, to the various colored Christmas bulbs illuminating trees, houses, golf carts, or a boat in this case, it is a season of light. 

A season of celebration, family, giving and rededication, all lights in their own right that overcome the darkness. 

Have a blessed holiday and new year.

-Grant Jefferies

Kids Shop for Christmas with Cops

Bradenton's annual Honoring the Badge Christmas-time gift event pairs Bradenton Police Department officers with families in the community as they shop together for toys at the local Toys R Us.  Funded in cooperation with Kingdom Life Christian Church, this will be the event's fifth year.  It was great to see uniformed officers and clean-cut detectives helping bring smiles to the faces of needy children Tuesday as they teamed up to find gifts.  Each child had a $25 gift card to spend and the officers, many with families themselves, helped them keep track of the tally as they perused the aisles.  Here, Officer C. Ward lends a little extra hand to a family as she holds their baby, 5 month-old Roshyia, while checking out a gift with Roshyia's brother , 7 year-old Robert.  It's multitasking at its best, and apart from the obvious good will effort, I'm willing to bet there's a good chance that this brief but positive encounter between officers and children will make a lasting impression on many young minds and hearts.  Best wishes to the BPD and look forward to seeing you next year!
-pvidela@bradenton.com

Remembering Christmases Past

There's only one shopping week left until Christmas!  If you're feeling a little burned out from navigating the endless aisles of big-box stores while holiday shopping for everyone on your gift list, it might be time to take a little breather!
At the Manatee County Agricultural Museum in Palmetto's Historical Park, there's a whole host of vintage Christmas toys and decorations arranged into thoughtful displays that are sure to bring back even the most sleepy childhood memories of years past.    But be prepared! Any children in tow will be sure to fire off lots of questions, most of which will relate to how you ever survived childhood with such, "boring," toys.
Ah, here's to those simpler times, when whiz-bang didn't have a screen, run on batteries, or require a credit card and email address.  And if you dropped it, it probably wouldn't break, because it was made of wood and metal, and in the grand old U.S. of A.
- pvidela@bradenton.com

Framed at sea

A sailboat is framed in the leaves of sea grape plants as it glides upon tranquil waters of the Manatee River.

Crisp blue skies, steady winds and cooler temperatures turn the stifling dog days of summer into a distant memory.

Humidity, thunderstorms, and sweat give way to increased traffic on the roads and longer lines, as visitors from the north migrate to the area to escape the probability of brutal snowy winter.

But who can blame them, this is one of the best times of the year, now is a good time to get out and enjoy it!

-Grant Jefferies