HIGH SPRINGS ‒ The High Springs Chamber of Commerce hosted the 24^th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting on a brisk Nov. 26 evening. The event has been held continuously over the years—even through the pandemic.

Pre-Covid in 2019, the park was filled with a record crowd of families bringing their children to watch the Christmas tree lighting and a chance to meet Santa Claus. Businesses and local churches provided booths distributing candy, popcorn, cookies and other treats to the children. Another booth was set up to help children make Christmas ornaments. People dressed as Christmas characters roamed the crowd interacting with the children and posing for photos.  

Then in 2020 with the pandemic ever present, although much of the traditional fun was missing to be replaced by other activities. All the hands-on booths for face painting, gift design, card making and other activities for the children were gone due to social distancing. All treats at the booths were individually wrapped to avoid cross contact. While children still got to sit with Santa, they sat next to him, with Santa wearing a face shield and the kids in required masks. The audience was much smaller as well.

“This year we wanted to bring back the excitement and activities that had made this event a community tradition, but still be safe health wise,” said Chamber President Sharon Decker. The event was more spread out, with open air bleachers near the tree lighting. Much of the close contact games and activities like face painting were gone and all cookies and treats were handed out one at a time by gloved volunteers to limit contact. All the booths and games were held in the Farmers market at the other end of the field. Kids could still make cards and ornaments, but working as individuals to limit contact on the supplies.

The number of vendors was reduced to six, with the tables spread out. The Summit Baptist Church, High Springs Women’s Club and Garden Club had tables for children to make cards, ornaments and Christmas bookmarks. Witness of Christ Ministry gave out free cookies and baked goods. The Pink Flamingo brought a brightly lit food truck offering coffee and hot chocolate. Girl Scouts volunteered to help Santa as he listened to the children's wishes. A large model train also attracted the attention of youngsters. On a larger scale, the High Springs Lions Club brought their Polar Express train over to offer free rides to children. With the “train cars” only seating one child in open air and distanced apart, the tradition continued as the train circled the field.

But for most people it was the tree lighting and a visit from Santa that brought them to the event. As 6:30 p.m. approached, a large crowd gathered near the tree. High Springs Pastor Sammy Nelson was honored as “Citizen of the Year” and he led the crowd with a prayer, Pledge of Allegiance and introduced singer Dani MacKinzie, who sang Christmas songs.

At 6:30 sharp, Santa and Mrs. Claus were introduced and the tree was lit up with a multitude of lights and ornaments supplied by the High Springs CRA. Santa and Mrs. Claus stationed themselves at the Gazebo by the Farmers Market to listen to the long line of excited children and their wishes for Christmas.

“We were really glad how it all worked out,” said Decker. “From what I am being told, this is one of the biggest crowds and I think we were able to make it a great event and bring back the traditional celebration while still making health safety adjustments.’’

Decked sang the praises of volunteers who helped make the evening successful, crediting Chamber members and City staff, including Bruce Gillingham and David Fuller as well as the High Springs Police Department and Chief Antione Sheppard, Pastor Sammy Nelson and his church, and John Decker.

As for the future, Sharon Decker said,” We are looking forward to making it bigger next year and keep the tradition going.”

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NEWBERRY ‒ For the fourth year in a row, Newberry has gone western. On the evenings of Nov. 19 and 20, the rodeo came to the city’s Country Way Town Square. Over 2,400 spectators came over the two-day event, most decked out in jeans, boots and cowboy hats, to watch rodeo cowboys and cowgirls compete in competitions for cash prizes and bragging rights.

The Professional Rodeo Cowboy (PRCA) sanctioned event featured competitions in Team Roping, Tie Down Roping, Steer Wrestling, Saddle Bronc Riding, Bareback Riding, Bull Riding and Barrel Racing. The top four riders in each competition won cash prizes.

The PRCA is a professional membership-based organization that sanctions approximately 600 rodeos annually with more than 30 million fans in the U.S. The PRCA’s membership includes more than 7,000 cowboys and performers. Unlike most other professional sports where contestants are paid salaries, cowboys generally pay to enter each rodeo. If they place high enough to win money, they can make a profit, but if they don’t, they’ve actually lost their entry fee and any travel expenses. Every entry is a gamble, pitting the chance for loss and physical injury against the chance for financial windfalls and athletic glory. Most Rodeo cowboys compete in multiple events per year.

The Newberry Rodeo event was not just a rodeo competition as other activities were offered including young children competing in a Mutton Bustin' contest, featuring young children competing to ride and hold on to a sheep for as long as possible. Most of the children fell off quickly, but several managed to hold on as the sheep trotted around the ring. The winner of the Mutton Bustin' was Kalani Hardy. The Country Way Town Square Rodeo also gave away two bicycles during the event. The winners were Ashlynn Berry and Eli Fleming.

Before any of the competitions took place, the PRCA honored the 13 soldiers killed in the Afghanistan withdrawal as 13 flag-draped horses with empty saddles were led through the arena as each name was called.

The event is organized by the Newberry Lions Club to raise funds for the charity projects the club sponsors such as diabetes research and expanding access to care and prevention. The club provides funding and awareness of programs to help fight pediatric cancer, access to vision screenings, recycle eyeglasses, build clinics and support the blind and visually impaired through technology and vocational training programs.

Since 2018, Tripp Norfleet has sponsored the rodeo, covering all costs in cooperation with the Lions Club organizing and staffing the event. In its first year, Norfleet put up $30,000 to cover the events costs, charging admission and supplying vendors and food trucks. That year the event saw a profit of about $1,800 donated to the Lions Club and Norfleet donated an additional $2,500.

