Lights on, Fairhope!

November 14, 2014

20  comments

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It’s the official start to the holiday season in Fairhope, Alabama when the switch is thrown, and over 1 million lights illuminate the beautiful downtown.

 

TreeLighting-4Mrs. Claus always makes her appearance to the delight of the children who stop by to say hello.

 

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And it isn’t a party unless you have elves. These adorable elves were promoting their upcoming performance of Jack and The Beanstalk with the Children’s Dance Theatre.


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Doesn’t look like such a small town now, does it?

With temperatures in the tropical zone of the 70’s the day before, the City of Fairhope came through with winter wonderland temps in the 40’s for the annual Lights On celebration. The shivering crowd gathered downtown to hear the Fairhope High School band and Eastern Shore Choral bring in the holiday season with (fake) snow and twinkling lights.

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The lights will remain lit until the Arts and Crafts Festival which is held the third weekend in March. Until then, my favorite pathway is always through downtown.

Hampton Inn FairhopeA big thank you goes to The Hampton Inn in Fairhope, which has the best location of any area hotel. Smack in the middle of downtown, among the twinkling lights, our local bloggers meeting was held this week in their lovely conference room which has a view of the busy downtown streets.

 

Group at Hampton InnWe had a small group on hand this month with left to right, Kim of CoziNest, Judy of Judy Hanks Pimperl, Linda of Coastal Charm, moi, and Lorraine of Clamco. Alan of Stump the Librarian had to dash off to the library. If you are a local and use social media and need tech or blog design help, we would love to have you join us. Although we are a group for South Alabama, we’ve had visitors from Mississippi and North Alabama and welcome everyone.

The Bean and BistroWe always try to find a fun spot for lunch after our meeting. This month, we went to The Bean and Bistro which a wonderful little cafe’, tucked away behind the Pizza Hut and Sonic on the four-lane. Tomato and Dill soup? Divine. Cuban sandwich? Haven’t had one this good in years. It’s a wonderful place you need to check out.

vintage christmas decorationsAnd in the same shopping center as The Bean and Bistro, is Southern Antiques and Accents, which is still brand new. Adorable items like the ones above, plus painted furniture, large and small collectibles, and everything else you can imagine. (For locals, it’s in the old bowling alley). Which reminds me, we need a bowling alley!

Rick Bragg booksEarlier in the week, it was a treat to hear best selling author and Pulitzer Prize winner, Rick Bragg who was mesmerizing and completely charming. As he read a passage from his new book, Jerry Lee Lewis, His Own Story, the crowd of 400 sat in total silence. When he had completed the reading, Bragg lifted his eyes to the audience and joked, “Damn. That’s good.”

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And it was.

 

Rick BraggThe crowd was in a jovial mood after feasting on shrimp and grits and hearing our entertaining speaker. But come on . . . feed a bunch of Southerners shrimp and grits, and we’d listen to a preacher all night. But truly, Rick Bragg was a huge success, and one of the best speakers I’ve heard in a long time, with the packed house of over 400 fans roaring in approval. Signed books are still available at Page and Palette. If you are out of town, they will be glad to ship.

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And tonight, we get to hear Nick Vujicic speak at the Fairhope United Methodist Church. Click on the sidebar icon to learn the details. It’s going to be very exciting, and another wonderful event sponsored by Page and Palette Bookstore. There’s also another play-off football game for our undefeated Pirates, so the cannon will be booming and my dog will be cowering under the bed.

Round-up day is this Saturday with two performances of a play . . . in the cemetery. CLICK HERE for details. It actually sounds nice.

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What will you be doing this weekend?

 

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