Popular local Nutcracker set for Dec. 14
Miss Felicia’s Dance Ministry and Christ Episcopal Church will present the 29th annual Nutcracker Ballet at 6 p.m. Dec. 14 at UNF Lazzara Performance Hall. For tickets, go to christchurchdancers.ticketspice.com/the-nutcracker-winter-2024.
Beaches Community Fund accepts grant applications
The Beaches Community Fund, an initiative of The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, is accepting applications for grant funding available in 2025. The fund makes grants to nonprofit organizations serving the Beaches communities from Mayport to Guana, east of the Intracoastal Waterway. Last year, it granted $290,000 to Beaches nonprofits.
Applications will be accepted through January 10, 2025. To learn more and to apply, go to jaxcf.org/learn/beaches-community-fund.
Beach cleanup is Saturday
The Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTM) will conduct a beach cleanup from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 23. Meet at the GTM Research Reserve Visitor Center, 505 Guana River Road, Ponte Vedra Beach, where gloves and trash bags will be provided. Participants will be directed to a specific beach for cleanup. Hat, insect repellent, water and sunscreen are recommended.
Email Abigail.Kuhn@FloridaDEP.gov to participate.
Essential tremor group to meet
The Essential Tremor Support Group will welcome Zhigao Huang, MD, Ph.D., Baptist Health neurologist and movement disorder specialist at its next meeting, 11 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, at Baptist HealthPlace at Nocatee, 400 Colonnade Drive, Ponte Vedra.
Huang will answer questions about essential tremor, such as: Is it always generational? Is there a pill to “fix it?” What are the best of all the available treatments? And more.
For further information or to RSVP, contact Jan Kary at jkary@verizon.net or 202-438-6750.
Democratic Club to meet
The Ponte Vedra Democratic Club will hold its monthly meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 25, at the Ponte Vedra Beach Library, 101 Library Blvd. Optional chat & chew starts at 5:30 p.m.
The featured speaker will be Marie Garnes, volunteer campaign chair for St. Johns County, who will offer data and analysis on the results of the 2024 general election up and down the ballot. For additional information, email PVDemclub@gmail.com.
Palm Valley Market every Tuesday
The Palm Valley Market is held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Tuesday inside the Palm Valley Community Center, 148 Canal Road. The market offers fresh produce, baked goods, local honey, tea, seasonal treats, soap, jewelry, plants and more.
Clerk’s Office to host National Adoption Day Celebration
The St. Johns County Clerk of the Circuit Court and County Comptroller’s office will host a special ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 22, to celebrate National Adoption Day. The event will be held at the Richard O. Watson Judicial Center, marking the culmination of a long adoption process for six local children joining their forever families.
In 2023, family law clerks provided support during court proceedings that formed 76 new families. When adoptive parents seek permanency with a child, the clerks process the petition for adoption, administer oaths and provide certified copies of the final judgment. Since January, petitioners have filed 65 adoption cases in St. Johns County.
St. Johns County handles all family-related cases — including adoptions — under a Unified Family Court model. This comprehensive approach assigns one judge to oversee all matters involving one family, providing continuity for children adopted out of foster care.
— Compiled by Shaun Ryan