“We had a good event this year and every year it grows” said Christianna Norfleet, of Norfleet's Country Way Town Square. “We had over 100 sponsors who provided funding for the event and had 2,400 spectators fill all the bleachers, plus vendors selling food and western themed items. We try to make this a fun event for the whole family and community.”

The cost for an evening’s entertainment and rodeo competitions was $12 for adults and $8 for children ages 5–12 and most spectators considered it a small price for the western themed event.

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NEWBERRY – Two eighth grade girls recently completed a special project at Newberry Elementary School and at the same time earned a Silver Award from Girl Scouts of America. According to Troop Leader Lori Hilman, the Silver Award is one of three higher level awards in Girl Scouts.

Becca Noble, 14, of Howard Bishop Middle School and Brooklyn Hilman, 13, of Lincoln Middle School are both members of Girl Scout Troop 2177, High Springs. Spurring the girls into action was when they saw a Sensory Path online and thought creating one for elementary school-age children would be a perfect project for them.

A Sensory Path is a series of guided movements for kids to follow by markings on the ground or walls. As students follow the path and complete the movements, they work off excess energy and develop their gross motor skills. The various movements on a path are often designed to engage different parts of the body and brain, from frog hops to spins and wall pushes.

These paths can be especially effective for students who experience frustration, anger or other sensory overloads during a learning activity. “Sending them out to the hall to work off some of those emotions can help them re-focus when they return to their desk,” said the troop leader. “It’s an opportunity for kids to take a brain break and work out the wiggles.”

The pair decided to create their Sensory Path using comic book heroes as their theme to help engage the children in the various activities. The girls chose this particular project because, “We really like helping people,” said Brooklyn. “This seemed like a fun way to do that. Some kids have a difficult time focusing and we thought this would be a great way to help with that issue,” she said.

“All the kids that experience the Sensory Path are able to learn better because of this sustainable resource,” said Becca.

It took an entire year for the girls to plan the project, raise the funds to buy the materials, get approval and physically create the project. The pandemic also slowed things down a bit but, said Brooklyn, “It took a lot of planning to get all the elements just right.” The layout itself took approximately 10 – 15 hours to accomplish.

Some of the elements of their Sensory Path are handprints on the wall so kids can place their hands on the prints and do pushups, footprints on the floor so kids can walk like a super hero and a tall building painted on the wall so kids can jump up to save someone on top of the building.

“We also added a really cool tracing thing on the wall to help kids develop their fine motor skills,” said Becca. “At the end there is a section where the children got to fly like a super hero, which is really empowering and shows them they can do anything,” Becca said.

“It took the girls more than 70 hours to do the project,” said Troop Leader Hilman. “It came out great and the kids love it at the school.”

Explaining the various levels of Girl Scout awards, Hilman said, “Bronze Awards are for fourth and fifth graders and their project has to do with doing something in their community one time. It doesn’t need to be a sustainable project. Silver Awards are for girls in sixth - eighth grades and has to do with a more sustainable community level project. “The next level award is a Gold Award, which is for seniors. This is an award that has to be earned by one girl. It has to be sustainable and help more than just their community,” said Hilman.

Each project has to be approved by the Girl Scouts of Gateway Council, which serves all of the surrounding communities. The girls had to run their project by the Council, which evaluated the project to see if it suited the criteria before they began. Becca and Brooklyn completed their project this past spring.

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ALACHUA ‒ Nov. 14 was the perfect day for a festival. After several cloudy, damp and cold days, Sunday brought clear blue skies with mild temperatures in the 60s. Main Street in Alachua was closed down at both ends as over 200 vendors set up along the street promoting their products, services or expertise. The Alachua Main Street Harvest Festival has been one of the city’s signature events since 2003, bringing thousands of visitors to Main Street in Alachua to enjoy vendors, a variety of food, music and activities for adults and children. And this year, they came out for the weather as well.

The Alachua Business League (ABL) has been hosting two festivals a year, one in the spring and one in the fall, with the exception of 2020 due to the pandemic. The festivals promote local businesses directly to the public and show off Alachua's historic downtown district.

The ABL’s mission is to promote business-to-business support, organize events and activities to promote local business, maintain a business network among local businesses, and welcome all new businesses into the area.

The lively festival also brings the community together with entertainment, activities, and vendors selling a diverse selection of items including clothes, jewelry, art, plants and services. The festival is especially family-friendly, with lots for kids to do, and true to its name as a fall harvest festival, there was a wide range of available food options.

This year for many locals it was a chance to get out and mingle with others after months of limited contact, bringing back a sense of familiarity on a sunny fall day. The ABL has expanded the festival over the years, diversifying the type of businesses and vendors participating, bringing in more charitable organizations and general entertainment for both adults and kids.

Fun, food and entertainment are important features of the festival, but the event has a serious purpose as well. The Alachua Business League is a nonprofit organization that also sponsors two $2,500 scholarships for local high school students from Santa Fe High School. The scholarships are awarded to students who show a strong entrepreneur ability and are interested in starting or promoting a business locally after college. The scholarships are awarded for tuition and books to help the selected students with college expenses

The ABL membership consists of over 75 businesses in the Alachua area. The cost of joining is kept low to help encourage membership. Each business pays $75 a year, which provides a number of services including social media exposure, networking and workshops, as well as a booth at both festivals. For nonmembers, booth fees at the festival are also kept low to encourage participation. Vendor booth fees are $75 for general vendors, $125 for ride areas and $150 for food vendors. All fees go toward festival expenses to help keep the event free to the public as well as fund the two scholarships.

By all accounts, this year’s festival was a great success that surely left both ABL members and the public looking forward to next year’s celebration.

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